The curious case of walk-in brides in Lucknow

The wedding season has already set in, and the brides and grooms are surely in the final stages of sorting out their outfits and make-up routines for the big day. With parlours, salons and wellness centres abuzz with inquiries and bookings, there’s a new trend that’s become the talk of the town — walk-in brides! Rather than following the traditional routine of taking an appointment for their wedding make-up days in advance, this new trend is becoming quite popular.

Charu Rastogi from Make-up Stories by Fringes and Curls Salon says the trend of walk-in bride is hot! It gives the bride complete freedom to choose. “Today’s girls hate to be tied down. As far as wellness services are concerned, brides opt for bookings. But for make-up, they want to keep the options open till the last moment.”

Rastogi adds that this year, she has observed the number of walk-in brides go up exponentially. “Usually, they inquire about products and book a time slot and share with us the type of make-up they want. We instantly curate the look for them, starting from ₹8,000 for basic make-up and so on, including airbrush and HD make-up options too, which are a bit expensive,” adds Rastogi.

A soon-to-be bride Aishwarya Chaturvedi shares, “I opted for a package for my salon services, but I dropped out because I have another artist in mind. This will also keep the pricing factor in check. Even for my engagement, I went for a few pre-facials, for make-up. I walked into a studio on my friend’s suggestion and went ahead with a basic bridal make-up and saree draping.”

Make-up artist Nidhi Gupta feels that this trend is here to stay, as it’s cost-effective as well as gives a freehand to the customers to make a choice. “With the onset of the wedding season, we are getting walk-in brides at both my centres, Hazratganj and Aminabad. We have walk-in deals too. Brides come over to the salon, pick from our line of make-up sessions and leave in two hours all set for the day. It’s a win-win situation for all of us. I am sure more brides will take to it.”