Why I didn’t Wear Makeup to My Wedding

Weddings are often seen as a day to go all out with glamor and beauty with an emphasis on looking your most beautiful. Back when I got married in 2022, I chose a different path. I decided not to wear makeup to my wedding. I also decided to keep my hair as close to how it naturally is as possible, just defining the curls a bit more and making sure it looked slightly tidier. 

This decision wasn’t made up on the spot, nor was it set in stone via long-term planning. Not wearing makeup to my wedding had been an idea of mine since I was a child. I even remember being 8 years old and telling my dad that I wanted to be a Victoria’s secret model that didn’t wear makeup. Of course, at the time I had no idea that models don’t get to decide what they wear, but that’s not the point.

When I told my husband’s family that I wasn’t going to wear makeup, they were extremely confused and had lots of questions. In all honesty, the men were in full support and praised my decision. It was the women who were up in arms. Given that Turkiye hasn’t broken away from tradition as far as the US and individuality is not valued, it was not something I held against them. 

This decision was not a cry for individuality or because I had a lot of confidence. It was not meant to be a statement or in an effort to be as untraditional as I could be. In fact, not wearing makeup was not even a feminist stance against beauty standards, either. I love traditional weddings and I think there is nothing wrong with wanting one. My wedding was a traditional Turkish wedding with a couple of western elements that were important to me, like my dad walking me down the aisle and a father-daughter dance. 

I remember going to get my hair done before my wedding. My soon-to-be sister-in-law came along as support. Even the lady doing my hair was very insistent that I wore makeup. She pleaded with my sister in law and asked her why I wouldn’t. I found it very surprising for strangers to comment on how I should look at my wedding, but I think they were just confused. 

Turkish people are very insistent on giving their opinions, even when they don’t know you because they think they are helping. Because I had already known this, I wasn’t upset about it. Otherwise, I might have been very offended. I just hadn’t realized that unsolicited opinions extended as far as strangers telling you what to do for your special day. 

It even went as far as the hairdresser begging me to just let her put some makeup on my face and, if I didn’t like it, she would take it off. Her hand was stretched towards my face with a makeup brush as I said no and she kept asking “Just try. Just a little. Let’s just see.” So, I gave in and she did my brows. When they were done, she looked at me smiling and said “See? Yes, right?” No. The poor lady was so disappointed when I told her I didn’t like it. She seemed nearly defeated when she had to wipe off her work. 

So, why all of this fuss? Why put up such a fight if it wasn’t to fight society or to make a stance against beauty standards? Rather than being a political issue I did not wear makeup to my wedding for a simple reason: I haven’t worn makeup since I was 20. More importantly, my natural face and hair are the person who my husband had fallen in love with. So, when people asked about my decision, I said “If I didn’t need makeup to catch him, I don’t need makeup to keep him.”

I personally hated the idea of showing up to my wedding looking like a woman my soon-to-be husband had never seen before. While many men do not notice when women wear light makeup, my husband notices everything. Of course I wanted to look beautiful for my wedding, but the truth of the matter is I don’t feel beautiful with makeup on my face. In fact, it works against my confidence and fills me with more insecurity.

When I wear makeup, I feel like I am walking around with a mask on. I feel like I am not myself. Perhaps that is because I haven’t worn makeup in so long. But, I didn’t want to get married feeling like I was someone else. I wanted to marry my husband looking like I had always looked, looking like the person he will wake up to and spend the rest of his days with.

Rather than looking “my best,” the reason why I didn't wear makeup to my wedding was I just wanted to be me. At the end of the day, my husband and I got married in the purest form without the glitz and glam. We married the person we fell in love with, the people we are every day of our lives.