How to Prepare for Your Hair & Makeup Artist Arrival on Your Wedding Day

Top tips for a smooth, stress-free start to your wedding day!

Your wedding morning should feel calm, joyful, and fun - not rushed or chaotic. As professional wedding hair and makeup artists in Whistler, BC, my experienced team and I are here to help make that happen for you.

One of the best ways to ensure everything flows smoothly is to have yourself and your getting ready space prepped and ready for us when we arrive. That way, you can sit back, relax and soak in the moment while we work our magic!

Here’s our handy guide detailing how to prep ahead of your wedding hair and makeup artists' arrival on the wedding day.

Set Up the Space: Where We’ll Work

Table Space for Our Kits

We bring a lot of gear with us - brushes, palettes, sprays, styling tools, and more - so a clear, flat table surface for our kit is essential. A dining table, kitchen island, or large desk works well. We’ll need room to lay everything out in an organised and sanitary way. Our set-up takes 10-15 mins, which is allocated in the schedule.

High Chair for Makeup (if available)

A bar stool or taller high chair makes makeup application easier for us and more comfortable for you. If you don’t have one, we will bring ours but please let us know if you can provide a bar stool or high chair, so we have a little less kit to carry to your location!

Low Chair for Hair Styling

For hairstyling, a low-backed chair or stool helps us access your hair more easily, especially for intricate styles. Bonus if it swivels, but again, we’re happy to work with what you have.

Power & Lighting

Plug Socket Access

Please make sure there are accessible power outlets near the hair station. We'll need them for curling irons, straighteners, lighting and other tools.

Natural Light is Gold

A space near a big window with lots of natural light is ideal for both hair and makeup application. It helps us match skin tones and see colours more accurately. We’ll always bring extra lighting if needed, especially for early-morning winter weddings and low-light hotel rooms, which is common in Whistler!

Ventilation and Fresh Air

Hair products like strong hold hairsprays, texture sprays and heat protectants can build up quickly in a room and prolonged exposure can be detrimental to health. Cracking a window or sliding door during hair styling helps with air ventilation, keeps the space feeling fresh and protects everyone’s lungs, so is advised. An indoor fan can also be helpful for ventilation.

Create a Relaxing Atmosphere

Choosing a music playlist for getting ready is a great way to build buzz and excitement for you and a larger bridal party or to create a serene, spa-like atmosphere, depending on your preference. Spotify has many playlists to choose from if you search for 'Wedding Morning' or 'Bridal Party Getting Ready'.

If you’re hoping to use your hair and makeup session as a relaxing wind-down before the wedding day winds up, then a soft classical or acoustic playlist can work wonders for calming nerves. Whether you opt for some sentimental love songs, an upbeat bridal party mix or mellow spa-like sounds, your playlist will help shape the energy of the entire morning for everyone in the room.

Don’t forget a Bluetooth speaker if you're not able to connect to a Smart TV or similar device at your getting ready location.

Practical Logistics

Parking Access

If you're getting ready at an Airbnb, hotel or private residence in Whistler, please make sure there's parking available for us nearby, especially in winter months. Any parking fees incurred will be added to your final invoice. It's always worth asking your hotel if they will provide you with complimentary wedding vendor parking.

Access Codes or Hotel Info

If you’re staying in a hotel or a rental with a keypad, be sure to provide us with the access code in advance so we can get in without having to call and disturb you, especially if we are arriving early and front desk is not 24-hour.

Refreshments for Everyone

Make sure you are fuelled up ahead of hair and makeup session, so you don't risk getting hungry! You're welcome to eat and drink whilst your wedding hair is being styled, but ideally not during wedding makeup application.

Often hair and makeup will run into lunch time, so make sure you have something organised for lunch and if needed, a break in the hair and makeup schedule or some time scheduled after we're done, for you and your bridal party to sit and eat something and be well-fuelled for the big day ahead.

Small gestures go a long way and though we never expect it, it's always lovely to be asked if we'd like a water, tea or a coffee too!

Dress Smart & Comfortable

To avoid pulling anything over your head after hair and makeup are done, it's usually best to wear a button up shirt, zip-up hoodie or bathrobe. It keeps your hair and makeup pristine and makes getting dressed later much easier. You'll be sitting still for 2-3 hours so if you feel the cold easily from not moving, you might want to add cosy sweat pants, socks and slippers too.

Skin & Hair Prep Before We Arrive

Prepping Your Hair

Unless we’ve told you otherwise, your hair should be 100% dry and clean, ideally washed the night before and blow-dried with a round brush until smooth, rather than air-drying - unless you want to retain natural curls. This helps us style it more easily, adds volume and helps ensure your hairstyle will last well all day. If your hair is on the finer side, adding root lift spray onto damp hair before blow drying to help add volume. If your hair is very silky and usually struggles to hold any type of curl, we recommend adding a texturising hair foam when damp and testing this out in advance of the wedding date, especially if you've not used styling mousse before.

Prepping Your Skin

Your skin and eyes should be makeup free for your wedding makeup application. Consider using a hydrating sheet mask the night before - something you've used before and know your skin doesn't react to. You can also do a gentle exfoliation with a warm facecloth to remove dry skin, ideally 2 days before the wedding - doing this the night before may cause the skin to produce extra oil on the wedding day and create excess shine. Using an intensive lip mask or balm overnight can help prep the lips, as well as a gentle night cream to give the skin extra hydration.

Makeup Products to Bring to Your Session

If you have a favourite moisturiser or sunscreen, please bring this along or apply before your wedding makeup session starts. We are also happy for you and your bridal party to bring your favourite lip colour, which you can reapply later later on in the day. Our bridal touch up kit includes lip colour touch-up pot, q-tips, blotting paper (to remove shine) and a makeup remover wipe.

Have Your Reference Images Ready to Share

Make sure you and your bridal party have wedding hair and makeup reference images ready to share with us on your phone or laptop. Think about exactly what you like about the image you're sharing (ie. the hair volume, the hair texture, the glowy skin or liquid liner shape etc) so we know your exact preferences.

Be Present - Do All Your Phone Stuff Before Makeup Starts

Answer those texts, coordinate with vendors and check your timeline before we start your makeup. Once we begin, we want you to be fully present - it's your time to relax and be pampered. You're welcome to use your phone during hair styling, but it's best left alone during makeup, to avoid any delays.

Don't Forget Your Wedding Vows

One detail that often gets overlooked in the hustle of the morning is writing out your wedding ceremony vows. Whether you’re reciting them privately or during the ceremony, taking the time to neatly write them in a vow book or on beautiful stationery makes a big difference - not only for aesthetics in your photos but for the significance of the words themselves. We often see brides scrambling to jot down their vows while their hair is being done or right before getting dressed, which can add unnecessary stress.

If you haven’t done this before the wedding day, be sure to set aside quiet time either before your hair and makeup session or afterward to reflect and write with care. These are words you’ll remember for a lifetime - so why not treat them with the same attention you give to the rest of your wedding day details.

Be Photographer-Ready

Before hair and makeup starts, write your vows out, hang your dress, set aside your jewelry, shoes, invitations, perfume, flowers and other details for the photographer to snap while you're getting ready. This helps avoid interruptions to hair and makeup when the wedding photographer arrives to start shooting.

Bonus Tips for a Perfect Wedding Hair & Makeup Session

Stick to the Schedule: We’ll give you a customised hair and makeup schedule. Please make sure everyone is ready for their scheduled slot - ideally arriving 10 minutes in advance of their turn - so we stay on track for everyone.

Communicate Any Changes: If someone drops out of the schedule or you’ve added a bridesmaid, let us know ASAP so we can adjust accordingly.

Hydrate: Water is your best friend on and before the big day - it helps your skin glow and keeps you feeling great. Drinking 2-3L the day before (ideally before 5pm so you're not up all night peeing) is a great tip for glowing skin on the wedding day.

Sleep: Prioritise good sleep the night before your wedding. We know this can be difficult when there's so much excitement and anticipation in the air, but beauty sleep really is a thing, so allow an 8-10 hour window for sleep the night before and gently wind down early the night before, so your body is ready to sleep when you hit the pillow. They say an hour before midnight is worth 2 afterwards - just sayin'!

Your wedding day morning should feel smooth, relaxed and effortless. With just a little bit of prep, your hair and makeup session will be a peaceful and joyful part of your celebration and we’re so honoured to be a part of it.

Getting married in Whistler, Pemberton or Squamish BC?

We’d love to chat about your wedding hair and makeup vision and how we can bring it to life. Reach out anytime to book your date or ask questions!