When you're getting married, you want to look and feel like a goddess.

For many brides, makeup is an essential part of the transformation process. They say this is your day, and glam reflects that. There's a reason you spend more time than anyone else in the chair!

But you might be new to the world of makeup — like I was!

Below, find tips, and real talk, from a professional makeup artist and the owner of a wedding glam company. This is what your wedding makeup artist wants you to know (but might not say).

What you'll get:

• Expertise: Vanessa is the owner of Beauty and the Blush, a company in New Jersey that did my wedding makeup. I was impressed by how she seemed to know the answer to just about everything when I was getting married, so I consulted her for this guide.
• Tips for hiring: How do you find the right makeup artist in a sea of makeup artists? Vanessa tells you what to look out for – and when to book them.
• Choosing your look: Confusing about glam vs. soft glam vs. natural? Yeah, I was too. We got that covered.
• Using your trial effectively: The trial is, and isn't, the moment of truth. Vanessa will tell you how to use your trial to design you look (and why it's OK if it's not exactly right the first time).
• My own experience. Where I went wrong, where I went right and where I absolutely spiraled.
• Answers to questions like: Should you go to the trial alone? Should you start shaving your face? Should you listen to your family's feedback?

But most importantly...

You'll find out why your hiring the right wedding makeup artist is so important — and it doesn't have anything to do with makeup. This is a tip that hadn't occurred to me before but, once she told me, made so much sense.

More about this series

This is the first in The Grinch Bride's series of one-on-one chats with vendors. To come, you'll find editions featuring photographers, day-of-coordinators, florists, ceremony officiants, videographers and more.

Brides go through a wedding once. Vendors do it again and again. They hold so much knowledge. With these guides, we'll learn their secrets — and make our weddings all the smoother for it.