Bridal Trials - The Right Time to Book Them

The million dollar question; When should I book my Bridal trial for Hair and Makeup? 

Today I want to spend a few minutes to convey how Trial sessions work, and what you need to know BEFORE you go spending your money on random trial sessions!

Many of the larger bridal hubs provide so much false information to brides on this sole area, that I think it’s high time we broke it all down.

Many brides get engaged and switch into hyper-excited mode, and rightfully so. HOWEVER, This is also 9 times out of 10 their own demise as well when it comes to their details planning…
Yes, many brides are eager to see themselves all done up. BUT, Not only are most not ready or prepared yet, but many also lack any of the ideals needed for their professionals hired, to do their job, and properly.

Here’s a few quick key questions to ask yourself first; Do you have all your wedding attire? Veil? Accessories? Color scheme chosen? Date/Times for the wedding? Have you confirmed number of people for services? Do you have any reference images together yet of what you want to go with for your look?

If you’ve answered no to 2 or more of even these basic questions, then you are not ready to begin your trial sessions yet….Allow me to better explain:
In the case of Bridal trials, Make-up and Hair trials are typically done approx. 8-10 weeks prior to the wedding date once everything is into its final stages and you have all your beauty “details” in place.
Though they can be done sooner, it is typically recommended against by most PROFESSIONAL beauty providers, as if done to early, it can compromise many different areas of the services.
All of these items and details are taken into consideration and worked with when constructing your bridal look. The overall style of your personal needs, but also the wedding itself. It’s for this reason that many beauty providers offer Full service packages, to better accommodate brides without compromising their service integrity as well.

Part one: Time Frame
When is your wedding? If your wedding isn’t until next August, a trial now and in the fall will do no good…6 months early? A year early? You’re wasting your time and money!

Why?
Basics will tell you that winter months will wear completely different than a spring/summer month will… How many of us have dry skin in the winter, oilier in the summer? Skin reacts differently, as will the temperatures affect on the Makeup/Hair. Even basics like rain verses sun. You will wear completely differently in 5 degree weather than in the dead heat of August sweating in 35 degree weather on a golf course. Thus in many cases completely different products will also be used, both for Hair and your Makeup.

This is often many brides first step to setting themselves up for False ideals and disappointments as to what you’ll look like, how it will wear and more…

Part 2: Growing your hair out for the wedding?
Most people’s hair can grow upwards of a 1/2 inch per month, some even more than that! So why are you going to do a trial 6-8 months early, then your hair won’t even be close to the length it is now?
Why this may be a problem…

As your hair grows out, this can hinder your hairstyle, and in some peoples cases, make the hairstyles completely obsolete come time of the wedding. Not only will the additional hair length add volume and bulk to the style, but can in fact change the overall appearance of it too.

For those planning down styles or Half up, curls will now wear and fall differently due to the added weight of the extra length. This can also cause hair to not only lose shape but fall out faster to.
For those that plan to overhaul their color; The mere color of your hair will also affect how it will “look” and more importantly, photograph! Ever notice how 90% of the bridal images you find are pictured with BLOND Models? It’s so you can see details, dark hair looks and photographs differently and thus absorbs lighting, fading out any detail work.

Part 3: The Accessories
Your veil, your earrings, the necklace, to the very dress you’re wearing that day… Even your color schemes all play a part in the final step of your wedding look.

Believe it or not, but even the shape of your earrings can change an entire “look” just by the way they shape your face, same goes for a chosen hairstyle.

In the case of brides choosing to wear a veil or statement piece in the hair, often Hairstyles will be styled to accommodate them. Some veils even leaving behind a “kink” in the hair and thus needing to be accommodated for during your styling.

Heavy beading on your dress? The style you chose for hair may actually be compromised now, causing the hair to catch and snag throughout the day on all that beading, willingly creating a frizzy mess and matted hair ends. No amount of photoshop is going to fix that…

When doing your trial, you want to make sure to see everything as a whole look, this is your best way to tell how you like or don’t like something. As a Bride you need to be able to see it as a full package, just as you would on the wedding day and for your photos. The earrings, the veil, the full makeup and Hair.

These are just a few quick examples of how much detail is taken into account for a Brides look and how jumping the gun to soon can hinder your wedding day look. Any professional level artist will tell you that. If as the bride you don’t have anything in place yet that your vendors need, how do you expect them to not only create your look but perform at the highest levels that you are paying them for, when you have them working blind?

Though it’s understandable to be excited, do yourself the favor and spend that extra time to really focus in and gather what you need first, before embarking on random trial sessions for a wedding that is still 9 months or so away and services that you aren’t prepared for just yet.

Booking and securing your choice artist is key, as many book a minimum of 1 year in advance, but holding out your included trial session until you’re ready is also key to the final outcome.
In the end, you’ll find better quality of service from your vendors, but also your wedding pictures and how you look in them. They will always reflect that extra time spent to do it right. When after all, your images are your lasting memory of an amazing day, why leave how you look in them on a bunch of “what ifs” and “I don’t know yet”…?



Thank you to Felicia Bromba of Vancouver BC for the information posted above.