Hair/make up dilemna, please help!

kaynix21

Ok so this hair and make up thing has been a nightmare for me. I have gotten quotes from a bunch of places. I just think spending $200 on my hair and make up is INSANE! So I have some options.

I am looking at five places right now. All of which will do my hair and make up. Two can do air brush which I think I want to do. One of them, the cheapest, is two blocks from my house, also the place where I will be living....

Keep in mind that I have a room at our venue the night BEFORE the wedding. They threw that in as their special for booking when we booked in September.

So there are six of us going for hair make up. Me, my mom, FIs mom and one of my BMs all want hair AND make up. MoH and FSIL/BM just want make up.

My mom offered to pay for everything but I was going to help, and pay for my own trials, etc. FMIL said yesterday she'd be paying for her own...which I had though of about an hour before that my mom shouldn't be paying for FMIL anyways, she's not part of the WP.

So the cheapest place breaks down like this:
Me= $150 for hair make up hair/make up trial. Another girl would do make up other than the one I talked to, so make up for all these would be slightly more expensive.
Mom, FMIL BM= $255 total for hair make/up
MoH/FSIL= $40 total for make up (again probably slightly higher)
Total - $445 plus gratuity.

That's not bad, right? But I've had my hair cut there before, and dyed, they're OK. I've never met the chick who does it and I'm just a little bit iffy on them doing my hair and make up to be quite honest. They do not offer air brushing.

So the next cheapest total is $640. My mom seems to like them, they were OK on the phone, total $640. No airbrushing.

Next is $650, no airbrushing. We pulled prices for their Web site so we have never even talked to them, so they pretty much don't matter.

Next is $705, she does airbrushing. Seemed nice but I didn't love her.

The final one is super duper expensive but here's why:
When I talked to the lady who owns the hair salon, she said they only do hair, but they do the best hair. It would be $375 for all of us for hair including my trial. Mom's are only $35 which isn't bad at all! Mine is $190, BM is $65.

She has a friend she works with that does make up. She does air brushing or regular but according to the lady at the hair salon, the make up artist is fantastic. I looked her up online and she was great.

But make up for all six of us is outrageous, $520 total. $175 for me day of which I think is insane, plus a $40 trial. BMs are $65 and moms are $55. By far the most expensive for make up. I called her too, and she was really nice, sounded like she knew what she was talking about and would take her time at our trial figuring out if I should do air brush or regular, etc.

They both sort of bragged, saying they were great, but I didn't feel like they were pushing it. I feel they were very straight and helpful. I got a lot of, wherever you end up going, ask them XXXX. Or make sure of this.....

Plus they will come to me at where ever I am getting ready which happens to be my venue. And the hair person said she would coordinate with whoever does my make up and set up a timeline for me and deal with that.

So honestly, I thought they were great. But the total will with gratuity will be about $1000. Minus my trials which will be $105 and I'll handle that. Minus FIs mom which will be about $100.

So now I'm thinking we'd pay for half the girls hair and make up....make it easier on my mom because I don't think asking her to spend $800 on hair and make up is OK, but she won't say that. She said if that's what I want, fine. But I need her to tell me what is OK and what isn't. I think cost for wedding hair and make up is freaking ridiculous!

fallbride1109

Professional wedding hair and makeup is expensive.  It was something I included in my budget from the very beginning.  I spent over $700 here in Dallas for 3 people and my trial if that gives you any idea.  6 people here plus a trial would be well over $1,000 before tip. 

First of all, if you are not requiring your bridal party to have their hair and makeup professionally done, you do not have to pay for it.  Once you choose a MUA, give them the option and the cost and let them decide if they want to cover the cost or not.  You can certainly offer to help, but you are not obligated to pay for it.

Secondly, have you tried your local board or Wedding Wire for recommendations?  Finding reviews on these different vendors may help you narrow it down.

Third, I personally recommend airbrushing.  And having someone come to your venue is wonderful and much easier.

The last vendor sounds the best to me and I can tell you think so as well.  The fact of the matter is, like with anything else, you get what you pay for.  But again, you do not have to cover the cost for the entire wedding party.

Perhaps you could tell the last vendor, hey, I would love to use you but I don't have quite that much to spend and see if they will work with you.  It can't hurt.  Also, shop around and ask for recs on your local board to get a better feel for what the going rate is in your area.  You may find someone just as reputable that you love who isn't quite as expensive.

Good luck!

 

kaynix21

Thanks Stephie. I really appreciate your input.

The girl who does hair that is the last one I mentioned I am 100 percent going with. I'm calling her today to make sure we'll be set.

I am still thinking about makeup. But my local board is pretty useless. It's very quiet over there.

fallbride1109

Well, the way I looked at it was this:  my wedding day was one of the most important and most photographed days of my life and I wanted to look fabulous and be pampered.  So I made room in the budget for it.

$175 for bridal makeup only is a bit excessive.  And only $40 for the trial makes little sense--your trial should be an exact replica of your wedding day makeup.  How can they justify another $135?  The rest of the charges do seem in line however.

I still say pay for hair AND makeup for yourself and give the rest of your wedding party the prices and the option.