The golden light of late afternoon is the most beautiful light you can be photographed in. Late afternoon is when the sun is starting to set in the sky, creating a beautiful warm glow. Since the light is so beautiful and forgiving, you can add a little more drama to your makeup look. The light is growing softer and warmer, so you can wear more eyeshadow and have more shade options.

If your skin is less than perfect, late afternoon is a great time to get married. The light is softer and more forgiving, so you can use a little more foundation and concealer to cover your flaws, and your skin will appear completely natural looking in photographs. Don't forget to powder -- remember that matte skin always photographs better than shiny skin.

As evening comes, your photographer will have to use a flash, so make sure you add color to your face. A flash shoots a bright burst of light at your face, which can make you appear washed out. Even if you do not normally wear blush on a daily basis, you need to wear at least a little color on your cheeks.

It's fine for your blush to have shimmer in it, because it will look beautiful in this light, thought it is also perfectly fine if you want to use a shade that is matte.

You can make richer color choices because of the forgiving lighting. Feel free to apply more dramatic eyeshadow shades.

A shimmery (not frosted) eyeshadow will look beautiful at this time of day. Make sure that your midtone and/or contour shade has a matte finish. You never want to use three shades with shimmer, because the eye will look too shiny in photographs.

Want to add a little more glamour? Try false eyelashes. This is the perfect time of day for this beauty trick, and lashes help define your eyes better than anything else you could do.

Later afternoon brides get the green light to wear a richer lip color. The light allows you to wear richer colors, since they won't show up in photos as too intense.

Evening Bride

An evening wedding allows you to go for a more dramatic makeup look. You can play with color and wear more makeup than at any other time and still photograph beautifully. This is the time of day for the bride who wants to be a glamour queen. Remember that every photograph will be taken with a flash, which definitely makes a difference in your choices

If you have less than perfect skin, this is a great time for you. You can wear more foundation and powder and still look natural.

Make sure to bronze generously to give your skin a glow. One that that helps is "sculpting" your face, because it will add color so the flash will not wash your skin out, and it adds dimension. Dimension is important because the flash can also flatten everything out in a photograph.

Everything should be more defined -- from your lips to your eyes to your cheekbones -- because the camera's flash can wash you. Defined does not necessarily mean darker. You may just need a little color in your cheek. Make sure to give your lips a nice defined edge by lining.

Shimmery eyeshadow will photograph well for evening, but you should wear absolutely no frosted shadows for this time of night. Frosted eyeshadow will look too shiny in photos especially when a flash is used! A shimmery shadow always looks soft and pretty. Make sure that at least one of your three shades of shadow is matte. You never want all three shades to shimmer, because the eye will look too shiny in your photos.

In my opinion, false eyelashes are a must for a nighttime wedding, because they help define the eyes really well. Just remember that every picture will be taken with a flash, and the more definition you have at your lashline the better you will photograph.

Make sure you have lip color and powder on at all times.

Morning bride and midday bride ...

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