Bridal Hair & Makeup Vendors: Know your options!
Photographed by: DeepEnd Imagery
Your bridal hair and makeup is just as important, if not more important than your wedding dress. Unlike your wedding dress that has been perfected prior to the day of the wedding, your hair and makeup must be perfected just hours prior to walking down the aisle. This can be incredibly nerve-racking! So, it is important to find the perfect hair stylist and makeup artist that you are confident can nail your bridal look under pressure.
There are many tools brides can use to find a variety of bridal specialists in their area like Instagram, The Knot, or even a quick Google search. However, all these choices can become extremely overwhelming since all these vendors are complete strangers! As you begin to reach out to vendors, you may start noticing there are two types: bridal agencies, who offer both hair and makeup and independent freelancers, who specialize in one. So, which is the better way to go?
Bridal Hair & Makeup Agencies
PROS: Book both hair + makeup I Low prices
CONS: Not a personalized experience I Less experienced
Bridal hair and makeup agencies are your one stop shop for bridal hair and makeup. Many brides are first attracted to agencies because they often have a high amount of reviews and low prices. This is not because they are more experienced or better quality than freelancers, but because they have a multiple professionals working under them. Since they have so many artists working on their teams, they are able to book multiple weddings a day. Good for them! But, good for you?
Typically when working with agencies, you are in communication with a middle man as opposed to the vendor themselves. This makes the experience much less personal and becomes more difficult to determine whether you and the artist you have been paired with are a good fit. Agencies are also able to keep their prices down since they are booking so many weddings a year. However, it is important to note that many artists working for agencies are only receiving approximately 40-60% of the price you are paying fo services. This can impact the amount of detail and precision your artist is willing to dedicate to your services. Artists often work with agencies when they are first starting their careers as bridal specialists and trying to fill their books. So, many of the artists working on these teams are not as experienced as independent freelancers.
Independent Freelancers
PROS: Personalized experience I Direct communication
CONS: Higher prices I Have to book multiple vendors
On the other hand, independent freelancers are able to offer a more personalized experience that is often lost when an agency is coordinating such a large scale of weddings. Freelancers represent themselves and tend to be much more detail oriented, since their name is on the line. You will be in direct contact with them throughout the entire process start to finish. From inquiring, sharing your Pinterest boards, working out the timeline, to showtime on the wedding day. Your freelancer is just an email, text, or call away!
One major con of working with a freelancer is that they often have higher prices than agencies, but the extra attention to detail and communication is worth every penny in my opinion. Another con is that you will need to book two separate artists for hair and makeup services. However, most freelancers offer referrals to other vendors they often work with. Using a referred vendor who they have worked with in the past makes the coordination process just as easy as working with an agency!
It is important to find the perfect hair stylist and makeup artist that can nail your bridal look under pressure. It can quickly become overwhelming when looking through all of your options and are deciding whether to work with an agency or an independent freelancer. I have heard horror stories about agencies from clients who went through 5+ hair trials and 5x’s the money just to end up working with a freelancer in the end. I have also heard positive things about agencies like communicating with less vendors and saving money.
The Bottom Line
No bridal hair or makeup vendor wants to work for an agency. It simply helps launch their career by building a portfolio and filling their books. Every bridal hair and makeup artist ends up as a freelancer as it is the most fulfilling and personalized experience for their clients. Freelancers, like myself, genuinely LOVE our brides. I legitimately smile as I walk up a bride’s room on her wedding day, because I am just so excited for her!
It comes down to what matters more for you: Saving money and taking a chance on someone less experienced or spending the money and having peace of mind on your wedding day?