Hair and make up trials for bridesmaids

Hi Miffy,

£90 there and back for trials seems a bit steep.

As far as I know bridesmaids don't normally have a trial, or are you having something quite detailed in your hair?

If you feel comfortable without a trial I'd say that to your friend. Alternatively, you could offer to get your own hairdresser to do a trial and send over some pictures to her?

If your friend is dead set on you going there have you looked at booking the train fare online in advance? You can get some really good deals sometimes.

I'd tell her that you're concerned about the cost though and ask her outright of she's expecting you to pay.

My bridemaiads are paying for nothing, and have had no trials.

i hope that's helpful x

My bridesmaids live back in my home town but I am getting married where I live now so they are about 4 hour drive away. I am paying for them to have hair done (they doing their own make up). Because they live so far away they are not having a trial. I just told them to pick something relatively simple so they shouldn't need a trial and my hairdresser is used to doing bridesmaid hair without trials. I also asked my bridesmaids if they wanted hair doing before booking it. I travelled to them to sort out bridesmaid dresses and although it would be nice if they travelled to me I certainly don't expect them too, apart from for the wedding ofcourse!

Have you asked bride if you need to have a trial? Or is there anything else that needs sorting like dresses, shoes etc that you could tie the trip in with to make more of it?

I only had my trial the day before my wedding. Whilst my sister/bridesmaid came, she didn't have a trial. If she wanted one then I'd have paid for it.

I would not spend £90 for a hair/make-up trial as a bridesmaid.

I'm not booking hair and make up trials for my bridesmaids. I am paying for their hair, they are paying for their own make up. If I wanted them to have a trial, then I would pay for it.

I had a hair trial for my friend's wedding when I was bridesmaid. It was pretty clear at the end of the trial that she expected me to pay for it (I didn't ask for a trial and there was no mention of me having to pay before we went). Fortunately, her mum stepped in and paid for my trial which saved any awkwardness.

I would ask her why she wants you to have the trial and ask her how much it is. She may say, "oh don't worry, I'm paying"

Good luck X

I agree - £90 is a bit steep to go for your trial.

My sister is my only BM and she lives on the other side of the country to me - so I didn't arrange a trial for her. But this means that I have only been given an estimated cost for her hair on the day, due to the stylist not knowing what style or the type of hair she has- something which may happen with your friend.

My sister didn't have a full trial for all of her BM's on her wedding day- instead, we tried it on my hair (because it was the thickest) and another girls hair, just to get an idea of times.

She could maybe just have one of her closer BM's have the trial, so she knows how it looks?

Also, you should ask your friend if she expects you to pay- if she does then you have the right to refuse the trial. I'm paying for my sister's hair to be done and she's doing her own make-up. I know a lot of people on here pay for the majority of their BM's things.

I've been a BM four times & never had a trial for my hair & makeup before the day, but if I was going to ask my BMs to have trials & it was going to put them out of pocket I'd either decide against it, or pay them their costs. I'd definitely see if you can iron out what the expectation is as to whether you're being expected to pay for your own trials - if I was a BM & was asked to do that I'd probably decide I was happy to go with the flow on the day & take the risk, personally.

Hi,

I normally say to the bride that the bridesmaids can have a trial if they want but they don't have to have one if they don't want as I can do their makeup just on the day. Normally it's just the bride who has the trial, as if the bride is happy with me then the bridesmaids trust they will be happy too.

Normally if it's the bride who wants the bridesmaids to have a trial then she pays but if it's the bridesmaids who want the trial then they pay.

Speak to your friend as she probably doesn't realise how much the train fare is going to cost for you to go up for the trials. Ask her if she wants you to have the trial as your happy to just have it all done on the day without a trial. She may just be going along with what she thinks should be done without realising bridesmaids don't need a trial.

Aimee x

Aah ok. It's a difficult situation.

i charge £30 for makeup for bridesmaids.

Aimee x

I didn't have my make up done when I was bridesmaid for my sister in law and just said I didn't want it. I missed the hair trial as I live 500 miles away from them so only 2 of the bridesmaids had hair trials but I'm pretty sure they didn't pay for their own.

When I got married, I had a make-up trial and hair trial but none of my bridesmaids did... I paid for them all to have their hair done but said it's up to them if they want their make-up done and I would let them know what I thought about it after I had my trial done (we live in Essex but got married in Scotland).

Speak to your friend and explain to her that it's a bit steep to pay out for a trial. She might be pleased to save on the cost of the trial.

The only thing I am paying for for my BMs is their dresses and a gift for each of them on the day. However, I've given them complete freedom over everything else - shoes, makeup, hairstyles, whether they want a wrap/cardigan/bolero in case it's cold, jewellery etc.