Wondering if you can get a spray tan before trying on wedding dresses? Expert advice from Lovella Bridal, the top-rated luxury bridal salon in Los Angeles, on how self-tanners and spray tans can affect your dress fitting. Learn when and how to tan safely before your bridal appointment or your wedding day.
At Lovella Bridal, we’ve helped thousands of brides find their dream wedding dress in Los Angeles. And over the years, there’s one very unexpected trend that’s caused a surprisingly big impact in our fitting rooms: spray tans and self-tanners.
Yes, that gorgeous bronzed glow that makes you feel confident and radiant can also pose some real challenges during your bridal shopping experience. But don’t worry, we’re not here to ban your glow-up! We're here to give you the honest, inside-scoop on how to tan smartly when it comes to your wedding dress fittings and your actual wedding day.
Let’s break down the dos and don’ts of tanning and wedding dress fittings, so you can glow with confidence and keep your gown flawless.
Watch: Will Spray Tans or Self-Tanners Sabotage Your Wedding Dress Fitting?
If you're a fashion-forward bride shopping for your dream wedding dress in Los Angeles or Southern California, chances are you want to look and feel your best when heading to bridal appointments. For many, that includes getting a spray tan or using self-tanner for that flawless, sun-kissed glow.
Whether you're a faux tan newbie or a seasoned bronzing expert, there are a few very important things you should know about how spray tans interact with wedding gowns, especially those luxurious white and ivory fabrics.
Tune in to our latest bridal fashion advice video to learn everything you need to know about spray tans, self-tanners and wedding dress fittings.
Why Brides Love a Good Glow
Let’s face it: many brides feel more confident with a bit of a tan. Whether it’s a subtle bronze or a deep golden tone, having a little color can create gorgeous contrast between your skin and the fabric of your wedding dress. It makes the gown pop, gives your skin a radiant glow, and boosts your confidence tenfold.
In fact, we often get calls at Lovella Bridal from brides asking, “Should I get a spray tan before my appointment?” Others don’t ask and they just show up glowing. And while we’re all for you feeling your best, we need to talk about what happens behind the scenes.
The (Not-So-Pretty) Truth About Tanning & Wedding Dresses
Here’s the issue: spray tans and self-tanners can transfer on the fabric and clothing, even when they seem “set.”
Once you’re inside a bridal gown (which, let us tell you, is warmer and heavier than you expect), things get sweaty. Add in nerves, excitement, emotions, and physical activity while trying dresses on, and you're bound to heat up.
And sweat? It activates the bronzing agents in tanning products. Which means…Sweat + Spray Tan = Color Transfer
We’ve seen it all, including bronzed streaks on lace sleeves, tan lines rubbed into satin bodices, even full discoloration inside the wedding dress lining. This isn’t just a cosmetic issue. Every wedding dress at Lovella is a valuable designer sample, purchased for brides to try on. When these samples get stained, it’s often impossible to fully restore them.
Damaging a bridal gown doesn't just affect your experience, it impacts every bride who comes after you.
Tanning Tips for Wedding Dress Shopping
So should you skip the spray tan entirely before coming in for a wedding dress shopping or fitting for the gown you've already purchased? Not necessarily. Here are our expert tips for tanning before wedding dress shopping or your wedding dress fittings:
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Time Your Tan Carefully
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If you're using a self-tanner or getting a spray tan, do it at least 2–3 days before your appointment, not the night before. This gives the product time to fully develop, settle into the skin, and reduce the risk of rub-off.
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Choose a Transfer-Resistant Product
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Ask your tanning technician for a recommendation that’s non-transferable and low-risk for rub-off.
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If you're doing it yourself, look for brands marketed as “no transfer,” “sweat-proof,” or “wedding safe.”
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Avoid Bronzer or Body Makeup
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Products like body shimmer, bronzing lotion, or body foundation are major culprits for staining wedding dresses. Skip these with your tanning before your bridal appointment.
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If you need more more guidance when it comes to make up and wedding dresses, we've written about this on our blog: Should You Wear Makeup When Trying On Wedding Dresses
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Dress Accordingly
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Wear darker, loose-fitting clothing to your bridal dress appointment to avoid sweating through your outfit and help protect the sample wedding gowns.
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Bonus Advice: Shop When You Don't Feel Your Best
At Lovella, we often tell brides something that might surprise you: "Shop when you feel your least confident." Yes, this is true. We often tell brides to come wedding dress shopping when they aren't feeling their best.
Why? Because if a wedding dress makes you feel beautiful when you’re bloated, bare-faced, or pale, it will only look even better when you're fully styled on your wedding day.
Tanning, like wearing makeup or weight loss goals, should never determine your confidence. The right wedding dress will bring it out of you, naturally.
On Your Wedding Day: Smart Tanning for Brides
If you're thinking of wearing self-tanners or getting a spray tan before your wedding, we have some advice for you too. So far, we've just talked about how tanning lotions and creams can impact the sample wedding dresses that we carry in store for you and others to try on. But, what happens once you've found your dream wedding dress, make that purchase and you're ready to try on your own bridal gown for a fitting and/or wear it on your wedding day.
Wearing your own wedding dress means you’re free to be you, tan and all. But we still recommend caution when it comes to your wedding dress, that you own, and spray tanning and self tanning lotions. We don't want your dress to get ruined either.
To protect your bridal dress either on wedding day or before an alterations fitting before the wedding, be sure to:
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Avoid last-minute tanning
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Don’t overdo bronzing products
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Be mindful of high-contact areas (underarms, neckline, arms)
If you're unsure, talk to your tanning technician and mention you're wearing a bridal gown. They can adjust your schedule and formula accordingly so that you're good to go.
Spray tans and self-tanners don’t have to sabotage your wedding dress experience, as long as you prep smartly.
Wedding Dress Shopping Tips from Lovella Bridal Los Angeles
We hope you have found this advice helpful when it comes to knowing if you should spray tan or self tan before wedding dress shopping. For even more helpful advice when it comes to bridal styling and the wedding dress shopping experience, be sure to check out our past posts:
- Should You Wear Makeup When Trying On Wedding Dresses
- Why Every Bride Needs a Bridal Stylist While Wedding Dress Shopping
- What to Wear When Going Wedding Dress Shopping
- What Should I Expect When Wedding Dress Shopping For The First Time
Meet Lovella’s Wedding Fashion Expert in Los Angeles
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
