Shabnam and Randall were married in a joyous and very beautiful late afternoon ceremony at The Tides Riviera Maya. Times like this I am grateful that my task is to document with images and not words since I have a feeling that if I tried to tell this fantastic couple’s story with any language other than the camera´s no one would even believe me!  It really did happen though and fortunately I have lots and lots of photographic proof… I hope you enjoy this small sample of the day’s photographs.

The Tides is located in the jungle on a gorgeous stretch of beach and basically captures the essence of Mayan jungle-chic.  A few getting ready details from the bride’s bungalow:

One of the aspects of wedding photography that I truly love is collaborating with my clients and album designer to create flush mount albums. I will confess that often when I am shooting I am imagining juxtapositions and how the images can work most expressively in a wedding album. I think that the two getting ready photos would make an awesome album spread!

Blue sky, turquoise water and the ceremony location, I loved the very light and organic yet elegant feel. Ceremony details and moments… A quick shout out here to the lovely Rebecca Elias from Luxe Destination Weddings : working with the wedding planners from Luxe is such a treat, thank you Rebecca for your great wedding day energy!

The Persian sugar ceremony…

El beso!

Fantastic second shooting from Lindsey… I loved the candid moments she captured throughout the day…

Bride and groom portraits on the beach at sunset… wow.

A few reception details and some of the fun…this was a great dance party!

Shabnam and Randall’s first dance…

Playa del Carmen wedding photography by destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Bright sunny day, turquoise ocean, beautiful laid back couple, smiles all around… lots of love and a crazy, crazy party, ie. the perfect destination wedding. Vanessa and Sean… the wait is over, I hope the wedding photographs take you back to  your very memorable day at Azul Beach!

Mexico’s premier wedding photographer photographs Mexico destination weddings in the Mayan Riviera and throughout Mexico.

Warm holiday wishes to all our very special couples and friends from team Medina! For all those who are feeling a little chilly about now (it is actually even a bit nippy here in the Yucatan) here comes a little bit of sunshine in the form of a blog post! Kate and Cam were married in November in a bright and colorful beach ceremony at the beautiful Secrets Maroma Resort in the Riviera Maya. The bride and groom seemed to be having a wonderful time at the beach ceremony and cocktail reception as well as the dinner reception which followed at the deck of the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort. I hope you enjoy the photographs from this bright and colorful wedding!  A few details from before the ceremony… the rings, invitation and the bride’s pretty aqua blue jewelry…

Bridal preparations… Kate and Cam’s nicknames for each other are Boo and Sparky and it was fun to see that Kate’s dress hanger even incorporated those pet names!

Bride and groom exchanged gifts and special notes before the ceremony…

Finally it all came together and it was time to go get married!

Time for the ceremony… the arch was so pretty with the bright hanging rose pomanders… the flowers and ceremony set up was provided by Cancun’s Planner 1 Events, beautiful! Kate chose to include custom painted maracas and printed details like the special signs for the reserved seats in the ceremony, these really special personalized touches were from Mishka Designs in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The cocktail hour was held on the beach at Secrets Maroma, the mariachi band and bright maracas added to the fun Mexico ambience.

Bride and groom photos after the ceremony…

A few photos from the reception at Dreams Riviera Cancun. First dance…

Mexico´s premier wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina photographs weddings in the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Yucatan, Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende, Costa Careyes and throughout Mexico.

December, crazy December… time has been flying by! Its hard to believe that 2010 is almost a wrap, this was such a great year with some of the most amazing couples ever. I am really excited about sharing the final 2010 weddings here on the blog!  Ashley and Mark were married in a colorful beach ceremony at the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort in the Mayan Riviera. Lindsey and I were blessed to be this sweet couple’s wedding photographers on that sunny day in paradise.

Mark and Ashley honored Mark’s mother’s memory throughout the day, one way they did this was by including her engagement ring in the photographs.

This is a photograph of a detail from Ashley’s dress, so intricate and beautiful!

Some last minute bridal preparations…

and Ashley and her group of girls, so bright and pretty in crisp white, navy blue and yellow!

Ashley was so beautiful and relaxed, the ultimate low maintenance bride, she even stayed calm and cheerful when the photographers temporarily misplaced her groom!

Ashley and Mark met up before the ceremony for some bride and groom photos…

Beach ceremony at Dreams Riviera Cancun…yellow flowers on the chuppah and blue sky above…

The next two are Lindsey´s…

You may kiss the bride!

Something I get asked about quite a bit is if it will hurt the photos if the bridal party has an “uneven” number of bridesmaids vs. groomsmen. I love to photograph a bridal party like Ashey and Mark’s that is a little asymmetrical, I think it lets me play a little more with the compostion of the wedding party photos and adds a little extra zing. What do you think?

A few bride and groom photos after sunset…

And time for the reception, held on the ocean front deck.

Mayan Riviera Wedding Photography by Elizabeth Medina Photography, wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina photographs weddings in Cancun, Yucatan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

Casey and Ron’s wedding was the first of the fall season for Lauren and I and we thoroughly enjoyed photographing this beautiful tie the knot on a Mexican beach. This wedding and the morning after TTD session at the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort in Puerto Morelos was a great way to get our feet wet (literally!) and jump back in right where we left off shooting amazing weddings for incredible couples. We are looking forward to a wonderful season and adding weddings featuring both destination and local couples to the blog very soon.

Casey had planned a good window of time for the pre-ceremony photos, I love this type of schedule because it gives us time for getting ready candids of both bride and groom as well as photos of the yummy bridal details (and Casey’s were to die for!) not to mention bridal photos…there is not always time for these so I consider it a luxury to be able to have some quiet time to focus on the bride before it all begins.

The photo of the shoes is Lauren’s, I have noticed that when I tell Lauren that a detail shot she’s in the process of making won’t work it tends to end up on the blog! Oops…Lauren I love this shot and I promise to have a little more faith!

One “getting ready” photo of Ron before the ceremony…

No one wants to get emotional and risk ruining the make up prior to the ceremony…Casey took one look at her mom’s proud and happy expression and it was inevitable that she would get choked up as well. I loved how this photo tells the story.

Another story telling image, while Casey’s mother was attaching a wedding brooch that has been handed down through the generations and worn by each bride she told the flower girl that someday she may wear it herself, I loved her reaction to this little piece of family history.

Bride and groom on the grounds of Dreams Riviera Cancun before the ceremony.

A few photos from the beach ceremony, the flower girl and a proud father of the bride.

Bride and groom, a few happy beach photos after the ceremony…

Casey and her girls…

A few photos of the bright orange and fuschia ceremony decor for the pool side reception overlooking the oceean.

First dance and fiesta…

The day after session… bright and early! Casey and Ron, you were such good sports, or maybe you were really just very obedient sleep walkers…either way I thank you for your patience so early in the morning!

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier destination wedding photographer, photographing weddings in Puerto Morelos, the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Yucatan, Campeche and  thoughout Mexico

Aaahhh, Yucatan! One thing that never ceases to surprise me is how few people outside of Mexico seem to even know the state of  Yucatan (as opposed to the more touristy state of Quintana Roo with Cancun and the Mayan Riviera are a part) exists! Yucatan is a very unique state (it was even a separate country for a while there!)  full of quirks, interesting customs, an amazing local cuisine (panuchos anyone?) and more history than you will find just about anywhere. Legend has it that if a traveler drinks the water of  Yucatan he will become a resident for life (and take my word for it they don’t share this information until after it is too late!). Pierre, who hails from France, and Andrea share a love of sailing and it is only fitting that this lovely couple’s Mexico civil wedding be held on the beach in front of Las Tunas, Andrea’s family’s beach house in the village of Telchac Puerto, Yucatan. Here are a few images from a very intimate and special wedding celebration.

Yucatan’s Gulf of Mexico coast has one of the world’s largest populations of flamingos, a group flew overhead right after the ceremony.

Merida, Yucatan Mexico wedding photography, Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographing weddings in locations throughout Mexico.

I see it over and over…one thing I have always suspected about destination wedding is that one reason everyone seems to have such a good time is that the ho-hum guests probably are most likely to be the ones to stay home… Katie and John’s wedding at Dreams Tulum seemed to prove my point, this group was anything but boring! It was great to see this very high energy crowd having such an amazing time celebrating Katie and John’s marriage!

We spent quite a bit of time with Katie, the girls and her family prior to the ceremony… they were a wonderful group and having a really good time helping Katie prepare for the wedding, it was fun to document the details and general atmosphere of anticipation not to mention the beautiful bride and her friends and family.

Little did I know when I crossed the resort to meet up with John and the guys the shock that was waiting for me! I was rendered speechless! It was a huge relief to find out that cutoff jean shorts  were a joke and not the groomsmen’s ceremony attire! You would think by now I would have seen it all but apparently not!

The ceremony… beach ceremonies at Dreams Tulum are gorgeous!

The reception was so much fun, I have omitted several photos on the grounds of not imagining how to go about explaining what was going on! The wedding party made their entrance in fun sunglasses and Katie did a really cute choreographed dance with her dad and things went from there!

It was absolutely lovely. Carla and Angelo’s wedding took place at Dreams Riviera Cancun, super fantastic “second shooter” Lauren and I very much enjoyed spending time with this very kind couple and their Latin and Greek group. You know that when those two groups come together its going to be a great party!

Carla and Angelo exchanged handwritten notes before the ceremony and they were surprised to have chosen the EXACT SAME CARD for each other!

The “first look”….the next shot is Lauren’s…

The ceremony was held in the gazebo overlooking the ocean…it was so pretty and of course you know I do love yellow!

A few relaxed wedding party photos…

Then a very short bride and groom photo session on the beach before heading off the the cocktail hour. I always love it when timelines permit the bride and groom to experience at least part of the cocktail hour with their guests!

The next image is Lauren’s.

Yellow signature cocktails! Perfecto!

The first dance, father daughter dance and reception…

Photos from the trash the dress session the next morning…it was so peaceful to be have the beach all to ourselves.

Mexico’s premier destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, photographs weddings in the Mayan Riviera and other amazing wedding locations throughout Mexico.

Best friends. Sunny day in paradise. Perfection. Jannae and Ryan, thank you so much for letting us be part of your very unforgettable day.

Jannae and her flower girls before the ceremony…so much excitement and anticipation during this part of the day! The time always seems to fly by.

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The girls were not the only one with colorful footwear!

The bride looked amazing! I just love it when there is enough time for a few bridal portraits before the action begins.

Time to go! Jannae and Ryan were so excited to see each other before the ceremony!

After the big reveal we were able to do some photography on the grounds of the Riu Palace, it was a very warm and bright day and I really appreciated the bride and groom being such good sports.

The bright maraca wedding favors were custom painted in Puerto Vallarta by Mishka Designs. I dare any Mexico wedding guest to try not to have a good time with these!

Kind of like parades or fireworks destination weddings are spectator sports!

A few post ceremony beach photographs of the new husband and wife….

La fiesta started off with a mariachi band…

When Meagan first reached out to us about shooting her wedding the date was still almost a year away. It was incredible how time flew and when John and Meagan´s big day rolled around we knew that we would not have missed it for the world! Faithful blog readers will have noticed that we had a string of Barcelo weddings this spring, and that each and every one was picture perfect. Maegan and John, you were a joy to photograph. Best wishes to the two of you!

The first look and bride and groom photographs before the ceremony…

The ceremony was held at the Barcelo´s Playa Azul, a gorgeous secluded stretch of beach.

The next two images are both from the same moment, Lindsey´s is first and then mine.

The next shot is either Lindsey´s or one I stole from her….

It was a beautiful day. But the weather…unbelievably atrocious! This tropical storm wedding made me feel blessed to be photographing Tania and John, a bride and groom with the amazing ability to roll with it all and never let the weather put a damper on the day´s festivities. I don´t think it ever stopped pouring down all day or night, but thankfully it cleared just long enough the next morning for some outdoor bride and groom photographs before the storm rolled back in and completely soaked us all! Thank you, Tania and John and best wishes! Lauren, thank you for your detective work!

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Good energy. Sometimes you just can´t help but feel surrounded by it. Hayley and G. are such a joyfully spirited couple, Lindsey and I had an amazing time photographing the two of them as they lived their ¨big day¨ in Mexico to the fullest.

I know Hayley and G. will not mind a little parenthesis for a shout out to studio teammate Lindsey… Lindsey has been a part of Elizabeth Medina Photography since she began helping out in high school. We have been through a lot together on this crazy, crazy journey! Aside from her role in keeping things running smoothly as studio manager, Lindsey has also been an incredible photography assistant and second shooter as well as attending college full time and taking on independent photography projects as well! Congratulations, Lindsey on your graduation, and on being the amazing person you are, I could not be more proud or excited about what the future has in store!

Hayley before the ceremony… I think I already mentioned the good energy, it was apparent from the start that bride and groom were walking on sunshine and that this was going to be a very happy day!

Time to go get married!

The ceremony site was surrounded by tropical vegetation and overlooked the bright blue Mayan Riviera water, it was a very peaceful and intimate.

The next two photos are Lindsey´s…

Hot pink really popped against the natural colors of the bright blue ocean and bright green palms!

La fiesta… the Barcelo Mayan Palace has a very long stretch of undeveloped beach, it is quite amazing actually. The reception was held at Playa Azul´s palapa, this was a fun, fun group and a great party!

The next morning, time to trash the dress. I am pretty sure that Hayley and G. had to be totally exhausted from their reception fun the night before… but they gave the TTD session their all, even when we were joined in the ocean by a very good size Manta Ray!

The next shot is SO Hayley and G.

Mexico destination wedding photography at the Barcelo Mayan Palace in the Mayan Riviera by Mexico´s premier wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Glad to finally be able to share Rachel and Adam’s photos! We try to keep things moving along relatively quickly and are proud to have never passed the 8 week editing mark but this wedding from late in our spring season cut it a little close for comfort. Wish as I might for a magic bullet (or a magic mouse or Wacom tablet as the case may be) as an artist I have never been able to find a way around the notion that each individual photograph deserves to sparkle and that the elegance lies in the the little touches. I am sure that each photographer has their own process and way of doing things, contrary to what common sense and practicality would dictate the polishing process at Elizabeth Medina Photography seems to involve about 87 steps, the final and most time consuming of which are customarily carried out on a computer which decided that July was a good time to take a break. (we are suspecting that the Macs may be in cahoots because the iphone decided to go for a swim in salt water, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the others for signs of rebellion). Happily we are up and running, chugging away a little slower than we’d like but definitely on track. (and Amy and Matt your San Miguel de Allende weekend is up next!)

This was such  beautiful day, super fast paced with a great couple and a really super fun group. I think the Sapphire Riviera (formerly Paradisus) in the Riviera Maya has such an ideal beach wedding set up with a very private beach ceremony site and a deck overlooking the ocean that was just perfect for Rachel and Adam’s event. Rachel is in fashion and has great style, and is just a really nice person to be around. I loved hearing that she found me through another very cool past bride.  Rachel and Adam, thank you for all your patience and good humor on the wedding day (a little warm, no?) I hope you enjoy the photographs as much as I have!

I stole Rachel for a few minutes between the Ketubah signing and the ceremony, these “stolen” bridal portraits where some of my favorite images from the day.

I loved these shoes so much!

We had time for just few bride and groom shots before the ceremony. Did I mention it was warm out?

Corlorful beach ceremony decorations, love the flip flops for the guests and  the combination of bright colors.

Rachel was not the only one with blinged out footwear, her flower girl was right there with her!

A few ceremony moments.

What do you do when you reach the end of the aisle and there are still petals in the basket?

Mazel tov!

Th ceremony was timed very close to sunset, we a very quick bride and groom photo session after the ceremony, I was very happy that Rachel and Adam we were able to capture so much variety and expression in such a short time.

A few reception details, and some of the action…

During the father of the bride’s speech…

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographing events in the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Yucatan areas as well as San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and throughout Mexico.