Make a commitment to learn and practice these ten ways to boost your bottom line beautifully through bridal services!
Do you dream of being your city´s go-to choice for special events? How can you create a steady stream of new clients from one service? How can you become more well-known in your community? “If you look beyond just the wedding day, you can see the potential to boost your bottom line through bridal services,” explains Gretchen Maurer, author of Milady´s classic The Business of Bridal Beauty book and creator of www.weddinghair.com. Recent WeddingChannel research shows that brides are willing to spend more than ever to look and feel beautiful on their wedding day. Brides are demanding of the newest and best in trends and styles and usually one bride comes with 15 other girls and women of all ages from flower girl to matron of honor! Through styling brides, your work will become noticed by bridal gown shops, florists, bakeries, caterers, dance halls, hotels, photographers, and make-up artists who are willing and able to send even more bridal clients your way!
But, are you ready to make the commitment? “You don´t just squeeze bridal styling into your work — you give it 100% of your artistry — 100% percent attention,” cautions Janine Rose Shuman, bridal beauty maven and international stylist for JRS Superstar. Are you noticeably gifted in updo´s or braiding? Curling and pinning? If so, then you´ve got the talent! But, do you get excited at the thought of making a bride look and feel beautiful on the most perfect day of her life? Can you handle the stress? After all, your greatest job will be to keep the bride calm as you will probably be the last person she sees before she walks down the aisle. Do you have the organizational skills to pull it off? There are scheduling and time commitments, deposits and contracts, as well as makeup-artists and nail technicians who must be coordinated. Got what it takes? Here´s 10 ways to get started, keep styling, and reap the rewards of a successful bridal party!
Practice makes perfect
The foundation for beautiful bridal styling needs to be strong, advises Shuman. “You should learn ‘dressing´ basics in beauty school. A good understanding of pin placement and roller placement is not just for old ladies...they are key to a fabulous bridal creation.” Patience, excellent listening skills, a love of fashion, and a detail-oriented personality are all necessary to being a bridal specialist, adds Maurer. Practice is also a key to developing confidence. All stylists agree: Never do bridal hair if you´re not confident in your abilities. “Don´t even take a chance,” cautions Shuman, “because one bad experience is enough to ruin your reputation!”
“A great way to practice on real people is to host a teen pizza night,” suggests Maurer. “Try out new trends and do´s on them plus give them a free shampoo or a treatment coupon, too. It´s a fun way to try new things you wouldn´t normally do with a paying client for a real event.” All stylists take lots of inspiration from magazines and special event hairstyling videos, too. Don´t take them for granted, use them to your advantage.
Take away tip: The best advertisement is your professional work!
TA-DA! I´m ready...now what?
Don´t just advertise without being prepared or it will be a big waste of money. Maurer suggests starting small with current clients. Who is dating? Who just got engaged? Once you´re ready to be more well-known, start by doing consultations at malls, bridal fairs or evenings in a gown shop, advises Maurer. Sean Yoell, owner of Accents Hair Studio in Ontario, Canada, got started by doing wedding shows and conventions...for free! “When the show begins and ends they announce the hairstylist. What better advertisement is there? We also set up a booth and offered more free do´s and consultations. The more you talk to brides-to-be, the more experience you get, the more well-known you become.”
Contact your local media, too: magazines have special wedding issues, TV stations have local programming, and many cable networks have channels that publicize local businesses and events. Get to be a superstar in your own city, says Janine Shuman. “When I was first starting out I had a local TV show and we did makeovers, went into bridal shops...bridal vendors, film students and photographers will be willing to work with you — even for free!”
Take away tip: The more you put into it the more you´ll get out of it!
Network, network, network!
Maurer suggests simplicity: Go out into your community and visit every service brides use like bakeries, caterers, bridal gown shops, florists, photographers, and hotels. Place business cards or small standing frame advertising the salon and show your portfolio to everyone! Sean Yoell relies on his network. “Hand-shake agreements with other bridal vendors are key to our success. We send them our brides, they send us theirs!” Janine Shuman stresses the importance of a bridal portfolio and professional prints on the salon wall: Personally introduce yourself to the photographer at every wedding and ask for prints that show off your creations.
Take away tip: Never, never burn a bridge!
Money Matters
What should I charge? Of course, what you charge takes time and experience to determine and also depends on your city, your customers, and the level of servicqqe the bride desires. Most importantly, however “get deposits for each person, roughly half, up front. A salon can´t be lax in this area,” cautions Maurer. Always encourage brides to book early and always give your estimate to the bride in writing to show your professionalism and experience.
Many salons create packages based on the time they will spend. Figure out what a day would cost — you need to be compensated for your time and service because you make yourself so accommodating, advises Shuman. “I figure in all the prep work for the day before the wedding, a trial run, how much time to do the bride and the mother of the bride as one price. Then, I add about $75 per bridesmaid the day of the wedding.” Maurer advises throwing in some fun freebies like cuts for the groom or upsell them to include grandma too!
Sean Yoell simply charges by the person: “We charge a flat fee around $85 per person and we include a rehearsal hair date usually on the day of the dress fitting — so the bride can really see what she´ll look like. We never want to out-price our own clients and their friends!”
Also, don´t be shy if your salon only offers hair styling, advises Maurer. “Many brides have a tight budget and this will be your client. Go after her and advertise focusing on the budget minded — she needs you!”
Take away tip: Never charge less than what you´ll be happy with. You can´t make the bride look and feel her best when you feel overworked and under-compensated.
Untapped market: Braiding the headpiece
If you or one of your stylists is a braiding genius (and you know who you are!), Shuman advises creating a market for one-of-a-kind headpieces using their own hair. “We actually weave-twist and/or braid tiaras into the front hairline or create a braided crown or bun on a bride. Add some tulle, flowers, ribbon, crystals, an antique piece of jewelry, and it´s a bridal work of art! This way, the bride gets a custom head piece for 1/2 as much as the bridal store charges but she´ll spend twice as much with you instead!”
Take away tip: Up-selling and providing as many services as you can is a great way to boost bridal profits even more.
Look out for accessories
There are some accessories basics, explains Maurer. “For morning ceremonies, keep it simple: flowers, ribbons, hats, bows. For evenings or late afternoons, use more glitz like crystal or rhinestone. Match the accessories to the gown and the decor at the reception.” Sean Yoell adds, “I never know when I´ll open my box of beauties and just the right pin or piece pops out at me!” Janine Shuman is also “ always on the look-out for interesting pins, clips, pearls, crystals, butterflies, and flowers and I add them my collection whenever something strikes my eye!”
Take away tip: Always have clients bring the headpiece and at least a picture of the dress.
Make special space
A great way to let existing clients know you are specializing in bridal services is to show if off by dedicating a corner station of the salon with bridal accessories year-round, suggests Maurer. Make it really special and beautifully obvious! “Don´t be afraid to ask a local artist or florist to give a hand in designing something in exchange for free advertising or free hairstyling. Ask a florist to provide fresh flowers each week in exchange for bride´s names or hair services. This is how you network!”
Take away tip: If you´re doing an entire bridal party in a small salon — you book and close the salon for the day.
Easy on the bride, easy on you
Convenience is the factor! Sometimes working on-site is better because you get the whole tone of the wedding, sometimes it´s less stressful in the salon. It´s up to you and the bride and may depend on each event. A great tip for pleasing brides and getting hair the way you want it on the wedding day is to style the bride´s hair for the rehearsal dinner the night before and include that in your package, advises Shuman. Sean Yoell adds, “I ask brides not to use conditioner. It makes hair slippery to work with.” Don´t forget to tell a bride how you want her to come in on her wedding day. Do it in writing ifnecessary, on a gorgeous appointment reminder card! “If your bride comes with freshly washed or still-damp hair charge her extra! The ‘do´ will be more difficult to do,” quips Janine Shuman.
Take away tip: Freshly shampooed hair from the night before works best agree stylists.
Bridal consultations: Good communication
The key to success in bridal styling is communication with that bride! Shuman stresses, “this bride has to know she has your undivided attention — that is what she is paying for!” Maurer relies on the rehearsal appointment to make brides feel confident. “Some stylists think they will remember a ‘do´ and argue with the bride on her wedding day — not good! It´s nearly impossible to reproduce a masterpiece if you wing it and don´t know how you did it in the first place. I use step-by-step photos so I can recreate the design on wedding day, especially if it is very intricate.” Beware the bride who wants to change cut and color too close to the wedding day, advises Maurer. “This request usually has emotional roots and a good stylist has to find out her reasoning, answer her questions and give her at least six weeks to live with the change and time to restore it back if she changes her mind.” And remember for those brides with fine, thin, or shorter hair, “Don´t despair! There´s always professional extensions, ” adds Shuman.
Take away tip: Never make the bride make any decisions on the morning of her wedding!
It takes heart
A hairstylist learns every facet of styling hair but the best specialize, explains Maurer. “I had a passion for dressing hair. I taught specialty classes on brides and prom hair for ten years and I also took classes myself. I did ten years of stage work, too and this forces confidence. I practiced on a mannequin and when I had a salon, I did updo´s on any hair, any time! I believe it´s a special talent and those who have it love doing specialty hair!” Those who don´t have the talent, hate having to do brides. Maurer adds, “I tell brides not to expect their regular stylist do wedding hair if they don´t want to.”
Take away tip: Either you have it or you don´t! There´s no inbetween when it comes to bridal talent.
Tools we can´t style brides without! ● My tiny, rat-tail Dannyco boar-bristle brush ● My Diane and Dannyco bobby pins and flat pins ● The 3” pin for long or thick hair styling ● My knick-knack box of accessories ● Hair spray between my legs ● A long, flat hair pin to clean up last-minute fuzzies ● Martin Parson´s Wedding Collection videos ● Monthly magazines for inspiration ● Mannequin heads ● No-fuss hair ‘scrunchy´ pieces for styling little girls
Comments (0) 
Print this Article
Email to Friend
