Heidi and Chris were married on a beautiful sunny day in Mexico’s Riviera Maya at one of our favorite wedding locations, the El Dorado Royale. This was an amazing fiesta, family and friends had such a great time celebrating with the delightful bride and groom! I am sure there is no way to overstate how much dreaming, planning and thought  goes into each wedding. I am sure that a great deal of thought went into the planning of this destination wedding. I know that for the bride and groom and their loved ones this once-in-a-lifetime day must have flown by in the blink of an eye! I really hope that the photographs Lauren and I fortunate to be able to capture on the wedding day (and at the trash the dress session the next morning!) will somehow help to turn back the calendar and stop the clock, allowing them to re-experience this great day spent with family and friends in Mexico… not just once but for years as part of the beautiful history of a wonderful new family. All images © 2012 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

The following photographs are from the trash the dress session the next morning…

Susan and Luis’ wedding was held at the Hacienda Uayamón in Campeche, Mexico. The weather….lets just say cats and dogs falls far short of describing! Fortunately bride, groom and the guests who had traveled to the jungle of Campeche to be with them on their day all maintained good spirits and the show went on! Susan and Luis, this was one very memorable wedding! Muchas felicidades and we hope you enjoy the photographs! All photographs (c) 2012 Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina. Wedding Location: Hacienda Uayamón, Wedding Coordinations: Baku Events.

Adventurous world traveling New Yorkers, Louis and Alexandra chose a very unique and special location to celebrate their destination wedding, the Hacienda Tixcacal in Merida, Yucatan. The wedding could not have been more lovely, the  brilliant red details and the colorful and very rustic location meant plenty of eye candy for Lindsey and I to feast on! And of course it will be apparent even in this tiny sampling of the day’s images that Alexandra and Louis were a beautiful couple that really share a special magic. Congratulations Louis and Alexandra, we thank you and wish you all the best in your life together!

The first photographs are from the fantastic boutique hotel that served as a base for the group in Merida’s centro, Casa Lecanda This was the first time we had photographed at this location but we hope it won’t be the last since it seems a very charming location to celebrate an intimate wedding. The Catholic mass and the cocktail hour and reception were held at the Hacienda Tixcacal, the wedding was coordinated by BAKU events.

Just couldn’t make it through this day of love without remembering some amazing 2011 couples and sharing a little bit of their wedding magic! With much love and appreciation from the whole gang at Elizabeth Medina Photography. Happy Valentine’s Day!

All images (c)2011 Elizabeth Medina Photography

One of the best things about being a destination wedding photographer is the opportunity to travel to new and different places. Even better is how some of the very special places have a way of becoming tried and true familiar favorite locations! The Hacienda las Trancas in Guanajuato, Mexico is definitely one of these. Having returned several times this lovely location feels like home, yet I have to say that each wedding shot in this location has been very unique and special! Sarah and Oscar are a very special couple, as I edited the images from their wedding day I was struck by how everyone present seemed to not stop smiling ear to ear all day long! I am sure that this was the case for Lindsey and I as well! Oscar and Sarah…. gracias y muchas felicidades!

Happy New Year’s! A little holiday break from shooting has meant time spent editing 2011′s final weddings. I loved noticing how the last events of the year represented so perfectly a cross section of the variety of weddings photographed all throughout the year. Very different in setting, style, number of guests, degree of formality and type of ceremony, held in different geographical locations and including people from different parts of the globe, somehow all of the events seemed to be defined by the same set of key common elements; amazingly happy and laid-back brides and grooms, relaxed good times (hey, its Mexico, comes with the territory!) and of course (and hopefully our blog readers will forgive us if we do say so ourselves) some pretty sweet once-in-a-lifetime photographs to remember them by! Coming soon to the blog as we wrap up 2011 editing: beautiful events in Merida, Yucatan, Playa del Carmen, and San Miguel de Allende. To get the ball rolling, Xochitl and Israel’s lovely, long awaited Playa del Carmen wedding at the Xcaret Eco Park. Xochitl and Israel were married in what has to be one of Mexico’s most spectacular venues and incorporated colorful Mexican elements. We were able to photograph the couple on the grounds of the park, the Catholic mass and then the  beautiful ocean side reception at the Las Posas area of the park.

Xochitl and Israel, it was a joy to finally be able to meet you and your beautiful family! On behalf of team Medina congratulations, we wish you all the best! We truly hope the wedding photographs will be a special part of your family history!

All photographs (c) 2012 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

The Xcaret park has a small Mayan ruin, we were photographing the bride and groom when I saw something move behind them! We had a visitor!

I am happy to be able to share the photographs from Tracy and Bryan’s beautiful destination wedding. The couple’s Jewish ceremony was held at sunset under a chuppah which overlooked a beautiful Mayan Riviera beach, at Karisma Resort’s El Dorado Royale Resort. The day the couple spent with friends and family was really wonderful with much emotion, fun and enthusiasm on the dance floor. Icing on the proverbial cake? Getting to spend time the next morning with Tracy and Bryan for a morning after trash the dress session! All photographs Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

First a few images of the many taken the morning after….

Now the wedding day… Tracy and her girls under the beautiful palm trees.

Bryan and Tracy met for a “first look” before the ceremony, the photo below is bryan’s reaction to seeing Tracy for the first time as a bride. You know we love doing this, especially because it allows us to photograph the bride and groom (and in this case the family) together before the ceremony, leaving more time for bride and groom to spend having fun with their guests post ceremony. And despite common belief, I have witnessed over and over that this private encounter does anything but diminish the emotional impact of the processional,  if anything the opposite seems true!

The Jewish ceremony began right at sunset, very lovely, I hope the photographs are somewhat able to do justice to the moments.

I have a huge appreciation for the way family is included in the Jewish wedding ceremony! Tracy and Bryan each entered the ceremony on their parents arms

Mexico Wedding Photographer Elizabeth Medina Photography, photographing weddings thoughout Mexico.

Such a beautiful beach wedding! Yari and James are an awesome couple! We loved being able to share in the oodles of laughter (and more than a few happy tears!)  these two shared with their friends and family throughout the day. By the end of the evening we felt like we had made a whole new group of friends (not to mention a new branch of the Medina clan). It was very clear that many hours had been spent lovingly and carefully planning this lovely vintage inspired beach wedding. The Azul beach resort in Puerto Morelos, is one of our favorites in the Riviera Maya, it was perfect for this intimate event. I hope the photographs reflect a bit of the happiness and bring back wonderful memories for the bride and groom! All photographs Lauren and Elizabeth Medina.

This destination wedding had a vintage theme that was carried out elegantly, the brooch bouquets carried by the bride and bridesmaids were amazing!

Elizabeth Medina Photography, Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographsdestination weddings, offering wedding coverage throughout Mexico and internationally.

If there is one thing that this wedding photography blog has revealed to me of the years it might be just how delightful it is to be able to share a really good story. What a blessing it is to be able to communicate through imagery, especially considering how difficult it is (at least for me!) to describe with words a once in a life time experience like a wedding.  Alicia and Sean had a perfectly intimate wedding celebration, the bride and groom together in a breathtaking ancient chapel in the middle of the jungle, can it possibly get any more romantic? The days leading up to the wedding were a little bit suspenseful with Hurricane Rina off the coast of the peninsula. As it turned out the wedding day brought showers on and off, but Alicia and Sean did not let the weather dampen their spirits for one second, between the wonderful relaxed spirit of the couple and the peaceful atmosphere of the location it just could not have been more lovely. All images Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

Hacienda Uayamon photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Wadia and Jared’s wedding was such a beautiful day but I really can’t even begin to explain the crazy, crazy weather. I am guessing that the 2012 couples will not need to worry about rain on their wedding day at all, as I am pretty sure we used it all up in spring and summer 2011! It truly rained buckets all through the portion of the day leading up to the sunset ceremony, but somehow spirits stayed high and I could tell that the bride and groom and their guests were enjoying every minute. I love how the day’s photographs tell the story!  All images Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

The day began with getting ready photos for bride and groom, Wadia’s bridal preparations at Rosas and Xocolate on the Paseo Montejo just down the stree from the wedding location.

Jared getting ready to meet his beautiful bride and get the day started…

A few portraits at Rosas and Xocolate, then off to the Quinta to meet up with the rest of the wedding party.

Wedding party and bride and groom photos at the Quinta Montes Molina… Wadia is from Mexico and Jared from the states but they make a fantastic couple. Jared is such a great guy and it came as no surprise that he had such a large group of  friends make the trip to Mexico for the wedding.

The Jewish ceremony was held at sunset in the gardens of Quinta Montes Molina.

We have photographed many Jewish weddings, the bride and groom wrapped up together in the prayer shawl is one of the elements I find very special. El beso is not too bad either!

All eyes were on Jared as he breaks the glass…

Mazel Tov!

Coming soon… La fiesta!

Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina offering fine art wedding photography in Merida, Yucatan, Cancun, Mayan Riviera, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

Hola blog readers…  I know, I know! Long time no blog! Crazy but this month marks the five year anniversary of this little wedding photography blog! (and even more amazing the website itself has been going strong for over a decade!) Ironically we seem to have celebrated this blogging milestone by playing blog hooky, stealing extra time to work on images from some very special weddings as well as other very exciting creative projects. Jared and Wadia’s wedding is more than enough reason to pick things up. This lovely couple reside in the US but incorporated a great deal of Yucatecan charm in their wedding celebration, beginning with the welcome dinner at the Hacienda Chichi Suarez in Merida. An enormous amount of rain that fell over the weekend, however far from slowing anyone down it only seemed to add to the adventure! Wedding photography coming soon! All photographs Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

Here are few photographs from Wadia and Jared’s casual photo session and the hacienda welcome party that followed. Location: Hacienda Chichi Suarez, Event Coordination: Icela Cardenas, Celebra Events.

After being an extremely warm and humid afternoon the skies finally opened up and poured just as the party was to start!And no this did not stop anyone from having a fantastic time!

Matt and Monica’s wedding… part two, AKA La Fiesta! I have to share a few photos from the post ceremony cocktail hour, muy mexicano! The Azul Sensatori Zavaz Plaza was decorated with personalized papel picado streamers, so pretty! Monica’s very talented cousin Bianca (whose vocals and guitar were a very important part of the ceremony) surprised the bride and groom by joining the mariachi singers, this was amazing! All photographs Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

Everyone had a chance at the piñata~ and then as the sun set we were able to dash to the beach for bride and groom photos.

The reception had a peacock theme and it was worked into all of the details from the custom maracas to the guest signing board…This wedding had so many beautiful personalized details, the guest signature board from Bee and Leaf  fit the peacock theme perfectly!

we loved all the action which started off with an incredible first dance followed by the hora…

Elizabeth Medina Photography is Mexico´s premier destination wedding photographer, overing weddings in the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Tulum, Merida, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and throughout Mexico with a relaxed, natural style.

Matt and Monica’s was held in one of my favorite ceremony locations, the Sky Deck at the Azul Sensatori Resort in Puerto Morelos. Having heard a bit about the wedding plans from Matt I really couldn’t wait to see what the day would bring. Matt and Monica put a great deal of hard work into really personalizing the wedding, so much so that I am giving in to the temptation to divide the photographs from this amazing destination wedding into two blog posts since want to share so many of the creative details that I just can’t seem to make it fit!

Just a few details from the getting ready portion of the day. After beginning the day with the Ketubah signing in a short white sundress, Monica was married in the full length gown that she had designed and hand sewn which converted to a perfect dancing dress for the reception! (yes, you heard correctly, the very talented Monica actually designed and sewed her fabulous convertible wedding gown). Words don’t do justice to Monica’s artistry or attention to detail… The wedding had a peacock theme, which showed up throughout the day and in the custom guest signing print from Bee and Leaf.

Matt and the guys before the ceremony…

Monica with her girls…

The Jewish ceremony was held on the Azul Sensatori sky deck, I think this lovely space has a very special energy and fortunately Matt and Monica’s wedding was held a wonderful sunny day. I loved how the wedding creatively incorporated both Mexican and Jewish details and so much bright color not to mention love and emotion!

Bride and groom walked around each other in the Jewish tradition.

Matt and Monica are  married, Mazel Tov!

Coming soon… La fiesta!