Every bride wants to look picture-perfect on her wedding day, and that means flawless hair and makeup to complement the fabulous dress and the beautiful setting.

"When a bride walks down the aisle, she should have a total look. The dress shouldn't stand out more than the veil or the hair or the makeup," said Steve Moore, who operates The Moore Agency, an on-site beauty service. "The best look for a bride will vary according to the time of day, the location and the style of her dress."

R. TODD FLEEMAN/Special (ENLARGE)

Steve Moore of The Moore Agency and Lyda Harandi discuss hairstyles for her April wedding. Harandi, of Alpharetta, decided to go with a low side chignon, with the front softly swept back. Her makeup will include smoky eyes and nude lips.

On-site beauty services will come to the wedding site to style hair, apply makeup, and give manicures, pedicures and massages. Brides can choose as many of the services as they like, and they can schedule pampering for their wedding party.

"Brides should look beautiful but not totally different from how they usually look. They shouldn't have a lot of makeup — especially if they don't wear it every day. But they should have makeup that defines their eyes and lips so they'll have a more polished look and look great in pictures," said Michele Usher of Beautiful You hair salon in Decatur.

She advises brides to start looking for a hair and makeup consultant as soon as they get the dress and veil.

Interview several beauty consultants several months before your wedding, and schedule a trial run of the hair and makeup to ensure that you get the look you want, said Jennifer Adams of Formal Faces, an on-site hair and makeup service. She suggested bringing the dress (or a picture of the dress) and veil, details about the wedding and pictures of hairstyles and makeup you like.

"A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to hair and makeup," she said. "I ask lots of questions about the wedding and the bride's style, and I always give my clients a contract. It's for their protection as well as mine."

A beauty session on the day of the wedding typically takes up to two hours for the bride, depending on the hairstyle, and usually less time for the bridesmaids, flower girls and mothers of the bride.

If having a consultant isn't in your budget, the experts offer some tips that can help you look beautiful on your special day:

MOORE

• Take the style of your dress into account when choosing your hair and makeup. If the dress is lacy and feminine, flowing curls and soft makeup would look best.

A sophisticated gown calls for a more structured hairstyle, such as a chignon, and dramatic makeup.

• Choose an American manicure and a pale pink or rose polish for yourself and your attendants. Save the vivid colors for your toes (unless you're wearing sandals).

"An American manicure is timeless, and it goes with everything. A neutral pink color looks good on everyone's nails," he said.

• If you must drink alcohol at your rehearsal dinner, choose vodka. It won't give you that puffy look the next day that comes with drinking wine and beer.

ADAMS

• When choosing a hairstyle for an outdoor wedding, consider how your hair reacts to humidity. If it tends to flatten, a chignon or another up-do style is advisable.

• Don't use a lip stain on your wedding day. Stains tend to dehydrate your lips. Instead, ask one person in your wedding party to keep a lipstick handy and to alert you when your lip color fades so that you can reapply it.

• If your wedding is outside, use oil-free makeup, unless your skin is extremely dry. Keep a powder compact handy to blot away the shine.

"Outdoor makeup has to be durable and last through whatever the conditions are, whether it's hot or humid," Adams said.

USHER

• To look flawless in photos, apply concealer under your eyes and in the creases around your nose and the corners of your mouth.

"Concealer is more important than foundation. Brides should learn about concealer and how to use it," Usher said.

• Unless your hair is very oily, shampoo it the day before the wedding, whether you're doing it yourself or having a professional do it.

"Hairstyles will look better and stay better if the hair has been dried for several hours," she said.

• Don't wait until your special day to try out a new makeup. Try it out at least a week before to make sure your skin doesn't have a bad reaction to it. If you have any kind of skin problems, see a dermatologist far in advance.

• Practice applying eyeliner so that your eyes will show up better in photos, Usher said. Soften the look of eyeliner by going over it with eye shadow.

• To combat oily skin, sleep in a clay mask the night before your wedding. Try it out a week ahead of time to make sure you don't have a reaction to it and that it doesn't dry out your skin too much, Usher said.