Being a great bridal hair and make up artist isn’t just about your creative abilities. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my thoughts on what makes a great wedding stylist an AWESOME wedding stylist.
As I said in my previous post ; There is no second chance for a wedding. You can’t be late, get lost, get the wrong address, forget your kit. That’s it. You have so many hours to get the bride and her babes ready, looking hot, feeling relaxed and waving you off like you were the 5th bridesmaid. NO second chances. No moaning , panicking or losing your sh!t.
Ensure you are NEVER late – Always allow extra time to get to your destination. If you’re early – even better, you can treat yourself to a coffee..Nothing worse than turning up feeling stressed, late and like you need to make up time.
We all know the feeling – Everyone’s having such a nice time, they get lulled in to a false sense of security about how relaxing the morning is, then.. BOOM!! Crazy hour before everyone leaves. It doesn’t need to be like that guys. There is another way :
Firstly, let the bride know what’s going on. The morning needs to be fun and relaxed so let everyone know where they need to be and when and what state you want their hair in – Wet/Dry/Natural curls etc. Is make up first? does the hair need prepped? Does the dress go over the head or take 30 minutes to do up? Write up a schedule to show how the morning will run, including all these details. It should be flexible and realistic.
Let everyone blame you for being uber organised, rather than the bride for being a ‘Bridezilla’. It’s likely you’re the only one in the room that has done this so many times before!
Driving? Allow time for parking, finding rooms, lugging bags..You know how it is!
Check if there is parking near by – Do you need a permit? Do you need change for the meter?
Always have a telephone number for the bride + one other. If it’s an early start there may not be anyone on reception, or service may be an issue if out in the sticks.
Train? Check and double check train times and links. Bank holiday? Engineering works? Never take it for granted that you know what time the train is
Hotel? Always check what name the room is under – It’s not always the bridal suite if the bride is just getting ready there and it’s often booked under the grooms name – You probably have no idea what that is!?
Found the address on Google maps and feeling confident? Ace! Now screen shot that map, because if you are out in the middle of no where and lose signal, that’s ya map gone too. And your ability to call anyone.
Having a massive panic on the way to a wedding? Do you think your bride wants to share that with you? No, she doesn’t. Pull over, work out a solution, swear. Then calmly phone your bride and give her the heads up that you’ve FOUND a solution to the problem that doesn’t matter anymore. If you need to let her know at all? Smile as you speak – DO NOT CALL BRIDE IN FRENZY. EVER. I repeat : DO NOT PANIC A BRIDE Find your solution, then call.
I will be honest and give you the perfect example of when this happened to me: I had a mega early start and was driving for well over an hour, I was running early as I always am. I was thinking about all sorts of boring things that mums think about, when I suddenly noticed traffic was getting heavier – Bit odd, as I was driving to the country side. Suddenly I was hit by a momentous feeling of panic – So, I pull over and check maps. Apparently there are 2 Goodwood Hotels (who knew!?) and I am on my way to the wrong one !! *Call husband , swear a lot, work out plan*
I called the bride, explained what had happened – Human error, it happens, kept my sh!t together, explained how timings will change and what would be helpful when I got there to make things run smoothly. I told her not to worry, she is going to have an amazing day and I can’t wait to see her (All true!).
I smiled as I spoke (It takes the edge off your voice and actually makes you feel calmer) Then I thought; I can either drive like a crazy, get a ticket and endanger other drivers or I can turn my radio up, think happy thoughts and accept that I am going to be an hour late. That’s what I chose to do.
And guess what? The bride had no idea how awful that was, I apologised but stayed cool and calm, everyone got finished. Big hugs all round, she was happy, she was lovely (I cried with joy – Not because I got through it, but because I often do and it was JUST SO lovely! ) I gave myself a pat on the back for keeping it together. Job done.
What I DID NOT do was crash in to her hotel room and tell her how horrific my journey was, cry, create drama and talk about myself and my crappy morning for an age. You know why? She doesn’t care. This is the biggest day of her life so far and she doesn’t need you to tell her how crap your day is. She is filled with joy! This is not going to help her – The only thing that will help is making her day better, by doing your job.
What is it they say about swans and furiously paddling feet? Yeh, do that.
I agree, we’re not saving lives here people, but it does MATTER
Seriously. It’s not about you. It’s hard, but for those 3 or 4 hours – Pop all negative thoughts in a box and reassess in your own time.
It’s all about the feel good factor. Making her feel good, makes you feel good too and will make you a better stylist. Keep this in mind and I promise you will find your job much more rewarding!
I hope this has been helpful!
Peace, love and awesome hair
Jo x
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