Wedding Morning Hair and Makeup Schedule

Who this is for

A chair slot for everyone, counted back from the time you leave. The sheet works out when each slot ends, so one that runs into dressing time shows up before the morning.

Couples with a hair stylist or make-up artist booked for the wedding morning, and the attendant or parent keeping the getting-ready timeline on the day.

What this helps you track

• Each artist's number and arrival time, and who is keeping time
• Every chair slot with its start time and the minutes allowed
• When each slot ends, counted in minutes before you leave
• Whether the chairs are clear in time for dressing, photos and a buffer
• What the couple is paying and what others are paying

How to use it

1. Write where you are getting ready and the time you leave, then decide how many minutes before leaving the chairs must be clear for dressing, photos and a buffer.
2. Fill in each artist's name, number and arrival time, and who is keeping time on the morning.
3. Add a slot for each person and service, with the minutes the artist has said it takes, and work back from leaving time to choose when it starts.
4. Write each start as a clock time and as minutes before leaving: an hour and a half before is 90. The ends column and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, subtract the minutes allowed.
5. Put each cost under couple pays or others pay, so the totals show who owes the artists what.
6. Give the finished schedule to the artists and to whoever is keeping time on the morning.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why count in minutes before leaving?

Because the leaving time is the one fixed point of the morning. Counting back from it shows at once whether the last slot finishes before the chairs need to be clear, without any clock arithmetic.

How long does each person take?

Ask your artists: it depends on the style, the hair and the artist, and they will usually tell you at the trial. The sheet takes whatever minutes they give you and does the rest.

Where should the couple go in the order?

Many people put the couple somewhere in the middle, so the artists have warmed up and there is still time for touch-ups at the end. Wherever you choose, keep the buffer in your clear-by figure.

What does a minus figure in the summary mean?

The spare figure is when the last slot ends, less the minutes before leaving that the chairs must be clear. A minus figure means the chairs run into dressing time by that many minutes.