diy makeup and hair or hire a pro?

If I had your makeup and hair styling skills I would absolutely do my own on my wedding day. As it was, I do not have anywhere near your amount of skill but still did my own makeup for our elopement and was really happy with how it came out. I am going to do my own makeup again for our wedding celebration, and am considering doing my own hair for the day as well.

As long as you won't be stressed doing your own look and don't feel like you'll miss out on not being "pampered" by someone else, I say do it! You'll save money, have more control over the exact outcome, and be in a better position to change your timeline that day or do touch ups as needed without having to rely on someone else.

Oh GIRL! That makeup and hair looks fabulous! Honestly, you look beautiful and could totally do your own.

That said, I consider makeup a huge hobby of mine, and I considered for a long time whether I'd do my own. In the end, I decided against it for a few reasons, which maybe you will find useful too!

1. I might be good at makeup, but I'm not good at other people's (nor would I want to be responsible for that on my wedding day) - and I can't expect my bridesmaids/mother/mother in law etc to manage their own, which means I'd have to get someone in for them anyway. As a result... I knew I'd look at their makeup, look at my own makeup, and maybe wish I'd got the professional to do me too - even if both looks were nice. Would they be cohesive? Would they be sufficiently similar? Plus it's nice to get to relax, not watch them being pampered while you're super stressed struggling to blend a contour line or whatnot.

2. I KNOW I will be nervous and my hands will shake on the day. I wanted to leave this task to someone else, and have it be their problem, not me panicking knowing I don't have enough time to take things off and start again. I mean, I wear liquid liner EVERY DAY and I use the same products, the same exact technique and yet some days I look like fire and other days it looks AWFUL. Imagine if it was the latter, on your wedding day!