Ten reasons why you need the best badass bitches to do your hair and makeup on your wedding day and why!
Okay, so as you may know, I’m not one of those photographers that makes people look like plastic Barbie dolls. I’m all about telling your story in an organic, editorially influenced way. What that means to me is that making you look like someone you’re not isn’t going to fly! Which is why it’s super important to hire the right people.
I shoot great light, and they make you look flawless.
Trust me, I’ve worked with some non-professional makeup and hair artists in the past, and that has lead to some really sad times for past brides.
The difference of just a few hundred dollars can be literally life and death for some people!
Imagine this: You’re walking down the aisle with brown stripes down your cheeks looking like a tiger because your makeup artist felt you needed a little contour. Or you shed a few tears during the ceremony, and all of a sudden your “perfectly” glued eyelash is now on residing on your upper lip giving you that sought after bridal moustache look. Or how about your perfect “loose” curls get sprayed with max hold spray glue and now your hair looks more like an 80s hair helmet – you desperately wanted those small pieces to blow in the wind and make it look like the sun came out just for you today but instead they ain’t moving and for some reason your hair still looks wet at 10:30 pm. Yup, in over sixteen years of shooting weddings, I’ve seen it all folks!
This brings me to my ten reasons why hiring someone who’s got your back is important and something you should never cheap out on!
1 // The eyelash moustache. Okay, I’ve thought about lash extensions and actually with this craze hitting our lives I agree they are perfect for your wedding day – but for those of us that don’t want to have them all the time and fall asleep easily after sitting with our eyes closed for hours they might now be the best idea! Thus falsies! Greatest invention for women’s eyelids that has ever happened. You can have so many different looks with just a strip of lashes and the correct glue. If you take into consideration “lash allocation” then you’re going to want to hire a professional who has put on hundreds of lashes and can place them correctly otherwise she’s wiping your perfectly blended eyeshadow off and starting again AND that’s going to make you late to your ceremony or your first look, unless you planned for extra time in the morning in case something happens (most ladies are down to the minute and already itching to hit the highway without any mishaps!). One more side note, if they don’t use professional glue, those bad boys are coming off! Mix your beautiful eyes with a little breeze and BAM you now have a sick moustache!
*Nicole’s beautiful braided hair was by Brittany Groves and her dewy make up by Victoria Tucker – check out more of her Bear & Bison Inn wedding in Canmore.
2 // You look like you hit a wind tunnel. That’s right, I’ve seen it all when it comes to hair. Your hair looks amazing but is it going to hold up throughout the day? Ask yourself this. You did your due diligence and went for a trial, and they crushed it! You look like a goddess eating grapes on a chaise in the clouds. Wrong. Did you go out and do activities and possibly hike around with your flawless coif? Did you tear up a dance floor or have a hundred people hug you and lean their heads against yours while kissing you on the cheek. No, strange. Well sista, unless you’re hiring a pro, your hair person might not know how bad your updo or flowing curls are going to take a beating and might not have finished up the style with spray or other fancy products they use to know what it’s like to keep your perfect hair for 10+ hours. After all, no one wants to look like they ran through a wind turbine in all their tangible memories aka wedding photos!
*Check out more of Stephanie’s Jasper Park Lodge wedding.
3 // Let’s just contour you a little… or not! Please ladies, stop with the crazy contour on your wedding day. Unless you’re planning on hiring the most amazing professional makeup artist who could contour a cat and make it look like it was made for the movies then you should prob just skip it. True story here that I confirmed I can share before writing this. One of my past brides is one of the sweetest people I’ve been lucky enough to get to know and am now friends with. But on her wedding day, she hired a company who manages makeup artists and she thought she was getting the girl who did her trial – only to find out that that girl was no longer her right hand woman! A new girl showed up and put the darkest of contours on her face. I don’t claim to be good at makeup or know that much about it, but I know your contour should not look like aggressive sideburns. Me being the kindhearted soul that I am took a few “test” shots before she put on her dress to show her what she was working with – the bride instantly went back and had her try to remove it and make it less crazy. This took up over a half hour of her photo time before the ceremony, and needless to say she tells all her friends to invest in a reliable human to do their makeup.
4 // Accountability. How many times do you think I have had a bride ask me a week before their wedding for referrals to hair and makeup artists because theirs decided they were now unavailable. Yes, they paid for a trial with that person and now they get no refund AND they have to find someone new. You think they wanted to waste a few hundred dollars on a Tuesday to look hella glam at Walmart? Heck no! If you’re hiring a professional it’s most likely they do this full time, thus this is their livelihood. The likelihood of them ditching out or not showing up is so small that you can rest assured they do this because they love it and it’s their passion and they wouldn’t do you wrong as you could give unflattering reviews and therefore they wouldn’t get business. All the pros I know always show up early and give accurate quotes on how long it takes to do each girl and the bride!
*Danielle’s Hair was by Shea Forsyth Hair & her glowing make-up was by Stephanie Richard – Check out more of Danielle’s Alberta Farm Wedding.
5 // Time saver!! So you want to get up at 6 am to start your hair and makeup when your first look isn’t until noon? Hell no! Especially if you’re like me and sleep is your best friend. Professionals are proficient in their craft. They have done hundreds of brides and wedding parties, and they know how long what you want will take, and if they are doing your mom or girlfriends who didn’t go for a trial they can be proficient to stay on timeline!
*Brittney’s Hair & Make up was by Emilia – see more of her Canmore Winter Wedding.
6 // No offense but I hate this. Yes it’s your wedding day and yes you’re a super chill boss babe who is go-with-the-flow, but let’s be honest you spent a lot of time planning this chill day of love. You want to look your best and now your second guessing your hair style or your makeup look. When you hire a well seasoned professional you know they can switch things up for you because it’s in their abilities! True story coming your way… I had a bride who was going to have her hair down and curled… loves. But she decided she wanted to throw a few braids in her hair! Simple right? No the girl she hired off kijiji (stop) didn’t know how to braid. I’m not kidding. Everyone was running around busy getting ready and my bride was almost in tears. She had her Pinterest inspo board open and the girl just couldn’t do it and didn’t even want to try. The last thing you want is someone who’s not 100% there for you on the morning of your wedding. This might be fine with some people but seriously, if she had a professional there this would have been: “can we do this braid” said the bride. “Hell ya gurl” said the hair stylist. I’m a hell ya kind of girl so I might have braided the brides hair.
*Danielle’s romantic hair was by Shea Forsyth Hair – Check out more of Danielle’s Alberta Farm Wedding.
7 // It’s looks like you got punched in the eye. Sorry gurl but your right, it does. That deep smokey eye has fallen all over your face and instead of taking off your colour corrector for your tired under eyes she’s put cover up on it. I’ve asked my makeup artist friends what they do because they pro af. They say they always clean the under eye and do foundation after dark smokey eyes. This sounds like common sense but unless you know to ask or hire a pro why would you know? You’re hiring a professional for the small things you don’t need to worry about! Keep that in mind.
*Cheryl’s Hair and Make up was from The Pretty Haus her hair was from Crystal and her make up from Jen – Check out more of her Calgary Wedding at Festival Hall.
8 // I can’t feel my head. That’s right, often brides – especially ones with veils – say how their head hurts and can’t wait for the ceremony to be over so they can remove the veil. In my experience, hair stylists put a lot of bobby pins in updos. I know this because I’m an attention to detail kind of girl and when I’m shooting I always push people’s bobby pins back in their hair koz those little guys are always trying to jump onto the floor or fall down your cleavage. If you’re hiring a professional, they are hitting up the beauty supply and buying really good quality bobby pins for your hair and not the cheap ones from amazon to e bay to Dollarama. They might still wiggle out, but their technique of putting them in is different. I’ve seen them push the hair in, twirl them and then push it in your hair. Also have you seen photos of runaway veils? Well I’ve take them lol. In the mountains it’s super windy at times and I’ve seen them fly right off people’s heads! The pro knows no matter what kind of clip is on that bad boy how to properly secure it to your head!
*Brittney’s Hair & Make up was by Emilia – see more of her Canmore Winter Wedding.
*Alycia’s Make up was by Emily Satnik & Hair by DIVA salon – see more of her Priddis Greens Golf Country Club Wedding.
9 // You look like you just climbed the Sahara. Now there is nothing like a melting face of makeup. You paid all this money, took all this time, but they are using cheap products because their makeup kit is budget friendly and now your long wear makeup you thought was applied to your face is evaporating and you have an oil slick situation on your face. Professional makeup artists know what products to use that are tried, tested and true. Your makeup has to last the whole day and into the late night. You’re going to sweat and cry and be all kinds of hawt all day. You need your face to stay on point! Also this magic thing called setting spray should always be your best friend. Trust me when I say I shoot weddings aka workout from 8-14 hours in the hot sun or the freezing cold and my face never looks good by the time I get home. Sometimes I flip down my visor in my SUV to add a little powder before the last location and man do I look like a hot mess… but on your wedding day YOU are the one in the photos, so you got to look your best! Am I right?
*Oana’s stunning make up was by Zandrea and her romantic hair was by Heather from The Pretty Haus – see more of Oanas Canmore Mountain Wedding.
10 // Last but not least: Professionals work together not against one another. If you hire a team or a girl who does both or different people from different companies or maybe three or four people to do everyone, you all have the same end goal when you’re at a wedding – experience, professionalism, and devotion. I’m lucky to work with some of the same people frequently and we are a team. I’ve seen beef between different hair and makeup artists who aren’t professional, and luckily I’ve never seen an industry pro act like that. It totally kills the vibe of the room and kills the vibe of my photos and the moments I’m documenting. Professionals are here because they love it. Like I’ve already expressed before, they want to make you look awesome and have an amazing day and enjoy your excitement because it seriously adds to my enjoyment so it must for them too. Hiring someone who isn’t professional will not always be a bad thing because let’s be honest there are some gems out there, but unless they have a professional attitude you might be left with something a little less than what you desired!
What should you take from this? Whatever you want! This is just a candid overshare of my experiences from shooting hundreds of weddings over the last going-on 17 wedding seasons.
This is also why for my boudoir studio I use the same person for all of my clients and recommend that no one hires their own person because I’ve done all my homework!!
If you have any suggestions for why you should hire a professional hair and makeup artist for your wedding I would love to know! Please comment below or send me an email!
*Shannon’s gorgeous hair and make up was by Breanne Sinclair from Parlour Beauty – Check out more from Shannon’s Calgary Retro Macrame Wedding.
