Heidi Marie Garrett shared the importance of hair prep and having firm guidelines set up for bridal parties with the 21 stylists in attendance.
Heidi Marie Garrett shared the importance of hair prep and having firm guidelines set up for bridal parties with the 21 stylists in attendance.
Outside Goldplaited, Garrett shows stylists how to set up a shot. She takes all her own pictures of work so she doesn’t have to rely on wedding photographers.
Outside Goldplaited, Garrett shows stylists how to set up a shot. She takes all her own pictures of work so she doesn’t have to rely on wedding photographers.
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Heidi Marie Garrett shared the importance of hair prep and having firm guidelines set up for bridal parties with the 21 stylists in attendance.
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Heidi Marie Garrett shared the importance of hair prep and having firm guidelines set up for bridal parties with the 21 stylists in attendance.
Outside Goldplaited, Garrett shows stylists how to set up a shot. She takes all her own pictures of work so she doesn’t have to rely on wedding photographers.
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Outside Goldplaited, Garrett shows stylists how to set up a shot. She takes all her own pictures of work so she doesn’t have to rely on wedding photographers.

Heidi Marie Garrett Bridal Styling Class

Updo specialist Heidi Marie Garrett runs a tight ship, and her logical and organized approach to styling bridal parties has made her sought-after by brides around the country.

Format: Mostly demos, some hands-on styling
Duration: 6 hours (with lunch break)
Cost: $200-500, depending on location and duration
Class size: 21
Bring with you: Model, KMS California Dry Spray Wax, 1-inch curling iron or wand, flatiron, teasing comb, small pick comb, Kenra #25 hairspray, regular size and large roller bobby pins, small elastic bands and any additional supplies you prefer to work with.
Skill level recommended: Any and all welcome
 

Heidi Marie Garrett has quite the bustling bridal styling business, and it seems like that’s largely due to how pragmatic she is—and her enormous Instagram following

During a bridal styling class at Goldplaited finishing salon in Chicago, California-based Garrett openly and frankly shared not only styling but a plethora of business pointers for an eager-to-learn group of 21 stylists.

“Do not spray product until you have to,” she says. “You don’t need to breathe it, and neither does your client. Do not curl the whole head. You’re on a schedule! Use the least amount of pins possible to achieve what you need to do.”

And, perhaps most importantly: “Bring an extension cord.”

Garrett demoed several wedding-appropriate styles while fielding a number of business-related questions. The attendees were rapt by her styling techniques, absolutely, but this level of business-specific info—pricing, contracts and everything in between—is something you don’t find in many styling workshops.

“I doubled my pricing to cut my workload in half,” Garrett says of a fairly recent shift she made in her work habits. “I was doing 50 weddings a year, and that’s a lot. If I still book 50 weddings now, I’m making double, and if I book half, I’m still making as much as I was.”

Organization rules wedding days for Garrett, which is a nice life preserver to hold onto in these frequently high-stress occasions. She makes sure every bridal party who is having her hair done has a schedule in hand, and then she dictates they arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled time with no makeup from the night before, no wet hair—totally clean hair, clean face. Garrett does makeup as well.

Well before the big day, she sends out custom quotes, contracts and more to clients. That level of professionalism on her end has produced a higher-caliber of client, she says. A 50-percent deposit typically keeps parties from backing out or changing stylists last-minute.

Some attendees seemed alarmed by Garrett’s pricing, but she assured them that she’s had no shortage of clients willing to pay what she asks. And, after all, the finished looks typically speak for themselves. 

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