Tanya didn't personally do my wedding hair and makeup--instead, I booked through HMU by Tanya to work with other artists from her team for my wedding outside of Bozeman this summer. While the artist I ended up working with was professional, the way the business side was handled left me feeling misled and incredibly disappointed.
First, I did not know which specific artist I'd be matched with when I booked, but I expected that everyone from Tanya's team would offer a similar style of hair makeup to what is advertised on her instagram, especially for the $1,500 luxury price point. After I specifically asked them who the artist would be, they sent me her portfolio page (I was matched with a local artist near my location by Bozeman). When I saw the photos, I was shocked. The difference in quality was striking--what I saw promoted on the Tanya's page was modern and professional, but the artist I was assigned had a completely different approach that didn't align with the look I was promised. After requesting someone else to do my makeup, Tanya's assistant Christine introduced the option of working with a different artist. I was told she'd be doing both my trial and wedding day makeup. But weeks later (just days after the 90-day cancellation window in their contract had already passed) I was told she might not be available for the trial and that her travel would cost an additional $508--which was a complete surprise to me. This fee was never disclosed in the original invoice, and I only found out about it because I asked. Had I known that upfront, I would have made a very different decision and likely would have cancelled altogether.
When I voiced my concerns, I didn't receive a phone call or genuine apology, or any real effort to make things right. Instead, I got a string of generic responses from Tanya's assistant Christine that did not address the specific issues I was raising. The replies felt impersonal and scripted, which added to my frustration. I felt like as soon as the cancellation window passed, there was no concern for my experience as a customer.
After several frustrating emails, they finally said they would ask the artist who would be traveling to waive her travel fee (which I felt was unfair to the artist because it was their mistake), and she agreed--however, they would be assigning a different artist for my makeup trial, which I feel defeats the purpose of the trial altogether.
Thankfully, the artist who did my trial was wonderful and ended up doing both hair and makeup for my wedding day. She stepped up and took care of everything, including managing communication with Tanya and her assistant to take the stress off of me before my wedding day. I'm grateful to her, but the situation should never have escalated to that point.
For a service that ended up costing $1,500 (a splurge I saved up for for months) I expected a high-end, low-stress, professional experience. What I got was a disorganized and impersonal process that caused so much unnecessary stress in the weeks leading up to my wedding. If I could change one thing about my wedding, it would be to save myself the financial and emotional stress of working with them and find another option for hair and makeup services. read more