Brides come to me quite often and ask about whether or not they should hire a professional hair and makeup artist for their wedding. I personally believe that having your hair and makeup done professionally is one of the best investments you can make for beautiful wedding photos. A professional stylist can make you look your best by hiding flaws and brining out your best features. With that said, you want to make sure the stylist keeps you looking like you. You want to recognize yourself in your wedding photos and you certainly want your husband-to-be to recognize you as you walk down the aisle.

Eleven-week-wedding bride, Jill, was very concerned about finding a hair and makeup artist that would make her look stunning. She has a very interesting story with words of wisdom for every bride whether your are planning your wedding in eleven weeks or eleven months.

Once I had the dress in place the focus was on my hair and make-up. I thought picking the ‘perfect’ bride look would be easy, but actually ended up being very challenging.

Several weeks before the wedding I started my trials. I had MANY, MANY, MANY hair and make-up trials. I have to admit the only time I ever had a ‘bridal meltdown’ was when it came to my hair and make-up. Many friends gave me names of the ‘best (and most expensive)’ artists in the city. None of them ended up being a good fit for me. I wanted to look like myself, but enhanced. I did not want to be unrecognizable. After some of my trials I looked in the mirror and did not even look familiar!

I should have just looked closer to home…For hair I ended up choosing the stylist I have been going to for cuts for the last 7 years (I did not know she did styling for weddings because I just used her for hair cuts). She ended up charging me half of what many of the high end stylists would have cost. For make-up I picked the woman I have been seeing for 8 years for my eyebrow shaping (tweezing). These women knew me best and ended up making me look like me!

Susan’s Tips: I have a few tips of my own for finding the perfect hair and makeup artist.

1. You want to build a relationship with the stylist doing your hair and makeup for your wedding, so start looking for someone as early as you can.
2. Flip open your copy of Perfect Wedding Guide or go to PerfectWeddingGuide.com. There are many professional hair and makeup artists listed for you to interview and to do trial runs.
3. Look through magazines and on the Internet for photos of how you think you would like to look, but listen to the stylist for suggestions too. Not every look is good for every woman.
4. Talk to the stylist. If you think your makeup is too heavy or your hair is too stiff, say something.

Tomorrow, Jill and I have some final thoughts on planning a wedding in eleven weeks. I want to hear your thoughts too. Post a comment or send me an email at susan.southerland@pwg.com.

If you are a professional hair and makeup artist, send me your photos and comments. Tell me what you think makes a great client. What should a bride bring to her initial consultation? What other advice do you have for brides-to-be?

One of the things that makes me nervous about planning a wedding in a short period of time is that there is very little room for error. There just isn’t enough time to fix any mistakes. Jill experienced one major hick up while she was planning her wedding. Here is what she told me.

I did stumble over a major road block when it came to the bridesmaid dresses. I had my girls order gorgeous navy bridesmaid gowns from a well-known gown designer. My bridesmaids did have to pay a rush fee, but it was not exorbitant. My bridesmaids were also happy because I picked the color and fabric and I let them pick the style that looked best with their body types. Nobody complained about the rush fee because they knew it was necessary to ensure on time delivery.

Two weeks before the wedding the dresses were still not delivered. After calling frantically I learned that my bridesmaid dress orders had been lost. That is right, LOST. L-O-S-T. They lost the order! Deposits had been charged and processed, but no dresses, nada!

After a lot of back and forth conversations on the phone the designer promised to make the dresses asap and pay for the fittings. They did do this, but my bridesmaids did not have their finished gowns until several days before the wedding. It was very stressful.

Susan’s Tip: I think that Jill was very brave to order bridesmaids’ dresses so close to the wedding date. The dresses have to be made, shipped and fitted. That takes time, and it is time when the items are out of your control. If you order bridesmaids dresses shortly before the wedding, I suggest finding back up dresses somewhere just in case. Better yet, as long as you need to find back up dresses, why not just purchase dresses off-the-rack? Choose a color and let your bridesmaids find a beautiful dress in a style that suits each of them. You will completely avoid the stress of waiting for the dresses to arrive at the gown salon.

Here are Jill’s beautiful bridesmaids.

Tomorrow… choosing a hair and makeup artist.

Two thousand eight has been an interesting year for weddings. I have mentioned the spending cutbacks I have been noticing, but I have also seen a trend of planning weddings in shorter time frames. Gone are the days of the eighteen month planning process. I planned a recent client’s wedding in three weeks!

Planning a wedding in a short period of time is not impossible, but it can be a challenge. Finding locations and services that are available can be tricky, but as with anything else, a little plan and a little luck can make for a great wedding without months of agonizing over every detail.

I attended a seminar in October where I met a very nice newlywed, Jill Meister. She has a very, very busy job and lives in the very busy city of New York , but somehow, she managed to plan the wedding of her dreams in just eleven weeks. Jill agreed to share her thoughts and her photos with my readers. Over the next week, I will be sharing excerpts from an interview I did with her.

First, here is a little background on Jill’s wedding. Jill got engaged in November of 2006. She and her fiancé were both from Baltimore. Jill assumed that the wedding would take place there. After months of searching for the perfect venue, she became frustrated. Planning a wedding in Baltimore while living in New York was not working for her. Frustrated and upset, she decided to put the wedding planning on hold.

In December of 2007, she had an epiphany. They could have the wedding New York City! After searching a bit, Jill fell in love with a venue and it was available — for April 5, 2008, just eleven weeks from the date she started making wedding plans in New York.

Jill definitely lucked out. The venue is typically the hardest thing to secure when planning in a short time frame. Here is what Jill did next, in her own words:

When I found out my venue had April 5th available I immediately went on the hunt for a band. I had a list of my top picks and fortunately for us my number one favorite band was also available for April 5th. Musical entertainment was extremely important to us so being able to secure our top pick for that day took a lot of pressure off of me!

After that I went searching for a dress – which was not easy!! I went to at least 10 different wedding salons. Most of the salons called me crazy when I told them my wedding was less than three months away. Most places said I would not be able to get a dress, BUT I knew that was not the case. I had read about sample sales and getting discounts on sample dresses off the rack and I figured that would be my best bet. I was right! Once I slipped into my Priscilla of Boston gown I knew I had found the one! I had probably tried on over 100 dresses by the time I found my gown. And yes, trying on so many dresses is very tiring, but in the end it is worth it! The best part was – I did not have to worry about the dress not being made in time, or paying any rush fees. Because I bought the dress off the rack I was able to buy it that day and it was all mine!

Tip from Susan: Often gown salons will advertise sample sales on their websites. Check out the bridal salons on PerfectWeddingGuide.com and find salons near you. You can find website links on the PWG webiste click and check out what specials they have going on in-house. If you don’t see an announcement on their website, give them a call and ask when they might be having a sample sale. This is a great money saving tip, even if you aren’t planning a wedding in a short period of time.

Here is Jill and her husband Art. Look at that fabulous gown!

… And the back of her gown

Come back tomorrow for some bridesmaids’ dress drama, and as always, send me an email at susan.southerland@pwg.com or leave me a post here.