$$$ Hair & Make Up

Take a look on thumbtack.com and Instagram for your area.

I might be wrong, but I don’t think hairstylists and makeup artists charge sales taxes. I would double check your state’s laws on that.


Professional makeup/hair was a MUST for me. I can usually do my own makeup and hair, but I did not want to deal with having to stress about it on the day of my wedding. It was nice to be able to relax and have someone else do it for me. I also wanted to make sure my bridal party and moms could also relax and have a stress-free morning.
If you don’t get your makeup professionally done, who will do your makeup/hair? If it’s you, are you comfortable doing it yourself or do you think it’ll be too stressful/hectic? I think there’s pros and cons to both options... I know tons of brides who prefer to do their own makeup/hair and people like me who didn’t even want to mess with it on the day of. It’s all really up to what you’re comfortable with!

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The fact is.. I don't know how to put make up on or do my hair..!!! I do concealer and maybe tinted lip balm but I can't draw eyeliner on myself to save my life nor have I ever done anything with my hair before. Which is why I felt the need to spend because it's a special day and I want to feel pretty for my fiancé and photosr. I'm with you in that I don't want to stress myself out. I'd also like to treat my mom who barely does anything.

View Quoted Comment Oh then I say definitely splurge! It’ll make you feel so much more at ease not having to stress about getting your eyeliner on and false lashes. It’ll be a nice treat for you and your mom. The morning of my wedding, I just drank and was able to relax while getting my makeup/hair done. I definitely would have been a mess if I had to do it myself. Lol.

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I was worried at first because it was a a thousand dollars more than I would have like to spend. Fiance and I were talking and decided to save on the wedding dress and go for the make up & hair since it's not only for me but both our moms and himself and my MoH's hair (who is my sister). So no waste there. The travel fee just makes me frustrated haha because I'd like to think most artist would have to drive to site and have courtesy travel miles and beyond a certain distance charge (since she also has a base travel fee).

That’s pretty pricey but in the end, if you can afford it then do it! You don’t want to look back at your pictures & feel sad because you didn’t like the way you looked. I’m great at doing my own hair & makeup but I’ve hired someone to do this for me, MOH (my sister) & 1 bridesmaid (my daughter)- my other bridesmaid wants to do her own. I’m already going to be stressed out on that day so I don’t want to add to it when I can’t get it just perfect!

I agree with the previous poster about looking for other options on thumbtack.com

Covid completely thwarted our wedding plans and I ended up doing my own nails and makeup for our minimony but was still able to get my hair done at the salon (dealing with the salon has been a huge headache and by far the most stressful vendor relationship of all, but that is besides the point). So now I'm in this position of thinking of what I want our "redo" wedding to look like in the future, and I honestly don't think I'll waste money on nails, makeup, and hair. Truthfully I feel like I overpaid for my hair on our elopement day and it cost WAY less than what you are considering, and I don't feel like not having my makeup or nails professionally done in any way negatively impacted my day. Granted, our event was just a couple hours (and maybe having professional hair and makeup would be more important for a 6-10 hour event) and I don't have anything else to compare it to, but I'd just consider your overall budget and expectations for the day and ask yourself if that amount of money on your hair and make-up seems worth it to you. If you are having a $100,000 wedding and many members of your wedding party are included in that price maybe $2k on hair and makeup (2% of your overall budget) is no big deal, but if your budget is considerably smaller, maybe that seems less reasonable. I personally would not spend that much.

View Quoted Comment If it makes you feel any better, my hairstylist and makeup artists only had to drive 20 miles for my wedding and they still charged me a travel fee of $30. I think its a pretty standard fee.


Yeah, I feel ya on the extra cost, but if you can save on something else that isn’t as important to you, it may be a good compromise! I would double check on that sales tax though. I don’t think you have to pay a sales tax on hair and makeup services unless they’re actually installing extensions or selling you products.

I would look for someone located in that area. I do agree that h&m is a priority (I kept it for my micro-wedding), but that’s a LOT of money. If you go with the assistant, I would 100 percent do a trial run prior. You should anyway, to make sure they’re the right person, but especially at this price

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Trials aren't cheap..! here or elsewhere. I would love to do a trial with the assistant but the trial itself is $380. Originally, I wanted to save the trial for my engagement session so that I could put the make up & hair to good use after the consultation. But the studio's artists are high-demand and it's first come first serve with no other make up artist in the area who could do a decent job on my type of face (monolids) & therefore difficult to say no and continue my search :-( I agree that it's a lot of $ though which is why I'm hesitant. I remember my cousin (who also has monolids) got HMU by a reputable studio only to be in tears right before her first look and I'm worried that will be me. So with that experience and your advice, I'll definitely do a trial prior. It's just I'm on the clock to book :-O

View Quoted Comment Yea, that’s pricey too! Wow. But, at least it’ll give you good insight. Are there artists out near the wedding location? You could try to schedule the trial around another event, like if you plan on having any pre-wedding celebrations (bachelorette or bridal shower), that way you’ll be gussied up for something special! That’s what I had hoped for, but I didn’t end up having a shower due to Covid 😔 I wonder if you could ask for just an eye makeup trial, and not full face? It seems like that’s what you’re most worried about. Good luck deciding!