The one vendor whose cost is set by how many people are in the room with you on the morning.
The Knot’s 2026 average for the bride’s hair and makeup combined. Add the party and a trial and most weddings land between $1,500 and $4,000.
This category is priced per person rather than per booking, so your number is a function of headcount. Most solo artists can handle four to five faces in a standard wedding morning; past that a second artist is a scheduling requirement and should be in the quote from the start.
This is the structural thing to understand. Almost every other vendor charges you once. Beauty charges per person, so the number is set by how many people are getting ready with you.
Airbrush application, false lashes, hair extensions fitting, an early start fee before six in the morning, travel to your location, and a second artist once the party passes four or five people. Most solo artists can handle four to five faces in a standard wedding morning. Beyond that a second artist is a scheduling necessity, not an upsell, and should be quoted from the start.
Many artists set a minimum for wedding-day bookings to hold the date and bring a team. Ask about it in your first message.
It varies and it causes friction. Some couples cover the bridal party as a gift, others have each person pay their own. Decide early and tell people, because a bridesmaid discovering on the morning that she owes $180 is an avoidable problem.
The booking
The morning
The trial is the whole decision, so use it properly.
Skin, hair length and color all change. A trial six weeks to three months out is close enough to be accurate. Go in with reference photos, and be specific about what you like in each: the finish, the eye, the amount of texture in the hair.
Wedding makeup has to survive twelve hours, weather, and a photographer’s flash. After the trial, take flash photos in low light and daylight photos outside, then live in it for the rest of the day and see how it wears. That is information you cannot get in the chair.
Ask how long each service takes, who goes first, and when you should be finished relative to your photographer’s arrival. Beauty running late is the most common cause of a wedding day timeline collapsing, because everything after it is fixed.
Six to nine months out, sooner in peak season or for artists with a following. Confirm whether the artist you met is the artist attending, and what happens if they are ill.
We are building this market by market, and a city page goes live only once it holds enough real artists to be worth your time. Two listings is not a directory, so until it is useful it stays closed.
About $300 to $700 for the bride and $150 to $400 per additional person. The Knot puts the bride’s national average near $300 for hair and makeup combined. Including a trial and the party, most couples spend $1,500 to $4,000.
For the bride, yes. A trial costs $250 to $550 and lets you settle the look and the timing before the day. Book it six weeks to three months out, not earlier.
It varies. Some couples cover it as a gift, others have each person pay their own. Decide early and say so, because it is an awkward surprise on the morning.
Four to five in a standard wedding morning. Past that, a second artist is needed to keep the timeline intact, and that cost should be quoted from the start.
Six to nine months, sooner in peak season or for artists with a following.