Wedding Makeup Timeline

Everything you need to know and consider when planning your makeup start time.

I get a lot of questions about what time we need to start makeup on your wedding day. While this process does not have to be complicated, there are a number of factors that go into determining the start time of your wedding day. (Spoiler, it’s usually earlier than you think.)

I will start out by saying all of this information is what I prefer to do personally as an artist. If I am not your makeup artist the information will be similar and valuable, however, your artist may do things a little different. It is always best to go with how they like to schedule the morning. 

I do a 2hr trial appointment with all of my brides about 4-6 weeks before the wedding and this is where we go over all of the details and map out the morning. Your start time will be finalized during this appointment. The week of your wedding I will send out a loose timeline outlining what times everyone will need to be ready for makeup. 

Questions I ask that go into factoring the makeup start time. 

• How many people are getting makeup done?

• Are you doing a first look?

• What time does the ceremony start?

• Are you wanting a lot of getting ready photos or photos with your bridesmaids?

• Where are you getting ready?

How many people are getting makeup done? As a good rule of thumb, the more people who need to get ready, the earlier you will want to get started. It is not uncommon to have a 7:30 am or 8 start. (I’ve done earlier). I budget about 45 minutes for each bridal party member and one hour for the bride. I also like to add a 30 minute buffer time between when I finish everyone’s makeup and when everyone needs to be ready. This way we are not rushing.

Are you doing a first look? First looks are so wonderful and intimate. I personally love them. This does however mean that you will need to be ready sooner because this event usually takes place about 1-2 hours before the start of the ceremony. Again, this means you will need to plan for an early start to make sure everyone is ready for early photos.

What time does the ceremony start? Going the more traditional route and not seeing each other till you walk down the aisle? Great! You may be able to start a tad later; 9 am or 10 am. But this still will depend on the size of your bridal party.

Are you wanting a lot of photos with your bridal party before the Ceremony? How many photos do you want with them? Do you guys have cute robes or flannels you want photos of? You still will probably want to start early to make sure there is enough time to have cute group shots with your girls.

Where are you getting ready? Will you be at a hotel nearby? Or do you have to drive at least 15-30 minutes to get to your wedding venue? Let’s avoid getting a speeding ticket on your wedding day, and make sure drive time is accounted for. If you’re getting ready at the venue do they have a time of when you are allowed to enter? Certain venues in Chico won’t let you enter until 9 am, others let you enter as early as 7 am. Make sure you talk to your venue and see when they let you in the morning of your wedding. 

All of these questions are things I go over with you during our trial appointment, so you don’t need to have all the answers beforehand. We will brainstorm what will works best for you and your bridal party. I personally tend to lean on the earlier the better side. This way we aren’t stressed for time, and you have plenty of time to hang out with your girls and relax all morning. 

If you are getting married and looking for an artist you can fill out my Bridal form here.

If you are getting married and already have an artist I hope you find this post informative and helpful for your wedding day. 

XO,

Annie

photo: @kalieciaannphotography

How to Book Your Wedding Makeup

Wedding season is fast approaching, and finding a makeup artist can be a little bit of a process. I try and make the process as simple as I can for my brides. But it can still be overwhelming combined with everything needed to schedule when planning a wedding. To help with that is this blog post. Basically the 411 on booking wedding makeup. All the basic questions I get asked and an overview of the entire booking process.

How soon should you book your artist? 

To be completely honest this varies. The biggest variable will be the time of year you are getting married. Each town has a few months that book up pretty fast. For example, I’m writing this post at the end of December 2020 and my month of May 2021 has been completely booked for a few months now. Typically in Chico CA, I have found the most popular months to generally be May, the beginning of June, September, and October. 

To be safe, once you have your venue and date set, reach out to the artist you want to get the process started. 

How does the booking process work?

For me, the best way to book is to fill out the wedding booking tab on my website here. I created a general questionnaire for you to fill out letting me know the basic information about you and your wedding date. This is the easiest way for me to:

1. Make sure I have that date available so I can then send you over all my pricing and booking information. 

2. If I don’t have the date available I will always send you referrals and contact information of other artists I know who I think will be available. This way you will not be left empty-handed at square one.

So what’s next? 

Once I can verify that the date you want is open, I send you a general information sheet explaining my pricing for all services, products I use, a little about me, and how to secure your date by confirming and booking your trial appointment. Please read through this document. It has important information about what is included, late fees, holiday charges, lashes, and products I use so you are prepared moving forward. Once you have read through it to secure your booking I just need a confirmation of your wedding date and we book your bridal trial. 

Bridal makeup trials are a requirement of all my brides. It gives us a chance to preview your look to make sure it’s exactly what you want and if you would like to make any changes. This is also where I have you sign the contract confirming the makeup start time, location, and how many people are getting makeup done. I love doing trial sessions because it’s a great opportunity for me to get to know you better. A few questions I typically ask; how did you meet your fiancé? How did he propose? 

What your wedding colors are? What your dress looks like? Is your ceremony outside or inside? Did you pick a hairstyle yet? These questions help me get a feel for the makeup look you will be wanting.

I book out two hours for this session so we have plenty of time to talk and discuss the look and make sure it’s perfect. If you have a couple of different looks you are deciding between I usually suggest doing two eye looks, one on each eye. One always makes your eye pop more than the other and it’s different for everyone. So if you don’t know exactly what look you are wanting, this is a great way to figure it out. 

I typically recommend booking this session 4-6 weeks before the wedding date. I do bridal trials during the week, I reserve weekends for weddings. 

Great! We have done my trial! What’s next?

Once we have completed your trial, all that’s left is the wedding week! I usually check in with my brides around Wednesday or Thursday just to confirm everything and layout a general timeline. Then on the day of your wedding, I arrive at about 10-15 minutes before the start time to set everything up. Then we start the makeup process and get you ready for your big day

I hope this helps you get a clear understanding of the bridal makeup process. I tried to make it as easy as possible while also giving you thorough information and understanding. 

Thank you for reading, and if you're a soon-to-be bride CONGRATULATIONS! 

Xo,

Annie

photos by Ashley Carlascio and Kelly Kirklin