Hair and Makeup Trials

I have been receiving some great questions from brides recently regarding trials and I thought it would make an informative blog post.  This is my response to an email I received recently and I wanted to share it with the rest of you. If you think this information is helpful then leave a comment and let me know and I will think of some way to incorporate it into the website.

Let me explain a little about our set up.  We are a team of freelance makeup artists and hairstylists who all specialize in weddings.  Weddings are  a special niche because it really takes a certain amount of knowledge and talent to give the bride and her family exactly what she needs and deserves.  Plenty of hair stylists can give a great cut but cannot do an updo if their life depended on it.  And as for makeup, the balance between looking natural in person and still photographing beautifully can be a challenge.

Our team is comprised of women that I have had the privilege of knowing who are impeccable at what they do.  They have all been personally trained by me and are artists that I would trust to do my hair and makeup on my own wedding day.  When I got married over 6 years ago, I was surprised by the great need for professional makeup and hair artists that would travel to a bride’s location.  I decided that it is a luxury that every bride should have, so that is when I started my company.

Since all of us come to your location our company does not have a salon.  Some of us do the trials in our home and others travel to the client for the trial.  So the trial location may change based on which artist you are working with.  I do my trials at my home in Sykesville (I know, quite a hike) and Kelley, who is a  hair stylist,  does trials at her salon in Annapolis or her home in Crofton.  The factor of a travel fee comes in when the artist you are working with has to travel more than 40 miles round trip for the wedding.  We try and pair brides with a stylist and makeup artist that are close to them so they do not have to pay a travel fee but sometimes based on availability or request, the travel fee cannot be avoided.

We require a signed contract to reserve the date.  A deposit is due at the time of the trial and it is up to you when you decide to have your trials.  Some brides want to do a trial before booking and others do the trial closer to the wedding.  I recommend doing the trial about 4 weeks before the wedding.  When the trial is done close to the wedding, the bride looks most like she will on her wedding day.  Her hair length and color are not going to change drastically, along with her skin type and tan and weight (all which effect the makeup application).  Also most brides have not put much thought into their hair or makeup and what style/mood they are going for until closer to the wedding date.  So what is meant to be a trial run through of the wedding hair and makeup ends up being just a “tryout” for the hair stylist and makeup artist, when it would be more useful closer to the wedding.  This being said, I completely understand why some brides want to do a trial before signing a contract so they feel more confident in their decision.  If a Bride is interested we always offer an additional trial, that she can pay for, so she can have a trial before booking and another closer to the wedding.