Written by Mimi Nikolova, a professional makeup artist and beauty educator based in Buffalo, NY.
Fall in Western New York is such a beautiful time to get married, with the maple trees turning gold and red along every country road and that crisp, clear air that makes everybody want a sweater and a warm drink. It is also the reason the most popular wedding dates in Buffalo, from June through October, are always the first ones to go! A fall wedding asks a little more of your makeup than a summer one, though, because the light, the weather and even the colors around you change from week to week, and I would love to walk you through how I plan for all of it.
A July wedding is all about heat and humidity, and a January one brings dry indoor air, which I wrote about in my post on winter wedding makeup in Buffalo. Fall sits right in between. A September afternoon can still feel like summer, and three weeks later you can be standing at an outdoor ceremony in a cold wind with the sun already going down behind the trees. My goal is that your makeup looks fresh and beautiful in every one of those moments, from the first look in the morning to the last dance at night, and that you never have to think about it once.
Fall gives us the loveliest palette to work with. Warm bronze and copper on the eyes, a touch of terracotta or rust on the cheeks, and lips in rose, berry or a deeper plum all look so natural against the gold and red leaves you will be photographed in. Nevertheless, I never want a bride to look like she is wearing a costume of the season. You should still look like yourself, only more rested and more glowing than ever, so I usually choose one feature to bring forward, either the eyes or the lips, and keep everything around it soft and balanced.
If you have always worn a nude lip, you do not have to change that just because it is October! A nude with a little more warmth in it, or a rosy color one shade deeper than you usually wear, already feels seasonal in the photographs. And if you have been dreaming about a bold berry lip, this is the perfect time of year to wear it.
A lot of fall brides choose ivory or champagne instead of bright white, and those warmer whites are so flattering with golden, peachy skin and a bronze eye. A crisp white dress can carry cooler tones too, like a mauve or a plum lip. I always ask about your bouquet and your bridesmaids' colors as well, because burgundy, emerald, rust and dusty blue are everywhere in fall weddings, and the makeup should feel like it belongs in the same photograph as all of them.
Please bring a photo of your dress and your flowers to the trial, or even a fabric swatch if you have one. I love seeing these things, and they tell me so much about the look you are imagining.
The first cold mornings of fall are when a lot of skin starts to feel a little tight and dry, and dry skin is where makeup gives up first, because foundation grabs onto every flaky patch. In the weeks before your wedding, drink plenty of water, use a good moisturizer morning and night, and please do not try any new product or a strong facial in the last week, because there is no time for your skin to settle if it reacts.
If your skin has been stressed, or you simply want that extra glow for the photographs, I also do Intraceuticals oxygen facials, and I am the only artist in Buffalo who does. The treatment infuses hyaluronic acid and vitamins into the skin, so it holds onto moisture and the makeup goes on smooth and even. It is completely optional, and your makeup will look beautiful either way. I explain the whole treatment in my post on what an oxygen facial is.
An outdoor ceremony under the fall leaves is a dream, and I understand completely why so many couples choose one, but Western New York weather can change its mind in an afternoon. A chilly wind can make eyes water and noses and cheeks turn pink, and of course there will be happy tears too! I build the makeup to last and set it properly so it holds through all of it, and I use waterproof products around the eyes for exactly this reason. You can read more about how I do that in my guide to long-lasting wedding makeup.
Every bride also receives a personalized touch-up kit matched to her own look, so after the ceremony a little powder and a fresh coat of lip color is all you need before the portraits. And please have a plan for staying warm between the photos, like a wrap or a faux fur stole, because shivering shows in every picture!
Every week of fall the sun sets a little earlier, and that changes the whole timeline of your day. The golden hour light that photographers love arrives in the late afternoon instead of the evening, and by the time the reception begins you are often indoors with candles, string lights and a camera flash. I use HD products made for photography and film, and they look smooth and natural in golden late afternoon sunlight and under a bright flash alike. I wrote more about this in what wedding makeup should look like in photos.
When you plan your day, ask your photographer what time the sun sets on your date, and then we work backwards from there, so the makeup is finished and you are relaxed well before the light is at its best. My hour by hour wedding morning timeline is a good place to start.
Fall is the season of the barn wedding around East Aurora, Orchard Park and the countryside south of the city, and those venues have such a warm, romantic feeling with their wooden beams and soft lights. For a rustic setting I usually lean toward glowing skin, a gently smudged eye and a natural lip, so the look feels as relaxed as the place itself. A downtown ballroom or a historic hotel can carry a little more polish, like a defined eye or a richer lip, because the room itself is more formal. Tell me where you are getting married and I will suggest what I think will suit it best.
Every season brings its own trends, and this fall the beauty magazines are full of warmer, gentler makeup, which I am so happy about. Here are the ones I think really work for a wedding, and how I adapt them so they still feel right when you look back at your album in twenty years.
Brown eyeliner, brown mascara and soft brown shadow are everywhere this season, and celebrity artists describe brown as the new neutral. For a bride this is wonderful news, because brown defines the eyes beautifully without the harshness that black can have in close up photographs, and it is especially lovely on blondes and on lighter eyes.
Berry stained lips and deep plum tones are back for fall. On a wedding day I usually blur the edges a little, with a lip liner close to the color and a lighter shade in the center, so the color looks rich in the photos and still comfortable to wear through dinner and all those kisses.
The very sharp, precise winged liner of the last few years is giving way to a smudged, diffused eye in cocoa and taupe shades. I love this for an evening ceremony or a reception look, because it gives your eyes depth in candlelight without looking heavy.
Blush is moving toward terracotta, muted rose and soft rust, and the base is becoming lighter and more natural, with a touch of glow where the light hits. This is exactly how I like to do bridal skin anyway. Your skin should look like your own skin, only at its very best.
If you are curious how these compare with what brides were asking for this summer, I wrote about the summer 2026 wedding makeup trends too.
Fall bridesmaid dresses tend to be deeper colors, and burgundy, emerald and rust look gorgeous with warm, glowing makeup. I like the whole bridal party to look like they belong together without everyone wearing exactly the same face, so we talk about a shared direction and then I adjust it to each person. For parties larger than four I bring an assistant, so everyone is finished on schedule and nobody is rushed before the photos. My bridal party makeup guide has more on planning the morning for a group.
Most brides book their wedding makeup artist six to twelve months ahead, and fall Saturdays in Buffalo are some of the first dates to fill. If you are planning a fall 2027 wedding, now is a lovely time to send me your date. I always recommend a trial, usually three to six months before the wedding, and for a fall bride I bring the warmer fall colors to the trial even if it happens on a hot day in June, so you can see exactly how you are going to look. You can read what to expect at your bridal makeup trial, and if you are still choosing an artist, here are the questions to ask before you book.
Absolutely! A berry or plum lip is gorgeous in fall. I soften the edges and test it at your trial, so you know it feels like you and lasts through the day.
I use waterproof products around the eyes and set everything properly, and your touch-up kit takes care of the rest. Bring a wrap so you stay warm between photos.
It does not have to. The makeup I do holds from the morning to the last dance. If you would like a deeper lip or a little more definition for the evening, we can plan that at your trial.
I do! I work on location throughout Buffalo and Western New York, including Orchard Park, East Aurora, Hamburg, Williamsville, Amherst and Clarence. Travel past thirty miles carries a fee, which is listed on the services menu.
All of my current rates are on the menu on my services page, where I keep them up to date, and the bridal page has everything about my bridal makeup.
If you are planning a fall wedding, send me your date and I will let you know if I am free. I would love to be part of your day.