This past November I was lucky enough to get to work a wedding. I did basically the entire bridal party’s makeup, approximately 7 people. This experience taught me a lot about how I should operate and what working weddings is like. So here it goes!

Don’t Underestimate Your Worth

The first thing I learned is that you should never undersell yourself. This stuff is hard work, more than people think. Each person has different faces, needs more or less effort, and they all have different ways of communicating. Let’s face facts, your products are pricey. To make up for the lost product you need to charge accordingly. If you are using expensive products and doing complicated techniques, you need to charge more.

Let’s do an example. The foundations I use range in price from $11-52. If I’m using the more expensive product, it’s going to cost more toreplace.

The most important factor, in my opinion, is time. If makeup takes an hour, it’s going to need to cover the cost of the hour in addition to product used. Doing a brides makeup is a top priority, so make sure she knows that it will cost more to ensure everything is as perfect as possible.

Time Budgets are a MUST

Time budgeting is essential in the job as well. Being as careful as you can to spend the appropriate time period on each person, so you have ample time for the bride, is crucial. With this particular wedding party I went for a youthful, glowing, and natural look. I used the Jaclyn Hill Palette from Morphe Cosmetics ($38.00 USD) almost exclusively for the eye makeup, “Mean Money/Hu$tla Baby” Killawatt highlighter by Fenty Beauty, among other favorites of mine (see recent blog post). I made sure to prep each persons face throughly, and set each person’s face to ensure the makeup would stay as best as possible.

Stressing Out is Normal 

This is going to be stressful. For someone with anxiety disorder, it’s about 10x harder. I’m not joking when I tell you that it feels like everything around you is buzzing. Everyone is moving, doing something or asking a question. People yell, somebody might cry, and your arms will hurt for days after. All this being sad, it is one of the best experiences you will ever have. Getting to do something so personal for someone on such a pivotal moment in their lives is amazing.

In Conclusion…

Just remember, your skills are worth more than you think. If you’re reading this and you aren’t a makeup artist, remember to treat artists with respect and pay them well for good service. They deserve it, and you deserve the best treatment on your special day.

 

(much thanks to Kelsi for letting me experience all of this, it was an honor)

XOXO,

Paige