Why I'm Doing My Own Wedding Makeup

I never realized how much planning goes into a wedding until Joseph and I started planning our wedding together. There are so many little things to consider. Food, decorations, dresses, toasts, music, photography, readings....and that's just the beginning. 

As the bride, there are so many fun conversations to have about wedding planning. I've shown countless people my wedding dress - from the girl who cuts my hair to students in classes I taught last semester.  Any time I mention that I'm getting married, strangers and friends alike love chatting about everything from wedding colors to Mass details.  But one question that I've gotten asked quite a bit lately is who is doing my make up on the big day.  

There are so many options. Hire a professional. Ask a friend. Comb through Pinterest and find the perfect, special occasion look. But despite all of the options, I've decided to do my own makeup on the big day.And I'm not doing anything different than what I wear on a regular day.  

To some, that may seem crazy. After all, marrying the love of my life is a pretty special occasion.  Shouldn't I do something different and memorable? I thought about wedding makeup quite a bit - but it was only when I thought back on Joseph and I's relationship that the answer to the makeup question became clear. 

When I met Joseph, I wasn't wearing any makeup, and I had on a baggy t-shirt, and sports shorts. I spent the first week that we got to know each other covered in sweat, pancake batter, and paint chips as we worked on houses for the Prayer and Action summer mission trip.  We had a great conversation while picking up paint chips, sweating in the Kansas summer heat.  

Joseph proposed to me on top of a mountain nine months ago.  When he asked me to be his bride, I hadn't showered in 6 days, my hair was greasy and stuffed under a baseball cap, and my eyes were bleary from waking up at 5:00 am that day.  And he thought I was beautiful.  

I don't wear much makeup on a daily basis - but it seems to be on the days that I don't wear much makeup that Joseph compliments me. So when I see Joseph on our wedding day, I want to look like that the girl he spent working alongside on a house two summers ago.  I want to look like the blissfully happy girl who said yes to climbing life's highs and lows alongside my soon-to-be-husband.  (Granted, I'll have showered that day.)

So often in today's culture we focus on looks.  We filter our photos, airbrush our makeup and make sure our wardrobes are Pinterest worthy. But, despite all of our best efforts, our looks will change. Bodies stretch, smiles sink further into faces and set in as wrinkles, and what we consider beautiful shifts throughout the years.  

Audrey Hepburn said: “Happy girls are the prettiest.” What makes someone truly beautiful is joy. On the day of my wedding, I won’t look flawless. More than likely, I’ll have crinkly smiley eyes, a few (ok, let's be honest, more than few) happy tears, and a huge smile that I can’t wipe off my face. I won’t look perfect or airbrushed. But I’ll look joyful…and that’s the most beautiful look of all.