It's been awhile! We apologize! Wedding & Pedicure season are in full swing!
With wedding season upon on us, it seems appropriate to talk about how to choose you’re on location bridal hair and make up artist or company. More and more brides are realizing the convenience of having a beauty team travel to them on their Cinderella day, instead of having to travel to a salon or spa.
On location hair and make up was a luxury once available only to celebrities. Now, it isn't just celebrities who are enjoying the royal treatment by hiring on location hair and make up experts! Many brides are realizing they too can experience the celebrity treatment without breaking the bank.
Choosing the right company is very important. Here are some things to ask and keep in mind when hiring a beauty and/or spa team for your special day:
View their portfolio! The portfolio should have a wide range of looks and styles ranging from dramatic to natural. A portfolio with a range demonstrates the artist’s ability to work with many face and eye shapes as well as skin. However, if the artist specializes in special FX make up and occasionally does a bride- that artist may not be the best fit for you unless you are having a Nightmare on Wall street themed wedding!
Rates. Many times you can save by booking your hair and make up together as a package. But remember, cheapest isn't always the way to go. A variety of factors play in to choosing a hair and make up artist that is right for you. Make up and Hair can vary in price so much and the type of product a make up artist uses especially is very important. Chances are that if you are being charged $20 per make up application, the artist is not using a high quality foundation. A high quality foundation is essential for looking flawless both in film and in person and provides a long lasting coverage- especially for outdoor events during the dog days of summer! Some great foundation choices are: Smashbox, Christian Dior, Chanel,YSL, Armani, Cinema Secrets, RCMA, Graftobian Airbrush & Luminess Airbrush.
Products. This goes hand in hand but product choices are very important! Be sure to ask what type of make up they use. A make up artist who uses a high quality foundation is essential. This is going to provide you that radiant, flawless look in pictures and while talking to guests. A low quality foundation is just not going to product the same results and can rub off or worse- become blotchy- especially during an outdoor humid event.
If you have sensitive skin or allergies- let them know! They can recommend special base products that won't irritate your skin.
Sanitation. Sanitation is oh so important! The artist should use hand sanitizer or wash their hands prior to working on your face. The make up artist should sanitize and sharpen their eye and lip pencils prior to using them on you. Individual mascara wands should be used when applying mascara. Watch out for double dippers! Mascara wands can transmit bacteria that can cause pink eye or sties. Some brides even ask to use their own mascara. Brush cleaner or rubbing alcohol should also be used to clean brushes in between clients in order to not cross-contaminate.
Back Up. What happens if (God forbid) your stylist or make up artist is sick or has an emergency on your wedding day? Do they have a back up? This is sometimes the benefit of booking an actual company over an individual artist or stylist. Often time’s companies will have back up staff on hand for your wedding day in the event of an emergency. Always ask what the back up policy is!
Trial Run. The trial is the opportunity to play and run through the ideas and looks you will want on the wedding day. Having magazine or printed pictures of similar styles you want is very helpful to have on hand for the trial to give the artist an idea of your vision. For make up, make sure your skin is clean and hydrated. Listen to the artist or stylist and trust that they have professional sound advice. For example, if your hair is natural very curly and the look you are going for is pin straight- it might not be the best choice for an outdoor very humid ceremony. Or if you are a bride who cries on the drop of a dime or just thinking about your wedding day, you may choose to go with a more subtle eye style rather than the dramatic smoky eye.
After your trial look is perfected and you are 100% happy, make sure either the stylist or you take a picture and writes down the color choices used so it can be replicated on your wedding day.
Day Of: Make sure you and your wedding party have clean hydrated faces ready for application. Typically, the company you hire will give you an idea of the time needed for each person and advise a start time based on your ceremony or limo pick up time. A rule of thumb is 1 hour per updo, 45 minutes for bridal make up and 30 minutes for wedding party make up. But make sure to discuss this with your stylist and/or make up artist so that you can plan accordingly. Make sure to allow yourself extra time so that you are not rushing around on your wedding day! There is usually enough going on that day- allow yourself to be able to relax and enjoy the day you have been planning for so long as best as possible.
After. After the big day, make sure to send in a wedding photo or two. We love keeping our portfolios up to date and always appreciate brides sending photos!
For more information or to ask questions, e-mail us at
info@spaeventsny.com and in the mean time, check out some photos from a recent bridal party we did over the weekend!
