If you hire a reputable makeup artist for your wedding, she’ll need to do a trial run on your face. Do not say no, or think it’s an extra way for the artist to make some fast cash. Trial runs are imperative to getting the look you love on your big day.
“The day of your wedding is not a day to play,” says Keri Berman, of Keri Berman & Co. in New York City. “At the trial run, you pick the look, so you know exactly how you’re going to look on your wedding day. It’s all trial and error. You want to eliminate all stress beforehand because everything is going to be on a tight schedule come wedding day.”
Berman won’t do a bride’s face without a trial run, and she tells her clients to look through magazines beforehand. “I want women to show me what they think is too much makeup and what they think is too little,” says Berman. “Everyone has a different comfort level, and pictures don’t lie.”
Since “miscommunication” is the only way your makeup can get messed up, Berman emphasizes the back and forth rapport. “A bride might say she wants a natural look, but it turns out she wants something heavy. By the end of the trial run, she has to love her makeup 100 percent.”
Like every vendor, feel free to interview as many makeup artists as you like before settling on the one you hire. You have to find an artist who makes you feel comfortable, and who listens to your opinion as well as offering her own.
Makeup trial-runs vary in cost, depending on where you live, what your needs are, and the quality of the stylist. Expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $500. Unlike hair, you can book your makeup trial run as soon as you’ve picked the artist. If you already have your dress, great, but Berman says it’s not essential.
“It’s nice to have all the pieces of the puzzle,” she says. “However, makeup matches your face, not your dress, so once you’ve picked the date and found a stylist, feel free to get it over with.” Hair, too, doesn’t have to be in the same cut and style that you’ll be wearing it for your big day. “Skin is what matters,” adds Berman. And, of course, getting the perfect face.
-David Toussaint
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