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Belair Suites

—- Estimating Wedding Day Prep Timeline

How long before your wedding should you get ready?

Generally speaking, you should start getting ready at least 6 hours before the ceremony start time. Make sure to plan for travel time to the ceremony. Giving yourself more time than less is always advised.

Determine who will be getting hair and makeup done professionally.

Plan for 2 hairstylists and 2 makeup artists. One for the guest of honor and one for the rest of the party. (Will mothers, junior bridesmaids, or flower girls be included?) Talk to your hairstylists and makeup artists ahead of time. They can best estimate how much time they will need. If your party is on the larger side, they may need to bring assistants. As a safe estimate…

For the guest of honor plan for:

• 60 to 90 mins for hair
• 60 to 90 mins for makeup
• (2 to 3 hours total)

For the wedding party plan for:

• 30 to 45 mins (each) for hair
• 30 to 45 mins (each) for makeup
• (1 to 1.5 hours each)

For the juniors and flower girls plan for:

• 15 mins (each) for both hair and makeup

Sample timeline for a medium bridal party with 2 hair stylists and 2 makeup artists. (Can be 2 stylists that do both hair and makeup.)

• 8: 00 a.m.: Arrive and setup at Belair Suites
• 9:00 a.m.: Bride starts hair and makeup
• 9:00 a.m.: Bridesmaid 1 starts hair and makeup
• 10:00 a.m.: Bridesmaid 2 starts hair and makeup
• 11:00 a.m.: Bridesmaid 3 starts hair and makeup
• 12:00 p.m.: Bride steps into her dress and accessorizes
• 12:00 p.m.: Juniors/ Flower girls quick touch-ups
• 12:45 p.m.: Photoshoot
• 1:30 p.m.: Pack up
• 2:00 p.m.: Bridal party departs for wedding

The most efficient approach to building your timeline is to work backwards from the time you need to depart for the wedding.

Remember to give yourself more time than less. However much time Google or Waze estimates it would take you to get to your venue, we recommend multiplying it by a factor of 1.5 to 2 to accommodate for unexpected traffic, detours, and delays.

HAPPY WEDDING!