Should you have your hair or makeup done first on your wedding morning?
It’s a question brides ask us surprisingly often.
Our usual answer at CJC is:
Makeup first, hair second.
But please don’t panic if your photographer, hairstylist or wedding schedule has already dictated otherwise. There are no bridal police coming to arrest you for having your hair done first.
We can work either way.
What matters far more is having enough time, the right number of artists and a plan that gets everybody ready without turning your wedding morning into a military operation.
Why do we usually do makeup before hair?
Quite simply, because we need access to your face.
When we’re applying makeup, we’ll move hair and fringes away from the forehead and work right up around the hairline.
If we’ve already spent time arranging beautiful face-framing pieces and perfecting your fringe, we’re then going to have to move them out of the way again.
So where we have the choice, we’ll apply your makeup first and finish the hairstyle afterwards.
It means that when the hair is styled around your face at the end, we can see the finished makeup too and make sure everything works together.
But we might start your hair much earlier
This is where it gets slightly confusing.
Although we usually finish the hair after makeup, we may actually start it first.
If your hairstyle needs setting, we might put your hair into heated rollers or pin curls early in the morning and then leave it to “cook”.
While the set is doing its thing, we can get on with your makeup or start working on other members of the bridal party.
We’ll then come back later, take the set down and create the finished hairstyle.
It isn’t just about the result. On a busy wedding morning, it’s a very efficient use of time.
If we’re only looking after the bride, we might set her hair, do her makeup while it’s setting and then finish the hair afterwards.
Same principle. Fewer people.
Should I wash my hair on my wedding morning?
Usually, no.
CJC specialises in dry styling and session styling, and we’ll normally ask you to wash your hair the day before rather than on the wedding morning.
Hair that’s very freshly washed can be incredibly soft and slippery. Giving it a little time after washing can provide more grip and help the style hold.
It also saves valuable time on the wedding morning.
And if another stylist is washing or blow-drying your hair, we’d generally want that done before your makeup. Water around the hairline and freshly applied foundation aren’t particularly good friends.
Your exact hair preparation will be discussed with you beforehand, so follow the advice your stylist gives you for your particular hairstyle and hair type.
What order should the bridesmaids have their hair and makeup?
This depends entirely on the team we’ve built for your wedding.
With a larger bridal party, we might have one artist concentrating on hair while another concentrates on makeup, with people moving between the two.
On another wedding, each artist might look after several people from beginning to end.
Sometimes it makes sense to get a lot of the hair underway earlier and bring people through for makeup later, so their makeup is fresher nearer the time they need to leave.
We’re deliberately flexible.
A rigid schedule that looks beautiful on paper can become rather less beautiful when a bridesmaid is late, someone has disappeared to collect flowers, or one of the bridal party is still downstairs eating breakfast.
We know what needs doing and when it needs to be finished.
Then we manage the room accordingly.
When should the bride be completely ready?
Where possible, I like the bride’s hair and makeup finished around an hour before she needs to leave the getting-ready location.
Notice I said leave, not get married.
If you have an hour’s journey to the ceremony, we need to factor that in too.
That final hour gives you breathing room.
You can get into your dress without rushing, gather your things, have photographs with your bridesmaids, drink a few sips of champagne, and actually take in the fact that you’re about to get married.
If you’re planning a first look with your partner before the ceremony, we’ll work that into the schedule as well and have you ready earlier.
Does the wedding dress go on before or after hair and makeup?
Usually afterwards.
We’ll finish your hair and makeup, and then you’ll get dressed.
If your dress needs to go over your head, don’t worry. We can help protect the hairstyle while you’re putting it on – sometimes using a piece of silky fabric or similar to create a barrier while the dress goes over.
There are exceptions.
Some Indian and multicultural wedding outfits, for example, include fitted pieces that need to go over the head and could disturb a finished hairstyle. In those circumstances we may ask you to put part of the outfit on first and then complete the hair afterwards.
It’s another reason we like to know what you’re wearing before the wedding morning.
When do the veil, jewellery and hair accessories go in?
Towards the end.
And yes, your hairstylist will put your veil and hair accessories in for you.
If you’re planning to remove your veil after the ceremony, we’ll also usually show somebody you trust – perhaps your mum or a bridesmaid – exactly how we’ve secured it and how to remove it without dismantling the hairstyle at the same time.
Choose your nominee wisely.
Preferably somebody who can follow instructions after a glass of champagne.
What about the photographer and videographer?
Photographers and videographers will often arrive towards the latter part of the getting-ready time so they can capture the final touches.
And here’s a little behind-the-scenes secret.
Those beautiful photographs of a makeup artist delicately applying a final sweep of something to an already immaculate bride?
Quite often, your makeup is finished.
We’ll happily pick up a lip brush or eyeshadow brush and recreate a few finishing touches so you get beautiful getting-ready photographs when you’re actually looking ready.
Nobody particularly needs photographic evidence of you with one eye finished and the other completely bare.
So, hair or makeup first?
If we’re doing both, we generally prefer makeup first and finished hair second.
We may set your hair earlier and come back to it. Another supplier’s timings may occasionally mean we need to reverse the order. Your outfit may change the plan.
None of that is a problem.
And if you have six bridesmaids plus a bride to get ready, whether Sarah has her hair before her makeup really isn’t the thing you need to worry about.
What matters is:
Do you have enough time and the right number of hair and makeup artists to get everybody ready comfortably?
Get that right, and we can manage the order.
Even the poor soul who gets the earliest slot isn’t abandoned for the rest of the morning. We’re still there and can check hair, touch up makeup, and make sure everybody looks fabulous before they leave.
That’s part of looking after the whole bridal party – not simply completing a service and moving on.
Planning your wedding hair and makeup? Tell us how many people would like hair and/or makeup, where you’re getting ready, and what time you need to leave. We’ll work backwards from there and plan the team and timings for you.
