Wedding Blog
Hi there,
I get my hair done at a fantastic salon in NYC, and I’ve been working with the manager there to arrange wedding day hair and makeup for myself, the bridesmaids, the moms and some aunts. However, I just got off the phone with her and she raised her original price from $80 to $100 for hair (no matter what style) and from $75 to $100 for makeup.
They claim it is because they have to open the salon early in order to accommodate us all, and my response to that was, well they are making money that they normally wouldn’t make during normal business hours. And their response to that was that they had to get stylists to agree to come in and be happy about it! I just know that most of the people I am trying to coordinate hair and makeup for are going to be upset about the price. It’s a lot of money!
My question for weddingbee readers is, are you coordinating hair and makeup for everyone? What was the average price? What should I do?
Thanks!
Sarah
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Hi Sarah, That’s such an annoyance. My baker went up $.75 per cupcake and I was annoyed as hell, but they are so good and I was in a rush, so I went with it.
That said, if you have the time, now is the time to look somewhere else if you are unhappy with the way they are handling themselves. But, if you find them worth the extra money, you’ll have to bite your tongue or ask your Bridal party to chip in.
I am taking care of hair and makeup. I haven’t organized makeup, although I am considering visiting a counter at Nordies. Hair starts at $55 at my salon that I go to regularly for trims and up-dos.
i arranged to have someone come do hair & makeup for myself and my BMs the day of. since my wedding was at 11am, I didn’t want to travel to a salon and have to worry about time constraints. i paid $400 for myself and $150 each for my BMs.
I’m paying an extra $200 ($100 for each service: hair and makeup) for my salon to open early on a Sunday. Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but it’s also *really* early on a Sunday. I just hope the stylists and the makeup artists get more for coming in early, not just the salon, especially since we’re going to tip them well. And I’m paying for everyone anyway, so no one can complain about the extra cost.
yes, but I am covering the costs for all of them - I was able to negotiate $35 for all the hair and $25 for makeup! Awesome deal haha
i’m footing the bill for my party. with hair and makeup for 7 girls and 1 flower girl, my total came out to $870. that’s with me doing my hair twice; once for engagement photos, and the wedding day. most of the places i went to get estimates from are well over a grand and charge an “early opening” fee of approximately $50. to break it down further, its’ $300 for me, $90 for 4 bridesmaids and moms, $30 for the flower girl.
i recommend shopping around. i checked out 4 places before i chose my final 
good luck~
We had someone come do hair who works sort of free-lance (she used to own a shop), and she charged $15 per person. We bypassed makeup, but had we went with that it would have been about the same price. Yay small towns!
With your rates, though, I’d at least try to shop around. It doesn’t seem fair for them to give you one idea of a price and then change to another.
Time to tell her you are taking your business elsewhere. It’s not the rates that are the problem–it’s that she quoted you something and changed it dramatically. She knew when you started working with her what time you would need to be there…she should have factored that into the quote.
It’s not unusual for salons to charge extra for having to open earlier, or to open when they’re usually closed (ie Sundays). I was talking with my hair guy yesterday and he said that he sometimes didn’t like to do weddings because it eats up time when other customers would come in. Most brides like to have the salon all to themselves so the salon would have to turn down all other business, which being a weekend would have been a big business days (ladies coming in for cuts and perms, etc). Which is probably another reason why wedding hair is so expensive in the first place.
I’m having a destination wedding so I don’t really have many options on where to do hair. Also I am coordinating it for all my bridesmaids and my mom plus FMIL. My hair will cost me at least 85 and my girls hair will be 45 and up. I plan on paying for all their hair too because a) I can’t seem to decide on what to get for their gifts and b) it’s already pretty expensive to come to our wedding, so it would be a nice break for them.
I think you should A) Look elsewhere and B) if you are making them have their hair done, then you should pay for it. Even, $150 is way too much for hair & makeup for the girls…
My hair & makeup stylist’s company charges $75 for hair and $75 for makeup for bridesmaids, moms, etc. I offered to pay $25 towards hair for each of my BMs. THree of them are having their hair done, the other 2 do a great job with their own hair so won’t be having it done. Only I am having makeup done.
I’m paying $500 for hair and makeup for myself and 2 ladies. Sachiko (my hair and makeup lady) charges $70 extra per service. She is willing to travel to the location as long as it is within 1 hour from Astoria, Queens.
Another secret is not to mention that you are “THE BRIDE.” The B-word makes your cost higher. (Why????? This is nuts.) Assuming you are getting a non-princess hairstyle, makeup, manicure, etc., just blend in as a bridesmaid with the rest of the girls.
I use to work in a salon so I am seeing someone I totally trust. I am still paying $100 for myslef but I dont care one darn bit. It’s the best money I will spend. To get exactly what I want. My girls are paying $85 for their hair. When I have been a bridesmaid I really like not having to worry about my hair so I hope they feel the same way.
This is an excellent lesson in “get it in writing.” If I were you I would definitely search for another salon, based on the principle of the matter (time permitting). The salon’s costs for the service didn’t change between the original quote and the re-quote so there is no justification for the jacked up price.
I am paying nothing for my makeup (if I buy $40 worth of Chanel cosmetics from her, which sounds like a good trade off to me) and $50 for each hairdo bride/BM/mom, whatever. But I think $75 pp is quite reasonable for NY.
I am coordinating make-up and hair-do’s for my bridal party, aunts, and grandmas. The prices, IIRC, are about $150 for each person for both hair and make-up. Then, I must pay a travel fee as well. We are paying for it all, so I will be pretty upset if the costs are raised on the Big Day. I didn’t get my costs in a contract, but I did receive the cost information via e-mail, so I can use that for reference, if need be. Good luck.
I’m paying for my BM’s hair and having a friend do their makeup. Sachiko is a pretty good deal, considering her many years of experience. Another great option is Sissi Chan. She charges just $80 per BM for hair AND makeup!
I am a big fan of getting friends and family to help with these kinds of things. Chances are, you know someone a competent hairstylist and makeup artist.
I’m fortunate enough to have a friend who is a stylist for Toni and Guy. She’s doing all our hair for $20 a head. (If you live in the Dallas area, I can put you in touch with her. Who knows, she might hook you up.) I’m letting everyone deal with their own makeup, so that they only have to wear as much as they want.
~Q
cost was a major factor in why i only have my sister in the wedding party. it can be so expensive and so stressful for everyone involved! she can wear whatever she wants; i don’t even care if it matches my “colors.”
i’m in the chicago area, and i just called and called until i found someone i trusted, who had good reviews on theknot, and was relatively inexpensive. i am picking up the tab for sister and i, and my mom if that is what she wants.
Hair is $50 at a salon, makeup is through a freelancer for $85.
My fiance booked her hair and makeup for $65 for hair and I believe $65 for makeup too. This is for the bride and bridesmaids. I was shocked, since that’s a normal price for a regular hair cut. The place actually opens very early on Sunday in general (at 7:00am) so they won’t be charging early. I just think it’s so silly for them to charge so much because you’re a bride. You have enough stress that day then worrying why you’re getting ripped off.
your prices are VERY reasonable for nyc. if the salon is that fantastic, then i think you should just do it. maybe, in order to help out with the costs so that the people getting their hair and makeup done dont get so upset about it. just chip in the additional amount so that there isnt any extra cost to your bm’s (and whoever else).
I agree that the prices don’t sound ridiculous, but it is totally maddening that they changed them. That is what is unprofessional and sneaky in my opinion. If you have time, look around, and at least let them know that you are doing so because you are dissappointed in the price increase.
However, if you LOVE the salon, and are stressed about it, or don’t have time to shop around, I would suck it up and chalk it up to one of those “grrr” things about wedding planning. I think it would be a VERY nice gesture to help pay for it for your BMs.
Get it in writing, even if by e-mail. This saved me a lot of $ because my hotel contact quit the day after the wedding, and meanwhile during our wedding planning, she made all sorts of generous concessions just to get it over with and make me happy, so I benefitted immensely by being able to prove what our “deal” was even though the new employee was freaking out that the former employee had done things against policy.
Hi Sarah,
What I would say is it’s really hard now-a-days we might need to spend a lot in hair dressing and make up. While talking up make up one thing it’s very expensive and its really does harm our skin.
Instead what I suggest is why don’t we all skip the make to our selves instead of searching a freaking chemical make up from saloons.
I really found out such an good website which was suggested to me by my friend, even I tried it out, they are cool, they are organic completely made of nature without using any chemicals. Why don’t everyone of us try it out.
http://www.OrganicallyHappy.com
Thanks,
Lucy
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