Beauty Appointments!

I’m so glad you posted it - been researching and making inquiries the last 2 days. Where do you live? I’m in northern NJ and got a little shocked with rates. Most affordable I found of the ones I would consider is $150 for trial and $175 for day of for one person. I have been quoted $375 for day of too .. to me it’s crazy
I plan on getting a trial from someone who I really intend to book. If I do not like the trial at all I will look elsewhere but the plan is to get one trial just to narrow down my preferences etc.
Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Yeah I wasn’t expecting to be so overwhelmed with makeup opportunities but dang it’s stressing me out!! I live in Northern Virginia- very close to DC. I’ve found one MUA who’s rates for a bundle with bridesmaids seems very reasonable for what I’m getting, so I’m going to do a trial with her… just bums me out that trials are basically the same price of the day-of wedding look and then if you don’t book them… you lose that money. I think I’ll probably do 2 trials spaced out to see if there’s any discernible difference in the work and kinda go from there. Good luck to you too!!!

I contacted several places & was floored at the prices. It ranged from $125-$150 (in the Phoenix area). My daughter had a friend who is a professional makeup artist that I reached out to & she charged me $85 for both hair & makeup trial, that was taken off the price if I signed with her. I paid for mine, my sister (MOH) & my daughter (bridesmaid) hair & makeup. For all 3 it was $530-that included her travel fee from my parent’s house to the venue.

View Quoted Comment I have known brides who do the trial the morning of their bridal shower! Or if they had to go to an event that day

View Quoted Comment That’s a great idea- or for the engagement shoot! Definitely get more for your money that way!

I'm also in Northern VA! I paid $95 for a hair trial and $95 for a makeup trial (same company based in Rockville, MD). For the wedding day, hair and makeup are $145 each for me and $95 each for bridesmaids. I just booked based off of their portfolio before getting a trial, which works for some people, but not others. I saw that they did great looks for people with my hair texture and skin color and I knew I didn't want anything too complicated, so I decided to just move forward with it. I was very happy with my trial and didn't ask for too many changes. If you have any skin issues or looking for a very particular look, I would shop around and get multiple trials until you find someone you like.

I didn’t really shop around— i found the salon I intended to use, and then did a trial there to kind of test drive my style ideas. I wasn’t going to go elsewhere based on the trial, but rather I used the trial to make adjustments to the look for the big day

For me, the trial and hair appointment were each $100. My advice is to find someone you like the look of many of their styles (Instagram helps) and give them a call to explain what you’re wanting. You can always do a second trial if you’re unhappy with the first - best advice is to just be honest and upfront about what you want.

I did research, looked on social media, checked out the recommended vendors from my venue and made my decision based on all that. I booked 1 place for hair and makeup and only had my 1 trial there for both. I didn't want to have to shop around and pay extra. I will say I HATED my hair trial.. like left in tears!! So I called back to reschedule with someone else and loved the way it turned out. Because i was so unhappy with the first time, they didn't charge me the second. If I were you I'd try to find one place you think you'll really love and just go there for 1 trial.

Because trials and hair and makeup in general are so expensive, I would narrow down who you think you want to work with based on overall fit (you like their style, jive with them well, cost works with your budget, etc) and then treat the trial as a test run to be sure they are the person you want to work with. So more you narrow it down to your pick before doing any trials, use the trial to confirm they are the right fit and finalize the deal, rather than comparing a bunch of trials from different HMUAs to one another.

Am I the only one having my regular hairstylist doing their hair and makeup for their wedding? For me it was my first choice by far. She knows my hair and what I like, I already know that she's dependable and does a good job, and I feel comfortable with her. Our wedding is a destination, and it's 4hrs from where we live so we paid for a hotel room for her and an assistant in addition to her fees. More expensive but totally worth it for my peace of mind.