Getting married? Get ready for your close up! In addition to being the object of admiring gazes aplenty, your face likely will be photographed more on your wedding day than on any other day of your life. Whether you have hired a professional makeup artist to create your wedding-day look, or plan to do your makeup yourself, these tips will help you be at your beautiful bridal best.

Kissable Lips
Every bride should strive for luscious lips on her wedding day. After all, the first kiss you share with your groom as husband and wife might well be the most momentous kiss you’ll ever have. To get your lips in shape, start a few weeks before your wedding by sloughing off any dead skin that is causing rough spots or flakiness. You can do this twice weekly by first applying lip balm or Vaseline to your lips and then using a soft-bristled toothbrush or a wet washcloth to gently exfoliate lips until smooth. Follow the exfoliation by applying a layer of moisturizing lip balm to keep your lips soft and smoochable.

Dewy Skin
A youthful, radiant glow is a bridal must. To get divinely dewy skin for your wedding day, start at least a month out. Use a daily cleanser that is labeled “brightening” or “exfoliating,” and follow with a “brightening” or “illuminating” facial moisturizer to work your way toward an ethereal glow. Too late to do the dew? For quick radiance, you can use a tinted moisturizer like Stila’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer, which has a hint of shimmer in it to give you a fabulous faux glow.

Blushing 
(and Bronzed) Bride
Blush and bronzer are essential for achieving wedding-day color that doesn’t look washed out in pictures. If you are lucky enough to have a natural tan, you may want to skip the bronzer and just apply blush. A pinky-peach blush like NARS Orgasm Blush lends a healthy-looking hue to just about any skin tone. Apply with a blush brush to the apples of your cheeks.

Brides with fair complexions can get a boost of color with the help of a powder bronzer. Make sure you apply your bronzer sparingly so that your look is sun-kissed rather than over-baked. Sweep on bronzer with a big, fluffy brush, applying lightly to your forehead, cheeks, the bridge of your nose and your chin. You can even apply a bit of bronzer underneath the chin for the illusion of a slimmer jaw-line.

Voluminous Lashes
Long, lush lashes will draw your groom into your gaze while you are saying your “I do’s.” Get voluminous lashes with the help of a volumizing mascara. The pros’ tried-and-true favorites include DiorShow Mascara by Dior and Boots No 7 Maximum Volume Mascara. Need more help than mere mascara can provide? Try adding false lashes. Start practicing early, and in no time you’ll be able to apply them like an expert. Trick of the trade: Add just a few single false lashes to the edge of your lash line to amp up lash length and density.

For long lashes that last through your wedding day and beyond, consider springing for lash extensions. These semi-permanent add-ons cost around $50 for the initial application, which can take a salon professional about an hour or two to complete. Lash extensions can last anywhere from one to two months before you require a touch-up. This means that you can have your lash extensions in time for pre-wedding festivities and still have beautiful lashes for your honeymoon.

The Eyes Have It
Sultry, dramatic eyes are a popular bridal look. To get a sensually smoky eye rather than the dreaded raccoon-mask look, you’ll need to be careful with how you apply dark eye makeup. First, prep your eye area by applying concealer under your eyes, and an eye primer on your lids. Next, apply a neutral shadow color all over the lid with a large eye shadow brush. You can then apply a brown or black (depending on how dramatic you want to go) pencil eyeliner on the top and bottom lash lines. Use a smudge brush or a Q-tip to smudge the edge of the eyeliner line. Apply a dark eye shadow of your choice in the crease of your eye. Apply a lighter version of a similar shade directly underneath the crease.

Blend the two colors together lightly with another shadow brush, and remember to use a light hand when applying shadow; it is always easier to add more color than to take color away. Apply dark mascara to finish the look.

Make It Last
A bride’s makeup should look flawless throughout her big day—and night. To keep your face in place, use a makeup primer underneath other cosmetics. Primer helps prep the skin and creates a smooth surface for the rest of your makeup to glide onto. A makeup primer also can give a matte look to brides with oily skin. To avoid streaking eye makeup, no matter how much you cry—and you will cry, dear bride—use waterproof mascara and eyeliner. And tell your friends and family: It’s not just the bride who should wear waterproof mascara… any woman who is attending the wedding would be wise to use it. For locked-in lip color, apply a liquid or cream foundation to lips before applying lipstick--foundation creates a base for color to adhere to. Another tip? Apply your lip color—long-wearing products like MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolour and Revlon Colorstay Lipcolor are good bets—with a lip brush to make the color last even longer.

Wedding-Day Hair
Choosing a bridal hairstyle can be almost as nerve-wracking as choosing your wedding dress. So take a deep breath and start to think about a few things. First, how do you normally wear your hair? You may not feel comfortable wearing your hair up in a tight and formal style if you typically wear your hair down and loose, so stick with what feels right. You also should try to work with, rather than against, your hair’s natural texture, whether curly, wavy or straight—this will help ensure that your hair maintains its look throughout the celebration. Also, consider what time of day your wedding will take place and the style of the event. If your wedding is scheduled for the afternoon, it may be a more casual affair and call for a laid-back hairstyle. If it is a black-tie evening affair, you probably will want a more formal hairstyle.

Other considerations: Are you the type of bride who will hardly leave the dance floor on the night of her wedding? If so, a tight up-do probably is better for you. The elegant up-do is ideal for an evening of dancing because it is positioned, pinned and hair-sprayed into place, and likely will stay that way for the duration of the evening. If you had your heart set on looser style, dancing queen, take heart. A half-up, half-down bridal hairstyle is the perfect combination of relaxed and restrained, for the bride who needs to get her groove on, while keeping her ’do done.

Still having trouble deciding? Schedule a trial run with your hairstylist to get her input and ideas on what styles look best on you.

You, Only Better
To look your best, be sure that you look like you. If you decide to hire a professional, schedule a trial run for makeup and hair well before the big day so that you have time to make any necessary changes or adjustments. If you are a DIY kind of bride, give yourself plenty of time to practice your hair and makeup beforehand so that your wedding-day beauty routine is not a source of stress, but of satisfaction.