Erin Lambert was hoping for healthy-looking, sun-kissed skin when she slipped into her strapless ivory Monique Llhuillier gown on her wedding day. She didn’t think she would be worrying about red blotchy hives covering her body just weeks before the big day. After hitting the tanning bed, she developed a severe allergic reaction to the UVA/UVB rays despite tanning in the past. Concerned that the steroids her doctor recommended would make her gain weight before her final dress fitting, she settled for topical antibiotics. Luckily, they did the trick just in time. “I can’t imagine how I would have felt with a tight dress over the hives,” Lambert says. “It was definitely a lesson.”

To avoid learning any lessons the hard way, experts say there are certain beauty regimes that brides should avoid saying “I do” to when their wedding day looms near.  

Skin Sins

With all eyes on them, brides want their skin to be glowing. However, while treating yourself to a facial might seem like a harmless way to achieve this result, you might want to think twice. “Almost everyone has some kind of break-out after a spa facial,” says Celeste Hilling, CEO and founder of Skin Authority. She recommends brides avoid skin treatments that use aromatherapy or fragrances and opt for a medical-based facial instead. And all facials should be done weeks before the wedding, not days. “Any great skin care advancement doesn’t work overnight,” Hilling says.

Another mistake brides make is using a self-tanner or tanning bed without considering how fragile their skin is before a wedding. “A wedding in general is all the skin care don’ts rolled into one,” Hilling says. “You’re not getting enough sleep, you’re dehydrated, and you’re stressed.” These factors and a tanning bed can make your skin prime for hyper-pigmentation in which patches of skin become darker in color than the normal surrounding skin. “All those dark spots can become a lot darker when you’re under stress,” Hilling warns.

The good news is there is an easy, safe alternative to getting that sun-kissed glow. While spray-tans can be risky and take time to perfect, a simple bronzer can do the trick. “I tell my brides if you want to look a little tan, come as you are, and I can easily bronze you up,” says Chicago wedding make-up artist Elise Brill.  

Another common bridal beauty culprit? Waxing. Brill recalls a recent bride who had her regular eyebrow waxing the day before her wedding and was shocked when the skin around the brows came off too. “If you’re stressed, your skin can be a lot thinner than normal,” Brill says.

She recommends doing all waxing at least a week before the wedding even if you’ve been doing it for years. “If stray hairs grow in, you can always pluck.”

Avoid Make-up Melt-downs

Brides want to look gorgeous on their wedding day, but they also want to look like themselves. Brill warns against using make-up colors or styles that are trendy and bold, even though it may be tempting to experiment. “I tell brides that you want to look like a polished, gorgeous version of yourself,” she says.  How do you ensure you get that version? Don’t skip a trial make-up run.

A new and popular way brides achieve gorgeousness on their wedding day is with false eye lashes. However, Brill says she has seen instances where brides have attempted to apply the lashes themselves and the outcome can be a disaster. “Eyelashes exfoliate naturally and if false ones are not applied correctly with the right glue, you can pull them out and sometimes they won’t grow back,” Brill explains. “That’s not what you want happening the day of your wedding.”

She also cautions that when a bride purchases false eye lashes in a box, they are a one size fits all, but everyone needs different sizes for them to look natural. Professional make-up artists will size and cut them during a trial run to fit individual brides perfectly.

Hairy Situations

When it comes to the rules of wedding hair, the biggest don’t? Don’t make assumptions. Marc Harris, founder and stylist at Salon Marc Harris in Boston, says a big mistake brides make is assuming their regular hair stylist is the best person for the job. “You should see someone who specializes in wedding hair-styles,” he says. “Most stylists can do it, but the ones who specialize in it are tremendous.”