Questions to ask a hair & makeup artist
Not just what to ask — what a good answer sounds like, and what should worry you.
Everything about hair and makeup is predictable except the thing that goes wrong, which is time. The morning of a wedding is the only part of the day with no slack in it, and the schedule is set by how many artists you hired.
These are specific to hair & makeup artists. The questions worth asking every vendor — contracts, deposits, cancellation, insurance and referral fees — are on the main questions page, and you should ask those too.
The morning schedule
How long will my party take, and how many artists are coming?
What to listen forRoughly 45-75 minutes per service. Do the arithmetic out loud together: six people having hair and makeup is twelve services, which one artist cannot finish before lunch. If the numbers do not work, the answer is another artist, not a faster one.
What time do you need to start, working backwards from when photographs begin?
What to listen forNote the framing: not backwards from the ceremony. An artist who asks what time your photographer arrives is scheduling the morning correctly; one who works from the ceremony time will have you ready an hour after the getting-ready photographs were meant to happen.
What happens if we fall behind?
What to listen forListen for a plan - who gets simplified, what gets cut, whether they can call in help. Every wedding morning runs late; the question is whether they have a response.
The trial
Can we do the trial at the same time of day as the wedding?
What to listen forMakeup looks different in morning light than in the evening, and a trial at 2pm tells you little about a 5pm ceremony. Good artists suggest this themselves.
Will you photograph the trial and bring notes?
What to listen forThe person who does your trial should have written and photographic notes so the look is reproducible - particularly if a different artist from the team may do you on the day.
Is the person doing my trial the person doing my wedding?
What to listen forAt larger companies, not necessarily. Get the name in the contract if it matters to you, which it should.
Products and conditions
Will my makeup last through crying, heat and eight hours?
What to listen forAsk specifically about your climate and whether they use airbrush or long-wear products. An outdoor August wedding is a different technical problem from an indoor December one.
What do you need from the venue - space, light, power?
What to listen forArtists need a window or their own lighting, chairs at the right height and power. Hotel rooms with no natural light are the usual problem, and the fix is knowing in advance.
Who fixes my makeup after the ceremony if I have cried?
What to listen forEither they stay, or they leave you a kit and show you how to use it. Both are fine answers. No answer at all means you are on your own at the exact moment every photograph starts being taken.
Common questions
What should I ask a wedding hair and makeup artist?
Ask how long your party will take and how many artists are coming, what time they need to start working backwards from photographs, whether the trial can be at the same time of day as the wedding, and whether the person doing your trial is the person doing your wedding.
How many hair and makeup artists do we need?
Count services, not people - one person having both hair and makeup is two services at roughly 45-75 minutes each. A party of six having both is twelve services, which one artist cannot complete in a morning. Two or three artists is usually the answer.
Should the makeup trial be at the same time of day as the wedding?
Ideally yes. Makeup reads differently in morning versus evening light, so a 2pm trial tells you little about a 5pm ceremony. Good artists suggest this without being asked.
Why we can publish this
Most wedding sites are paid by the vendors they list, which makes a page about spotting a vendor who is managing you a difficult thing to write. Lazo charges nothing per lead and nothing per booking, and rankings can't be bought at any price — so we have no reason to soften any of the above. If a hair and makeup artist gives you one of the answers we've flagged, that is worth knowing before you pay a deposit.
Hair & Makeup Artists on Lazo
We index 13,600+ hair & makeup artists across 108 markets. Every review comes from a couple who proved they actually got married with that vendor.