It's an age old question, isn't it? I often see in bridal groups people asking why bridal vendors change more for a wedding then another event? and why it seems we slap a "wedding surcharge" on top of our rates.
Honestly, weddings are a very stressful industry. it's the biggest day of our clients life! As a makeup artist, I have to prepare and sanitize my kit the morning of your wedding, be available to contact 24/7 via phone or email, design and archive your customized look, liaise with other vendors involved in your wedding day to organise ourselves to make sure your day runs as smoothly as possible, purchase any extra items I might need for your wedding, travel and maintain my vehicle, keep my insurances up to date in case of any accidents or issues that may occur on the day, research and road test products that will best suit a variety of skin issues and types, as well as continuous education in technique and makeup practice to keep my skills relevant and up to date.
you're not just paying for me to come along, play with some makeup and leave.
because of how momentous this day is in your life, we need to have it perfect the first time, meaning we're up before dawn, fully stocked kit cleans and sanitized for your safety, car refueled and serviced, and missing time from our family or other work. because of this, some people need to charge more to make your day worth our time/ stress. The last thing we want is to rush your wedding services, meaning you are not happy with service and end up feeling disappointed on the most important day of your life.
While 99% of brides are fantastic to work with, unfortunately because of stress, some brides without knowledge of doing so, some can become very high maintenance and unknowingly dramatic. We all know how important your wedding day is, and we want to be part of your perfect day as best we can! but we are only human and can only do our best.