Opinions Needed! To Tan or Not to Tan???

Hi-

Thought I'd throw this out there to help a friend who's getting married the 1st weekend in Nov. Need all of your opinions as I'm slightly biased.

What's your opinion on fake tanning? I know this must seem like a no-brainer for most, but here's the situation:
She's extremely anti-tanning as she's had a relative with severe skin cancer, so she pro-sunblock, etc. But, her dress is strapless. She's unsure if her tanlines will fade in time for the wedding (though it is several months from now).

But she also doesn't want to look orange from fake tan or even darker from really tanning at that time of year- because no one else will be tan w/her fair skin she thinks it will ruin pictures/how she looks, etc.

And she can't really make the call now-because she has to see how much the fade from now til then.

Having dealt with this myself -i told her TO DEF tan. In my pictures, you can still sort of see my tan lines. Everyone told me ahead of time they couldn't see them, but you kind of can - (for some reason more in the black and white shots) and it makes me mad when i look at pictures becasue I would have tanned if I knew. At the time everyone also told me not to tan because I'm pretty pale and it would look unnatural the last weekend in October. So clearly I'm biased...

What would you do? Thanks in advance...

I don't tan (I embrasse my paleness!) and I am so fair that I am a PRIME candidate for skin cancer.

I tried sunless tanning (DYI), and fake tans from salons.

The best results were from the airbrushing type. The other one looks horrible (self tanner at home) or just orange (spray booth).

In either case, I don't hold a fake tan more than 3 days. It comes off a bit on your clothes when you sweat (workout) and with showers.

Honestly, I would just let her be herself (pale).

I say tan- if she goes now 2 times a week or even threw gets tan then lets that fade it will look better than haveing those straps! this way she can have an end of the summer BRONZed look which will look natural by november.....my FBIL is WHITE very fair skin and it took him 6 months of tanning 5 minutes at a time 2/3x a week b-4 he looked like someone could with olive skin in two days!
Good Luck

i'm also anti-tan. have not done it since i was in jr high school. in high school the goth look was big and i never got over it. call me an 80's child

that being said, i'm going to go into a tanning salon in the next few weeks. my dress is not strapless, but i noticed that i have a farmer's tan on my left arm from driving. i don't want to be uneven. so i'm going in for a short tan, just enough to even me out.

i'd tell her to do it only enough to even out tan lines. even if they fade a good amount, you can't guarantee that they will fade enough.

those are my two cents

trust me . . .TAN!

my cousin got married last september. . . for the entire summer before she only wore strapless bathing suits but she still had tan lines from THE SUMMER BEFORE (as in an entire year before)!! it was so funny. . .

we also have olive skin so maybe our tans stay longer??

but i would definitely go two times a week and then NOT go the two weeks before the wedding - that should be perfect!

for me - i wouldnt mix a fake tan with a white dress. . . although some people swear by it!