The Ultimate Guide To Being On Time With Hair + Makeup On A Wedding Day

If you’re not early, you’re late. My dad said this to me and my siblings our whole lives, and it stuck. Think about it. If you show up right on time to do a job, you can’t start at that time, because you still have to park and set up. It’s a simple idea, but it matters a lot when it comes to wedding hair and makeup on the morning of your wedding.

Photography: Tony Wodarck // Beauty Concierge: Elwynn + Cass

Wedding Day Timing for Hair and Makeup

Let’s walk through a rough wedding day timeline so you can picture what I mean:

• Beauty
• Getting ready shots and detail shots
• First look
• Ceremony
• Post-ceremony photos
• Reception

This is a loose version, but it shows how one piece affects the next. Beauty starts the day and sets the pace for everything after it. When there’s only a short window for getting ready shots and the first look, your hair and makeup has to finish on time. When it runs long, everything after it gets squeezed, and those moments get less time than they deserve.

Photography: Tony Wodarck // Beauty Concierge: Elwynn + Cass

Schedule Buffer Time at the End

Here’s the honest truth: at a lot of weddings, hair and makeup runs late. It doesn’t have to, and the fix is simple. Plan to finish early. The way I do it with my brides is by building in buffer at the end. I aim to have everyone done 30 to 45 minutes before the hard stop. That might sound like a lot, but trust me, it’s worth it. That extra time covers touch-ups, a chance to eat, and a minute to actually breathe. The day is long enough, so take the calm moments where you can.

Why finishing early with hair and makeup pays off:

• Time for touch-ups and adjustments
• Room for add-on services
• A chance to eat a snack, because it’s going to be a long day
• A little time to relax with a mimosa

One of the biggest complaints I hear from planners and photographers is that beauty always runs late, which cuts into the couple’s photo time. When things run late, quality slips, and the couple doesn’t get the day they planned for. Being on time is courteous. Being early is thoughtful. Choose thoughtful.

xo,

Katelyn

Elwynn + Cass, LLC