We work with a lot of brides, and just get to meet a lot of brides in general, and the reality is that they all have budgets in some form or another. But for some reason this is one thing that seems to frequently be on the “maybe” list of budget items instead of the “absolute must.” What is it you ask…HAIR AND MAKE-UP!

We know that there are a lot of you out there who might be thinking a myriad of different things. Can’t I just do my own? I don’t want to look overdone. I am more of a “natural” bride and want to look like myself. Its so expensive, I would rather just let my sister do it, she’s pretty good. I have a friend going to hair school, shouldn’t I just ask her. There are lots of tutorials and things on YouTube, can’t I just do that? How much does it really matter? 

Here is our opinion, hair and make-up is one of the most important decisions that you make with your bridal photos and your wedding day. Maybe you can get away with doing your own for engagement photos, but trust me, if you are in that wedding dress, you need to enlist the help of a professional. Here’s why…

1. You rarely wear make-up on a day-to-day basis.

If you are the all-natural girl and rarely do anything with your hair, than you are the number one person who needs to hire a professional. The reality of life is this, in photos, when you don’t have the right make-up applied the right way, and a professional hair style that is done to last you can end up looking tired and pale. Is that how you want to look on your wedding day? Absolutely not! But by hiring a professional they can give you a “natural look” that will make you look incredibly amazing and will last the whole day, so when you look back on your pictures for the rest of your life you will feel like you looked like the very best, most beautiful version of yourself.

2. Highlighting and Contouring are not something you can learn on YouTube.

One of the things that we love most when we see a bride who has gone to a professional hair and make-up artist is how they are able to highlight all of their best features. Because they have been trained they know lots of tricks that we just can’t do. How to highlight great cheekbones, how to contour so you look like you have great cheekbones even if you might not. The best colors to use on your skin type. How to make your eyes pop! Just as you have hired me to capture professional photos you can’t take yourself, you should hire a professional hair and make-up artist to accentuate your beauty in a way you might not be able to.

3. You want to look perfect in camera. 

Hair and make-up artists have a lot of experience working with photography, and they know what will come across in photo. They understand how much you need to photograph beautifully and what things will be the most eye catching. We have had brides who surely have been told “you have to wear more for the camera” and are doing it themselves and way wear too much. Or on the flip side brides who want to look natural but don’t take into account what is lost in camera and end up looking tired and washed out. But a professional knows this delicate balance and will make you look absolutely perfect.

4. This look needs to last all day

There isn’t always time in a long wedding day to do lots of touch ups, and professional hair and make-up artists understand that. So they have been specifically trained and know how to make looks last hours and hours, which is exactly what you want. You want to look just as radiant as you wave goodbye to your guests as you did when you slipped your wedding dress on.

5. You want to be stress free.

We’ve seen brides before who have attempted to do it themselves and things didn’t go as planned, and the stress takes over in a way they hadn’t planned. They end up upset, frustrated, and all sorts of other emotions when their own attempts at things don’t work out and all of that shows in camera. But we’ve have also seen a bride see herself for the first time and her confidence grows and she just radiates through her whole wedding day because she has never felt more beautiful.

…and when it all comes down to it, that is the point. Your wedding isn’t just another day. It is one of the most important day of your life. The day when you are supposed to feel your most happy and most beautiful. And you don’t want to risk that in order to save a few dollars. I am super blessed and lucky because so many of my brides have an amazing inner beauty that shines from them, but it almost brings tears to my eyes as I remember how they felt the first time they saw themselves as a bride. When the hair was done, the make-up was perfect, and they slipped their dress on. From head to two, the whole package was perfect because they took as much time and care into looking their most beautiful as they did in choosing the perfect gown. And that moment can’t be replaced, and neither can that feelings.

Here’s some of our favorite hair stylists & makeup artists:

• Bridal by Courtney
• Anna Hair & Makeup 
• 315 Beauty Bar 
• Michelle Brown Beauty 
• Maie I Bridal by Alexis Ayers
• Silently Colorful by Erica