Having a well-organised wedding makeup schedule is an essential factor to creating a stress free wedding day. Consequently- it can be a nightmare trying to organise if you never have had to do it before.
Therefore to help you create a smooth running wedding morning I have put together a sample timeline for you and also included some tips.
My number one trick – is to schedule ample time!
Schedule more time than you think is necessary because having time to spare on your special day is much better than running around in a frenzy. (Imagine you could be sipping on a glass of champers with your girlfriends)
How much time to allow
This is where you need to ask your Hair and Makeup people how much time they require.
Personally for my clients, I like to allow:
- 1 hour per person
- a little extra time for the bride
- time for final touch up’s at the end
- and lastly of course, time to unpack and repack my kit
Therefore, for a bridal party of 4 x makeups I would allow 5 hours.
What order to schedule the bride?
This is entirely up to you though for larger bridal parties I do like to schedule the bride Second last – rather than last.
There are so many little interruptions on the wedding day for example: florist delivery, photographer arrives, grandma & grandpa might arrive….
As a result, having the bride scheduled in second last means that she is therefore free in the final hour to do what she needs. This still allows the bride to have time at the end for any final touch-ups ensuring she will still look fresh and fabulous.
Sample Wedding Makeup Schedule
Here is a sample makeup schedule for a bridal party of four makeups for a 2:00 PM finish.
- 9:00 am – 9:15 am
Makeup arrives & sets up - 9:15 am – 10:15 am
1 x makeup - 10:15 am – 11:15 am
1 x makeup - 11:15 am – 12:30 pm
1 x Bride - 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm
1 x makeup - 1:30 pm – 1:45 pm
Final touch-up’s - 1:45 pm – 2:00 pm
Pack up and leave
Final Touch-up’s: I like to leave lips (i.e. lipstick/liner/gloss) till the end with final touch-up’s therefore allowing bigger bridal parties to still eat and drink during the morning.
Not sure what Touch-up products you and your bridal party will need? I wrote a little blog on that here
Scheduling Hair & Makeup
Your hairdresser and makeup artist can easily work with each other on the day to ensure a well organised timeline is kept. Hence it’s certainly a great idea to share your hairdressers suggested timeline with your makeup artist prior to the day- and vice versa.
Please NEVER schedule hair AND makeup on the same person at the same time for instance, imagine trying to have a delicate eyeliner or bold red lip applied whilst having your hair blow dried.
Tips for your Wedding makeup schedule
The biggest question is deciding what time you would like all makeup (and hair) finished by. Therefore the artists can work backwards from your ‘finish’ time and ultimately give you an estimated start time.
Too often brides have requested makeup to be finished just as their car to the ceremony is arriving. This therefore leaves the bride and bridal party rushing around at the last minute to get organised.
Some points to factor in:
- Allowing enough time for everyone to get into their dresses etc
- Ensure your photographer has enough time- check how much time they would like for the ‘getting ready’ photos
- Allowing enough time to get to the ceremony from your location
- Schedule in some time to relax and chill out
Think you will be a nervous or anxious bride? Have a read of this great article here. Its full of tips on how to feel calm and relaxed on your special day.
If you are planning a wedding in Perth, WA and searching for a makeup artist you can lodge and enquiry with myself here.
