Staying Sun Smart at your Destination Wedding.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say they forgot to wear sunscreen to the wedding. Guests, bridesmaids, groomsmen, mothers, fathers, brides, grooms, etc… O and me :). Yes, I forget my sunscreen once in a while, but it’s different for me as I am used to the sun down here. I spend at least one day a week on the beach playing with my kids (that are lathered in the good stuff) so my skin is used to the sun. But you and your guests, you are not used to this sun and I personally think it is wise to think about this ahead of time. AND talk to your bridal party and parents about the need for them to use sunscreen BEFORE your wedding. It might seem trivial and it might seem like you are ‘parenting’ them and I agree you kind of are. I also think it is important enough to talk to them about staying sun smart at your wedding in a kind manner and try these tips:

1) Suggest they get base using a tanning bed

Before I was a photographer, I was a pharmaceutical representative and dermatology specialist. So I randomly know a lot about skin and skin deceases. And I know there are dermatologists and GP’s wanting to pull their hair out as they read this, but I believe that by building some resistance in your skin to the sun before you get here, you will be better able to be in the sun when you are here. Keep it reasonable and don’t overdo it. I still suggest buying a small package and getting a small ‘base’ before you come down so that your skin is ready and prepared for the sun. This especially applies to my Canadian friends that are coming down in the middle of the winter. If you are living in California reading this, then it’s completely different for you and a base is a silly concept.

2) Drink lots of water

Sun + All you can drink alcohol filled with sugar = Dehydration. O and you are going to spend the day in and out of a pool and the salty ocean. All this is bad for hydration of the skin and means it is less able to protect itself. My rule.. 2 beer, one water. And of course you can drink the beer at the same time as the water. Who would want to go without a beer for that long, that’s just silly talk.

3) Give out good sunscreen in their welcome bags

Don’t risk it. Give out good sunscreen to your bridal party, parents and any other guests that will be in the photos. This way they have no excuse and will use it. You do not want one of your bridal party looking like a lobster on your wedding day. In my opinion, giving them this as a gift is a nice reminder that they are part of your special day and  you want them to have the resources to be looking good on your wedding day.

4) Talk to your bridesmaids about not getting tan lines.

O Bridesmaids… I get it and they are the wedding ‘party’ and hence to bring the ‘party’ to the wedding.  But my biggest pet peeve when I get to a wedding and one or more of the bridesmaids have obvious tan lines on their shoulders from their swim suit.  It’s my pet peeve because yes this can be photoshopped out of the image, but the couple is going to have to pay for it as no photographer is going to allow for unlimited photoshop in their prices. It’s simply not sustainable. And to toss gas onto the fire invariably, the bridesmaid comes up to me and asks if I am going to be able to notice the tan lines in the photos? Or can you photoshop it out? … uhg. Bottom line, brides please talk to your girls and do #3 up there.

In conclusion, stay sun smart at your destination wedding and talk to the important people in your wedding about staying sun smart BEFORE your wedding so that they enjoy themselves more. Lets face it, having a burned skin or being that bridesmaid with the brutal tan lines ruining the photos is not fun. No one wants to be that person, so help them not be that person by talking to them about how it is important that they think about the sun and have a plan so that they do not show up to your wedding looking like a lobster.

Dean Sanderson | Cancun Wedding Photographer