1 Decide your Wedding style
Firstly to find the right stylists for your Bridal hair and makeup, you should have your wedding theme or style in mind. At this stage of your wedding planning, you have probably already put your wedding theme in place. Your hair and makeup style should naturally slot alongside your ideas for your big day. Browse Instagram and Pinterest and look at brides or models with a similar skin tone or hairstyle/ texture as your own, giving you a clear image of what YOU would look like with these similar styles. It will create a realistic goal for your wedding hair and makeup artist to aim for, do be aware that some of these images being "pinned" are models or have been altered or filtered.
2 Find your Wedding hair and makeup artist.
With your style in mind, use that as a goal to start researching makeup artists and hairstylists. Use google to search for bridal stylists in your area or the area of your chosen wedding venue. Make a coffee and take your time to get a list together so that you can start narrowing it down by style.
3 Look at their previous work.
Browse through their websites and galleries and check their experience. It's their online portfolio where you can take as little or as long as you like browsing their images. Some websites will allow you to pin these images straight to your Pinterest board. Look at their experience and training, how long they have been in the industry and where they started. Booking a fully qualified professional with full insurance will help you feel more at ease.
Here you can help match up your style and see if you think they will fulfil your vision for your wedding day.
See my gallery here or head over to my Instagram.
4 Read reviews
As well as looking through their portfolio, most stylists will have testimonials on their websites. I have testimonials from previous clients and brides as well as reviews on my Facebook page and google. I do find it hard to have brides leave reviews. Some want to be out of the limelight and have no trace on the internet, and others do not have a google email account, so left unable to leave a google review. Reviews should be in-depth and encouraging, but don't be alarmed if there are not too many. People are most likely to leave a review if they are unhappy about something than if they are. When was the last time you left a google review? Ask your friends and family for recommendations. Recommendations are where stylists find most of our clients and brides. I have just secured a booking by a bride who was a bridesmaid from a previous bridal party. There is no greater compliment than that.
5 Check your budget
Most stylists and makeup artists will have a current price list on their website. From this you can see if your hair and makeup budget will cover your services. Let bridesmaids know if you have included their services in your payment or if they are paying for their own so that you can work within everyone's budget keeping everyone happy.
There may be additional costs, such as travel, parking, congestion charges, assistant fees etc.
6 Reach out
Once you have narrowed down your " chosen stylist list", you may have a clearer idea of who you would like to be your hair and makeup artist. Reach out to them and check that they are available for your wedding date. If so, they will be happy to send you a quote then you can take it from there.
7 Book in advance
As soon as you have decided on your chosen hair or makeup artist, book them as soon as you can
Some stylists get booked 12-8 months in advance, especially for popular Wedding dates and bank holidays. (I don't book any further ahead than that).
If you're happy to spend part of your budget on stunning photography, I suggest having a professional help you get ready for those shots. Those pictures are going to be in your wedding album forever.
I hope that helps you beautiful brides take one step closer to picking your Bridal hair and makeup artist. These are little tips to help you decide who is right for you. It doesn't mean that one stylist is better at their job than another artist. It just means someone's style fits you and your wedding dreams better.
Further reading