10 tips for stress-free wedding hair and makeup

How you will look on your wedding day is something that most brides dream of for years leading up to the big day. The pressure to look picture perfect can be nerve-wracking for you; and believe it or not, stressful for your hair and makeup artists. We teamed up with one of our favorite makeup artists, Sarah Vance with Beauty by Vance, to get some great professional tips on how to make working with your hair and makeup artists stress free. Read on for Sarah’s top 10 tips for making the wedding hair and makeup process as smooth as possible from booking through your wedding day.  We have also included some helpful wedding planner insights.

1: Don’t wait to book your hair and makeup stylists!

This doesn’t just go for hair and makeup, but for all vendors. Once you have made the decision to book with someone, don’t wait! Most couples are planning their weddings at similar times and vendors book quickly.  If you love a stylist’s work, they have your date available, and the pricing fits your budget, book them!  Make sure that when you are ready to book you are prepared to pay the deposit and sign the contract in order to confirm your date.  You don’t want to lose your preferred artist because you were slow to make it official.

2: Know that having a larger bridal party means you will have an earlier start time day of.

The larger your bridal party is, the more time you are going to have to allow for getting ready day of. As Sarah points out, “many brides want to get their beauty sleep, but that isn’t always possible with a 7+ bridal party.  Average start times are typically around 7 or 8am.”  While adding additional artists can sometimes be an option to decrease getting ready time, it can significantly increase the price and isn’t always possible.

3: Show your artist real inspiration photos, ideally from their portfolio of work

While Pinterest and Instagram are great tools you can use to get inspiration for your wedding day, including hair and makeup, these photos can often have unnatural filters or lighting that make them not true to the “real world”.  You can certainly find current trends and looks that can help you visualize you desired wedding day look, but make sure that the inspiration photos that you are pulling for your hair and makeup are reflective of not just what you want, but fit your personality. If you want a natural look because you never wear makeup day-to-day, try and find inspiration that shows beautiful natural makeup. Keep in mind you can find inspiration that isn’t bridal hair and makeup! It is especially helpful when you are able to provide photos from your actual artist’s work. After all, you hired them for a reason right!?

4: Communication is Key!

Sarah emphasizes the importance of communicating with your artist.  The more you are able to communicate the look you are wanting, the more likely the artists is going to nail that look!  This is what makes hair and makeup trials so important!  You won’t know how your inspiration makeup and hair will look on YOU until you try it.  Trials will help you work through what you like and dislike, and make any necessary tweaks with your artist to ensure you look perfect on your wedding day.  Don’t be shy at your trial.  You aren’t going to hurt your stylists feelings by letting them know what you would like changed.  They want you to LOOK and FEEL gorgeous on your wedding day!

5:  Your “Be ready by” time is not the same as your ceremony start time

Speak with your planner or photographer (if you aren’t hiring a wedding planner) to better understand what time you need to have hair and makeup completed by, before you book your hair and makeup stylists.  This time will vary depending on whether you are getting ready off-site and being transported to the venue, having a first look, and several other moving parts.  By knowing what your real be ready time is, the stylists can create a hair and makeup schedule that will keep everyone on time!

6: Have your whole bridal party arrive at the hair and makeup start time

Most hair and makeup artists will create a schedule for hair and makeup services day of.  You should provide them with a list of all the ladies names and ideally assign each girl to a specific timeslot.  Sarah mentioned she needs 45 minutes per bridesmaid and an hour for the bride, just to give you an idea of timing.  With that said, you should still have every person getting hair and makeup to arrive at the start time and ON TIME.  If someone finishes early or someone’s hair goes long and the schedule needs to shift, you don’t want to be waiting on the next person to arrive.  This typically puts the hair and makeup schedule behind.  Hair and makeup is usually on a tight schedule, so we want to ensure that your bridal party is timely.

7: Do gifts and “Love Notes” before makeup starts

We loved hearing this tip from Sarah as it is a small detail that can make a big difference day of. If you choose to give your bridesmaids/mothers gifts on the morning of your wedding day, have it done before makeup begins that morning. Not only does it cut into the hair and makeup timeline, potentially making things run late, but per Sarah “tears are easier to wipe away without a full face of makeup and there may not be time for touch ups”.  Having ladies arrive early for gift giving is an amazing time for a little pre-wedding powwow with your bridal party, and time to share breakfast together peacefully before all of the chaos of the day begins.

8: Make sure your space can accommodate the hair and makeup team

Your professional hair and makeup stylists have to bring several packs worth of supplies to ensure they have all of the proper product to work with, so dedicating a table or area for them to set up is ideal. Be sure you have chairs ready, preferably bar height.  In addition, make sure your space has enough light. While natural lighting is preferred, your artist can always bring a ring light to mimic it.  Let your artist know ahead of time if you feel like lighting may be an issue so they can come prepared!

9: Make sure your ladies show up ready for hair and makeup

Your hair and makeup stylists will either tell you at your trial or send you a pre-wedding day email, letting you know how everyone should be prepped; with a clean washed face, clean, dry hair (unless your artist requests it be wet), and you and your bridesmaids having those inspiration photos in hand!  Be sure to send an email or text out to all your ladies letting them know the specific instructions your stylists give you as well as what time to arrive and not to forget those inspiration photos

10: Have a touch up kit for both you and your bridesmaids

Having touch up kits packed for both you and your bridesmaids will help you look beautiful and polished all night long.  Put your maid of honor or a bridesmaid in charge of making sure your small touch up kit is close by all day and night.  Be sure it includes tissues to help preserve your makeup.  Weddings are an emotional day and tears may flow throughout the entire day.

Haven’t booked your hair and makeup services for your 2023 wedding yet?  Now is the time!  Check out Beauty by Vance on Instagram and message her to see if your date is available.

Did reading through these tips give you some anxiety about your wedding day timeline? Thinking you may need to hire a wedding planner after all?  Contact us today or schedule a quick introduction call!

Photographer Credits: Tayler Carlisle Photography; Bridget Burnett, ML Photo, From the Hip Photo, DGass Photography.