Mallory Sills is a Chicago-based personal stylist and Fashion Styling tutor at QC Makeup Academy. Today, Mallory discusses how to work with wedding clients in preparation for the big day!
Styling wedding clients can be a great way to grow your fashion styling business. The wedding industry is a huge, lucrative one and many brides are eager for wardrobe assistance for their big day. Naturally, they want to look their best!
What many new stylists don’t realize is that styling wedding clients is much more of a collaborative experience than traditional personal styling. One of the major professionals you’ll be working with? Professional makeup artists!
So hang tight—we’re going to chat about how to work with makeup artists to style wedding clients.
Get to Know Your Client
Similar to the work you do with any your regular clients, it’s critical that you get to know your client. When styling wedding clients, you’ll likely want to have an initial consultation to get a sense of what they’re envisioning for their special day.
Since you are styling a wedding client, you’ll also want to know the details about the wedding. For example, the wedding location, date, theme, etc. It’s essential that you’re on the same page as the client.
Get Visual to Create Cohesion
You will be creating an overall look for the client that’s cohesive with their entire wedding—this is important to keep in mind.
Something I’ve noticed with students in our fashion styling course, in the wedding-specific assignments, is that they forget to keep all of the looks cohesive and appropriate.
Think big picture when styling wedding clients. Remember, there are a lot of moving parts to a wedding. It’s not just the bride and groom. You also need to keep in mind the event decor and those in the wedding party. You need to get visual to ensure you and your client are on the same page.
Make a mood board that covers the style, colors, and theme of the wedding. Include the color palette for the wedding, pictures of anyone in the wedding party, images of the venue/location, etc. You will want to reference the mood board any time you’re making styling decisions with the client to stay on track. One thing I do is add pictures of any pieces or looks that are finalized to update the visual reference and make sure it all flows together.
Styling the Wedding Party
Typically when we hear “wedding styling” we tend to think of the bride. However, you can (and should) expand your services to style other members of the wedding party as needed. When styling bridesmaids and groomsmen, it’s just as crucial to pay attention to cohesiveness as it is when styling the bride. The wedding party stands with the bride and groom during the ceremony and pictures – keep that in mind!
When styling multiple people for a wedding, you will often hear many different opinions at once. As a professional fashion stylist, you’ll want to maintain your professionalism in these situations and hear their opinions. But you’ll also need to be the expert you are and keep the client’s vision and goals at the forefront.
How to Work with Makeup Artists
As you style a wedding client, you’ll eventually start discussing the overall look for the big day. Typically, the bridal makeup artist will come in after the attire has been chosen. While you have played a big role in styling the looks, you want to work with the makeup artists in a collaborative manner. Communication is key!
Go into the relationship honoring the makeup artist’s expertise. Discuss the looks and vision you and the client have, share the visuals and give the makeup artists an opportunity to share any of their ideas. The more open you are, the more easily the artist can create a bridal makeup look that blends with the bride’s wedding wardrobe. Open communication and sharing of ideas will help you both to give the client the perfect outcome.
Focus on Color
It only takes a quick scroll through wedding images to realize how much of a role color plays in the photos. This is why getting visual and maintaining cohesion in styling wedding clients is so important. Plus, pictures are a huge part of any wedding!
Once you know the client’s color palette, offer a few different ways to incorporate the color(s) into their wedding look(s). Some brides may want the colors to be at the forefront of their wedding look. Meanwhile, others may prefer them to be more subtle. Give your clients options. Use visual images for reference to show them your different ideas on styling color for their big day.
Do you have any other tips on styling a bridal client? Let us know!
