Constructing Your Perfect Wedding Day Beauty Timeline

Have you given much thought as to how the getting ready portion of the day really works? Probably not & that’s fair ! It gets a bit boring to think about the nitty gritty details but trust me - it’s vitally important ! So I want to walk you through exactly what goes into creating a timeline so that you can be better prepared & knowledgable when planning your wedding day. Why? Because that means you’re less stressed & everything is more seamless!

Photo by Sara Botta Photography

While it may seem that you just show up, get ready & ta-da wedding bells there’s actually a few more factors. When creating a wedding timeline the 3 main factors are end time, start time & head count. What time do you need to be ready? Not the ceremony time. The ready by time. This means you’ll need to talk to your photographer to see what time any photos ( portraits, family, first look etc) are because this will truly determine your end time. Start time may seem like whenever we want but in reality venues often put restrictions as to what time you can access the getting ready suite. We need to know that time because that can shrink the amount of time we have to get ready. For head count, well we can only work so fast. It’s not fair to try to force artists to work double time & expect the same quality results. It’s a customized craft not an assembly line. You can expect about 45 minutes per head/face for each adult, 30min per head/face for children & 60 min per head/face for the marrier.

Photo by Lindsay & Co Photography

So what happens if the head count can’t fit in the time allotted? Or you’re surprised & can’t get access til later? Or you have to finish sooner for x, y, z reason? There’s a couple options. First is to add an assistant. That will cut your time by at least a 1/3 but sometimes event by 1/2 ( depending on how many people & types of services). Sometimes people are hesitant to adding an assistant because of additional cost but it allows us to complete quality work in the allotted amount of time & no one has to stress. Another option is to see if you can get in earlier, especially if it’s less than an hour of additional time we need. Some venues will have a soft spot & allow it free of charge. Those that do charge may be less for that little bit of time than what an assistant would be. You can see if there’s any wiggle room on the finish time. Whether that’s everyone finishing a smidge later or a person or two finishing after everyone else because they’re not immediately needed in photos.

Photography by Joel & Amber

Now what can throw a beautifully crafted timeline for a delaying domino effect ? Missing people, lack or preparedness & lack of communication. On our timelines we give you a designated time for your services so you can think of them as appointments. Don’t go missing or be late because that’s eating into your time. Also make sure you have everything you need with you such as accessories. If you’re up & down from the chair during your appointment time then again it’s reducing the amount of time we have to work. Make sure you’ve followed the prep directions ( dry hair & naked face) because any time we have to dedicate to rectify those things reduces the time we have to work. We build in buffer time but I’m sure you can see how that can quickly be absorbed. Finally is communication. If you have extensions for instance that needs to be mentioned prior to the wedding day as it takes more time. Not mentioning that someone is bringing them essentially requires us to do more work in less time.

Here is a real life example of our timeline for marrier Linda whose wedding was this first October weekend in Washington DC at The Four Seasons. She had a limited time to get ready so both the lead hair & makeup artist each had assistants. Names are present so everyone knows when their “appointment time” is & it’s color coded. Why color code? You’re busy ! Instead of you needing to stress & trying to remember if you were 10 or 10:30 & find it on the schedule you see you’re light blue & it’s easier to locate. It’s also easier for us to de-conflict when building the timeline. The only “oddity” in this timeline is the “break” which we normally don’t do but it was per the request of the marrier. You’ll also see there’s time for set up & touch ups. We ALWAYS do touch ups as our final seal of approval.

Keeping all these thing in mind & you’ll be set for a perfect day. Ultimately listen to the guidance of your artist. They are the pro & you hired them for a reason. Don’t try to rush or squeeze & instead the method behind their time. Confused or curious? Ask questions! We’re more than happy to shine a light.