Rae Morris shares the most common mistake brides make when doing their own wedding makeup.

Weddings are expensive. They just are.

There’s the venue, dress, veil, flowers, photos, food, imported Prosecco from Italy, nails, hair, heels, a designer tuxedo for your dog… it really adds up, right?

It’s because of these costs some brides are forced to make sacrifices for hair and makeup.

So for all the brides thinking of doing their own makeup on their wedding day to cut costs, we asked celebrity makeup artist, Rae Morris what you need to know.

Because turns out there’s a wrong way, and a right way to do your own wedding makeup.

Foundation.

According to Morris, there’s one really common mistake lots of brides doing their own wedding makeup make. And it all stems from a fear of our makeup sliding off our faces that’s been rammed down our throats.

“Women have a natural fear that our makeup is going to fall off our faces, but I don’t think that’s the case,” she explained to Mamamia.

“But really full on colour stay, long lasting, ‘durable’ foundation products is, yes, they stay all day, but they don’t always look the most beautiful all day because they’re the hardest formulas to maintain.

“They’re the ones that, once they’re on, they’re on. It’s like a mask that won’t move, but when it starts to break up and get in your creases, you’re in trouble.”

So if you’re not meant to use long wear foundation for your wedding makeup, what the bloody hell are you meant to use?

“The thing about wedding makeup is maintenance. For example, Miranda Kerr and Jennifer Hawkins are two women known for having really glowy skin, but when they got married, they didn’t go, okay let’s make the foundation really heavy and powdery so it’ll last all day. What they did is kept it glowy and dewy, but made sure to maintain it.”

Morris' top wedding day foundation picks are: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation ($68), ELLIS FAAS Skin Veil Foundation ($106) and CHANTECAILLE Future Skin ($114).

Although they're exxy, Morris suggested grabbing a sample pot or sachet, which will give you one or two applications to start your base off right. Alternatively, CLINIQUE Even Better Makeup SPF15 ($55), L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion Foundation ($18) and BOURJOIS 1 2 3 Perfect Foundation ($32) are her favourite budget options.

"I think foundations that don't last all day like these are better, then you can add a bit more and build as you go. You can also carry a little beauty blender in your purse to buff and get rid of any creases throughout the day."

Same goes with concealer - Morris' favourite is NARS' Radiant Creamy Concealer ($44).

Skin.

Tied for first place for the most important things you need to know about wedding makeup is getting your skin right.

"Getting your skin looking as good as possible before your wedding is the number one thing, along with foundation," she said.

Morris advised sticking to disciplined beauty routine for your skin type, including sheet masks and extra hydration, well before your wedding day. If you struggle with blemishes and acne, she also recommended speaking to your doctor or medical professional about medical options you can consider.

But aside from that, Morris' best advice for getting your skin wedding ready is one celebrities have been swearing by for years.

"If you're getting married, get your face under some light therapy - that's what celebrities do," she explained.

Her rec emendation is Omnilux, a dermatologist approved treatment which uses LED light technology to stimulate your skin's renewal process. Alternatively, Neutrogena's Light Therapy Acne Mask Kit ($70) is a great at-home budget option.

LISTEN: Mamamia Out Loud discuss the crazy rising costs of weddings in Australia (post continues after audio...)

Eyes, brows and lashes.

For professional quality brows and lashes at-home, Morris suggested looking into brow tinting and eyelash extensions from a reputable salon. False eyelashes, though, come with a big ole warning.

"If you're getting married in the middle of the day between 10-2, don't wear heavy false eyelashes because you'll get shadows under your eyes. They work like an umbrella, light needs to be able to come through them to avoid these shadows."

Alternatively, waterproof mascara is a must, as well as a gel brow liner, which should be applied "strand by strand".

As for the perfect wedding day eye shadow?

"ELLIS FAAS Creamy Eyes ($45.00) in shades 104/105 is my absolute favourite eye shadow colour. It's so easy to blend and once it dries, it lasts all day. To give you some context - I used to do Pink's makeup at 4 or 5am [with this eye shadow] and she would be on stage and performing for 12 houris, and at midnight her eye shadow was still perfect."

The logistics.

Once you've sorted your products, all that's left to do is organise your logistics - the what, when and how. This comes down to planning your wedding makeup routine like a military operation with precision and training.

"The good thing about doing your own wedding makeup is you can do as many practice runs as you want. So you can get rid of that panic," she said.

Her biggest tip?

"Do a trial run in the morning and photograph it in three hours time, which is right around the time you'd be walking down the aisle. Then photograph it in another three hours to see how different products will last and when you'll need to touch up."

Also get your bridesmaids involved - put them on touch up duty so you can focus on enjoying your day, not whether your nose looks like a oil slick.

Finally, Morris stressed the single most important thing to have in your wedding day bag is a pack of blotting papers, like the FENTY BEAUTY Invisimatte Blotting Papers ($24) or MECCA MAX Press Refresh Blotting PaperS ($10).

"Blotting papers will save your life. They will shut down that oil just as fast and effectively as powder ever could."

Wise words.

Check out all of Morris' product recommendations in the gallery below...

Rae Morris is one of Australia's leading makeup artists. You can follow her work on her website and Instagram. Morris is also launching her innovative Jishaku Brush Range exclusively into Mecca Cosmetica from the 30th January, 2018.