Wedding How important/necessary are hair/makeup trials?

[newbie124]

I''ve been debating whether or not I should do trials for hair and/or makeup.

Part of the problem is that we''re doing a destination wedding. The only time I''d be able to do a trial would be during a visit in August, which is nearly 8 months before the wedding so I don''t know how likely it would be for the stylist to recall what we did/changes we should make, etc by the time of the wedding.

Plus, I''ve just been shocked to the core at the outrageous bridal makeup/hair prices in the Bay Area, and I''m trying not to spend a fortune on this. (Why do people think it''s OK to charge $500+ for makeup and hair when you don''t even work for celebrities?? Well...I guess they think it''s OK b/c brides are actually booking them, but that sucks for the rest of us who find that to be extremely inflated).

I did manage to find a couple people who have some more down-to-earth rates, but I''m still wondering about the value of having a trial. I could maybe see doing it for hair since it would suck for them to spend an hour the day of the wedding doing a certain style only for you to realize it doesn''t work, so either they have to do it over or you''re just stuck with it. But makeup seems like something that would be easier to adjust the day-of and therefore not really necessary for a trial unless maybe you''re going for something really dramatic, which I''m not.

Anyone else have thoughts either way?

 

[calidaisy]

i''m having a trial session and planned it so that we can have an "engagement" shot at the same day.
some places charge less (not that much but still...) and i just want to see how i photo with make-up and hair done.

i have friends who never had the trial session and were fine on their wedding day. while there were others that were GLAD that they had a trial session since they ended up hiring someone else or did things differently.

i think it''s really all up to you.

 

[newbie124]

Thanks, calidaisy!

Yeah, I just don''t think I''m going to have the time to really check out a lot of different people and do multiple trials (another reason why I''m considering skipping it). That''s why I''m really going on recommendations and photos So hopefully the people I hire turn out to be good.

If we were having our e-photos taken in CA, then I''d probably be more inclined to do trials for both since at least I could pair it w/ the photos. But we''ll be doing the pictures in Chicago, so unfortunately that won''t be an option.

 

[neatfreak]

I highly highly recommend a trial for both to make sure you will feel comfortable on your day with the stylists you have chosen. I had a makeup trial and ultimately decided to do my own because I just didn't feel like myself with the type of makeup a stranger applied. Without the trial I would have never known that I hated it and would have felt uncomfortable the whole day. It took them an hour to do my makeup, and on the day I got married I would have NEVER had enough time for a re-do if I had realized I hated it that day, I would have had to live with it.

Just as an aside, I got married in SF, and had my hair done at Cinta Salon. It's right downtown off of Union Square, but is surprisingly reasonably priced. Alvin and Irina are both fantastic, Alvin is known as the updo "king" if you want an updo.

 

[rockzilla]

Here''s a story. My friend got married in January. A few weeks prior, she set up her makeup trial. She was very pressed for time due to the wedding being so close and her crazy work schedule, so it was wedged in right before she had to stop by bloomingdales to do something for her registry.

Anyways, according to her, the makeup artist did a horrible job, and she ended up looking like a MAN....a man with crazy pink eyeshadow and false eyelashes. Now, I''m not sure exactly how this happened, she is a very beautiful and feminine girl, but something went horribly wrong. But, since her day was so packed, she had to go around the rest of the day to all of her appointments looking like a crazy person.

She got home, anxious to wipe off the horrible makeup, but before she did, took a quick digital photo. When her fiance got home, she asked him, "What would you do if you saw THIS walking down the aisle?!" and showed him the picture...

Imagine audible gasping and a look of horror - this from a guy. Guys usually wouldn''t notice if you dyed your hair green, but he noticed this godawful makeup job. I believe his quote was, "Honey, you really need to figure out this makeup thing...I mean, we are doing all this planning to have a beautiful day, but it could all be ruined so easily if you don''t take care of that..."

Not in a mean way of course, it was just THAT bad - luckily she was able to switch makeup artists in time!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I don''t know what to tell you for the hair, but for make-up make an appointment with MAC or Sephora. If you buy enough of their products, they will do it for free. If you like it, you can buy what they used, and either have them do it the day of, or another artist with pics of what they did and even the same products.

 

[Pandora II]

I''m doing my own make-up, but I am going to spend a couple of hours trying different ideas out to see how they photograph. I also went to Mac last Saturday to get a foundation that is pale enough for me. They have a gazillion shades and actually had one for pale skin with pink undertones which is so hard to find.

On the hair side, I rang a girl who lives a few doors along from my parents who is supposed to be a very good hairdresser. I was really impressed with her on the phone. She does two trials before the day and will come to the house. I have impossible hair - very fine and not a huge amount so it doesn''t hold a curl or anything.

I suppose it all depends on how difficult your hair or the style you want is. Personally I would opt for trials.

 

[newbie124]

Well, I should probably clarify that our wedding will be in Napa, so I probably won''t have easy access to anyone in downtown SF or a MAC/Sephora counter (I''ve looked into a few MUAs outside of the area and the travel fees alone are what some ppl charge for their service!).

I have had makeup trials before (and actually just recently attended a bridal workshop where they did airbrush makeup for free), so I at least have a general idea of what I''ll look like, which is why I''m not *too* worried. At least for makeup, I feel that if it turns out that they went too heavy w/ the eye shadow, that''s generally something that could easily be fixed in a few minutes.

I''ve also been shying away from even contacting people whose styles as shown on their sites are nothing close to what I''m looking for. I definitely wouldn''t contact someone whose work I''m not able to see at all beforehand so hopefully that should decrease the likelihood of me turning out to look like a man!

I guess I''ll just have to see how our schedule works out and if I feel up to shelling out more dough for this day when the time comes!

 

[HollyS]

I did my own hair. But then, I didn't wear it in a different style than usual. And, I can assure you, I would never have trusted a hairdresser on my wedding day. I won't even go out after leaving a salon. I go home and wash and redo. I did my own makeup 15 minutes before we took our pre-ceremony pictures. All in all, I had about 45 minutes for face and getting into the gown.

I don't really understand the whole "professional" face thing. Who knows your face better than you? Or maybe I just have 30+ years experience with makeup and know what works and what doesn't. If you normally don't wear much of a 'face', maybe it's a good idea though.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/13/2008 6:37:12 PM
Author: HollyS
I did my own hair. But then, I didn''t wear it in a different style than usual. And, I can assure you, I would never have trusted a hairdresser on my wedding day. I won''t even go out after leaving a salon. I go home and wash and redo. I did my own makeup 15 minutes before we took our pre-ceremony pictures. All in all, I had about 45 minutes for face and getting into the gown.

I don''t really understand the whole ''professional'' face thing. Who knows your face better than you? Or maybe I just have 30+ years experience with makeup and know what works and what doesn''t. If you normally don''t wear much of a ''face'', maybe it''s a good idea though.

Trust me, some people need their make-up done for them.

I love make-up and wear it everyday. Being a designer, I''m also pretty handy with a brush and colours.

My sister on the other hand rarely wears makeup and does a shocking job when she does. I did her wedding make-up for her. She was horrified at the idea of wearing foundation, blush, concealer, eyeshadow, liquid liner etc and was convinced she wouldn''t be able to move her face. When I''d finished she was amazed how little she could feel - and how good her skin looked.

 

[MoonWater]

rockzilla, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at that story! I plan to do my own make up!!

 

[Sabine]

I would say it would depend on how well you know what you want and how well you know your own hair. I''m definitely doing trials, but I feel like it''s because for the makeup, I don''t even know what color eye shadow I want and have never used the products from this company before so they don''t know my foundation shade or anything else. I don''t want them experimenting the day of the wedding, doing the total face, and then having to take it all off because I didn''t like it. But if I''d done this before and could give them a really good idea of what I wanted, I''d feel much more comfortable.

Same with the hair. I''m considering a half-down do, but I don''t know if my hair will hold up and not frizz. So the trial is going to tell me if this is possible, and if it''s not, I don''t think I''m going to do another trial, I''ll just change to an up do on the day of.

 

[newbie124]

Date: 5/13/2008 7:27:35 PM
Author: Pandora II

Trust me, some people need their make-up done for them.

I love make-up and wear it everyday. Being a designer, I'm also pretty handy with a brush and colours.

My sister on the other hand rarely wears makeup and does a shocking job when she does. I did her wedding make-up for her. She was horrified at the idea of wearing foundation, blush, concealer, eyeshadow, liquid liner etc and was convinced she wouldn't be able to move her face. When I'd finished she was amazed how little she could feel - and how good her skin looked.

Haha, yeah, that would be me. I can generally get by when we're going out for a special occasion, but I don't do makeup on a regular basis so I definitely need/want a professional's help on my wedding day. I have done enough Clinique trials in my day, though, to at least know what colors work for me.

Oh, and don't even get me started on hair...

 

[Harleigh]

It really hit home for me what you said about not even liking the hair viewed on some of the people''s websites... I have been looking at hair stylists on Maui, and several of them appear to have the exact same curl, the same decoration, the same bangs, etc... I fear looking like a carbon copy of THAT...no way, Jose!

Also, I''m not sure what to do about my makeup...I may try the MAC Counter to get some tips and purchase what I can use.

I''ll have to go find asscher girl''s thread to see who did her hair and makeup again! The thought of having to do my own freaks me out as my hair is so unmanageable, and doing my own makeup could be disastrous depending on how oily, dry, flaky, broken out, etc..., it is!

 

[that_someone_special]

One of my friends was getting her make-up trial done at MAC. It was horrible.
We had a HUGE birthday party to go to that night so I got my make-up done too, since we had BOTH just gotten our hair done too (we''re so girly).
Anyways, we left MAC (The actual store, not mall location) looking like cheap skanks. It was SO SO SO SO SO SO BAD. We laughed so hard at each other, but ultimately it was not funny. We ended up having to go in and getting our make-up re-done in another store (MAC in Bloomingdales). The guy doing our make-up was shocked that someone had done our make-up like that... and at a MAC store. We got fixed and all prettied .. which was much better.

What did I learn? If you''re not happy, say so.
Don''t wait until the last minute.
Tip well (and buy product hehe) when you get a good trial!!