Let me start this blog by saying that this post is mostly for brides. I've decided to blog about this because I've honestly have had one too many brides contact me only to flee at the mention of the price.
So you're getting married, your head is in the clouds, your marrying the man of your dreams and your tummy is doing all sorts of flips due to excitement for your big day. You go dress shopping, you look for a photographer to capture your special day, you're willing to pay "whatever" to make your day as special as possible. The photographer is gonna cost you 7 - 10k, the dress 3 - 5k (or maybe more depending on your taste and if you're getting more than one dress)...still you dont flinch at the price. It's your big day after all, this only happens once, it needs to be perfect.
All the things are starting to come together, 2 - 3 months left before your wedding and you think "[gasp]...I need a makeup artist!!! I need to look gorgeous!!!" You search the internet and an amazing artist catches your eye. The work is beautiful...you want to look just like that...you ask for a quote...and you get a quote of about $300 - $500 not including the rest of your party (depending on your area you're in and the level of expertise of the artist)...you RUN for the hills.
Whoa...wait, what?!?!?! So, let me get this straight, you can pay thousands for flowers (which are gonna die in a few hours anyways) and cake (which is going to be eaten in a few hours anyways) and your dress (which you're going to only wear once anyways) but you can't pay a makeup artist for makeup services?!?! It's one of the top 5 more important things for your wedding! YOUR FACE is important!! If you go "cheap" you will get "cheap".
Why do we charge what we charge?
Most makeup artist who do weddings (among other things) are full time freelance makeup artist. What does that mean? It means that this is what we do for a living, this is how we pay our rent, feed our families, give to our children etc. $100 (especially in NYC) is nothing. $100 is gone in 2 days. When we give you a quote, we quote you according to the occasion, location, number of people and just an overall service. If you book us for that day, that is the only thing we do for that day so it has to be worth getting out of bed and leaving our husbands and children behind. There is no way I'm going to YOU at [insert time here], leave my husband behind or skip out on a friends birthday and come back with $100 in my pocket.
What's the difference between the makeup you use and the makeup we ARTISTS use?
First of all, its all pro. Whether is NARS or Make Up For Ever or Vincent Longo...its pro. Second of all, it's not drug store related. Drug store products and pro products (which we use for film and print) are two completely different things. The application and texture are different. Even the tools we use are different.
So, next time you're looking to book an artist for your special day, take what I just posted above into consideration. Please do not insult us with your cheap offers and ridiculous "discount" questions. You don't ask your doctor for a discount when you go see him/her right? Then don't do it to us.
