Tanning for the Big Day: Spray vs. Bed vs. Natural

Don't use a tanning bed! They are so terrible for you!!

I have done the airbrush tan a few times, for another wedding and special events and IT. IS. AWESOME.

It is not awkward at all, I get soo many compliments and it looks 100% natural. The machines at the tanning bed salons look orange and get splotchy so I would avoid those for sure. Too bad you aren't in Ft Worth TX because the place I go is amazing.

I plan on tanning naturally throughout the summer. I tan pretty easily also. And then maybe do 4-5 times in the bed the 2 weeks before the wedding. I don't like spray tans, I think they look orange. I've never gotten one but I know someone that has and it didn't look good. I don't plan on trying it.

Natrually is great and then get a spraytan to even it out. Definitely exfoliate REALLY well the morning before you spray tan - and get it done by a PERSON. it might feel awkward but they see it all the time. Make sure you get a test one ahead of time!

HEADS UP if you naturally tan. BEWARE OF TAN LINES. Seriously even the back! They might not look bad in person but they MASSIVELY show up in pictures - even with a spray tan. Wear tops that won't show a tan line in your dress!

Ditto everything Melissa said.

I know tanning is terrible, and I also did it a lot in high school. I had a spray tan once, but just don't trust something I can't be 100% confident about before my wedding. The last thing I want is to be an oompa loompa. I know a tanning bed works for me, so I plan to get maybe a 10 visit package and go a few times before the wedding, and a few times before the honeymoon (which is a month later).

I know tanning is super bad for me, but I also know that no matter what SPF and protection I use on our Mexico honeymoon, if I don't tan leading up to it, I'll be miserable after the first day. That said, I'll tan a bit outside by the pool leading up to our wedding, but I'll also get a spray tan.

I used to spray regularly, like every 2-3 weeks. I love it! I would go a couple times leading up to your wedding (like a month or so before, not like one right after another) just so you get the hang of it and maybe try out a couple different salons. If you follow all the tips they give you, you won't turn out orange!

I went tanning a couple times to get a little bit of color and a base tan since we were leaving on the honeymoon the day after the wedding. I wasn't going to and was just going to lay outside, but I got too much color a couple weekends before the wedding and ended up with thick tan lines...and the weather leading up to the wedding wasn't warm or sunny enough to lay out so two weeks before I bit the bullet and started tanning.

I do airbrush and it has always come out so well! Definitely get it done by a person, and do your research on the salons or ask around for recommendations. People are very honest on Yelp and other sites like that. Make sure you look into the timing of it. I got one done on Wednesday for our e-pics on Friday and by saturday it was starting to fade in some areas. Definitely exfoliate really well before, wait the suggested time to shower, and then moisturize really well after that if you decide to go that route.

I can never tan. I always just burn and then peel back to my ghostly white color. But for some reason this year I can now magically tan and have serious tan lines. I'm hoping that I can some how even them out before the wedding since I have a strapless dress, hopefully a spray tan will help.

I do Mystic and Versa spray tans occasionally. For those, you still need to get a base for it to look natural and there's an awkward smell. You can't shower for a few hours, so you won't want to go out or anything afterwards. The benefits are that you don't get tan lines because you tan naked (and privately). My complexion is fair with olive undertones - I don't look orange with it, but some people do. You have to try it and see how it works with your skin tone.

Nothing looks as good as a natural tan (from the sun, not a sun bed), but it's dangerous and for me personally, I can not be in the sun. I was a lifeguard in high school and undergrad, and I damaged my skin from too much sun. I have to get skin checks annually.

Anyhoo...you still have plenty of time to try out airbrush or spray tanning and if you don't like it, get a little natural sun using a good sunscreen.

Good luck.

We didn't have any sun to lay out to get a natural tan and I didn't want to trust a spray tan. Plus we were going to Mexico for our HM right after and both DH and I wanted to have a base tan, so we wouldn't burn (still did lol). So, I tanned for about a month and Dh tanned for a week and half-2 weeks

Spray tan or go natural with no tan. A good spray tan will not leave you orange, but you may need to try out a few places to find a good one. I definitely recommend a person over a booth. To me the risk of skin cancer is not worth looking tan even for my wedding day. Everytime you tan your skin in a bed or in the sun you are damaging your skin which will cause you to age prematurely and will increase your risk of skin cancer. There is no such thing as a safe tan.

I don't purposely tan ever, so all I can say is "Say no to cancer".

I have tried spray tanning and I loved it. On my first try the coverage on my arms was a little uneven because I didn't stand properly inside the machine. On the second go-around it turned out perfect. and none of the color brushed off on the dress I was wearing. It wasn't a white dress by any means but it was a very light tan color (the dress I mean) and there was no rub-off from the spray tan. My friend also spray tanned for her wedding but she was afraid of uneven coverage so she opted to go with a person spraying her. Her coverage was great BUT whatever product that person used did in fact stain her dress. By the end of the night the armpit area of her wedding gown was almost completely orange. :-(

I think it really depends on the product and maybe even the person (how the products works with your skin), so don't be afraid to spray tan, but my best suggestion to you is do as many trails runs as you can.

I'm just going to hang out at the pool starting in February or March, since it's right outside our front door. I don't really care about being tan, but I do want a little bit of color to go with the white.