Wedding Day Hair and Makeup Timelines

Consider this your guide to wedding day hair and makeup timelines! What to consider, what to ask, and how to make sure you have enough time to not get stressed.

One of the questions I get asked the most is “how do we know what time to start?” And then often, like true Minnesotans, so many apologize for asking. No need to apologize, my friends, as this is an important piece of your timeline puzzle! 

The first question I ask is what time you want to have everyone dressed and ready to go by. This typically isn’t right before your ceremony, but according to when your photographer wants you dressed. So, when figuring out when to start hair and makeup the first person we go to is the photographer. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Do you want “getting ready” photos? (These can be real or staged)

• Do you have matching pre-dress outfits (think robes or pajamas) that you want to have pictures of with your wedding party?

• Do you plan to do a dress reveal with your wedding party?

• Do you want to have pictures of you getting your dress on, and is there someone you want to be in pictures with you helping?

  
  

All of these things take time, and so we want to make sure everyone is finished with hair and makeup prior to any of these things taking place. 

The second person to talk to is your planner or venue coordinator if you have one. Some venues require you to do a ceremony walk-through on the day of the wedding (especially if you can’t get in the day before for a rehearsal). We want to make sure to write the walk-through into your morning timeline. If we don’t, it can stall the hair and makeup and throw off the whole timeline. 

The other element I want you to think about is more personal preferences. Do you want to have some down time after your hair and makeup is done to just breathe, or would you rather go right into your dress? Do you have gifts you want to give your wedding party, and would you like time to see them open the gifts? Do you want to be able to sit down and have breakfast before your hair and makeup, or be able to eat lunch afterwards? Do you need time to put in contacts or put on complicated jewelry? Spend some time thinking through your whole morning and how you want it to feel. The last thing you want on your wedding day is to start out rushed or flustered, so I want to encourage you to think about the things that will create peace and joy for you. 

Now, on to the actual timeline part! For my company, I always plan for an hour for the bride and 40 minutes for each person in the wedding party. (The exception to this is if we determine you as the bride need more time.) I then plan backwards from when you want everyone totally finished by, and create a timeline from there. 

To avoid a super early start time, we can often finish your wedding party after you are totally ready to go if you’re doing your first look photos first. That allows us to start a bit later. (If you’re doing those fun pajama photos, we can often still squeeze those in when people aren’t totally done yet.) We can also have an additional hair and makeup artist come to help shorten the timeline if necessary. 

I also like to have about a 30 minute buffer at the end. This gives us some wiggle room in case someone took a little longer, or someone needs more extensive touch ups. Overall, I’ve been creating wedding day timelines for nearly 20 years and this system has worked wonderfully! 

Every hair and makeup company is different, so the first thing to ask is how long they need for everyone. You can take that info and give yourself a rough idea of how long they’ll need for hair and makeup and that will help you plan for the day. The earlier you can do this in your planning process the better, as finalizing your timeline gives you more peace of mind. Lastly, just remember that this is your wedding day and you've spent too much time and money to rush through it. Create a timeline for your whole day that leaves you space to enjoy every moment!

If you have any questions about timing and creating timelines, I’m here for you! Book a consult here . If you want to see if I'm available on your wedding day, send me a text (651-331-1450) or send me an inquiry!

Here's to planning one of most memorable days of your life!

(first two photos are Leah Fontaine Photography)