Whitening before your wedding: a plan for the couple, the parents and the wedding party

Start planning wedding whitening as soon as you set the date. First, an exam and a cleaning with the dentist for everyone who wants to whiten; then an in-clinic session a few weeks before the celebrations; then, if your dentist recommends it, take-home strips to build on the result. Finish the last touch-up at least two days before the first event of the wedding, such as a henna or rehearsal dinner, not before the wedding day itself. Try nothing new in the final week. And when several people whiten together, each one gets their own exam and their own result.

The general principles, like why you start with an exam and why you don’t whiten the day before, are in Whitening before an event: a calm timeline. This article is about what’s different about a wedding.

What makes a wedding different

A wedding isn’t one evening. There’s the engagement party, the engagement or pre-wedding shoot, maybe a henna night or a rehearsal dinner, the ceremony and the party, and sometimes gatherings in the days after. There’s a photographer with you all day, up close and with a flash. And there are several people standing next to you in the photos: your parents, your siblings, your closest friends. So the plan has to work across the whole season, not just for one night.

Let the engagement work for you

The time between the proposal and the wedding is exactly what good whitening needs. It lets you treat anything that needs attention first, like decay or gum issues, before you whiten. It lets you plan restorations properly: crowns, veneers and fillings don’t change color when you whiten, so if new work is planned on a front tooth, you usually whiten first and match the new work to your new shade. And it leaves room to adjust if something stands out after whitening.

If one of you is in the middle of braces or clear aligners, check with your dentist how that fits the timeline. Whitening usually comes after the orthodontic treatment ends. More in Whitening after braces or clear aligners.

A wedding timeline, counting back from the date

1. When you set the date: an exam and a professional cleaning for everyone who wants to whiten, plus any treatment that should come before whitening.
2. Before the engagement shoot, if you’re having one: an in-clinic whitening session, with some room before the shoot. That way the photos already show the result, and there’s still time before the wedding. Details on the in-clinic whitening page.
3. Between the shoot and the wedding: if your dentist recommends it, a touch-up with OBIOWHITE STRIPS at home, following their instructions. See At-home whitening and upkeep.
4. Two days before the first event: all whitening is done. If the henna or rehearsal dinner is a few days before the wedding, count back from that.
5. The final week: nothing new. No new product, no “whitening” toothpaste you’ve never tried, no unplanned treatment.
6. On the days themselves: a glass of water next to the wine and coffee, and enjoy it all.

Why two days? For the first 24 to 48 hours after whitening, the usual advice is to avoid strongly colored food and drinks. Wedding celebrations usually come with red wine, coffee, tea and colorful food, and you’ll want to enjoy them without a second thought.

Whitening together: the couple

Plenty of couples decide to whiten together, and it’s a nice idea: book your exams on the same day, line up your sessions, and keep each other honest during the first two days. Skipping coffee is easier when your partner is skipping it too.

Just remember that each of you starts from a different place. One of you might need treatment before whitening and the other might not, and your starting shades may differ. Your results will differ too: how much lighter teeth get varies from person to person, and yellowish teeth usually respond better than grayish ones. The goal isn’t for the two of you to match exactly. It’s for each of you to look like yourself at your best.

Parents, siblings and the wedding party

If family members want to join in, tell them early. Each person needs their own exam, with their own dentist, and their own timeline. Parents often have more restorations, and sometimes some gum recession, and neither changes color with whitening. More on that in Whitening at 40, 50 and 60+. And if someone in the family smokes, there’s an article for them too: Whitening for smokers.

Not everyone needs to whiten. Sometimes a professional cleaning alone does enough, and sometimes someone is simply happy with their smile as it is. In the family photo, nobody needs to match anybody.

The photographer, the flash and the close-ups

On the wedding day, your photographer will be close: getting ready, the ceremony, the dance floor. A flash lights your teeth head-on, and venue lighting, warm or colored, shifts the shade the camera picks up. A lighter, even shade that still looks like your own teeth photographs well in all of these conditions, while a white that’s too uniform can look flat under a flash. For what the camera actually sees, read Your smile in photos and on video. One small tip: check your smile in daylight by a window, not under warm bathroom lighting.

Comfort in a busy season

An engagement is already full of fittings, meetings and decisions. OBIOWHITE whitening is free of pain and sensitivity, so it fits into the schedule without adding anything to worry about. If either of you already has sensitive teeth, mention it at the exam. That’s part of making sure whitening fits you.

And after the wedding

The result doesn’t end with the party. The honeymoon, morning coffee and your new routine come back fast, and so does stain. A few simple habits, plus a touch-up with your dentist’s guidance when the shade starts to drift, help you keep what you got. See Keeping your whitening result and Coffee, tea and wine after whitening.