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 Booking Guide 

Got Engaged, Check!

Now WHAT?

 

Confused and overwhelmed?  No worries!

Tina understands wedding planning upside down, inside out, A to Z. 

Tina is here for you to take some of that burden off of your shoulder and make your planning process a little bit easier, by providing you a thorough trial session and bringing clarity to your day-of schedule.

There is no chance for confusion!

 Step 1. 

Lock in our availability for your date.

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The very first thing we recommend you do is to inquire about our availability for your date via the contact form at the bottom of this page, as soon as your wedding venue is booked (i.e. your date and ceremony time are set & permanent).

 

Few facts to keep in mind:

  1. Most of our brides book their date in advance, ranging from 3 months to 18 months before the wedding date.

  2. Saturdays do book up quicker than other days.

  3. A good artist is very rare in this area, so they book up fast.

  4. We operate on a first-come first-served basis.

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However, don't be discouraged to inquire even if it's last minute, as we are a team of multiple artists and we might be able to fit you in.

 

You can either: (1) book your wedding-day services first, and then schedule your trial later, (2) schedule & complete your trial first and then book afterwards, or (3) book & done (as we don't require a trial). Most people choose option (1), but it's really up to your personality & budget.

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This is the stage where we figure out your location of services and the service count (like, who wants makeup/hair), and the final cost for you along with the detailed price breakdown & wedding-day timeline. We'll guide you through all this, so don't worry about it.

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The only way to reserve our time for you is by putting down a retainer (deposit) and signing a contract. The retainer is non-refundable and non-transferrable, and will be deducted from the total balance of your contract.

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Note: Your inquiry and/or having scheduled/completed a trial session, by itself, does not hold your date in our calendar, and we have no obligation to notify you of other future inquiries for your date unless you kept a continuous communication with us. This is because we have no realistic way of tracking all the individual inquiries.

 Step 2. 

Schedule your trial about 2-3 months prior to your wedding date.

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Trial consultation is for you to preview how you will look on your wedding day, as is for your artist to study your facial features, skin tone, and hair type. Since time is a scarce resource on a wedding day (meaning, schedule is set already and we are in the go-go-go mode to meet all your wedding-day timeline), we are limited on how much consultation we can do with you at the chair. Doing a trial beforehand gives us the luxury of time, a true opportunity to really take time and discuss your looks, likes & dislikes, and make tweaks.

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A good time to schedule your trial is when you've already chosen your wedding dress, as the hairstyle depends a lot on the outfit choice and what vibe it gives. Also, your choice of the types of decoration/floral theme may affect the look of the makeup to some extent. However, even if you don't have all these details yet, no worries! We'll figure it out for you. We are the professionals after all. ;)

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Even without the trial, we are able to whip out a gorgeous look for you on your wedding day, as we do this all the time for the moms and bridesmaids. However, if you feel as though you may be picky on certain aspects of the look, then doing a trial session is a really good idea for all of us, to hash out those important details before the actual wedding day, so that we are all in a peaceful state of mind, proceeding to the wedding day.

 

Oh, one more thing! If you are about 6 months or more away from your wedding day, it's a good time to start exfoliating your skin (research those AHA/BHA acids!) if it's not already a part of your normal skin-care routine. If you absolutely cannot make this a habit, at least try a sheet mask the morning of your trial. It makes a WORLD of difference!

 Step 3. 

Complete your trial (or not) & rest easy.

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If you've chosen to complete the trial session, this is what happens at the trial: 

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  • During the trial consultation, you and our artist will discuss your wedding-day details, such as the wedding theme, floral, dress, venue, vibe you'd like to portray, wedding party outfit colors, and your personal likes/dislikes in makeup/hair/fashion (fyi, inspirational photos are really helpful!), and finally any allergy or sensitivity you may have to certain ingredients of the products to be used. (Please disclose any severe allergy if you already know!)

  • We'll demonstrate one major makeup look and one major hair style, with any necessary tweaking. If you are deeply confused on which style to go with prior to the trial day, we can use the trial session to discuss what our options are and quickly show you a couple different styles (which may lack the perfection in the details but it'll give you a better idea on which direction you'd like to take with your bridal look) so that you can pick a general style/silhouette of your bridal look at the trial, and then we'll perfect the details on your wedding day.

  • Typically, each trial takes about 1.5 hours, so if you are completing both makeup & hair trials, it'll take approximately 3 hrs. If you are using this trial session as your "photoshoot/engagement makeup & hair" (which a lot of our clients do), then schedule enough cushion time & travel time, just in case the trial takes more time than expected.

  • We want you to walk out of this trial session, confidently knowing what to expect for the day of your wedding, so don't hesitate to give us your honest feedback, of any kind. We have thick skin; we can handle any feedback you give us!

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If you've chosen NOT to complete the trial consultation, then you can send us any inspirational pictures, photos of your dress and any other pertinent details, and we can give you our opinion and guide you through the right decision for your bridal look.

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There will likely be numerous changes & updates in the day-of timeline & service count during the wedding planning; all these changes will be communicated via email. In the end, sometime before your wedding day, we'll have a nicely organized summary of our final agreements in an email, so that we are 120% sure we are on the same page.

 Step 4. 

It's your wedding day!

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Just relax. This was what all the planning & endless email exchanges were for. Our artists will be there on time, if not about 15 minutes earlier, to get you started. If there's any reason we may run behind, we'll definitely give you a call, but we can count on one hand of this happening in our 10+ years in service.

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We literally bring the whole salon to your space, so there isn't a long list of things you'd need to prepare for us. BUT, we do need: a good amount of empty space in a well-ventilated area, at least two electrical outlets, and a couple of (dining or folding) chairs at the getting-ready location. It makes a comfortable environment for us, which ensures the best quality for you. If your space gets good natural lighting, double points for you! But even if not, don't worry; we even bring lights!

 

What NOT to do right before the wedding day:

As for your skincare regimen, don't do anything unusual the night before, like a deep facial massage or putting on skin care item you've never used before; it might just break you out. Also, no last minute botox or spray tan, especially if you've never done it before, because you may end up with unwanted, unnatural facial expression or skin tone. Regarding the lash extensions; if you are someone who enjoys them regularly, it's fine to have them but make sure they are freshly refilled. If you are not a regular extension wearer though, don't get them done. We prefer no lash extensions.

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Couple instructions for the brides for the day of your wedding:

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  • Please have everyone in your bridal party arrive at the getting-ready location AT LEAST 15 minutes prior to their first appointment, ready to be sitting and getting styled. (No "let me quickly run to the bathroom to brush my teeth" when we need you please!)

  • Prep for the HAIR service: Please come with CLEAN & DRY hair. We highly recommend showering in the morning of the wedding, as this ensures the best volume for your hair, and COMPLETELY BLOW-DRY your hair, as damp/wet hair will burn under the hot iron. Also, no two-day-old dirty hair please, because it's really difficult to build volume on oily hair.

  • Prep for MAKEUP service: Please put on your regular skin care routine, but leave out the sunscreen. (However, if your skin burns very easily under the sun or if you have photosensitivity, wear your normal sunscreen.) Using a facial sheet mask in the morning of the wedding day yields the best result. 

  • We highly recommend preparing a photo reference of what kind of hair style you want, and bring any hair accessories.

  • We recommend everyone to bring their favorite lip product for touchup throughout the day, as the lip color will wear off by eating & drinking. Any color that you like is fine with us.​

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The day will go just as planned, and just as imagined. Trust yourself & your bridesmaids! (and Shine Tina team, of course :) )

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