LIPSTICK/ LIPGLOSS: Even if your bridesmaids aren't "makeup girlies", gifting a lippie is not only fun, but it's also very practical! Once hair/ makeup leaves, lips are usually the first thing to wear off (you know, all the champs & toasting photos!) You can gift all the same color, or you can gift a color you know will look good on each girl. My top picks: DRUG STORE | HIGH END

PJ'S/ ROBES: Skip the silky, short robe! They're hard to fit everyone and the material is usually too slippery to stay tied up all morning. 9 times out of 10, I see bridesmaids wearing stuff underneath because they're cold or uncomfortable in just the robe. Instead, opt for some cute PJ's or a lounge set that match your wedding colors! (Also skip putting "Bridesmaid" printed on them...trust me!) PRO TIP: If you are getting PJs with a collar, make sure the collar sits low and is flexible. If anyone gets a low bun hairstyle, collars often mess up the style. My top picks: SILKY PJ SET | COMFY LOUNGE SET | WINTER WEDDING PJ SET

SILK HAIR SCRUNCHY: Another practical & cute gift! While your girls are getting their makeup done, a silk hair scrunchy is a helpful tool to keep hair off their face. Plus, who doesn't always need more hair ties?! My top picks: MULTI COLOR PACK | CHAMPAGNE TONE

SLIPPERS: Gather your girls shoe sizes and order some fuzzy slippers! A lot of bridal suites (especially for summer months) are fully air conditioned. This means, cold feet! If you don't think slippers match the vibe, get some cute slides or flip flops. Flip flops are also practical for dancing time! My top picks: FUZZY SLIPPERS | SLIDES

PERFUME: Even though people often have varying tastes in perfume scents, you usually know your girls and what they like! Perfume rollers or mini sizes are a more affordable option than a full-sized bottle. This is also something they can use on the wedding day & keep in their clutch or purse to re-apply throughout the evening! My top picks: VICTORIA'S SECRET SCENT | YSL

JEWELRY: If you are a bride who likes uniformity, gifting a necklace, bracelet, or earrings is PERFECT! It helps ensure you get that uniformity you're looking for, while providing a special gift for your girls. I've seen brides who gift both a necklace and earrings, others just choose one. My top picks: SMALL HOOPS | DAINTY NECKLACE | BRACELET

HAIR/ MAKEUP: Depending on your budget and your bridal party needs, gifting hair/ makeup (or one or the other) makes a great gift! If you don't think your girls will like the physical gifts like mentioned above, giving the gift of professional makeup and hair is a great one! 

Everyone's gifting budget will be different- and that's OKAY. Even if you have a small budget, giving one or two practical things to your girls will be greatly appreciated!

Now, this might be controversial, but THINGS I WOULD SKIP IN A BRIDESMAID GIFT BAG: Anything saying "bridesmaid" on it. Just personally, it's overdone and no one wants to carry around a Tumblr with that plastered on it after the wedding day. While you're at it, skip the mugs/ Tumblr's/ in general! Get some cute plastic cups that can just be recycled after the morning. I know I personally already have too many in my house! 

What are you gifting your girls? What is the best gift you got for being in a wedding?! Let us know in the comments...

PC: Anne Mientka Photography 

Not only do these scenarios put stress on the professional & client, but it can very well cause the entire schedule of the morning to be thrown off. If we are spending an hour and a half fidgeting with the tendrils on grandmas up-do, or calming down a bridesmaid who had an anxiety attack from having mascara applied, we very well could run late. No one wants that!

If I didn't see this happen at least 15+ times a wedding season, I wouldn't feel the need to write about it. But I am begging you- if you KNOW someone in your family or wedding party fits into one of these categories, just leave them off the services list. It truly will make EVERYONE happier & less stressed. 

XO
​Hillary

Vendors included:
- Getting ready location: Olde Cypress Country Club
- Reception Venue: The White Rose
- Photography/ Videography: Faith & Cody
- Hair: GlamBox Artistry
​- Florals: Something Bloomed
- Planning: Red Letter Event Design

Trust me when I say that it's no fun telling my brides, "We will arrive at your venue to start beauty services at 7 AM". Not only does this mean an early wake up call for your bridal party, but us, too! We fully realize early start times are not ideal for everyone, especially when it's such a long day! But guess what? We don't actually determine when we start our services...

So, why do some wedding mornings have to start so early? What do we base our timing on? Well, let's break it down!

1) Photo Timeline: This is primarily what we base our start and end times off of. I can't even accurately set a timeline for beauty without knowing it. If you are planning to do a first look, bridal portraits, wedding party photos, & family photos prior to your ceremony, expect that to take anywhere from 1.5-3 hours of time (dependent on the photographer, but from experience what we most often see). The more photos  wanted= the more time needed before the ceremony.

2) Ceremony Time: The photo start time will work back from when your ceremony time is. So, if you have a 4 PM ceremony & you're wanting all of those photos done prior, then plan for at least being done with beauty by 12:30 or 1 PM. Again, the earlier the ceremony time = earlier for photos & beauty. We also want to be packing up and getting out of the way of the photographer when they arrive to start photos; (even if they're just starting with details shots! A lot of bridal suites/ rooms aren't big enough for all of us in there.)

3) Group / Party Size: The more people, the longer we'll need. For parties larger than 9 or 10, we really suggest getting a second artist or stylist (or both) brought on to help cut back on time. If you have a group of 10, it would take approx. 5.5+ hours with 1 MUA / 1 stylist. With 4 artists & stylists, it would be cut back to around 2.5-3 hours of work. For us, each service ranges anywhere from 25-40 minutes, with the bride obviously taking a bit longer. I also always build in some buffer time just in case! With the high industry demand right now, it's extremely hard to lock in second artists / stylists, so we suggest asking us for one ASAP if you're thinking about it! (They do come with a second artist fee & travel fee.)

4) Onsite VS. Offsite: Are you getting ready at the venue or are you getting ready offsite at a hotel or Airbnb? If you're getting ready offsite, we have to factor travel time for you and your wedding party to depart and get to the venue after beauty services are done. If the hotel is 20-30 minutes away from the venue, we would want to give you at least 40-45 minutes of travel time just to be safe. Where you're getting into your dress can also play into this timing. 

So, with all of that said, if you and your wedding party are NOT morning people, I'd suggest the following while you're planning:

- Have a later ceremony time (after 4:30 PM)
- Pinpoint which specific photos you MUST have done before the ceremony & save the rest for after
- Have us hire in an additional MUA or stylist if you have a large group getting beauty services
- Get ready onsite or super close by if possible 

For us, I find that setting our final beauty timeline ONE MONTH prior to your date is ideal. A lot of little details change throughout the planning process, and that means our timeline gets changed. Trust me when I say it's not worth it to set & have to re-set your morning-of timeline; just wait until one month out! By that point, your photographer / planner should have their timeline set in stone, and we can take ours from there.

SAMPLE WEDDING MORNING TIMELINE:
Total services: Bride + 6
Start time: 8 AM
End time: 12 PM
Ceremony time: 3:30 PM
Photo start time: 12:30 PM

• 7:40 AM - 8 AM: Arrive & Set up
• 8 AM - 8:30 AM: Client 1 Makeup & Client 2 Hair
• 8:30 AM - 9 AM: Client 3 Makeup & Client 6 Hair
• 9 AM - 9:30 AM: Client 2 Makeup & Client 1 Hair
• 9:30 AM - 10 AM: Client 4 Makeup & Client 5 Hair
• 10 AM - 10:45 AM: Client 5 Makeup & Bride Hair
• 10:45 AM - 11:30 AM: Bride Makeup & Client 3 Hair
• 11:30 AM - 12 PM: Client 6 Makeup & Client 4 Hair
• 12 PM - 12:30 PM: Final Touch Ups/ Pack Up

​

From your dress, to the venue, to the texture of your hair, there are SO many factors that go into selecting your bridal hairstyle.

Before really deep diving into considerations, I always give the disclosure that 99% of what you are seeing on Pinterest under "bridal hairstyles" include extensions worn by models. While they're great for general "inspo", they aren't always feasible, wearable (we'll get into this later), or realistic. Okay, now lets deep dive!

• Hair Length, Texture & Inspo: First and foremost, what does your hair look like? Longer down styles & fuller up do's are typically done with lengthier, fuller hair (or extensions). If you have very fine, thin, or shoulder length hair, these fuller styles will be harder to achieve. Find inspo pics that are similar to your hair! If you have a cute bob, or shorter hair, search "short bridal hairstyles". By narrowing your search to your specific hair type, the looks you see will be more attainable. PRO TIP: Look at your bridal stylists portfolio for inspo.
• Dress Style & Venue: I strongly encourage brides to WAIT on deciding on a hairstyle until they have their dress & veil/ accessories selected. (More to come on veils later!) If you purchase a dress with a swooping low back or incredible lace detailing, you want to SHOW THAT SH*T OFF! This would mean likely doing a form of an up-do. If your dress is more simple, a half-up or all down style might be more fitting. Your style should also match your venue vibe. If you are going for a black tie, super formal event, a boho braid might not fit in the best with the atmosphere. PRO TIP: When trying dresses on, play with putting your hair all up or all down to see how it looks & what you like best.
• Comfort Level: Let's face it, we all have an insecurity or feature that we don't love. For some, this could be having their ears show in a hairstyle, or hiding their jawline. If you wear your hair down every single day, and that feels most comfortable to YOU, wearing your hair down in a much more elevated style than your day-to-day may be your comfort zone. If you always wear your hair up in a bun, an elevated up-do might be your comfort level. Now, on the other spectrum, we often have brides who choose to do the exact opposite of their day-to-day because after all, it's their WEDDING & they want something different than what they look like on the norm. Just be sure to try this out to ensure you still feel comfortable. 
• Veils: An optional, but stunning accessory for brides! Let me start by saying, nearly any hairstyle can accommodate a veil. Are there hairstyles that are easier for veils? Absolutely. Up-do's. These are going to be your tried and true for really holding a veil tightly in place. The base of the up-do works as a "shelf" for the veil clip to snuggle into. Another great option for veils is a half-up style. Where the pulled back pieces connect, a veil can easily sit on that "shelf". If you're set on an all down style, the stylist can tease pieces by your crown, under the top layer of hair, so that the veil clip has hair to grip to. Bobby pins can also be added for extra security. Basically, don't let having a veil deter you from any style you want. Veils are typically only worn for photos and the ceremony; so think long term!​
• Accessories: If you are set on having a hair piece, select a hairstyle that can accommodate it. There is such a wide variety of accessories ranging from dainty pearl pins, to wire wraps, to clips. If you have those dainty pearl bobby pins, an all down style may not be the best since they won't have anywhere to hold to. PRO TIP: Buy a variety of accessories and bring them to your trial to play with! Return what you don't end up using.
• Extensions: Perhaps the HOTTEST discussion point of bridal hairstyles. Do you need them? What kind do you get? I'm going to break this one down by specific styles. (Side note: IF you are blessed with mid-back or longer hair & thick locks, extensions really aren't needed for you!)
  • ​Hollywood Waves/ Volume Curls: Yes. If you want those long, va-va-voom full waves, you'll want some extensions. Extensions are going to add length that the curls are going to take away from your natural hair length. They also help this specific curl style stay put longer.
  • Up-do's: This really depends on how much height & volume you want in your up-do. If you want that high volume, piecey, textured, full up-do, you'll want extensions. If you're leaning more towards a sleek, low bun style, you can probably opt out of them.
  • Half Up-do's: Again, this depends on how long & full you want it. If your hair is long, but thin, adding extensions for this style is probably a good idea. When the stylist pulls those front pieces back to create the half-up part, this will take volume away from the bottom half of your hair. Extensions can add that fullness back in. 
  • Bonus: If you get clip-ins for your wedding, you get to re-use them for other special occasions after- woo hoo!

Still not sure if you need them? Ask your stylist! At your trial, we will always be honest if we think you will need them for the big day. We highly recommend these: www.bellamihair.com/

• Wearability: A lot of this subject comes down to your venue, time of year you're getting married, and your hair texture. If your venue is all outside in mid-July, or your venue doesn't have AC, humidity is likely going to be a HUGE factor. Styles like Hollywood waves do NOT love humidity, wind, rain, etc. No amount of hairspray or product is going to ensure this style lasts all day if it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity. If you're eloping on the top of Mount Mansfield, wind is going to be a big factor. If your hair texture is one that doesn't hold curl well, take that into consideration with styles. Have an open conversation with your stylist about your venue details & how your hair behaves on a day-to-day basis. (Don't worry, we will ask these questions, too!) Be open to the professional suggestions & trying some options out. 

Still unsure of what style might be best for you? That's what trial runs are for! A lot of our brides will typically try out 1-2 styles (or variations of them) during their appointment. Even after a trial, we show up to weddings where the bride switches from a down style to an all up style because of weather that day, or because they just changed their minds! 

Happy planning! XO, Hillary​