“Wedding Our Way” is TheGrio’s new wedding series celebrating Black love and the journey down the aisle—sharing real-life planning insights, joyful traditions, and expert advice to help couples walk confidently into forever on their big day.
MeMa Creations has a reputation for making brides feel like the star of the show.
The award-winning Brooklyn-based makeup artist has quickly become a high-demand choice for weddings and a special favorite for brides of color.
“It feels amazing to make women feel like the best version of themselves,” Mema, whose real name is Melisa, told theGrio. “Sometimes people envision what they want, but they don’t know exactly how to get there. And I feel like I do a good job of listening to my brides and assessing what they really want and creating that for them.”
Before Melisa was known by her MUA (makeup artist) name Mema Creations, she was a teenage girl struggling with acne.
“When I was an adolescent, I had like really bad acne. So I started dabbling into makeup to kind of give myself this flawless skin finish,” she remembers. “I just fell in love with the art of creating this flawless canvas.”
Mema’s brides have a few signature features in common: their skin is supremely smooth, colors blend naturally with their face and body, and their faces have true dimension that makes them look like supermodels. Rather than creating a mask that changes brides’ faces entirely, Mema enhances their natural beauty with glamour and polish. She also goes the distance documenting the process so brides have memories (and social media content) to post from their wedding makeup sessions.
In her twelve years as a makeup artist, Mema has gained a wealth of wisdom about how brides should pick their wedding MUAs and looks for such an important day.
These are her top tips to help a bride achieve the look of her dreams.
Book Your Makeup Artist Early
Mema says that waiting until the last minute to book a wedding makeup artist is like putting a high-priority task at the bottom of your planning list.
“As soon as you pick your wedding dress, you should be booking your makeup artist or as soon you book your venue,” Mema tells theGrio. “As soon as you secure your venue, you should be looking for your glam team. Because at that point, it’s a done deal.”
Choose a MUA Who Has Done Brides Who Look Like You
Everyone can promise a great look, but the proof is always in the portfolio.
“People assume that every makeup artist should be able to color match and that’s not always the case. Look at the makeup artist’s portfolio,” Mema advises. “Everybody now has an Instagram or a TikTok. I would look through that person’s website, their Instagram and see if you see any brides that resemble you.”
Mema services women of every skin tone and ethnicity, and advises brides to ensure their artists don’t just mean well, but know how to ensure foundations don’t look pasty or off-color on brides with melanin.
“If you’re a chocolate girl, does this artist do a lot of chocolate brides? Are there chocolate brides on her portfolio? And if so, that’s a good sign that, okay, well, she matched this bride, beautiful, then she’ll do the same for me.”
Get a Bridal Makeup Trial
While the cost or time may seem unnecessary, bridal makeup trials are an excellent way to reduce mistakes or unintended outcomes on your actual wedding day, where time is of the essence.
“A bridal trial is very important because sometimes people will come with a Pinterest inspiration makeup board… You may do the trial and you’ll be like, ‘Oh, this looks nice, but not exactly what I had in mind for my wedding day,’” Mema explains. “So it gives you time to play around. It gives a little rough draft before your wedding day and it also helps you to narrow down what you want.”
Bridal trials also confirm that your artist can work within the limitations of a set amount of time.
“Bridal has a time requirement,” Mema notes. “Some makeup artists, they may do makeup in two hours. With bridal, you don’t have that type of time.”
Speak Up (And Quickly!) If You Don’t Like Your Makeup
While it may be uncomfortable, Mema encourages brides to be transparent throughout their wedding planning journey, up until the very moment you leave the makeip chair on your wedding day.
“You have to be transparent,” Mema says. “You have to speak your mind. You also have to keep in mind, this is your wedding day. You don’t wanna look back on the wedding day and it’s like, ‘I wish I would have told her I didn’t like my hair or I didn’t like my makeup, you know?’ You’ll be walking down the aisle… It’s important to stay true to what you feel.”
Look at Wedding Makeup Like an Investment
It’s been said before, but your wedding day just might be your most photographed day ever. Wedding industry prices reflect that reality and sometimes will give you sticker shock. But Mema encourages brides not to cut costs in areas for themselves while spending on everyone else’s enjoyment.
“They have to look at it as an investment,” Mema says. “Next to your dress, the next thing is your hair and your makeup. If all those threes are not aligned, the look falls flat.”
Mema notes that makeup quality and products also play a role in creating a flawless look, so unless you’re a makeup girly who already has these on hand, brides are paying for the makeup stock of the MUA and her know-how.
“With wedding makeup, there has to be longevity… that makeup will last all day to the next day,” Mema explains.
Some of her favorite products include NARS Natural Radiant Longwear, which is a go-to for Mema brides, along with the handheld fan, blotting sheets, and lip gloss she gives to clients for the big day.
The time she spends with brides is Mema’s biggest joy and it’s also what they pay for when booking her or another makeup artist with full-day support.
“Sometimes you’re with the bride for the whole day. So you’re paying that person for their time because they could be servicing other clients. So a lot goes into the cost, the time of that artist and you’re playing them for their gift, their craft and to make you look flawless for the whole day.”
A Dream Career, Built With Love & Intention
Looking back, Mema says the time and heart she puts into working with brides and their wedding parties has been transformational for her own life. Entrepreneurship as a Black woman in the wedding industry has translated to both financial empowerment and purpose.
“I’m grateful,” Mema explains. “It feels good to be chosen and to be able to give people the vision that they dreamt of. I’m just so connected to all of my brides. I’m there for the baby showers, the second kid, the first kid, like we develop a relationship from that point on.”
Having been a bride herself, Mema takes pride in serving women and seeing them off to a new chapter in their lives, feeling more beautiful than ever.
“I don’t wake up every day feeling like, ‘Oh, I gotta do this wedding.’ It’s like, ‘Yes, another wedding! What are we gonna create today? You know, where will the day take me? I just love being a part of everyone’s fairy tale.”
