Can’t find hair and make up artists without having bridal party

This is going to vary widely based on where you live or where your wedding will be. If you’ve gone through all HMUAs in your town, I’d suggest expanding your search to the next town over and seeing if any of those artists travel and what their travel fees are. I’m not sure where you are located, but as a last resort, if your area does have a Sephora or Ulta, you could book their “full face” or “event” makeup sessions that go beyond an hour and get it done there since it will be just you.

View Quoted Comment Yeah I’ve kinda ran through them, still waiting on a few responses so far. Just black mountain NC is the closest to Asheville and I’m not from NC. I live in FL so even having connections is hard too. But worst case scenario is doing my own

Would it help if you were to go to them rather than have them come to you?

Is your wedding in Asheville? You could check around Hendersonville or Waynesville, both are about 30 minutes away. Asheville is much bigger, but it is worth a shot to try the other places. It still might be expensive, unfortunately. Still, 800+ for just you seems steep for Western NC.


You could possible split it up and get the services from different people, especially if you have the flexibility to travel to their salon. Good luck!

Don’t feel like you have to resort to DIY if it is not within your comfort zone or skill level. Alot of women actually don’t feel comfortable doing their own hair and makeup and they may have never been taught, which are both valid. DIY doesn’t always save money because you have to factor in your time/labor/sanity at minimum wage per hour in addition to cost of supplies. If you have not already done so, browse Instagram in your area and Yelp and Eventective.com for vendors. If someone is outside your budget and unwilling to work with you based on your initial contact, scratch them off the list and check on the next person. There are vendors out there who don’t see this as an issue.

Try “thumbtack” for local vendors. They are often more willing to do less traditional services (only the bride, instead of bridal party)


Also, consider driving to the salon in the morning and having your makeup done at the salon. If they aren’t traveling I would hope they would do your makeup anyway.

I didn’t have a bridal party and I opted to get my hair done at a salon and then drove to my venue. I did my own makeup. Good luck!!!

I am in the same boat and I've found much more reasonable prices if I can go to a salon that does hair and makeup rather than having someone come to me. There's no travel time and they are still able to take a full day of other clients.

Echoing a couple PPs— I went to a salon for hair and make up. It was a lovely experience!

In addition to the other suggestions, if your venue is in Asheville, I would look and see if there are any venues that market themselves as a destination wedding location and then see what their brides have done. Venues that cater to smaller weddings might have contacts with artists who are used to brides coming solo.