How to Find a Bridal Makeup Artist Near Me: A Guide to Hiring a Makeup Artist in Your Area

Aug 18

4 min read

Finding the right bridal makeup artist can feel overwhelming — between Pinterest boards, Instagram inspiration and a dozen open browser tabs, it's easy to get lost before you've even booked a trial. If you've searched "bridal makeup artist near me" and aren't sure what to do with the results, this guide walks you through exactly what to look for, what to ask, and how to know when you've found the right fit.

How to Start Searching For a Bridal Makeup Artist Near You

First, if you have no idea where to begin, I would type "Bridal Makeup Artist Near Me" into Google and note the names that come up in what is referred to as the "Map Pack" for your area. These are going to be the artists closest to your geographic location.

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Instagram is a Great Searching Engine Too!

Did you know that Instagram is also another untapped resource and it may give you more results that just Googling alone? If you are on the app then you know how the algorithm works and it shows you more people you don't follow than you actually do. If you follow a bunch of makeup artists then you can navigate to your Following listing and search there. If you haven't searched the term before at all, you can search "Bridal Makeup Artist in ___" for the first time and see what comes up.

Compile your list for further research.

Start With What You Actually Want, Not Just What's Popular

Follower count is arbitrary here, although it does lend some idea as to how popular an artist is amongst Instagram users, it doesn't mean that a low follower count means they do bad work. It could mean a lot of different things.

Before you scroll through portfolios, get clear on your own vision. Do you want soft, natural glam? Bold, full-coverage drama? Something in between? This is so important to think about when finding a bridal makeup artist in general because while you may think that you want one thing, that may not actually be what you want. Does that make sense?

You've Compiled a List of Names, Now How Do I Find a Bridal Makeup Artist Near Me?

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Now that you have a list of possible artists together, take some time to explore their social media accounts (if you're on socials) and website. Another great place to vet makeup artists is with Google reviews. All of these things will allow you to see what past clients are saying, see client work, hear more about their offers and get a feel for their personal style as a makeup artist.

After that, start by filling out their inquiry form and be as specific as possible. If they don't have an inquiry form, please follow the directions that they set for future clients by doing just that. If they ask for no DMs, it seems pretty obvious to not DM them, but you'd be surprised. It is to not limit you or make it difficult for you to communicate with them, but it is to often help their business process and keep everything organized and in line so nothing falls through the cracks.

Some basic rules of contact

Please, please for the love of all things good, do not just reach out and say, "Hi, I was wondering if you were available to do makeup for my wedding?" Instead, it is always best to lead a conversation with your name and get to your objective right away with little guesswork as to what event you'd like your makeup done for and when it is. Makeup artists live and die by their calendars and approaching the call wanting answers without providing context is going to keep you both on the phone/email thread/text thread longer and require a lot of back and forth. A better way would be to approach it like this: "Hi, [makeup artist's name], my name is [your name] and I'd like to learn more about your makeup services and packages. I am getting married on [date] in [venue] and would love to see if you were available!" Finding the right bridal makeup artist near you hinges upon making sure they know all the information so they can realistically get back to you about whether or not they're available. Mentioning date, venue and any other information, like how many services and what kind of services they need is really important to securing the right makeup artist.

Pressure of Hiring Someone Your Bestie Hired

This is something that needs to be addressed here, but there really isn't any way to sugar coat this one, so here it goes, do not feel pressure to hire the same makeup artist (or any wedding vendor for that matter) that your bestie hired just because that is who your bestie hired. As much as I love a good word of mouth recommendation or someone that I've met before on a wedding inquires with me, if you don't think that we will be a right fit, I would rather have you spend your time finding vendors that are a right fit for you. Having said that, this goes the other way, do not make your besties hire the same vendors that you did just because you love them. While this is super flattering and we appreciate the recommend, forcing a square peg into a round hole so to speak does nobody any good and really doesn't get anyone anywhere. At the end of the day, your bestie deserves to hire the vendor they love and who they think is going to be the most helpful and best fit.

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Your Choices Are Your Own

In the end of it all, the most important thing to remember is that no matter who you hire the goal at the end of the day is to be married to your best friend. The pressure to pick someone popular shouldn't exceed someone who truly gets you and the type of experience that you'd like to have on your wedding day.

Questions about finding a bridal makeup artist in your area? Reach out via email dianamariemakeupartistry@yahoo.com

or lets get social, find me on Instagram @dianamariemakeupartistry