Makeup and Hair Costs?

[violet02]

There''s a highly recommended Hair and Makeup artist in the San Jose, CA area. I got a quote from her for my carmel wedding. Here''s the quote she gave me when I asked her about two bridesmaids and myself. She does have a travel fee etc. and she said she actually would require me to have a min of 4 women done (maybe the jr bridesmaid?) in order for her to travel. I''m not sure if she''ll require me to have everyone''s hair and makeup done since only one other or maybe two other people need their hair done if there are 4 of us.

TIME START:
READY TIME:

• BRIDE package B $400 hair and makeup
• BRIDESMAID
• BRIDESMAID HAIR or HAIR ONLY $85X 2= $170
• MOTHER OF THE BRIDE:
• MOTHER OF THE GROOM:
• GUEST:
• JR BRIDESMAID
• FLOWER GIRL
• HAIR EXTENSION:
• EXTRA HAIRSTYLE
• EXTRA ASSISTANT:
• TOUCH UP:
• EARLY HOUR SERVICE:
• TRAVEL $ 200
• VALET PARKING: Yes
• LODGING:
• FOOD: Yes if pass the lunch time , or bagels for the breakfast,
• EXTRA:
• CONSULATION:
• TRIAL FEE: $100 for makeup and hair demo
• CONVENTIONAL MAKEUP
• AIRBRUSH MAKEUP extra charge of flat fee $100 for everyone who need makeup ( strongly recomented. )


• TOTAL $ 970


DEPOSIT $400

BALANCE $ 570

So this may be the cost or not. Is this a pretty typical price or is this nuts?
Her url is: http://www.christinemakeup.com/

I would need her to travel on site. And from what I''ve seen there really isn''t super awesome makeup/hair people in Carmel.

 

[Independent Gal]

Well, it looks nuts to me, but I don''t live in California. The prices I''ve seen at the very best places where I''ll be getting married are around $85 for bridal up-do, $50-60 for make-up.

 

[violet02]

Bridal hair from what I''ve seen here can run 300-500 it seems.

 

[Independent Gal]

Good lord.

 

[Elmorton]

Ditto to Indy. Granted, my stylist didn't travel to me and I live in the midwest, but mine was VERY high for the area - $90 hair and $65 makeup, and I did a trial (most places do this free of charge, but my salon did not, so it was the same prices for the run-through). Does this price at least include a run through? What does the bridal package include? Because if there is a facial and massage in there, etc, it would make a lot more sense.
Can you negotiate the travel price? $200 seems pretty high if it's not a long drive.

ETA: WHAAAAAAAAA?! That's CRAZY price inflation. Your BM hair is a normal price...how is that all that different than a bridal updo??

 

[goldenstar]

It is a lot of money, but not uncommon. I''ve seen similar numbers from other top people in the Bay Area.

Maybe you can find someone closer to your wedding site so you can save a little on travel costs and minimums. Just a thought.

 

[violet02]

Date: 1/18/2008 7:11:48 PM
Author: Elmorton
Ditto to Indy. Granted, my stylist didn''t travel to me and I live in the midwest, but mine was VERY high for the area - $90 hair and $65 makeup, and I did a trial (most places do this free of charge, but my salon did not, so it was the same prices for the run-through). Does this price at least include a run through? What does the bridal package include? Because if there is a facial and massage in there, etc, it would make a lot more sense.
Can you negotiate the travel price? $200 seems pretty high if it''s not a long drive.

ETA: WHAAAAAAAAA?! That''s CRAZY price inflation. Your BM hair is a normal price...how is that all that different than a bridal updo??

The trial for hair and makeup is $100, its in that quote. Everyone charges money for trial runs out there. That''s just a given. No facial or massage included.

I may be able to find someone closer but the choices are sparse since it''s in Carmel, a tiny town. The more pro artists seem to be closer to where I live in the South Bay or in San Francisco.

 

[Elmorton]

Wow. It''s so crazy how prices can be so wildly different in various regions!

 

[basil]

I got separate people for hair and make-up. I think they are each about $100 for the bride, and $50 each for the bridemaids. The trials are $50 extra, which I may or may not decide to have. They have been highly recommended, but I don't know if they are super awesome or not.

Beyond the price, which seems high to me, is she really saying that you need to provide her with bagels if you want her to come in the morning? I mean, for $970, buy your own darn bagel!

I would check your local Knot board. That's how I found mine..

ETA: these are travel-to-me prices. I think I could have gotten cheaper if I were willing to go to a salon.

 

[violet02]

Date: 1/18/2008 7:44:31 PM
Author: basil
I got separate people for hair and make-up. I think they are each about $100 for the bride, and $50 each for the bridemaids. The trials are $50 extra, which I may or may not decide to have. They have been highly recommended, but I don''t know if they are super awesome or not.

Beyond the price, which seems high to me, is she really saying that you need to provide her with bagels if you want her to come in the morning? I mean, for $970, buy your own darn bagel!

I would check your local Knot board. That''s how I found mine..

ETA: these are travel-to-me prices. I think I could have gotten cheaper if I were willing to go to a salon.

hahaha ''buy your own damn bagel'' i like that one! I''ll check the board. I''m really picky about hair/makeup type stuff since I spend a lot of time doing my own makeup (not for weddings though).

 

[violet02]

How funny. I just looked at the Knot and Christine is listed on there as a vendor for Northern California.

 

[violet02]

AND... I''ve clicked through quite a few vendors and the quotes are coming in the same if not more! This area is so damn expensive.

 

[cara]

That''s not even the high end of bay area wedding stylists!

Yes, you can find cheaper people and you can find more expensive people. But lets focus on what you actually want:

on-site service
hair and makeup for bride
hair only for two bridesmaids

is this correct? or do you also want makeup for bridesmaids? what about mothers?

you might be able to find someone cheaper or someone whose minimum package fits your needs better. i think $800 for bridal trial, styling and travel is a bit steep, but its really a case of where you need to hit a minimum fee (of apparently more than $1000?) in order to make it worth her while. if your wedding is a non-saturday, you can definitely get some price deductions, but taking up the saturday of someone in the wedding industry is never cheap. you need to find someone willing to travel, available on your day, and whose services you actually want to use.

definitely worth shopping around for other quotes/options. have you checked out project wedding?

 

[dani13]

Dont worry...I paid $300 each for hair/makeup for myself, then $100 for each service for the bm's and my mom, and then a $200 travel fee to travel from NYC to Westchester...(not far at all). All in all, I think I paid about $1400 plus tip....It was totally ridicuous, but they were 2 of the best hair/makeup artists in the NYC metro area. And they were totally worth it. Everyone looked great.

So, if you find someone you love, just go for it if you can swing it! Hair/makeup is very important, IMO. You only get married once...you want to look your best!

 

[FrekeChild]

I looked at her site, and it seems like she does a really good job with makeup-at least from the pictures- but her hairstyling...I think I could achieve the same results with enough product and an hour. I really don''t like that she charges extra for touch ups, I don''t know what her reasoning is with that one. I''d take a look around and see what else you can find, and go from there.

Are there any cosmetology schools nearby that might have some really good students or recent graduates? You might check in with them. I had a friend that spent months in the LA area trying to break into the show biz makeup scene, and she just couldn''t get the right connections-but she did fantastic makeup, and more than decent hair. Plus, if you can find someone who is recently out of school, they might do your makeup for free or a reduced price if you let them use your picture in their portfolio to help build it. And I bet they''d give you a free trial run. I''ve done this with wedding cakes... Anyway, it might be something worth looking into.

 

[VRBeauty]

Just to add a little perspective:

As I recall from when I lived in the San Jose area, travel time from San Jose to Carmel is at 1 1/2 to 2 hours on a good day... and traffic in Carmel can get mighty slow. So... if you take off the charge for the hair trial, you''re paying her about 800 for a good chunk of a day of her time. Her costs strike me as being on the high side, but not in the stratosphere.
You might be able to shave that cost down a bit by finding a salon closer to your venue, but it would "cost" you the time of going there for the hair/makeup trial, or the uncertainty of going without the trial.

 

[ladyciel]

One thing I've noticed, at least in my area, is there are only 2 extremes of individuals listed on the knot, especially for hair/makeup. Many of them are the most expensive in the area (which doesn't ALWAYS mean the BEST), and the rest are the people dying for business (aka word of mouth alone isn't keeping them going). The mid-priced, really talented people don't NEED to advertise on the knot, because their customers advertise for them by word of mouth.

So, I would suggest a few things to try and find a lower quote, if you haven't done them already. First, post what you're looking for on your local knot board and see if the girls there have any suggestions. I just met our DJ in person yesterday, and we loved him. I never would have found him, and his great price, if I hadn't asked the knotties for their DJ suggestions. Second, try asking your other vendors, friends, etc for recommendations. Finally, go visit the makeup counters at the mall(s) near Carmel. Look for people doing make up whose own makeup you love. You might be able to find somebody professionally trained who does, or wants to be doing, makeup on the side but still needs the "day job" while they make a name for themselves.

ETA: I don't go anywhere near the knot boards except when I'm looking for vendor advice or browsing profiles for decor ideas. They can be catty about a lot of things, but when I've just wanted help on which bridal salon had the best selection, which DJ wasn't cheesy, and suggestions for venues given the size of our wedding, they were a real help. Good luck!

 

[tberube]

That''s high to me, but I''m in Boston.

 

[sunnygirl]

My hair/makeup person charges 500 for bride hair/makeup and 125 for either hair or makeup for anyone else. Ouch. But I think this is typical for Santa Barbara...

 

[GolfGirl2008]

Granted I am going to use the most expensive hair person in NYC it seems but my hair and makeup will be $1200 plus $200 travel fees. If I don''t do makeup with her, it''s $800 for hair plus $200 travel fees. The trial was $300. It sort of sickens me to think about. But she''s really good