A Riviera Maya destination wedding is all about enjoying the beach, also the turquoise ocean and the Cenotes! definitely to keep the ocean and the beach beautiful we need to take care of the coral reefs! So be an eco bride!

Dress & Photoshooting for: Eva Poleschinski

Why are coral reefs important?

The reefs provide protection from hurricanes, certainly maintain the beaches (erosion and provision of sand), they are an important habitat for marine life and support our local fisheries (and we all love fresh seafood, right?)

What can you do to protect the reef when visiting the Riviera Maya?

Please only use Reef friendly sunscreen. Regular sunscreens have toxic chemicals that harm the reef and local waterways (Cenotes), because they diminish the corals’ ability to photosynthesize (bleaching) & can even cause diseases to the corals, so choosing the right products is more important than ever! You can take care of your skin, your guests and the coral reefs with a reef-safe sunscreen!

Be an eco bride! Take care of the Cenotes & enjoy your trash the dress photoshooting!

Picture by: Fine Art Studio

Chemicals to avoid:

Some sunscreens might say they are reef-friendly, but they are not!!! Make sure your sunscreen is free of:

• Benzophenone-3, also known as Oxybenzone.
• Avobenzone, also a benzophenone.
• Cylcopentasiloxane / Cyclomethicone.
• Formaldehyde, Diazolidinyl urea, Quaternium-15, DMDM Hydantoin and Hydroxymethylglycinate. …
• Nanoparticles.
• Zinc

The list is quite large, it pretty much includes any chemical ingredient that is hard to pronounce and even includes zinc! We couldn’t believe it; even though Zinc is natural in large quantities it could be harmful to the reef!

But don’t worry there are a few great options out there! and more tips to protect your skin 

Our recommendations:

Steam2Sea  You can order it online!

And if you are already in the Riviera Maya and you forgot to bring reef-friendly sunscreen…well, a Zinc base one would be a better option than one full of nasty chemicals. You will find options like Maya Solar almost in every water sports shop in Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancun!

If you would like to find out more about harmful chemicals you can check the stream to sea webpage!

A reef-friendly sunscreen it’s a great wedding favor for your guests!, their skin and the reef will thank you!

We hope you have fun and enjoy the reef & Cenotes!