From Proposal to Wedding Day: your wedding hair and make up

Even though most of us are pretty capable of doing their own hair and make up every single day, the wedding day is a whole different story. You stress, you run out of time, you go too heavy with your eyeliner... Hiring great hair and make up artist is a must. Aside the fact that it is a lot of fun to get pampered and taken care of, your wedding photos will look so much better with professionally applied make up and professionally coiffed hair.

There are few factors to keep in mind when looking for a good match with hair and make up artist.

Make sure you know your style. Even though it might seem like all hair and make up artists do the same thing there are some definite differences when it comes to their style, technique and of course-the outcome.

In general, I recommend air-brush application of make up. It creates flawless finish and it lasts much longer than the regular make up. It can be drying at times, so if you have very dry skin, make sure you test it out and wear it for a day to see how it feels.

Definitely go for false eyelashes, not the whole row of them but a few strategically placed ones that will open up your eyes and make them pop in the photos.

Bring your own lipstick to the make up trial or pick one up from your make up artist. You want to have the same shade with you so you can re-apply throughout the night. After professional application, this should be the only thing needing touch ups. If your make up doesn’t hold well after your trial, talk to your make up artist and see what went wrong.

Having hair and make up trial is a must. Look at the artist’s portfolio to see if his or her brides look like what you would like to look like on your day. Keep in mind that even great hair and make up artist might not get your idea right away.  It is a process of trying different colors, styles and techniques to see what feels right and what doesn’t. Be patient and open-minded. It truly is an art!

Bring photos of your favorite celebrities’ hair and make up styles and point out things that you love and hate about them. Good hair and make up artist will be able to capture the essence of what they see and adjust it to fit your face, hair texture etc.

Trust your professional. Sometimes the hairstyle that you absolutely love won’t work with your hair texture. Recent Pumpkin Coach Events’ bride spent 4 hours trying to get her extremely straight hair to curl only to “loose” the curls few hours into the reception.

Choose hairstyle and make up that is you, but "a more glamorous you." You want to look more sophisticated on your wedding day than any other day. If you barely wear any make up-turn it up just a notch, not a whole bang-so you still feel and look like yourself.

I usually recommend up-dos, they look more sophisticated and are also more comfortable to wear throughout the night without much upkeep. Half up and half down is also a nice option if you really want to showcase your long hair. You just don’t want your long hair in your face all the time, moving your bangs away from your eyes, fixing the curls around your face-because that’s what the photographer and videographer will capture in his or her photos and video!

Take lots of pictures at the trial (if you can, use a professional camera) so you have an idea how your hair and make up will photograph on your wedding day.

A lot of wedding beauty professionals are hair stylists and make up artists in one.  On average you will save more money if you hire one person instead of two. Also cost of trial will be significantly lower and you will end up spending less money on tips.

I would not recommend using your regular salon hair stylist to do your wedding hair. It really is a whole different animal and a lot of times salon hairstylists do not work under such time restraints as the wedding hair and make up artists.

In my next blog let’s talk about the ceremony part of your wedding day. In the meantime – happy wedding planning!