A bride-to-be says a wedding lately has left her questioning a long-standing tradition, after watching bridesmaids spend nearly an entire day getting ready before the ceremony even began.
Reddit user Impossible_Wish9922 described attending a wedding where hair and makeup preparations started at 8:30 a.m. for a 5:30 p.m. ceremony.
While the original poster (OP) spent the morning relaxing, the bridal party faced what she described as an exhausting schedule that stretched late into the night.
“Does anyone else feel similarly that we have totally lost the plot with wedding make up and hair?” she wrote, questioning whether eight-hour preparation timelines have become excessive, or are simply part of modern wedding culture.
‘Next time around’
The post drew more than 400 responses from others on Reddit who said the long timelines are often driven by logistics rather than preference.
A contributor, identifying as a wedding vendor, contrasted the experience with that of groomsmen.
“When I see a groom/groomsmen get up and play a round of golf, come back and go for a fun swim, then get dressed and make it to the altar on time, I know that next time around I want to reincarnated as a man.”
Another contributor pointed to the practical limits of hiring a single stylist.
“My [hair and makeup artist] worked solo and required I have a certain number of people for her base fee,” they shared, explaining that staggered appointments stretched across the day.
“My maid of honor said, ‘For once I’d like to experience a wedding like man,’ [because] the guys literally were all at the venues hot springs until like an hour before the wedding.”
Industry Guidance
Industry guidance suggests these timelines are not unusual.
According to The Knot, “Expect bridal party hair and makeup to take one-to-two hours per person,” while, “bridal hair and makeup can take two-to-three hours.”
Michelle Schultz, a makeup artist cited by the outlet, said, “No one likes to be up at 5 a.m. for hair and makeup (if they don’t have to be!).”
Those estimates can add up depending on the size of the group and number of stylists available. The Knot notes that full preparation for a wedding party can average four-to-six hours in total.
A similar breakdown appears in guidance from Brides, which states that makeup typically takes “30–45 minutes per person” and up to “60–90 minutes for the bride,” with hair requiring a similar timeframe.
The publication stresses the importance of sticking to a schedule to avoid delays that could affect the ceremony start time.
Still, the Reddit discussion reflects a growing sense among some that the balance of the wedding day may be shifting too heavily toward preparation.
While extended timelines can help avoid last-minute stress, they can also mean early wake-up calls and long hours before the event even begins.
For the OP, the experience raised a simple question about whether the tradition still makes sense.
As she prepares for her own wedding, she is weighing whether a shorter, more relaxed schedule might be possible, even if it means rethinking what has become standard practice.
Newsweek has reached out to Impossible_Wish9922 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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