What a joyful day! I actually tried my best not to photograph this wedding! Believing I could not guarantee to be back from Kate and Bill’s Puerto Vallarta wedding in time I told Robin I was unavailable and recommended a couple of very talented fellow photographers. Fortunately for me Robin was firm in her decision and not a person who lets logistics stand in the way. When she did some legwork and started finding ways to make it possible I turned out to be putty in her hands! I was almost afraid to see what she could convince me to do on the day of the wedding! Of course she and Heath are as nice a couple as I could ever imagine working with and the wedding was both a warm and happy tradition filled celebration and a feast for the eye. Thank you Robin and Heath for not taking no for an answer! I loved photographing the wedding!

Girls and guys before the wedding…

Robin and Heath chose to do a “first look” before the ceremony.

The ceremony site was just beautiful and meaningful as well.

I loved this one!

Lauren captured the next image, nice!

Robin

Destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism in the Riviera Maya. www.elizabethmedina.com

Wow, where do I start? Kate and Bill are such a fantastic, in-love couple and it was a joy to get to know them and photograph their “big day” and trash the dress session! Kate and Bill had actually found their wedding location through a Playa Fiesta wedding on my website. How cool is that? Arriving in Puerto Vallarta the day before the wedding, Lauren and I had time for a taste of the Playa Fiesta experience…wow, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a wedding than at this amazing wedding hotel/beach club! Within a few hours of landing in PV we had seen whales, sampled the “Kate special” (frozen virgin lime daquiri, yum) at the open bar, and had a lunch of tuna ceviche poolside (the tuna had been caught by the guys that morning!). There were even massages for the guests on the terrace overlooking the Pacific ocean…I’ll just say if you are ever invited to a Playa Fiesta wedding, don’t miss it for anything! By far the best part for us….having the honor of being chosen to document Kate and Bill’s celebration at that wonderful wedding location in Puerto Vallarta!

A few pre-wedding photos, Bill and the guys…

Kate and her girls on the way to the ceremony…

Kate had all kinds of colorful details, these handpainted maracas from PV wedding designer Mishka were a huge hit throughout the day!

I loved Kate’s excitement all through the day…the look she is giving Bill says it all!

Just a few bride and groom photos…

The reception was gorgeous I loved the colors and the details!

Kate and Bill’s first dance as husband and wife.

Yeah you guess right.. The Macarena.

A well prepared destination bride, Kate had a second dress for the reception….it was a good thing since EVERYONE ended up in the pool at the end of the night!

The next day we headed to town for the trash the dress session, I just LOVE the challenge of finding different ways to shoot in new, out of the way locations, and I love the images from this session.

We finished up on a gorgeous semi deserted beach…wow!

Puerto Vallarta wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism in The Maya Riviera, Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Yucatan, los Cabos, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

One aspect of destination wedding photography that I really enjoy is being able to meet people from literally all over the world who have come to Mexico to be married. What a wonderful thing! Kora and Arek’s group was very international,  with the bride and groom being of Polish descent, and it was fun to observe the warmth and spontaneity of the group! And how much kissing and dancing took place! The wedding was held on a terrace near the ocean at the Alegro Playacar in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was actually raining at the time the ceremony was supposed to begin, but everyone optimistically waited a bit and it cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and evening. Congratulations Arek and Kora! It was a great honor to be your wedding photographer!

The ceremony site:

What a beautiful bride! And very calm, if you consider it was minutes from ceremony time and those are raindrops in the background!

After the rain the sky and ocean were very pretty!

We were able to do take some photographs on the grounds of the hotel before the reception began.

So pretty and peaceful!

kora’s maid of honor was so happy to catch the bouquet!

We were able to do a “day after” session the early next morning. Here are just a few images from that photo session.

Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photojournalist in Mexico, she photographs events in Cancun, Playa de Carmen, Tulum, Merida, Yucatan, Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

One question I get asked often is whether I encounter many “bridezillas”. Sometimes I wish I had a few juicy horror stories to make my response more interesting….but the real answer is that I meet no bridezillas at all, or groomzillas for that matter! Erin and Josh were such a good example of the brides and grooms I am fortunate to be able to photograph. Happy to enjoy celebrating the day to the fullest and not into sweating the ¨small stuff¨ (a very helpful trait for destination brides since things do not always go as expected! It was one of those rainy days that suddenly turn beautiful, I was so glad that Erin and Josh decided on a ¨first look¨and bride and groom photographs on the grounds of the Aventura Spa Palace…well worth it!I

The rings…

A relaxed portrait of the beautiful and very happy bride…I thought her elegant but natural style was perfect for a destination wedding!

The ¨first look¨

It can be a bit of a challenge to photograph such a tall groom…step stools are just not practical on the beach! I had to dig into my photographer’s bag of tricks for these portraits…I can take no credit for the smiles though, that was Erin’s doing.

Bright tropical colors in Erins’ bouquet…

Photographs around the grounds of the Aventura Spa Palace, it was great to have plenty of alone time and not be rushed.

One of my favorites…

The resort is a bit differnt from others in the Mayan Riviera in that it has baysrather than a sandy beach, it makes for interesting photographs I think.

I loved the next two images…

Ceremony time. Erin arrived with her father in a horse drawn carriage, very dramatic!

The ceremony was held in a gazebo overlooking the ocean, so peaceful. Here are a few ceremony moments.

After the ceremony there was a champagne toast, afterwards we had time for family photos and a few very spontaneous shots of the bride and groom in the changing light.

Erin and Josh’s reception was great. They had the first dance, cake cutting and speeches near the ocean right around dusk. Then the sit down dinner portion of the reception was held in a the fantastic Mexican restaurant at the resort. (Totally off topic but I have to give a shout out here to the staff of the Palace resorts…I really think their attitude and level of service is second to none.)

Elizabeth Medina Mayan Riviera wedding photographer at the Aventura Spa Palace Resort. Elizabeth is a wedding photojournalist specializing  in destination wedding and photographing in Yucatan, Cancun, and throughout Mexico.

As fun as it is to photograph a gorgeous wedding like that of Jalé and Ken at La Reve near Playa del Carmen, I have to think it must also be one of the most amazing things in the world to be a guest at a destination wedding and spend a whole weekend in Paradise kicking back and celebrating the marriage of a wonderful couple. What a fantastic experience. I think everyone should have a destination wedding if at all possible and rejoice if they are invited to one and able to make the journey!

Jale and Ken made us feel like special guests at their Mexico wedding. I will confess that I have a slightly immature love of “out of town bags”,  those wonderful goodie filled bags that destination couples often prepare for their guests. Something about those little trial size tubes of sunscreen and personalized playing cards just appeals to my inner child!  Jale and Ken graciously surprised us by having one of their OT bags waiting for us, it was lovely and truly did make us feel like honored participants at this very special event. Thank you Jale and Ken, it was such an honor to document your wedding!

Before the welcome dinner we did a few casual photographs near the Quinta Avenida and I was happy to have a chance to get the know the bride and groom before all the action started.

The wedding was held at le Reve, a very intimate “boutique” hotel. The whole hotel was reserved for the wedding guests…wow!

A few details.

Bridal prep.

Just beautiful.

The gorgeous ceremony site.

A memorable moment between the bride and her father.

We were able to do photographs on the beach after the ceremony.

The cocktail hour.

Reception details.

The girl friends were so much fun!

First dance.

I guess I was’t the only one having fun with my camera!

Early teh next moring we met to trash the dress. I admire people who not only get up so early on the morning afte the wedding but look so good!

Trashing the dress!

Riviera Maya destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photojournalist who photographs destination weddings throughout Mexico.

Sometimes we meet a couple and notice right away how very beloved they seem to be by friends and family. Usually when that happens by the end of the day we also end up thinking the couple is the just the greatest and that is just what happened with Shannon and Jeff. I loved receiving Shannon’s emails and almost don’t want to send off the photographs because then she will have no reason to email! The ceremony was held on the lawn of the Hilton Cancun which overlooks the ocean. By some miracle it rained on the golf course which is just across the road and not one drop on the wedding! It was truly a beautiful day. And a great party!

The “first look”, i would recommend this to anyone getting married, I loved the portraits of Shannon and Jeff taken before the cermony.

A few details from this destination wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful and I was so appreciative of Shannon’s videographer, who was considerate and non obtrusive enough to film from behind the last row of guests. This makes such a huge difference in the photographs, I think the photograph below would NOT be the same with a videographer standing front and center next to the best man, between the bride and groom or in the center of the aisle as is so often the way at destination weddings.

The reception was held in one of the Hilton’s ballrooms. I guess it should come as no surprise that the banquet service was fantastic.

The first dance…

A funny toast…

And a great party. DJ Mannia really knows how the crowd moving, but I think this group did not really need much encouragement!

Cancun, Mexico wedding photojournalism by destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.