I'm Krystal Moore, a wedding and lifestyles photographer based in Moose Jaw, SK.
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October 5, 2020
One question I get asked all the time from brides planning their wedding is this: “How much time should I allow? I don’t want to fall behind schedule.” Well today I want to share with you one tip to keep your wedding day on schedule!
But there has been one thing on wedding days that I have noticed will time-and-time-again cause your wedding day to fall behind schedule. Any guesses what it is? Yup, you guessed it, hair and make up.
There are so many things that can come up while you and your bridesmaids work with your hair and makeup artist(s) that can cause delays. And it’s not the hair or make up artist’s fault, it’s just how things go! Maybe someone wants a hairstyle that requires every strand of hair to be curled and her hair isn’t holding the curl well. Maybe one of your girls is having a super bad breakout and requires lots of concealer to be applied first. Or maybe you decided you want to have extensions put in your hair for your wedding day. Well, they have to be put in before the styling can even begin!
When you have a group of 3… 5… 7+ bridesmaids and yourself (and maybe your mom and mother in law), it’s just inevitable that hair & makeup can fall behind schedule, especially if there is only artist dedicated to hair and the other dedicated to makeup. And when does hair and makeup take place? At the very beginning of the day! So, if you fall behind schedule here, it can creates a domino effect of everyone trying to play catch up. You don’t want your day starting off with unnecessary stress!
Ask your Hair and Makeup artist(s) how long is needed to get everyone finished. Then, tack on an hour to that amount of time. Sometimes that may mean that you need to start hair & makeup at 5:30am.
Early, I know! I love sleep so I understand the struggle haha! But professional services like this take a lot of time, especially if there is only one person doing all the girls hair or make up. (Best to ask if there are more than one make up artist or hair stylist so you all can get done quicker or not have to wake up as early.)
My recommendation is this: You, the bride, get yours done in the middle of the group, but not at the end. That way you are ready to go for photos. Then, right as your Hair & Makeup artists finish with the last girl, ask them to please touch up your hair and makeup before they go. It’ll also give you time to look at yourself in detail in the mirror, see how your false eyelashes feel, etc. If something feels out-of-place, you’ll have the opportunity to speak up and get it fixed. If you go at the end and then the artists leave, there is no one around to make the corrections you might want.
The second place that I have seen the wedding day schedule get pushed back is getting into the dress – especially if it is a lace up back or many buttons. I would recommend having the person (usually Mom, or your Maid of Honor) come to your last fitting and get a lesson on how to do up your dress and how long it will take to do up your dress.
Don’t forget your nails! If Mom, or your Maid of Honor has fake or long nails, they may not be able to do up the buttons as easy. So keep that in mind as well.
Looking for tips on what details you should give your photography for pre ceremony detail photos, check out this blog post!
Building in extra time will ensure that you are able to have a stress free morning while you prepare to marry your best friend on time!
Krystal
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