Jim Avila Consulting Services

Jim was very good! I had a wonderful trial with him at his house in SF where we sipped tea and chatted. He came to our hotel at 7:30 and by noon had done hair and make-up for the mothers, 4 bridesmaids, me, helped me get into my dress, and done a little something for the flowergirl and jr. bridesmaid.

His calm and self assuredness was exactly what we needed on our wedding day. He was very professional (even as drama was occurring around him) best of all, he kept to a tight schedule so we were all ready to go when the photographers got there.

He did not do my hair and makeup the same as my trial and didn't discuss the changes with me. Everyone agreed that the half-up he did was even better than the all-up trial, but my hair doesn't hold curl and by the ceremony, the part that was down was straight and after the first dance, it was hot and uncomfortable and I had to put it up. He also didn't use the same make-up as the trial and I'm not sure how it held up since I didn't keep looking in the mirror all night but just trusted it. Follow up: Some of my photos show the red marks on my face. My normal make-up covers better than that.

He has everyone come in their normal hair and make-up so he knows where they're starting point is so they still look like themselves but I know that at least one of my maids would have really liked to have more input into her style. I first met him at a bridal fair and he talked all about putting hair up so it looks nice and doesn't get in your way and then he styled all of us with our hair down.

My mom loved him, he made her feel like a queen and really brightened her up and made her look great. I think Jim was her favorite vendor in a very crowded field.

Jim is also VERY expensive. I paid $1750 including $250 for him to travel to Santa Clara but having someone I could really trust for hair and makeup was REALLY important to me (and that included my trial and 5+me on the day of...AT the hotel). I also needed someone to tell me what would look good, I'm no good with picking hairstyles from magazines that will be flattering and work on me. If I had it to do all over again though, I may have looked at some of the cheaper options who still have really great reviews.