Wedding mornings have for years, been the norm for me, every weekend and sometimes also during the week too I get to do bridal hair and makeup.
A question that almost everyone bride asks is ‘how long does hair and makeup take?‘. So, here’s a guide on working out a schedule for your hair and makeup to ensure your wedding morning is fun and easy-going.
Working out your start time
To work out how long your hair and makeup will take for everyone, it’s best to work out your start time, by starting with your end time. And by ‘End’ time, I mean your ceremony time, because you need to make sure you have enough time, to get to your all-important Ceremony without stress. We are going to work with a 3pm ceremony, for the purposes of this blog.
You cannot have your hair and makeup finish at 3pm though, because that gives you no time for some other important elements that many forget about, like travel time, getting dressed time, or photo time.
Most brides either get ready at home, or at a hotel somewhere, so firstly work out how long it takes to get to your ceremony. I’m going to use 30 mins as an example.
So, for a 3 pm ceremony, best to allow the following times
- 30 mins for travel to your ceremony. You might need more time if your ceremony location is a fair distance from your getting ready location. So keep that in mind when chatting with your hair and makeup artist.
- 30 mins for getting dressed
- 30-60 mins for photos
And if your hair and makeup artists don’t cater for it in their time quote, best to add an extra 30 mins for Just-In-Case time. This will give you a finish time of around 12.30/1pm.
How Long Does Hair and Makeup Take? The industry average per makeup application is about 45-60 minutes
And 45-90 minutes per hair style, depending on the hair and styles chosen.
Talk to your makeup artist and hair stylist in regards to their time requirements, as not all artists work at the same pace.
Once you know their time needs, say 4 hours for example, you can then work out your start time. In this case it would be 8.30/9am. I’d say 8.30am just to be safe. I’d rather finish early and have my client twiddling her thumbs, than be running late and cause one stressed out and flustered bride to be late for her wedding.
Getting things ready for your hair and makeup stylist
A couple of other things to note in regards to your Artist’s and Stylist’s needs are…
You Hair stylist will need;
- A chair, preferably with a low back
- A small table to put her things on
- An easily accessible power point
- An extension cord (They will most likely have one, but it’s good to be prepared just in case)
Your Makeup artist will need;
- An area with good natural light (Many lights are yellow based, which make it difficult to colour match. Thankfully nowadays artists have the options of ring lights and portable lights, but natural day light is still, by far, the best option, as it is honestly the best lighting but also, artists already have so much to carrying around as it is)
- A small table to set up her things on
- A kitchen stool, or tall chair (Your artist may supply one themself, but it’s nice to save their back with your own) A regular chair will work if a stool is not an option.
- An easily accessible power point (that is if your artist is doing airbrush makeup)
- An extension cord (if they need to use the power point, they may supply one of their own)
Do we do Hair or Makeup first?
There is no specific rule, but when I am styling both hair and makeup, I prefer to do the makeup first, then hair. That way, if there are photos being taken, my clients look good even if hair is not done and they tend to feel more glamorous earlier if makeup is done first. It also means I don’t have to be gentle with a finished fringe. But sometimes it is not possible to do makeup first, as I often work hand in hand with another stylist. So they will be doing hair, while I am doing makeup,(or visa versa) then we swap. So, in short, it does not matter whether you do Hair or makeup first.
Another question I often get asked is:
Do you need to supply your hair and makeup team with food?
I have an Aussie/Scottish/Italian background and my parents brought me up with the unspoken rule of always offer a drink, so tea, coffee, cold drink etc is something nice to offer. If they are doing your wedding over a reasonable length of time that extends over a meal break, it is nice, but not obligatory to have some nibbles there, so they can get some sustenance in while working, although a full sit down meal is unnecessary. If you insist on a sit down meal for them, do make sure time has been allocated for it, otherwise you may run late.
And last, but by all means not least…
Make sure you and your party all have clean dry hair, plus clean, moisturised faces. Then you are all ready for your styling team to work their magic. Also best to chat to your makeup artist in regards to touch up products. You and your bridal party will likely want a touch up lippy and possibly a face powder. Some artists can order this in for you, or advise you on which products to purchase for the day.
Need more wedding tips and tricks? Check out our blog about saving money when wedding planning… https://makeoversaust.com.au/tips-for-brides/budget-saving-wedding-tips
