Unresponsive vendor I love vs responsive vendor I'm unsure about

Have you thought just booking the hair artist for the style that you want to see if you would like it? Just a regular hair appointment. I would feel nervous about booking someone who isn’t responding to my emails

Always go with the vendor who is responsive. But also always go with the vendor who can match your vision. Maybe you should keep looking for a hair stylist?

Could the assistant schedule a meeting or zoom call for you with the second HMUA so you can talk with her directly and show her your inspiration pictures? Daughter's HMUA had tons of photos of her work beyond what was on her website, so she was able to show daughter other options and examples of her work. FWIW -- daughter ended up loving her HMUA, but communicating with her was a challenge from the very beginning all the way through the week before the wedding. The more daughter interacted with her it became clear she is a VERY busy wedding HMUA and sees traditional salon clients as well. She generally has at least two weddings every weekend (pre-Covid), sees clients in the salon on TT, and is mom to a preschooler, so she is super busy. As a result, she doesn't generally answer messages or emails Friday thru Sunday, because she's busy with weddings. It was still frustrating, but it helped once daughter better understood her schedule. She was truly awesome in person and daughter looked gorgeous, but her communication was frequently frustrating to daughter.... If bad communication is going to frustrate you, I'd choose someone else. Good luck!

Never hire an unresponsive vendor.


Get a trial to see if you like the makeup artist for hair. Also bear in mind that not everyone is skilled at both which is why some people only focus one or the other. But if the assistant says it's in her capacity, give her a try.
If you still have reservations after the hair trial with the makeup artist, look into someone on Thumbtack.com in your area.

View Quoted Comment

I've thought about this, but unfortunately I'm having a semi-destination wedding and live 4 hours away. Also, salons are still closed where I live because of COVID. Most HMUAs I've contacted are already booked so I really want to get a deposit down before trying them out (I can't travel there for another few months and I don't know if salons will be open then or not)

Definitely go with the vendor who replies. If they don’t care about getting your business, they’re not going to care once they already have it.

Unresponsive is a huge red flag!! No matter how much you love them/their work you're paying them to do a job and part of that job is to reply to you in a timely manner.

If possible, do a trial with the second responsive vendor and see if she can give you what you want before signing anything.

View Quoted Comment Oh sorry, I was on my phone and didn’t scroll to see the Covid status you mentioned. I’d vote for the responsive vendor - given the communication so far they’d be likely to switch up something about your style without trouble if you aren’t loving it.

View Quoted Comment Oh okay. Does the hairstylist have anything similar that she might’ve done?

I would pass on the unresponsive vendor. It is unprofessional and when it becomes crunch time, timely communication will be key!

For the second HMUA, have you scheduled a trial yet to see if they can in fact produce the hair style you would like? I would suggest that and if she does a good job, book her.

100% do the second option.

Thank you all! I've decided to go with my second choice since it's been two weeks now without hearing from the hair artist even with a follow-up email.