On some wedding mornings many people get ready besides the bride, and each of them needs time before a ceremony with a fixed hour. For those weddings, and for events such as galas, film shoots and photo sessions, a hair and makeup team is put together and travels to wherever the group gets ready, whether that is a villa, the hotel or the venue, with all the kit and its own lighting.
Every professional on the team does both makeup and hair, so each person in the group is looked after from start to finish by the same hands, and nobody waits for someone else on the team to finish their part. The bride, meanwhile, gets ready with me, as calmly as if she were the only one.
How many hair and makeup artists does a wedding need?
The rule I use is simple: one professional on the team for every three guests who want hair and makeup, while I look after the bride and the person closest to her, usually her mother. For a bride with her mother and nine guests, for example, three professionals would be needed besides me.
It is worth doing that sum early, because the start time depends on it. Each guest needs just over an hour and a half for hair and makeup, and the bride around two hours, so with more hands the work happens at the same time and nobody has to start at dawn. There is no upper limit either: for a large wedding the team is as big as it needs to be.
Does the bride pay for the bridesmaids’ hair and makeup?
It is one of the questions that comes up most once the group grows, and there is no fixed answer. Some brides want to give their mother and bridesmaids their hair and makeup as a thank-you for being there, in some families a relative gives it to the bride, and at other weddings each person pays for their own. Every option is fine, and the decision is the bride’s.
What I do ask is that the payment for the whole group is gathered before the team arrives, by bank transfer or in cash, and that one person takes care of it. That way the end of the morning goes on getting dressed and having photos taken, not on doing sums.
In what order should the bridal party get hair and makeup done?
Usually the guests get ready first and the bride takes the last or second-to-last slot, for two reasons. The first is the photographer, who tends to arrive towards the end of the morning and finds the bride having her final touches, the getting-ready photos that are looked at most afterwards. The second is that the bride then leaves for the ceremony with everything freshly done, rather than after several hours of waiting with her hair finished.
For each person the hair comes first and the makeup after, so the hairspray does not land on a face that is already made up. The order is not fixed, though: if the bride would rather not be last, the slots are swapped without any trouble.
How does the team work with the wedding planner?
Once the wedding is confirmed I ask for the list of suppliers, and above all for the photographer’s contact, because I agree the getting-ready timings with them. That way the photographer reaches the room while the bride has her final touches, such as the veil going on or a last touch of lipstick, the moments that are photographed most, and the wedding planner does not have to act as go-between.
If the ceremony is delayed or brought forward at the last minute, I always look for a way to keep the service going. I cannot always guarantee it, because the contract is signed for a specific day and time, and everything depends on the team being free at the new time. What is guaranteed from the moment of booking is that the date is closed for that wedding and offered to no one else.
How does it work with the wedding planner, from the first call to the wedding day?
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First contact
The proposal
The planner gives the date, the venue and how many people need to get ready. Those details set the proposal, with the team required and its quote.
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Booking
Holding the date
While the bride decides, the date is held provisionally so that no diary clash can arise.
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Confirmation
Signing the contract
On confirmation the contract is signed, setting the date, the team and the service for each person.
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Weeks before
Meeting and trial with the bride
The dress and the wedding venue are seen beforehand, and the bride tries her makeup and hair until the style that suits her best is settled.
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The wedding day
The event
The team arrives at the getting-ready location, the bride is looked after personally and the whole group’s work is directed until they leave.
