Scheduling hair & makeup trial early? (long, sorry)

I am waiting to do my trial and just booking before the trial. But the makeup & hair person is friends with my bm and did her wedding last year, so I have seen her work. My reason to wait is I am growing my hair out, so hopefully it is long enough for the style I want. I don't want to do my trial too soon to give my hair more time to grow. It you aren't growing your hair or making other major changes I don't see a reason why you couldn't do it sooner.

Here in NY the good make up artsits book up pretty quickly. They suggest booking them a year in advance which is what I plan to do. I'll be doing my trial a year early & if my vision changes then I'll talk to the MUA and possibly do another trial a month or two before the wedding.

Mine is the same way. I've given her money for a deposit but haven't had a trial yet. I totally understand why they do it this way but it does suck. I was just thinking about contacting her to do a trial sometime next month and then do one closer to my wedding (at least for hair). Right now my hair is just past my shoulders and super fine...I would like to wear extensions for fullness but would also like to see what she can do without them

I think you should wait until after you have your dress chosen because the neckline or style could influence how you want your hair. The system your stylist has sounds awesome. I booked my hair and makeup without a trial because I didn't know who else I'd find and had already lost my date on the girl my friend recommended.

Here is my one tip on the trials. After the fact I realized it would have been awesome to do the trial the morning of my bridal shower so I didn't have to rinse the makeup off immediately and could make good use of it instead.

OK, thanks! I'll be growing my hair or a little bit (basically just getting trims until the wedding), but it's already on the longer side, so not too drastic. Good to know other brides have done this. :-)

I agree with what Jessica is saying - if you change your look you can always schedule another trial. youre probably not going to dramatically change your look (atleast i know i wouldnt) so it wont hurt to book early and then have another trial closer to the wedding. she'll probably want to do one closer to the date anyways.

My hair and makeup trial is going to be in March. I have a friend who offered her services at a discounted rate since she'll be in town for the wedding. She's going to be here visiting in March so we're going to try some different ideas. She said we'll do another trial around August once I have a more firm idea of what I want.

I gave mine the deposit and then came in for my trial/bridal portrait make-up and hair, which I actually did last May when my wedding is this April. I think it's fine and my MUA just wrote down what she used on me and then took pictures of my hair and make-up. I'm not super fussy on my make-up though, so it may have been easier for me since I was pretty much just like "looks great! thanks!" hahaha

I see your point but I think that's why you see their work before hand. I paid half up front and will have my trial two weeks before the wedding. Yea I'm nervous but I loved their work so I trust them.

@Suzanne, my trial is actually scheduled for the morning of Valentine's Day, so I will be able to make good use of it. :-)

The dress thing is one concern I've had... But there is a chance I'll have it picked by then, or at least know what kind of neckline I prefer.

I didn't read any one else's comments but I had my trial in January for my September wedding. It was perfect because like you I didn't want to put a deposit down without making sure I liked them. It worked out great and I loved my trial. I don't think it was too early at all.

I did a trial with my makeup artist in november 2013, which was obviously way before my wedding date. i did it for my engagement photos though. that way i got some use out of it and it showed me whether i was interested in booking her for the wedding even if i planned on doing a different look for the big day. luckily it went well and i did end up booking her.

i'm getting ready to do my real trial next week for the look i'm wanting for the wedding.

the girl i used for my hair for our engagement photos was great and i was planning on booking her also, but a conflict came up for her and she wasn't available on our wedding day. so unfortunately i ended up booking the stylist in the same salon my makeup artist is in for the wedding. i have not had a trial with her yet but i'm also having a trial with her next week at the same time as my makeup. i booked her pretty confidently though because of her reviews and recognitions. and it's not like i'm wanting anything super fancy for my hair so... everything should go well.

you may end up just needing to do more than one trial. if that's ok with you. do a trial now to determine whether you like the artists talents. then do another one closer to the wedding if your style idea has changed just to make sure y'all are on the same page as far as the big day goes.

Hair and makeup have been a huge thorn in my side and I'm SO happy I started trials early. I had two that were not so hot back in October. I then went through a phase where I thought I could do my own. Then I had a really bad makeup day where nothing went right with my eyeliner and I almost cried. So now I'm back to the makeup artist drawing board and have another trial this weekend. We really hit it off over email and her reviews are right in line with my vision. So, don't worry about trying too early - it just means one more thing out of the way for the big day. Just because you have a trial with one look, doesn't mean you can't tweak it or go back to try another look before your wedding.

I have scheduled both MU trials for this month and I'm not getting married until July. I wanted as much time as possible to decide if I need to schedule with someone else if I don't like it. My hair stylist knows I'm not sure yet of what I want exactly but I did ready book her. (She's also a BM so I know she'll be there the day of.)

I did my first trial about six weeks out and I don't think the dress was in yet (the dress was late but that's another story). I didn't like the hair and had two more trials -- so I'm happy I started early. I paid for each trial.

I wouldn't start MONTHS early or you may go batty with options but book a bit earlier than you think you'll need and you should be ok. Take photos and keep all of them. Show them as a reminder to the stylist. You'll be fine.

I scheduled my trial for next week because I was getting antsy. I'm so glad I did because when I tried to reschedule for ONE week later, she told me she had had several inquiries for my same date. I'm glad I didn't follow WW's checklist on this one.

If this place will hold your date without a deposit, great. Have you read reviews though? What if you don't like them and can't find another available salon?

@Rebecca, yes, I've read the reviews and they're very good, but hair/makeup is so personal that I have a hard time deciding based on reviews & photos alone. That's why the trial is so early--Feb. 14 for an October 3 wedding. That should give me enough time to look elsewhere if this isn't a good fit. I was initially concerned that it was too early, but after reading the responses here, I'm not worried about that anymore. I just need to start looking at hair/makeup pics to get some ideas by then!

As a makeup Artist I usually suggest having a trial between 4-3 months before your wedding day. By then you will have a clear vision of what you want your look to be that will fit your dress, your theme, and translate your vision clearly. And also it will save you from problems such as getting a tan or getting lighter on the day of your wedding than when you had your trial,

However I suggest communicating and contacting the makeup artist at least 7 months before our wedding to make sure the MUA is available on your wedding date and is able to do a trial.

Thank you

Muinat

Makeup Artist

www.damolamakeovers.com

You should definitely buy your dress first. I am actually going to do trials....one to see if I like her work and one closer to the wedding day when I have my veil, etc.

Emily - I suggest that if you are not ready to schedule an actual trial, then you should set up a consultation or a meeting so that you can sit down with your potential makeup artist. This will help you get to know her a bit. During a consultation, you can discuss minor details about your day, find out what the cost of your services would be, find out a bit about how the artist works, and get a good feel for their personality (which is a huge thing when working with a hair and makeup vendor for your wedding day). A consultation should give you enough information and a good enough feeling about whether or not you'd like to book with that vendor.

Furthermore, if your vendor is credible, they will take a retainer and also have a contract, which will protect both you and the artist. Schedule a few consultations and see how you feel about the artists you meet with.

Also, I have had brides book before they actually have their dress, but I would wait until you do have your dress, and about 3 months prior to the wedding to actually do your trial.

I hope this was helpful to you. Good luck, and congrats on your upcoming wedding!