A Bride’s Ultimate Guide to Wedding Spray Tan success
Orange skin, patchy blotches or white hands: tanning faux pas are a frequent occurrence in everyday life, but don’t let it happen on your wedding day and book a spray tan.
Surprisingly, even celebrities like Emily Blunt have self-tanning disasters before their wedding day. Do yourself a favour and give your photographer less time photoshopping and book a spray tan.
“Emily Blunt Regrets the ‘Patchy Orange’ Tan She Applied Herself Before Her Wedding Day”
So why do you need a spray tan instead of just applying fake tan myself? Because spray tans are used evenly by an expert who can advise you on the best brand and shade for your skin tone and preferences.
We have all the pre-tan advice before your wedding spray tan and a list of the perfect tan for your wedding.
This article includes everything you need to know about getting a spray tan before a wedding:
- preparation & aftercare advice
- groom tanning
- Sunbed vs spray tan
- Shades for brides
- When to book your appointment
Just a glow, please
For bridal tans, we always recommend the most natural brands and shades.
Choose professional, luxury tanning brands such as Vita Liberata, Nouvatan and St. Tropez. Having a brand choice allows brides flexibility to find the right tone and shade that works best with their natural complexion and hair/eye colouring.
Vita Liberata
Simply put, you cannot go wrong with this fake tan.
Vita Liberata has a natural caramel tone and looks fantastic on everyone. This product evens out the skin tone and gives you a natural, non-orange glow for any bride.
We recommend Vita Liberata Hawaii (light) or Ecuador (medium).
St. Tropez
There’s a reason why St. Tropez is the most famous fake tanning brand in the world: it’s sheer luxury in a bottle. From the refreshing citrus scent to the beach holiday glow, it has to be a must-be tan for weddings.
We recommend: St. Tropez Original (light/medium)
Nouvatan
British-made ‘Nouvatan’ is just one of those products that hit the spot every time. It has an olive base, neutralising pink/red undertones (perfect for the British skin tone). It dries super fast, and it lasts super long! The original bottle is fantastic, and the olive version is my favourite tan.
We recommend 8% original, 8% olive or Nouvatan express tan for 1-2 hours.
When to get a spray tan before my wedding?
For your big day, we recommend booking your spray tan two to three days before the wedding, NOT the day before.
This way, you can sleep with the self-tan on for full development. This will also prevent any colour guide from rubbing off onto your dress.
We strongly recommend having a trial tan; this will give you some knowledge of the tans that we offer and allow you to find the perfect brand and shade for you. Trial spray tans should preferably be booked at least one month before your wedding; we believe this to be as important as having a dress fitting or a hair and make-up trial!
Consultations are a must.
If you have any doubts, feel free to email or phone us before booking, but we will always have a 1-1 consultation at your trial spray tan appointment.
We advise that you have an idea of the colouring you would like to be; looking through bridal magazines may help you, or if you have an image of yourself when you are tanned, if you bring this image with you, it will help to give us an idea of what you’re looking for.
You must be completely honest with your spray tan therapist and give us a good idea of what shade your ideal tan is.
Preparation tips you need to know
We have listed some tips below to read before having your bridal spray tan; this will help you to achieve the most natural results:
Get a good base
Avoid using self-tanning products for at least one week before your tanning appointment to ensure a fresh base. This will allow the tan to go on the skin flawlessly.
Scrub
Exfoliate 24 hours before your appointment and avoid exfoliating products on the appointment day. Try something like The Tan Eraser.
De-fuzz
Complete hair removal 24 hours before the tan again; you do not want to be shaving/waxing on the day of the tan.
Showering
Avoid wearing perfume, make-up, deodorant and moisturiser on the day of your appointment to prevent any barriers to the tan.
If you forget, please ensure you arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time; most salons will provide you with wipes to remove any products on the skin.
Conflicting treatments
If you have any lash treatments completed, i.e. lash lift or lash extensions, please let your salon staff know so they can give you protective eyewear.
Waxing must be done 48 hours before your spray tan appointment and certainly not afterwards.
Body peels are a nono.
Aftercare
Once your tan has developed, shower in lukewarm water, avoid using soap on your body (it is OK to use under your arms), and pat dry when drying off.
To prolong your tan, you should moisturise daily, ideally using an oil-free moisturiser, as oil can strip the tan.
Another way to extend the life of your tan is by using a gradual self-tan.
Don’t forget the groom!
Lastly, why not bring the groom, mother or bridesmaid along?
This will allow you and your partner to try different brands of tan. Learn more about spray tanning for men.
Spray tan or sunbed before the wedding?
Sunbeds are tempting, but gaining a natural tan comes at a cost to the health of our skin. Sunbeds give you 24 hours of sunlight in around 5 minutes; that doesn’t sound safe.
Sunbeds cost around 5-9 pounds per session, and depending on your skin type, it may take a while to build up a tan.
Spray tan pros:
- You have more control over your shade
- Instant
- no skin damage
- less costly than building up a natural tan