What To Look For In A Bridal Hair and Makeup Artist
There are so many people who promote themselves as bridal hair and makeup artists, and choosing who to work with can be confusing. There are a few things that you should look for when deciding on who to book for your bridal beauty services. Here are a few key qualities that you should find in a bridal hair and makeup artist before you book them for your wedding day.
Photo: Shawon Davis Photography
Responsiveness
When you inquire with a vendor, you want them to be fairly responsive. Most vendors are pretty busy, but part of our job is actually to respond to inquiries! If we aren't doing it ourselves, we should have someone dedicated to responding to emails and replying to brides who are interested in working with us. If it takes weeks for someone to respond, that is definitely a red flag. Ideally, a potential bridal hair and makeup artist should be responding to your emails within 24-48 hours, or over a weekend, 72 hours. Communication is key, and if the hair and makeup artist that you're either hoping to work with or have already booked is a bit too casual with communication, you may want to look elsewhere.
Reviews
Reviews are golden! Reviews tell about other brides' past experience, and should definitely be considered when looking for a bridal hair and makeup artist. Reviews will actually tell you everything you need to know - was the artist responsive, timely, easy to work with, worth the money, talented, etc. Generally, reviews come from an honest standpoint from past clients, so you most certainly want to check out reviews on the business's website, google, and wedding websites such as The Knot and WeddingWire.
Pictures Of Their Work
A picture is worth a thousand words. You absolutely want to see pictures of a hair and makeup artist's work prior to booking with them. Does their work match your style? If you're someone who barely wears makeup, and the artist's entire portfolio is full of Kim Kardashian glam, you might want to continue in your search because that artist's style might not match yours. On the other hand, if you love a full glam look and the artist tends to stick with clean, natural looking makeup, that artist might not be the best fit. Also, if you have a very diverse bridal party, you definitely want to choose an artist who displays pictures of work on a diverse clientele. Pictures will really help you get an idea of the type of hair and makeup an artist does most, and what they might be capable of. Be sure to check out any gallery that the artist has on their website, as well as their Instagram page for their most recent work.
Contracts
THIS! I know it's "just" hair and makeup, but you 110% want to work with an artist who requires a retainer and a contract. A contract not only protects the artist or business, but it protects you as well. You want to work with an artist who takes enough pride in their business to hold themselves accountable to you and your wedding by signing a legally binding agreement. With countless cancellations due to Covid-19, its important to have an artist who has policies in place surrounding cancellations, shutdowns, payments, etc. A quality, professional hair and makeup artist will have a contract. You don't want to book anyone who doesn't use a contract.
I know that personality and skill is clearly something that you should look for when booking a hair and makeup artist for your wedding, but to me, you'll see skill in the reviews and pictures of the artist's work. Personality can be determined when you reach out to the artist - you'll get an idea of that through your communications. The factors that I mentioned above are really some of the bigger things that you'll want to look for, but you might not consider unless someone (like me!) tells you. Also, notice that I didn't mention pricing in any of the key factors or qualities that you should be looking for. The reason why I didn't mention that aspect is because everyone's budget for bridal beauty services will be different. The factors that I mentioned in this post are factors that you should look for no matter what someone is charging. Anyone that you consider to work with should be responsive, have great reviews, quality images of their work, and require a contract in order to book your services.
I hope that this information is helpful to you in your search for a bridal hair and makeup artist! Feel free to save this post, or share it with a bride to be that you know is looking for a hair and makeup artist for her upcoming wedding! Also, if you're already married or getting married and have a hair and makeup artist booked, let me know in the comments if you have any other factors that you considered when booking your artist!
xo,
Melissa