There are many areas that will peak the bride to bes' interest during the planning process and if the aesthetics is one of them, then save this blog post! As this can serve as a layout of how to plan for beauty services, into the wedding's budget and timeline..
Once details like location of ceremony or where the bride and bridal party will get ready at, have been established what could follow next is a theme of decor and style, with a budget of what it would cost to achieve the desired end result.
Breaking down these series of events over the course of the planning process could make the experience fun and create a lasting bond with the bridal party, family and service provider. This timeline is ideal for a wedding with a minimum of a year to plan.
9 months before
Getting started
Wedding websites like Zola, The Knot, or social platforms like Instagram and Tiktok allow you to see local service providers and their work. To expand my search, I personally used the Hashtag search feature to find the local talent of where my destination wedding was. When I connected an artist from a social post to one on an official wedding website, I felt their business, is beauty and I wanted to partner with them.
Review their work
If you have narrowed down your search and you want to get to know who you are about to do business with, look in any corner that you can find of their relative business. Reviews, posted and tagged photos help to give you an idea of how the "insert service rendered" wears over time and in photographs, along with an idea of how others have felt about their experience.
Go to trial
This process is often skipped but highly advised for a seamless bridal end result, and with that you may want to visit with at least two artist OR the same artist for multiple looks. During the consultation, its' best to bring realistic photos of your inspiration and to have an idea of your style, or theme of the wedding, even your dress is great place to start.
As a piece of advice, wear the look out for the day ! I have had clients double their wear and wear it out for the engagement party or photo shoot. That way you will know if you love it, you can book them immediately !
6 months before
Glam squad unite
Skin, hair, makeup.... what do you want to glow about you as a bride? Now is a good time to visit with the professionals that can help create a beauty plan for you and choosing who will be on your team.
As a stylist behind the chair I have been both the colorist and stylist of the bride to be and the sooner we got that plan started, the better the picture becomes of their bridal look. Depending on the brides needs, I could refer them out to other beauty professionals to get a well rounded routine in place.
Signing on the dotted line.
This is a very important, yet least thrilling part of the planning process but, the 2020 pandemic showed the wedding world how important it was to have one in place. Since my wedding was later in the year, we were not as affected.
However, for the clients that my artists' had earlier in the year, they were needing to reschedule for a later date, but our wedding date was secured with our contract.
Hallelujah !
Other areas you may want to look for are; mileage/travel fee, rescheduling or replacing policy and a documented, binding commitment if money is exchanged prior to the wedding date.
3 months before
Reconnect
If by now there is a better understanding of the venue, check in time, bridal party hair and makeup inspo or if you finally decided to get those hair accesories, it is good to have contact with your artist in between now and then, as this can affect timeline, service rendered, estimates or nothing at all.... but it is better to be safe and prepared then disappointed or overwhelmed the day of.
Finalize the look.
Does the hair go with the make up, and does it all go with the dress? Now is more then enough time to tinker and change your mind but if you circle back to the last point, you will have a better way of going about it the day of the wedding.
Bridal party opinion can be wanted but not needed, and if applicable your Maid of honor may step in, or at the very least your future partner, with their opinion on the potential look <3
1 month before
Look at your numbers
From timeline to budget you, your spouse or someone in charge should be taking a look at these details before they're finalized. I caught a miscount in bridesmaids which did not account for time. Thankfully we could spare it but that is because I reviewed these details with a clear head before the wedding chaos begun.
Imagine finding out day of that a bridesmaid wont get a service, that she paid for !
This may be a great time to remind, collect or allocate the funds of your beauty contracts, bonus points if you put the final invoice in auto pilot, that way there is no need to worry of any money owed after.
Review the fine print
Details about the artist working space, and how the bridal party should best prepare will most likely be referenced and could be crucial in the glam session. Make sure you or someone knows of the fine details so their is no surprises. In my wedding's hair contract it stated that after 4 clients a 15-30 minute break was to be taken with provided food. That was good to know before hand !
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