Wedding Beauty Planning Guide

Complete with skin prep tips and scheduling recommendations.

Here is my super helpful bridal beauty wedding planning guide just in time for the beginning of this years wedding season.  I have included the most popular wedding beauty treatments in this guide to help you work through:

• when to schedule your appointments
• my tips for before and after beauty prep

So we can ensure an amazing team outcome!

Bridal Trial Hair and Makeup Timeline:

You are 6 months to a year out on your wedding date AND you are starting to think that you need to schedule your bridal beauty appointments.

6 months to a year…..??????

Yes 6 months to a year out you should be scheduling your hair/makeup and spray tan for your wedding.  Yes I know that the big name wedding websites are saying 3 months is just fine but the truth of the matter is that I book WAY in advance.  And the start of wedding season also collides with Prom, Graduation and Spring Break.  Let’s put it this way, please please book as far in advance as is humanly possible for your day of wedding beauty and trial dates. This allows you to schedule the perfect time for your appointments so your day is organized and not rushed.

Within this post there may be affiliate links to the products I am referring to. If you purchase a product through one of my links it will NOT cost you anything but I will receive compensation that goes towards supporting this website. Read my full disclosure here.

The Perfect Prep For Your Wedding Hair:

Every bride is told “dirty hair” is best, but what do stylists mean by dirty hair?

Professionally speaking dirty hair is clean, workable hair, dirtied with PRODUCT! I’m talking root lift, mousse, texture sprays, styling creams, that will make your hair hold a style and curl.

What isn’t okay is showing up smelling like the night before’s bon-fire with greasy flat to your head hair that hasn’t been washed for a week. YUCK! This situation is impossible for your stylist to create your desired look.

Now girls there might be reasons I want you to wash your hair the night before:

• If you  have thick curly frizzy hair, that needs to be washed and prepped the night before with the recommended products to help eliminate the frizz.
• If the hairstyle you wore the days prior to your wedding was straight and your wedding hair is a curled style, your hair is going to be very difficult to curl, so washing and applying fresh product is recommended.

Should I show up to my wedding style appointment with wet hair?

Wedding prep timelines are very strict only allowing about 45 minutes to 1 hour per head leaving blow outs for bridesmaids out of the question, unless specifically requested by the stylist please show up with dry hair.

Bridal trials are a must when it comes to deciding your hair and makeup for the big day.

Do some girls skip a bridal trial for their hair and makeup?

Yes of course but is NOT recommended. Trials are used for stylists to learn the brides hair and skin for the wedding day. The more we know about how your hair works the faster we can accomplish the final look. So when you arrive to your trial, please know what style you are interested in achieving.

Pictures and Pinterest posts are very helpful, but always keeping in mind realistic goals.

Special instructions by your stylist.

Sometimes I need to request that a bride shows up with wet or damp hair, but that is because we decided that on wedding trial day. When your hairdresser knows your hair, it is easier to work with the canvas, but that isn’t always the case. Wedding beauty professionals are often working on heads of hair that we have never touched making our jobs tough. This is why following the prep instructions is so very important. If you do show up with wet hair, always bring a blow dryer with you, because we don’t always have enough time to do a full blow out on multiple clients.

Bridesmaid Tip: following these beauty guidelines ensures that your appointment is not spilling into the time that was reserved for your brides hair and makeup.

Scheduling hair trial and day of wedding hair: Your final trial should be scheduled within a month of your wedding, having you hair color and length close to where your goal is. If you have any hair accessories or veils, bring them along to your trial as this will complete the look.

* Your color should also be freshened up a week prior to the wedding, this goes for bridesmaids as well. This allows all color lines to fade off the skin and toners to set in.

Wedding Makeup Prep:

Airbrush make up is the leading choice for makeup application in the bridal industry, creating a flawless glow.

What exactly is airbrush makeup?

• Foundation formulas custom blended to match your exact skin tone; The formula can create an even, sheer, natural appearance to the skin that, if applied properly for a natural look, can appear natural and non-heavy like traditional makeup. Airbrush makeup wears longer than traditional powder or liquid foundation, and is able to stay put upwards of 12–24 hours. Airbrush makeup is also available for blush, eyebrows and lips and can be layered, shaded, highlighted and contoured.
• Application wise, the technique is more sanitary than traditional makeup application due the artist never having to touch the skin. It’s also faster, if done by a trained artist.

Skin prep is just as important as your hair prep, following the steps listed below will help me create the most flawless look for you. Remove all makeup with makeup remover and follow up with a cleanser.

This is to eliminate:

• Foundation
• Blush
• Contour
• Eyebrows
• Mascara

Leaving any product on the skin can create an uneven application of the airbrush makeup. A lot of girls say- “I love layering my mascara.” Unfortunately, leaving any residue on the lashes makes left over mascara dust off during the makeup application and creates a dark shadow under the eye, so WASH WASH WASH!!

In my 10 years of experience, I have used a lot of makeup removers and cleansers. Senegence products have been my ultimate go to in the last year and a half. Their facial skin prep, makeup, lip color and balms are top of the line. Especially the facial cleaner, it legit takes everything off, I know this from experience. The Lipsense lip color is a all day stay with their gloss as well. I am a simple gal, so I don’t want 10 products lined up on my counter, less is better in my book. (Contact me if your interested in trying the Senegence products.) If you want some over the counter removers, the following are a few of my favorite quick picks:

• Neutrogena facial wipes
• Neutogena Naturals cleanser
• Aveeno Ultra Calming Cleanser

Scheduling makeup trial and day of wedding makeup: Schedule your makeup and hair trial together if possible. Doing them at the same time gives you an idea of exactly how your hair and makeup will look on the big day, allowing time to change anything if need be. If you have a specific preference of lip color, be sure to bring it along.

Hair Removal Tips for Wedding and Honeymoon

On your wedding day, a lot of photography and videography is going to happen, so ladies, groom yourselves. We don’t need  5’oclock shadows on our eyebrows, lips, or chins. Brides, also don’t forget to book your bikini wax! Setting up an appointment a few days, or even a week before the event is best for the following reasons:

• Redness
• Breakouts
• Healing
• Spray Tanning

Even if you have never  waxed your eye brows, cleaning them up for the makeup artist only makes your makeup look precise. I am not saying go and have your eye brows micro-bladed or thinned out or shaped into hearts, but makeup artists are focusing on making your eyes “pop” in photos, so a simple clean up of the brow line is substantial.

Scheduling waxing appointment for wedding: Waxing services should be scheduled the week of or the week prior to your wedding. All facial and body waxing’s need time to heal, take into consideration of how your skin reacts to any waxing service, as in redness, swelling, and blemishes. All waxing services need to be done BEFORE any spray tanning service.

 

Wedding Spray Tan Tips:

Lots of women wonder, “Is getting a spray tan the right choice?” YES! Of course it is, but if you need some questions answered head over to Bare Beauty’s spray tan page, and check out the latest blog posts and products to help maintain your spray tan.

Alright ladies, lets talk about your before spray tan skin prep because an even, flawless looking tan is what we are after.

Shower Time- Before & After

• Wash- Here are a few of my favorites
  1.  Cetaphil
  2. Shea Moisture Body Wash
  3. Dove Sensitive Skin Wash
  4. Puracy Natural Body Wash 
• Exfoliate
  • Focus on face, neck, chest and arm
  • No oil-based exfoliants
• Shave
• No lotions, oils or deodorant

What do I wear TO my spray tan appointment?

• Baggy Clothing,
  • NO yoga pants or legging
  • NO tight fitting tank tops
  • You need to be able to slip on and off with NO struggle
• Coat & Umbrella
  • If its raining you need to protect yourself, rain will wash your tan away
• Shoes
  • Sandals
  • Loose fitting boots
    • Uggs Boots
    • Rain boots

What should I wear DURING my spray tan appointment?

Whatever you’re comfortable in, as long as you take your bridal gown and honeymoon attire into consideration:

• Bra
  • Strapless
  • If you have an open back gown, No bra is best
• Panties
  • Low rise
  • Thong
• Bathing suit
  • NO halter top
  • NO string bikinis, makes tucking straps hard
• Nude

 {Be sure to check with your spray tan artist on their clothing requirements, as some may vary}

 

Scheduling My Spray Tan Before My Wedding: 2 days before your wedding day, allowing two showers before the big day, is the perfect time to schedule your bridal spray tan.

 

Wedding Beauty Timeline

“What time is your ceremony time?” Most brides cannot answer this question when we first meet up, which is okay… but THIS is the most important piece of information I need.  Here are a few things to think about:

• Wedding Season
  • Winter
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Fall
• Religion
  • Catholic weddings start early; plan accordingly
• Indoor / Outdoor
  • Watch sunset times
• Start of Reception
  • You don’t want to big of a time gap, focus on dinner time

After deciding on your ceremony time, now its time to book your start time for hair and makeup. How long does each service take?

Each bridal up-do and airbrush makeup takes on average of 45 minutes to 1 hour.

• Have everyone arrive 15 minute prior to their appointment
• Be sure hair and faces are prepped
• Have photos ready for ideas

As always flannels or any button down shirt is a must!! They should be loose fitting and capable of slipping over your hair and makeup. Another little piece of information I love to share is watch your under garments. A lot of times we chose our favorite bra, not considering what they do to our shoulders, redness and indentations. Trust me your photographers will love you if you think ahead.

Hair or Makeup first??

Brides should have their hair prepped first, giving cool down time for any curls needing to be set for height, fullness or simply holding curl. This also allows the hair to be completely off the face while airbrushing the makeup on. Now ideally we would love this to happen for all bridesmaids but if the time doesn’t allow, we just go with the flow and touch up hair at the end if need be.

Wedding Beauty Tips For Brides:

After 10 years of experience, I have fallen in love with the bridal world. I have tried to take in as much information and pass out as much as I can. The wedding day has so many pieces that have to come together to make the day flawless and this article is to help do that.

Photography:

I have noticed is a lot of times the photographer isn’t always present, try to plan the day around them or bring a camera and have a friend take some shots. The process of everyone getting ready is a beautiful sight and sometimes is missed.

Bring food!

Wedding days are LONG for us ladies so be prepared. Breakfast or brunch foods while getting ready and then following up  with lunch makes for happy girls.