I will start out by saying that everyone in my bridal party, including myself, looked amazing on the day of the wedding, but there were definitely some hiccups to reach that result....
Initially, communication was excellent, all of my questions were answered, and I felt very confident in booking Sarah Delaine. After payment, communication went downhill. I had a total of 9 girls getting hair and makeup, and I was given only one hair artist and one makeup artist. I offered to pay extra to book extra artists, as my ceremony was early, and we would have had to start getting ready at 4am to make this work. I was pushed off, over and over, and I was told that they "do this all the time" and it would be no problem.
Fast forward to the bridal trial. I filled out a form prior to the trial of what I wanted, in which I put airbrush and a half-up hairdo. When I arrived, while waiting for the appointment, another bride expressed that she, too, was having issues with communication.
At the trial, the makeup artist did only traditional makeup until I asked about airbrush about halfway through. She was not aware that that is what I wanted, so it was only done to finish the makeup. I was extremely pleased with how the makeup turned out, and I HIGHLY recommend Jenna Vance. It was simply frustrating that I filled out a lengthy form, only for it not to be communicated.
The hair is where the real issues arose. The artist assumed that I wanted an updo, which was not at all what I put in the form. I expressed my dislike for "Hollywood waves" and "Utah curls", and I emphasized that I really like bouncy, full curls. I am not exaggerating when I say that she probably curled each piece of my hair 4 times with at least 3 different irons. My hair has never held curl exceptionally well, however, I have never had an issue getting it to curl in the first place. She kept leaving the ends of my hair straight, which I expressed over and over how much I disliked. Additionally, the half-up portion was uneven, and I was told that it was not after I spoke up. There were black bobby pins sticking out of my blonde hair, it looked dirty, straight, straggly, and entirely uneven (see pic). I felt very pressured to like my hair at the trial, and left disappointed. At the trial, I asked the coordinator about adding additional artists, and I was told that it was still up in the air (6wk before the wedding?)
After reviewing the contract, I was still required to pay in full for myself and all my girls, so I felt trapped. I sent a text message to the coordinator expressing how disappointed I was in the trial. Immediately after sending this message, the coordinator responded with an offer of another free hair trial with a different artist, a free blowout the day before the wedding, and a few fees waived. Additionally, there magically were 4 additional hair and makeup artists available. I was very pleased with my second trial and with the customer service recovery, I was just very disappointed with the events leading up.
On the day of the wedding, we began getting ready at 6am, and got finished exactly on time. There is no possible way we could have finished 9 girls with only 2 more hours and 4 fewer artists. The artists kept talking about how they needed to leave soon and had another wedding, but there were still several girls that needed done. This definitely made me nervous, and we all felt very rushed, We all looked beautiful, though, so only a major issue with communication.