Get the MOST out of your Bridal Trials!!

With bridal season getting underway, many brides are now meeting with their vendors for those with weddings towards the beginning of the year. Many brides are now into their consult/trial run through for their Beauty services too. With that in mind we wanted to really touch on the importance on being prepared for your meetings, following the instructions your vendors provide to you and doing the “homework” they assign to you. This may include finding reference images of styles you like, to following up with your other vendors regarding time frames. As all of this is key, so that EVERYONE is on the same page and has a clear idea for the wedding date.

“I just want to look gorgeous” - is the #1 comment we hear the most in the beauty services side….and rightfully so! It’s your special day and all eyes on you.

With the bride paying so much forth for items, venue and then her photographs, the way you “look” in them is no place to skip by on or get “lazy” with details, as these images are what’s left of the day for many years to come. Yet for some reason this is often the area in which many brides are the most unprepared and indecisive for.

So I wanted to take a few minutes to list some of the most important facts to getting the most out of your Beauty trials: Prepare for you consultation and trial sessions!!

1) This cannot be stressed enough, many of your vendors will even provide you with full instructions long before you even get them booked in. By not following them, you are only hindering yourself in the end and setting yourself up for possible disappointments. If you provide absolutely nothing to your vendors to work with, as was asked from you, you have no right to complain! This means and might include simple things like; If they ask you to not show up with wet hair and you do?! Showing up with 2 day old makeup caked to your lashes. Not having main items on hand like a tiara or hairpiece, but you want a style wrapped and designed around it? or a Hair design that specifically calls for a Fake Hair piece incorporated, or longer length(Clip ins) added to shoulder length hair, but you didn’t pick anything up….How does one purpose to achieve and create a waist length down Hairstyle at a trial appointment, with natural shoulder length hair, if you do not have the false hair as needed for it yet?

  2) Start with the basics; It is imperative that you arrive ON TIME for your consultations! Your time slots for trial runs have been specifically set aside for you and with consideration for your particular needs (multiple looks, medical skin issues or very long hair, to give a few common examples). When you are late you are not only jeopardizing your beauty services for your wedding, the Trial session, but potentially other client’s who may follow your appointment time!

3) Neglectful care of your grooming including out of shape brows, facial hair and/or dry and peeling skin not only hinders the application itself, it will never let the flawless and “perfect look” shine through to give you a true visualization of your look; if you have bushy brows, dehydrated skin and peeling lips!

4) For best results you will always want to book your Hair and Make-up consultations on the same day. This allows you to get a full visual on your chosen style and look. It’s often hard for people to visualize a fully done up makeup style, especially when their hair is in a ponytail and they are wearing jeans and a Tank top, or a fancy bridal Hairstyle, with no makeup on.

5) Bring PICTURES! You can never have too many pictures to show your artists of looks that you like for your beauty services. Otherwise, you’re starting the entire plan off on a “guessing game”. You DO however want to make sure they are similar; If you want an up-d0, then you don’t need a dozen ‘all down’ style pictures with you. Also look to images similar to YOU; your eye shape, your hair coloring/type, ethnicity and so on. Although that image maybe nice, often if it is to far ‘off’ from your natural look it will not, in most cases, look at all the same on you… Your Artists are not mind readers and some people do have a harder time articulating their wants and needs. At the same time, what you see in an image, a professional will view it differently too. This allows them a starting point to better breakdown and analyze what you tend to gravitate to from the images brought, leaving them better able to suggest a variety of options.

6) If you can, schedule a quick dress “try on session” of your gown to follow the consultation/trial run. This will give you a better idea on how everything will look together, making it allot easier to negate any changes you might wish to make to fine tune your look.

7) Follow up. Many vendors will contact clients back a few days after, or vendors may ask you to contact them to let them know how everything held up, from the hair to any other “issues” that might have arisen afterwards that needs to be adjust before the big day. If you provide them with no follow up information, they are likely to assume everything is ok.

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The DAY OF is NOT the time to just change it all up on whim!!! If you are confused, change your mind, etc. it’s WELL WORTH The price of a full retrial for your new idea of a look, to better assess your new ideas and options compared to the first. Chancing it to the day of can lead to a disaster, what if you decide you don’t like it? With other members booked, there may not be enough time now to fix it! Be open minded to your artist’s recommendations and suggestions for you. We all get stuck in routine and though it may not be what you do “everyday” remember that they do this for a living, spend thousands of dollars and often months/years in training and know how certain colors and intensities will read in pictures and how different lighting situations can affect a particular “look”. We all want you to look and feel like ‘yourself’, but at the same time remember that everyone is expecting that little bit more; they are already expecting the dress, the Hair, the Makeup, some added bling factor…

What you may see and what a photo sees are two completely different things as well. We are trained in applications that will combat everything from over-shine to foundation flare, creasing, coverage issues, time of day you are getting married, humidity levels and more. Having a solid idea or start point going in will make things easier on all sides and go a long way, but also allow for better results overall. Not being prepared, basically has you hiring a team to ‘work blind’ setting yourself up for possible disappointments. So just remember, don’t jump the gun on a early trial. Let things take its course and do it when you are ready and fully prepared. Happy Wedding planning!

Thank you to Felicia Bromba of the Vancouver Bridal Hub for posting this on her blog.