How much is bridal hair and makeup?
Most couples pay $150-$350 for the bride. Here is what moves that number, what you get at each level, and where to spend less without regretting it.
Bridal hair and makeup typically runs $150 to $350 for the bride, often including a trial, with bridal-party services around $75 to $150 per person per service. The cost is predictable; the schedule is not. Morning timing is where weddings most commonly run late, so the number of artists matters as much as the price.
What you get at each price
Bride only
$150-$350
Hair and makeup for the bride, usually with a trial included or offered at an additional $75-$150.
Bride and party most couples
$500-$1,500
Bride plus four to six people having hair, makeup or both. This is where most weddings land.
Premium / large party
$1,500-$4,000+
A team of artists on site, airbrush, hair extensions and additions, touch-up attendance through the day, and sometimes a second look for the reception.
These are what couples actually pay, not quotes we can make on a vendor's behalf. Every hair and makeup artist sets their own prices, and the ones on Lazo publish theirs where they choose to.
What hair & makeup artists say they start at, by city
Separately from the ranges above, Lazo reads the "starting at" price each vendor publishes on their own website or Lazo profile. Across the US, 432 hair & makeup artists publish one; the middle half start between $120 and $290, median $150. A starting price is the smallest package, which is why it sits below what most couples end up paying.
| City | Middle half start at | Median | Priced vendors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia PA | $100–$220 | $130 | 17 |
| New York City NY | $180–$300 | $200 | 15 |
| Denver CO | $130–$310 | $160 | 14 |
| Orlando FL | $130–$220 | $170 | 12 |
| Salt Lake City UT | $130–$210 | $160 | 12 |
| Washington DC DC | $150–$190 | $160 | 12 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth TX | $120–$470 | $180 | 11 |
| Boston MA | $100–$850 | $120 | 10 |
| Los Angeles CA | $140–$280 | $180 | 9 |
| San Francisco Bay CA | $160–$350 | $200 | 9 |
| Charleston SC | $140–$420 | $280 | 8 |
| Chicago IL | $100–$170 | $120 | 8 |
| Baltimore MD | $120–$170 | $140 | 7 |
| Columbus OH | $120–$775 | $180 | 7 |
| Milwaukee WI | $100–$300 | $150 | 7 |
| Pittsburgh PA | $120–$160 | $120 | 7 |
| Providence RI | $110–$280 | $150 | 7 |
| San Diego CA | $120–$200 | $170 | 7 |
| Boise ID | $120–$170 | $160 | 6 |
| Detroit MI | $120–$150 | $140 | 6 |
| Fort Myers FL | $110–$430 | $130 | 6 |
| Hartford-New Haven CT | $160–$290 | $220 | 6 |
| Houston TX | $150–$440 | $200 | 6 |
| Kansas City MO | $130–$150 | $150 | 6 |
| Lake Tahoe NV | $120–$180 | $150 | 6 |
| Atlanta GA | $110–$170 | $140 | 5 |
| Grand Rapids MI | $100–$130 | $100 | 5 |
| Hudson Valley NY | $120–$250 | $140 | 5 |
| Lehigh Valley PA | $200–$250 | $250 | 5 |
| Louisville KY | $100–$150 | $100 | 5 |
Cities with five or more priced vendors, biggest sample first; a linked city has its own page with the vendors behind the number. Read 2026-11-11.
What actually drives the price
- Number of services, not people
- One person having both hair and makeup is two services. A party of six having both is twelve, and that is what sets the schedule and the price.
- Number of artists
- One artist working alone can take six hours for a party of six. Two or three artists compress that dramatically, cost more, and are frequently the difference between a calm morning and a late ceremony.
- Trials
- Commonly $75-$150 each and worth doing for the bride. Trials for the whole party rarely are.
- Travel and early starts
- On-site service usually carries a travel fee, and a start before about 7am often carries an early-call charge.
- Touch-ups and a second look
- An artist staying through the day is typically $75-$150 per hour.
- Airbrush and extensions
- Usually $25-$75 above standard application.
How to spend less without regretting it
- Buy more artists, not fewer services
- The thing that goes wrong here is time, not quality. A second artist costs less than a delayed ceremony.
- Let the party pay for themselves
- It is completely normal for bridesmaids to cover their own hair and makeup. Say so early and kindly.
- Do the trial, skip the party trials
- Your trial prevents the one genuinely unrecoverable mistake. Everyone else can be briefed on the day.
- Choose one service for the party
- Hair for everyone and makeup for the bride, or the reverse, halves the party cost and the morning.
When to book
Book 6-9 months out and do the trial 2-3 months before. Ask your artist to build the morning schedule backwards from when photographs start, not from the ceremony.
What to ask before you book
- How many artists are coming, and what is the schedule for my party size?
- What time do you need to start for us to be ready with buffer?
- Is the trial included, and can we do it at the time of day the wedding starts?
- Do you stay for touch-ups, and what does that cost?
- What is your travel fee and early-start policy?
More questions to ask a hair and makeup artist — and what a good answer sounds like →
Common questions
How much does bridal hair and makeup cost?
Bridal hair and makeup typically costs $150 to $350 for the bride, often including a trial. Bridal-party services run around $75 to $150 per person per service, so a bride plus five attendants having both hair and makeup commonly totals $700 to $1,500.
Should bridesmaids pay for their own hair and makeup?
It is entirely normal for them to pay their own way, and equally normal for the couple to cover it. What matters is saying which it will be early, before anyone has budgeted around an assumption.
How long does wedding hair and makeup take?
Roughly 45-75 minutes per service. One artist handling a party of six having both hair and makeup can take six hours or more, which is why booking a second artist is often the difference between a calm morning and a late start.
Why our prices aren't sponsored
Most wedding sites earn money from the vendors they list, which is why their "recommended" hair & makeup artists and their cost advice tend to point the same direction. Lazo takes nothing per lead and nothing per booking, and rankings can't be bought at any price. Every review comes from a couple who proved they actually got married with that vendor. So the ranges above are what we believe couples pay — not what anyone paid us to say.
Hair & Makeup Artists near you
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