Supplier Sundays: Bethany T MUA

After photographing weddings for years, you start to notice patterns. Not just in how days run, but in who makes them easier, calmer, and actually enjoyable to be part of.

Bethany is absolutely one of those people.

I’ve worked alongside Bethany at loads of weddings now, and every single time, the morning just works better. Yes, the makeup looks unreal, but more than that, she gets the reality of a wedding morning. The nerves. The family politics. The time pressure. The occasional wobble. She handles all of it with a calm, reassuring confidence that instantly puts people at ease. And on top of that, we always have a massive laugh, which makes a big difference at half eight in the morning.

Now, quick reality check. I’m a bloke who has never worn makeup in his life. If you asked me what foundation was, I’d tell you it’s something you build a house on. I don’t know what a blender is, I couldn’t name half the products on the table, and if you ever see me holding a makeup brush, something has gone very wrong.

But what I do know, after photographing weddings week in, week out, is when something’s working. I know when a bride feels comfortable. I know when the room feels calm rather than tense. And I know when the person in charge knows exactly what they’re doing.

Bethany gets that balance spot on.

She’s my go to recommendation because she’s consistently brilliant. Different venues, different brides, different wedding mornings, same standard every time. And it’s not just me banging the drum. Beth is one of those people whose name keeps coming up when you talk to other suppliers locally. The people who see this all the time. The people who notice when things run smoothly, and when they don’t.

Being recommended by couples is great. Being trusted by other suppliers who do this every weekend is something else entirely. That kind of reputation doesn’t happen by accident. She’s organised, she’s calm under pressure, she’s really bloody good at what she does, and when plans inevitably shift, she just adapts without it becoming a thing.

And just as importantly, she’s genuinely lovely to be around.

We always end up with a running set of inside jokes whenever we work together, and there’s always a lot of laughing going on. Not in a chaotic way, but in a way that keeps things human. When people relax, shoulders drop. When shoulders drop, everything flows better. Starting your wedding day with suppliers who understand that makes a world of difference.

From my side of the camera, it shows. When I’m editing, you can tell which mornings Bethany has been part of. The makeup still looks spot on after happy tears, hugs, a bit of chaos, and a full dancefloor. Faces still look fresh. Skin still looks like skin. That consistency carries right through the day.

If you want the real dream team in the room, you’ll book Faye at Faye Elizabeth Hair too. Faye is Bethany’s sister and absolutely deserves a blog in her own right, which I’m very much hoping she’ll help out with in the coming weeks. 🤞🏼

Bridal prep can either quietly set the tone for the whole wedding day or make everything feel rushed before it’s even begun. When Bethany’s in the room, it’s always the former.

So instead of a stiff Q and A, I wanted to properly chat to her about wedding mornings, bridal makeup, nerves, and the things couples don’t always realise make such a difference until they’re actually living the day.

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I hear a lot of brides say they don’t want to look “overdone”, but they also don’t want to look like they’ve just rolled out of bed. How do you help someone still feel like themselves, just a bit more polished?

Most brides worry they’ll look like their makeup is heavy, Cakey or they wont look like themselves when having their makeup professionally done. Skin hyper-focus is a huge element, They suddenly notice every pore, pimple, and under-eye shadow. This is why having a trial is so important, Not only does it give us time to get to know each other and relax it gives me time to explain the process, manage expectations and really talk through what we are going to do to make sure every bride feels the best version of themselves on their big day.

*It's important when looking at inspiration pictures for your makeup to try and look for models with similar features to you and avoid filtered or AI images.

From your side, what do brides usually stress about when they first sit in the chair?

I find most brides worry about the small things, Have the flowers arrived, has someone checked the cake, have we packed the bridesmaids tights etc..

It really makes a huge difference to your experience on the morning if you have chosen the right bride tribe. Don't be afraid to allocate jobs to your girls! Have one on music, one on flower duty and one redirecting that particular auntie away from the prosecco, your bridal party are your there to help things run smoothly! Equally surrounding yourself with the right suppliers is crucial. Being in this industry isn't just about makeup in my opinion, you will regularly find me helping with difficult dresses, running for plasters or reminding the bride tribe to get the flowers out of the water.

Everyone around you on the morning of your big day will be working together towards pulling your dream into reality, Relax and let them do it.

There’s so much pressure online now around bridal makeup. From what you see in real life, what do people think wedding makeup should be, compared to what actually works on the day?

The pressure for "perfect" has never been higher. Social media, AI, and filters have had a huge impact, My role isn’t just makeup—it’s education, confidence-building, and translating digital perfection into real-life beauty. 

Your bridal makeup should be long wearing, applicated in a way to compliment your features and balanced in the right way that you'll be captured perfectly on camera, film and in person.

From my side of the room, timing feels like it either makes the morning feel calm or sends it sideways. What do you do to keep things ticking along without everyone feeling rushed?

Working out a schedule that flows nicely between hair and makeup stylists is important and understanding the bridal parties needs and accommodating them when possible is also huge part of keeping things moving at the pace we need to be going at. 

Some bridesmaids may have young children to tend to or feed, Mothers of the bride or groom may need an extra hours sleep or to pop out to check on something etc. Having an in-depth consultation or chat during your trial or in the days before your wedding helps give me a clear image of what to expect on the day, but really it comes down to experience and being able to gently guide people to where they need to be.

(I also add a little secret  "buffer" of time into my own schedule to make sure we allow for happy tears, cuddles and taking a minute to breathe and take it all in)

All I really know is that makeup has to survive a lot. Happy tears, hugs, heat, dancing, probably a bit of chaos. How do you approach making sure it still looks good by the time people hit the dancefloor?

I’m confident in my work and I know when my brides leave me they will be looking perfect from first kiss to last dance. Some of the steps we take to achieve that is in the skin prep. Like anything we need a good base to begin with, Staying on top of your skin care and water intake in the months leading up to big day is so important and will make a huge difference in what we have to work with. Thoroughly prepping and hydrating your skin on the morning, using light buildable layers of professional makeup and long wearing setting sprays all work together to make sure my brides can dance the night away with no worries of anything smudging, sweating off or shifting.

How do you read the room and adapt how you work depending on who’s in the chair?

You can usually tell within a couple of minutes how a bride is feeling, Some brides are excited and hardly able to sit still, Others are quiet and pensive and some seemed extremely stressed. The beauty of being in this industry is being able to read that moment and adapt to what the bride needs. Asking a bride about her husband-to-be or how she expects his morning is going  can be relaxing. Taking them away from the chaos of their own space and encouraging them to imagine what he is doing in that moment is can really help, Silly questions like.. Are your bridal shoes comfortable? Which bridesmaid will likely be the drunkest tonight etc... these are all surface level questions that can help but ultimately knowing when to crack a joke, distract or when to let a bride enjoy a moments peace is as important as the makeup for me.

You work with a lot of different suppliers. From your point of view, how much difference does it make when everyone on the morning actually works well together?

I love this questions, and i will ALWAYS ask my brides if they are looking for supplier recommendations as I know what a huge impact a great team can make on the day.

Having a team that is willing to give each other a hand, even if its not their field or that can give each other a subtle nod when things aren't going exactly to plan and work together to avoid any possible hiccups means the bride can remain blissfully unaware and really soak up the pre wedding excitement!

Is there anything about the wedding morning that brides tend to underestimate until they’re actually living it?

How quickly the time will go! A 6am start when your ceremony isn't until 1pm may seem like a lot of time but that times FLIES! Getting dressed, jewellery, veil, touch-ups, photos… the morning disappears quicker than expected.

And finally, if you could give brides one bit of advice for the wedding morning, especially when it comes to makeup and keeping things calm, what would it be? 

Trust the people you choose, Your MUA, Hair stylist, bridesmaids, planner... You choose us all for a reason, Trust us to help everything run as it should <3