Update*Why the HUGE price difference between the bride and bridesmaids for makeup and hair? VENDORS?

After reading this I am so thankful I live in a small town! My hair and make-up as well as each of my attendants is $75... there is no location fee they will be at my hotel by 7am the morning of the wedding(wedding at 11). They are bringing 3 stylists and 2 make-up artists. I also get a free hair trial and may be able to to get a free makeup trial as well. For all 6 of us total it is $450 and that is for a semi up do with full curls for me and updos with curls for all 5 girls.

@ Jennifer K. - what have the other MUA in your area been quoting?

Aretina - I have JUST received one other quote so far because I'm asking for specifics with the travel to my location. So far Charmed by Tonya has quoted $200 for bridal day makeup and hair Including a trial, with $125 for each attendant. For my specific location fee, is $50 for each trip. So If I travel to her for the trial it's only $50, if she has to come out to me for the trial it would be $100, so I'm looking at $725-$775 total for everything. That is much better, only issue is that she is about an hour away, so I am waiting on one other quote from a salon that is closer.

Check modelmayhem.com. This is a networking/online portfolio site specifically geared towards models, photographer, stylist, and MUA. Some are well established and but most are beginners that are just as good and have good prices. Maybe you can checkout some portfolios locate and MUA in your area that is reasonable.

First look at the artist. Those who FOCUS on weddings directly, often have different training too. Those with more experience, awards, etc will also run hire in price points. Their portfolio shows it. Anyone can find a Craigslist Artist for $20-40, that's not hard at all.

There's no question you can find makeup/Hair artists out there who are offering you cheap services or even willing to provide makeup services for free. But do you really want to take a chance on your wedding day? You are going to be photographed more on your wedding day, than any other day in your life. When the day is all done, these are the images people look back on 10, 20+ years later, you want to be confident knowing you looked your absolute best.

Time and time again, we've seen horrible images, sites dedicated to this very ideal showcasing how a $1,500 dress and a $2,000+ photography package won't make a difference if you skimp on your makeup/hairstyling and have yourself looking like a Hot-mess!

The pricing difference is because more stuff goes into services for the bride directly. It is also a luxury and convenience service too, so that's another area to consider. Yes there is of course your basics; Travel to you, Hair, Make-up, etc....what's not being mentioned is the HOURS Logged, with constant emails time, phone time, paper work time and other business areas/supplies. Then of course into the trial itself, which is on average is at least 2 hours for both service ideals taking place. Then there is the additional product consumption accounted for both sessions (trial/day of). There is often follow up time, scheduling being done for service times, plus any additional info. sent out (ex: We send our brides mini bridal guides, we handle all their scheduling and more) Product wise, there is also more or different products used in some cases depending on the desired look, which is more than say a Bridesmaids look...

Brides maids services however are just straight, day of and direct services only.

No trial, no back and forth time logged. Very simple. Often Brides also set the looks for their bridesmaids via their chosen style option. So there's that time spent to in planning behind the scenes.

Whereas with the average bride booking 6 months to 1 year in advance for services, that is a fair bit more than just a little extra attention being spent

Do keep in mind prices will also differ GREATLY, Due to demographic locations. Even via towns within the same state!! Thus different laws may often apply to the artists as well as taxes paid out, and other fees paid in order to offer these services too!

I hope that helps a bit though for you to shed some basic ideals on selected artists reasoning behind their pricing differences.... All the best

One of my BM's sister is a MUA. I asked why she charges different prices for brides. She said if it's just the bride, she only charges $150 because her focus is solely on the bride. However, if she is contracted to also do the BP, she will need to hire other MUAs to assist her. Therefore, the price will go up.

Im a makeup artist and the reason i would charge the bride more is because its her day so i take more time on her as well as the mother of the bride. i dont charge nearly as much as you have been quoted. if anyone is in the philadelphia (tri-state) area i would be more than happy to help.

Thanks for asking this question! I am in Los Angeles and a vendor quoted me $300 for bride hair & makeup and $170 for bridesmaid hair & makeup + $35 travel fee to Pasadena. If anyone has cheaper recommendations, I'm all ears. It's hard for me to swallow paying $1000 for hair & makeup alone.

The bridesmaids' prices are cheaper because without the bride, the artist would not have had the opportunity get more business and attain 3-5 (or more) heads in the same location (that's easily $500-$600 on top for the artist). There are also no additional travel time and costs for these additional services either because they are already with the bride. That was what I was told when I asked this question myself.

The other answers above are true as well. Brides do get more attention and time but honestly not by much more. Brides are always an hour at least and bridesmaids are generally 45 minutes.

Hope that makes sense!

I am a makeup artist based in Los Angeles and I charge $300 for brides (not including my travel fee). This is because brides take more time to prep. They require humidity/sweat/waterproof makeup. They also require HD makeup and as a makeup artist, I need to make sure that I don’t use any products that can cause flashback when photos are taken. I also use higher end products (hourglass, dior, ABH, MUFE, graftobian, etc) and high quality lashes (strip and customized individual lashes) for my clients who are brides. I also use different techniques to ensure that the makeup lasts at least 12 hours before it starts to fade. I divide the cost of all the products used and my time which is equivalent to my pricing per bride. I make sure that everything I use is disinfected and sanitized before and after each use to ensure good health practices on all my clients (brides or not). I do not use the same application methods (techniques) and/or products on non-bridal clients and therefore non-bridal clients are charged a little less. In the end, you’re paying for quality and workmanship.

Is the time quality! Prepping the bride’s skin, blending extra, making the define contouring outlining lips to perfection, covering the derk undereyes from not sleeping the previous night etc all that really adds up time and sometimes the time can take up double of what a bridesmaid’s Makeup would take. I usually finish a bridesmaids in 25-30 min and a bride takes me about 45min-60 min sometimes. Also consider the fact that many times doing the bride can be a PAIN! Because as you are working on her everyone wants to be around watching our work and distracting the bride (one time a bride kept getting up during her makeup to do stuff) and everyone just slows down the process more and that is taking from our time! So yes brudal DOUBLE!

For those who was interested why bridal makeup is more expensive than usual!

1️⃣early start : usually bride should be ready at 9-00 or 10-00 o’clock and she has bridesmaids , mom who need makeup too, so makeup artist starts working at 5-00 or 6-00 AM ; try to imagine when she wakes up 😴to get ready and to travel to bride’s location 😴🤔definitely I could stop on first point but I’ll continue ⏬

2️⃣time consuming : bridal makeup takes 1,5 hours and includes proper skin preparation , under-eye treatment patches (&dollar which helps make bride look fresh and young ! Moreover bride usually has so many things to do that morning and Instead 1,5 hours I spend literally 2 hours or more for bride only🙉

3️⃣bride needs more attention and care that day; she is very emotional and can cry during makeup session , I must be very gentle and patient with her; sometimes she asks for help with the dress and accessories or other stuff that isn’t connected with makeup but I can’t refuse😌!

4️⃣weekend! Don’t forget that working on weekends is more expensive than on weekdays and after coming back home makeup artist looks all day like a sleepy fly😁and all these efforts are dedicated to you , dear Brides ;how stunning you will look on your very special day depends on our ( beauty specialists) professionalism and experience!

View Quoted Comment Someone just quoted me $500 for the bride, and $150 for the bridesmaid. This is crazy!

Super old thread. When I was browsing vendors for prices, the range was wild, even for a high cost of living area that has low, mid and expensive prices in the same city. Many were in the $750-2000 range for the bride only and did not offer anything for the bridesmaids. Their portfolios appeared to not have anything done at all. Hair barely touched or the current popular look on Instagram where it appears very unkempt. Makeup in photos was nonexistent. So why are you charging that much and not doing anything? And no trial either which is a red flag. Other vendors who do offer bridesmaids services said point blank on their websites or in emails that the bridesmaids do not need any services because no one cares how they look. Again, don’t offer services if you are that against a specific demographic that is vital to a wedding and will be memorialized forever in photos. And that “we don’t service those unnecessary people” attitude was more common with the hair/makeup combination businesses rather than independent vendors who specialize in one area or the other. Unfortunately that is a very popular opinion: that bridesmaids are supposed to be ugly. No one treats their best friends like that and it is super unprofessional for a vendor to promote. Luckily there were enough to pick from that didn’t have the wide price gap, who respected the bridesmaids as equal to the bride, and who provided professional looking services where you look like you are wearing actual, flattering hair and makeup.


At the end of the day, there are bad apples in every field and hair/makeup is something that not everyone feels comfortable doing on their own and they should not be made to feel like crap when asking about services or receiving them, and they should get what they pay for.