Bridal Hair and Makeup Contract Template (Canada)
Updated on August 22, 2026
Bridal beauty is the hardest kind of consumer services contract to operate: an immovable date, a party whose size keeps changing, a venue the stylist has never seen, a schedule set by a photographer, and a client who will never book again. Almost every dispute comes from four places — how many people were included, what time the team was meant to start and finish, what happens when the wedding moves or is cancelled, and whether the stylist can post the photos.
Canada adds two wrinkles. Consumer protection is provincial, so the rules on prepayments, cancellation and unfair practices depend on where the client is — and in Quebec a stipulated penalty can be reduced by the court where the clause is abusive or partial performance has benefited the creditor, which is a direct constraint on a flat cancellation charge. Second, if the client is in Quebec and you use the same pre-printed terms with everyone, the Charter of the French Language requires the French version to be provided before the parties can agree to be bound by an English one.
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Bridal Hair and Makeup Contract
This agreement is made on between (the “Stylist”), represented by , and of (the “Client”) for bridal beauty services on .
1. Event Details
- Wedding date:
- Ceremony time:
- Getting-ready address:
- Client contact:
- Stylist contact:
2. Services Booked
- Services:
- For the bride:
- Bridal party:
- people
- Others booked:
- people
- Time allowed per person:
- minutes
The booking covers the people listed above. The Stylist's qualifications and insurance are: . The Stylist will perform the services with reasonable care and skill using products suitable for professional use.
3. Schedule
The Stylist will arrive at and everyone booked will be ready by . The Client will ensure each person is available at their allotted time with clean dry hair and a clean bare face unless agreed otherwise.
If people are not available at their allotted times, the Stylist will complete as much of the booking as the remaining time allows and the full price remains payable. Time beyond the booked window, where the Stylist can stay, is charged at per additional thirty minutes. Anyone added on the day is charged at and can only be accommodated if time and products allow.
4. Trial Session
A trial is booked for at a fee of . The look agreed at the trial is the look booked for the wedding day and will be recorded in notes and photographs kept by the Stylist. A materially different look requested on the day will be attempted only if time allows.
5. Price and Payment
- Total price:
- Retainer payable now:
- Balance due by:
- Taxes:
The retainer secures the date and is applied against the total price. It represents compensation for holding the date and declining other bookings for it. The balance is due by the date above.
6. Travel and Venue
Services are provided at the getting-ready address. Travel is charged as follows: Travel fee: . The Client will ensure access at the arrival time, a counter-height working surface, a chair, adequate lighting and access to an electrical outlet, and will meet any venue access, parking or supplier requirements.
7. Health, Allergies and Products
The Client has disclosed the following allergies, sensitivities, skin or scalp conditions, recent treatments and other relevant matters, for themselves and, so far as they are aware, for the people booked:
Allergy alert or patch test: . Where a test is called for by the product instructions it should be carried out far enough in advance to reveal a delayed reaction. The Client will tell the Stylist immediately of any change before the wedding date. The Stylist may decline or modify any service it considers unsafe for a particular person. Nothing in this agreement is medical advice.
8. Cancellation by the Client
If the Client cancels, the following charges apply as a proportion of the total price: more than 90 days before the date, %; between 30 and 90 days, %; between 14 and 30 days, %; within 14 days, %. The retainer counts towards the charge.
These figures are the parties' genuine estimate of what the Stylist loses by holding the date and being unable to refill it at short notice, and are not intended as a penalty. The Stylist will make reasonable efforts to refill the date and will reduce the charge by the value of any booking obtained for it. Nothing in this clause affects any right the Client has under the consumer legislation of their province.
9. Postponement
A postponement is not a cancellation. The retainer transfers once to a new date within months of the original date if the Stylist is available, with the price adjusted only for a change in the services booked. If the Stylist is not available, the cancellation charges apply by reference to the original date.
10. If the Stylist Cannot Attend
If the named stylist cannot attend because of illness, accident, transport failure or another cause outside their control, the Stylist may send an equally qualified professional at no extra cost and will tell the Client as soon as possible.
If no substitute can be provided, the Stylist will refund everything paid for the services that cannot be provided, including the retainer.
The Stylist will not photograph or publish images of the Client or the wedding party for marketing purposes.
11. Responsibility
- The Stylist is responsible for performing the services with reasonable care and skill, for using products suitable for professional use, and for loss caused by its own negligence.
- The Client is responsible for the accuracy of the health and allergy disclosures, for the readiness of the people booked, and for the suitability and safety of the venue.
- The Client is responsible for loss or damage to the Stylist's kit, products or equipment caused by the Client or the wedding party.
- Neither party is responsible for a failure caused by something genuinely outside its control.
- Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits liability for bodily injury caused by negligence, or any right the Client has under applicable consumer legislation.
12. General
This agreement is the whole agreement about this booking, may only be changed in writing, and is governed by the laws of . If any term is unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
The Client
Date signed:
For the Stylist
Date signed:
Cancellation charges that hold up
The source document pairs a flat non-refundable deposit with a full-price charge for a late cancellation. That is the shape most likely to be attacked. In Quebec, article 1623 of the Civil Code allows the amount of a stipulated penalty to be reduced where partial performance has benefited the creditor or where the clause is abusive. In the common-law provinces a charge that operates as a penalty rather than a genuine estimate of loss is vulnerable, and provincial consumer legislation adds its own rules on unfair practices and prepayments.
So this template uses cancellation bands that rise as the date approaches, describes the retainer as compensation for holding a date the stylist turned other work away for, and records an express duty to try to refill the date and reduce the charge by whatever is recovered. Postponement is handled separately, because a postponement is not a cancellation and it is what most clients actually want.
Provincial consumer rules, and what to check
There is no single Canadian consumer statute. Depending on the province you may be dealing with rules on prepayments and future performance contracts, cooling-off rights for contracts made away from the business's premises, and prohibitions on unfair practices. Quebec's Consumer Protection Act is its own regime with distinct formalities.
This template is written to be defensible across provinces rather than pretending one rule applies: it keeps the retainer proportionate, states clearly what the client gets and when, avoids one-sided liability language, and prompts you to check the position in the client's province — including whether a booking taken at a wedding fair or in the client's home attracts any additional rights.
Patch tests, licensing and insurance
Hairdressing and esthetics regulation in Canada is provincial and varies — some provinces regulate the trades or require certification for certain services, others do not. So the assurance a client wants comes from the contract: qualifications, insurance and the scope of what you will do.
Allergy testing practice comes from product labelling and manufacturer instructions rather than a general statutory duty on the stylist; oxidative colour and lash adhesives are the usual candidates and a delayed reaction is why the test has to be well in advance. This template takes a written allergy and conditions disclosure, records whether a test was offered, taken or declined, and confirms the stylist may decline or modify a service that would be unsafe.
Photographs: opt-in, and who owns the wedding pictures
The photography clause here is optional and off by default, and the document says the client can decline it and receive exactly the same service. When it is on, the client picks the scope, can require that no name or venue is tagged, and can withdraw permission for future use.
One Canadian point is worth knowing: since the 2012 copyright amendments, photographs no longer receive special treatment, so the photographer — not the couple who commissioned them — is generally the first owner of copyright unless the contract says otherwise. A stylist who wants to repost the professional images therefore needs the photographer's permission, which is the opposite of the position in some other countries. This clause covers only images the stylist takes itself.
Clause-by-clause guide
- Parties, event and venue
- Client, business, wedding date, getting-ready address and the ceremony time the schedule is built around.
- Language
- Optional. Records that a French version was provided first where the client is in Quebec.
- Services and headcount
- Hair, makeup or both, with the number of people in each category.
- Schedule and time allowed
- Arrival, ready-by, minutes per person and the rate for time beyond the booked window.
- Trial session
- Optional. When it happens, what it costs and how the agreed look is recorded.
- Price, retainer and taxes
- Total price, the retainer that holds the date, the balance due date and GST/HST or QST treatment.
- Travel and early start
- Optional. Kilometre or flat fee, parking, and a supplement for early call times.
- Venue requirements
- Access time, working surface, seating, lighting and power.
- Allergies and patch test
- Client disclosure, the test position, and the right to decline an unsafe service.
- Cancellation bands
- A sliding scale with an express duty to try to refill the date and reduce the charge.
- Postponement
- Transfers the retainer once to a new date within a stated window if the business is available.
- Substitution
- Allows an equally qualified stylist if the named one cannot attend.
- Photography permission
- Optional, off by default, scope-limited and withdrawable, with a note on the photographer's copyright.
- Responsibility
- A balanced split that does not attempt to exclude liability for negligence causing injury.
Canadian points to check
Keep cancellation charges proportionate
In Quebec a stipulated penalty may be reduced where the clause is abusive or partial performance has benefited the creditor. In common-law provinces a charge that is a penalty rather than a genuine estimate of loss is vulnerable. Bands plus a duty to mitigate are safer than a flat figure.
Civil Code of Québec, art. 1623Check the consumer statute in the client's province
Consumer protection is provincial. Rules on prepayments, future performance contracts, cooling-off for off-premises contracts and unfair practices differ, and Quebec's Consumer Protection Act is a distinct regime.
Follow the Quebec French-first rule for standard forms
For a contract of adhesion the French version must be provided to the adhering party before the parties can expressly agree to be bound by another language version; a language-selection clause alone is not enough.
Charter of the French Language, s.55Check provincial trade regulation
Hairdressing and esthetics regulation varies by province, and some services are regulated or require certification. Confirm the position where you operate before advertising a service.
Follow product warnings on allergy testing
Allergy alert testing for oxidative colour and adhesives comes from product labelling, manufacturer instructions and professional practice rather than a general statutory duty. Record what was offered and what the client decided.
Confirm insurance covers mobile and venue work
Liability and treatment-risk cover often distinguish salon premises from third-party venues, and many venues require evidence before allowing a supplier on site.
Remember the photographer usually owns the wedding photos
Since the 2012 copyright amendments photographs have no special rule, so the photographer is generally first owner unless the contract says otherwise. Get their permission before reposting professional images.
Copyright Act, s.13
How to complete this contract
- Set the event details and scope. Add the wedding date, getting-ready address and ceremony time, then the services and headcount in each category.
- Handle language. If the client is in Quebec and these are your standard terms, turn on the language clause and provide the French version first.
- Build the schedule. Enter arrival time, ready-by time, minutes per person and the overrun and extra-person rates.
- Price it. Add the total, retainer, balance due date and tax treatment, and turn on travel or early-start fees if they apply.
- Handle safety and photos. Complete the allergy disclosure and patch-test position, and only turn the photography clause on if the client has agreed.
- Set fair cancellation bands. Enter the percentage for each window before the date, and the postponement window.
- Sign and give the client a copy. Download the DOCX or print to PDF, sign, and give the client a copy with their retainer receipt.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take a non-refundable deposit in Canada?
You can take a retainer that is not returned if the client cancels, described as compensation for holding a date you turned other work away for. What is risky is a flat charge that ignores how far out the cancellation is and whether you can refill the date. In Quebec a stipulated penalty can be reduced where the clause is abusive or partial performance benefited you, and in common-law provinces a penalty rather than a genuine estimate of loss is vulnerable. Bands plus a duty to mitigate are the safer structure.
Does my client get a cooling-off period?
It depends on the province and on how the booking was made. Several provinces give rights for contracts made away from the business's premises or for future performance contracts, and Quebec's Consumer Protection Act has its own formalities. This template prompts you to check the position where the client is, rather than asserting a single national rule that does not exist.
What is the Quebec language requirement?
For a contract of adhesion — the same pre-printed terms you give every client — the Charter of the French Language requires the French version to be provided to the client before the parties can expressly agree to be bound by an English version. A language-selection clause is not enough on its own. This template includes a clause recording that the French version was provided first.
Do I need a licence to work as a bridal stylist?
That depends on the province: hairdressing and esthetics regulation varies, and some services are regulated or require certification while others are not. Because there is no single national answer, what you state in the contract matters — your qualifications, your insurance and the scope of what you will do are what a client and a venue can check.
Do I have to do a patch test?
There is no general statutory duty on a stylist, but oxidative colour and lash adhesives carry allergy warnings and manufacturer instructions that call for an allergy alert test well in advance, because a reaction can be delayed. Insurers often require it. This contract records the client's disclosure, whether a test was offered and taken, and your right to decline an unsafe service.
Can I repost the photographer's wedding photos?
Not without the photographer's permission. Since the 2012 copyright amendments photographs have no special rule in Canada, so the photographer is generally the first owner of copyright even though the couple commissioned and paid for the shoot. The photography clause in this contract covers only images you take yourself.
What if I am ill on the wedding day?
Use the substitution clause: it lets you send an equally qualified stylist at no extra cost, which is what a client needs on the morning. Keep a refund route for the case where no substitute can be found and state it plainly.
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Disclaimer
This template and guide are general information about Canadian practice, not legal, insurance or medical advice, and nobody has reviewed your business. Consumer protection, trade regulation and language requirements are provincial; check the position where your client is, and never rely on this in place of manufacturer instructions or your own judgement about safety.
