Hairdressers: booking wedding and event hair appointments

Take wedding and event hair in two steps: a hair trial that clients book online a few weeks before, then the wedding morning, which you book yourself as one slot covering everyone you'll style, so the date can't be taken twice. Ask at the trial for the number of people, the ceremony time and the venue, and work backwards from the ceremony to set your arrival time. Clients see the style before the day, and you arrive with a timed plan rather than a rush.

A trial lets the client see the style with their dress, accessories and hair as it will be on the day, and lets you time it. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own, and say in the description whether the trial price is deducted from the wedding booking.

A trial a few weeks before the wedding leaves time to adjust without the style being forgotten. Say in the description what the client should bring: photos of the style, the veil or accessories, and hair washed or unwashed as you prefer. If the trial is at your home or the client's, say which and what space you need.

At the trial, agree the number of people and the timings, then create one slot on the wedding date covering the whole morning and book the client into it yourself. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter the client's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file. With one place, the slot is full and leaves your page, so the date is protected. Put the number of people and the order in the booking note, so it appears in the client's calendar file too.

Work backwards from the ceremony: the bride last, finished at least half an hour before photos, then bridesmaids and family before. Add up the time per person, plus a buffer, to set your arrival time. If the group is large, decide before you confirm whether you bring a second stylist, since your booking page has no staff field: plan who comes and note it in the booking.

Summer Saturdays can fill first, and each one can only take one wedding morning. Decide how many weddings you take per month, keep trials on weekdays, and say in the description how far ahead you take wedding bookings. When a Saturday is booked, it disappears from your page, so later couples see straight away that you're taken and can choose another date or another stylist.

Ask for the address where hair will be done, parking, access to power and a mirror near a window. If the venue is far, say in the description whether travel is charged. Avoid booking a second wedding on the same day unless the timings and distance clearly allow it: Book doesn't stop slots of different services from overlapping, so look at the day in your calendar before you confirm.

For proms, galas and parties, clients can book an event hair slot directly. Open these on the afternoons before typical event evenings, and say in the description how long the style lasts, whether you come to the client or they come to you, and whether hair accessories are included or brought by the client.

Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move the trial or the wedding from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Say your cancellation rule for the wedding morning in the description, especially for changes close to the date. Book doesn't take payments or deposits, so say how and when the client pays. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.