When planning for your wedding, hair and makeup is almost always the top thought of brides (well, right next to their wedding dress). No matter how much we deny it, as brides, one of our primary concerns is looking gorgeous and there’s totally nothing wrong with that. You’re going to want this day to have the most beautiful photos that you’re going to be looking back on for the rest of your life.
While you can have your family, your friends, or even yourself do your makeup on your wedding day, hiring a professional hair and makeup artist can be a game changer. Not only will they make sure that you look stunning, they also take the stress off it. As a professional, they have adjusted their time to ensure that the preparatory part of the day goes well.
There are factors which may affect the overall cost of your hair and makeup service. These includes:
Expertise and Skills
Makeup artists and hairstylists calculate the price based on their own experience. A novice artist may charge a lower fee than a reputable and experienced artist. Those who went to a makeup school may charge you higher than those who are self-trained but I personally believe that this shouldn’t be the sole benchmark for someone’s prices.
Number of Heads
You may want to avail a hair and makeup package that will fit your needs. Most professional HMUAs will take care of the bride and groom but you may also want to have your pro look after the bride and groom’s parents and even the bridesmaids and flower girls. The cost will increase by the number of people who needs to be attended by the artist.
More often that not, the cost per head is decreased if there are more heads.
Location
The venue of your wedding is also important. You will be covering the transportation fee of your HMUA so it’s important to consider where they will come from. If it’s too far, throw in accommodation as well as you don’t want a makeup artist who is tired from a long trip to do your makeup. At the very least, give them a space to stay in the night before the wedding.
Pre-Wedding Trial Makeup
A trial run is a good time to discuss your options and to try different looks that will work for you. As this will still use up both products and time, they may still charge you for it but some packages already include this to make it lighter on the budget.
Airbrush or Traditional Makeup?
If you’re a bride and want to feel more comfortable or look more natural during your wedding, then you can opt for airbrush makeup instead. It’s not a secret that airbrush makeup services is at least three times more expensive than traditional HD makeup. It has its perks but if it doesn’t fit your budget, then it’s perfectly fine to choose Traditional HD Makeup instead.
As everything is taken into consideration, an average hair and makeup service will cost you around £250 for bridal makeup while additional heads will cost less at around £95. This does not include the trial makeup and transportation fees.
Note that this is just a price estimate. I suggest you ask HMUAs in your area and compare their rates instead and see which fits your budget the most. If you don’t have the time for that, talk to your wedding coordinator, they should have a list of HMUAs with their corresponding rates.
