The dos and don'ts of your wedding day tan - a tanning expert reveals all!

There's no denying there's a lot of pressure when it comes to getting married and wanting to look 'perfect' in your white wedding dress. If you're heading down the aisle, you might be thinking of getting a tan before your big day; whether it's a spray tan, a manual tan, or even a DIY tan, we interviewed celebrity tanner extraordinaire Amanda Harrington about what her top tips are for the ultimate bridal day tan. "Every wedding I work on is a total pleasure … There's so much love and happiness and I could happily spend every weekend with a different bride, it really is amazing," she told us.

Amanda started her career as a makeup and body artist, sculpting and transforming bodies by painting and contouring on film sets and editorial shoots. After 15 years of tanning experience and executing over 10,000 tans she decided to launch her own tanning empire.

DO have a trial run

"Always have a trial run. Never book a tanning treatment without giving it a go a month or so prior, you don’t want to wake up on the morning of the wedding to see the tan has gone orange!"

DON'T tan the day before your wedding

"Have the tan 2-3 days before the wedding rather than the day before. opt for a tanning treatment that isn’t done by spray gun as the product just sits on the top of the skin here with increases the chance of it transferring. This will allow the color to settle down a little and look more like a natural glow."

DON'T try and persuade your other half to get a tan just to match yours

"A little glow never hurt anybody! Male or female. Saying that, I would never suggest a groom gets a tan purely to match up with the bride, you have to feel the best on your wedding day, and if that is with or without a tan for the groom, he should do what makes him feel the best."

DO prep for your tan like an absolute pro

"Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! Perfect your canvas before you apply any color as it will make your tan look more alive and not so flat. Remove any unwanted hair 24 hours before you tan and exfoliate 24-12 hours before."

DO have a trial run with a test tan

"I’d say a month before just so you can see how it fades. Alternatively, trailing it before your hen do is a good way to ensure you have a glow for all things wedding!"

DON'T panic over your hands - just pay extra attention

"Getting a streak-free finish on the hands is notoriously tricky. It was one of the many reasons why I introduced brushes into the 3 Step-Tanning Method, that and it just makes the whole finish all overlook completely flawless."

DO be realistic with your natural color

"[Some brides] go too dark for their natural skin tone which won’t compliment their dress the way it normally would."

DO think of timing when you're booking your pre-wedding tan

"The best time to book in for a tan is between 6pm – 8pm. This allows a couple of hours for your skin to lose that tacky sensation which a lot of sunless tans can give you."

DON'T forget your flip flops

"Flip flops are great, anything tight around the foot will cause patchiness on the ankle which is a tricky area anyway! Loose, dark clothing is the best for straight after you have applied fake tan, nothing that sticks to the skin."

DO remember: Everyone has the same concerns

"Brides-to-be don’t want the tan to look orange or unnatural. There is nothing orange about our tan, and it looks so wonderfully natural."

DON'T panic if you have a tanning failure

"It depends what the failure is! If they have some streaking, I would tell them to get a Glycolic face pad and gently go over the problem area, then 10 minutes later buff in a little bit more of the color and it should even out the patchiness. If they are unhappy with the all over color, I would tell them to get into the bath straight away and soak that skin. Then gently exfoliate and this should lift the top layer and soften the color."

Compliments HELLO MAGIZINE

South beach self tanner.

South beach self tan

South beach

Miami

Self tanner

Self tan

Indoor tanning

Indoor tan

Indoor tanner

#South beach self tanner #South beach self tan #South beach #Miami #Self tanner #Self tan #Indoor tanning #Indoor tan #Indoor tanner