It is such an amazing thing when I hear couples have fallen in love with their wedding location through the “pages” of this very blog! I could not be more overjoyed to spread the word about Mexico’s incomparable wedding destinations, especially when the location is the Hacienda Las Trancas outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and I have the pleasure of photographing a fantastic couple like Juan and Jessica! Seriously, there is nothing like a destination wedding in Mexico, I see over and over how the magical atmosphere brings people together for unforgettable celebrations. Las Trancas is an authentic hacienda, perfect for groups who would like to experience the “real” Mexico and explore the countryside, the people and the wonderful local cuisine. (there is also a fantastic gym and a brand new spa area!).

We were able to do an engagement photo session with Juan and Jessica on the grounds of the hacienda the afternoon before the wedding, I loved the photos and the chance for Lindsey and I to spend some “quality time” with Jessica and Juan before the big day.

A few of Jessica’s “getting ready” details from the wedding day…

And an image from Juan’s getting ready time…

The wedding ceremony was held at a beautiful old church in the city of Dolores, hidalgo, Lindsey went ahead with the groom and his group and got this crossroads shot along the way…

After the ceremony we did a few bride and groom photos in Dolores before heading back to the hacienda, much to the interest of these future Hidalgo brides.

Jessica made a comment to me that I have heard several times from my brides, sometimes with a bit of trepidation…saying that she had noticed on this blog that all of the brides I photograph are so beautiful.  The truth is that I absolutely agree with that comment and having spent a very special day with them all I will add smart, kind, loving and joyful. Oh and of course possessed with impeccable taste in both grooms and wedding photographers! And Jessica…I have to say that you are a great example of all of the above!

A couple of my favorite bride and groom photos…

The reception set up…

Mexico wedding photojournalist photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photography at Hacienda Las Trancas, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

After having spent time with Natalia and Raul at the hacienda portrait session prior to the wedding day, photographing the wedding could not have been more relaxed! Having the rare treat of photographing close to home, having both Lindsey and Lauren along as co-photographers, seeing so many familiar faces through out the evening and the fact the wedding was designed and coordinated by my good friends at the fabulous Baku Events made it especially fantastic. As fortunate as we are to photograph throughout Mexico there really is no place like home, especially when home is Merida, Yucatan! Natalia’s family has a beautiful hacienda just outside Merida, the Hacienda San Ignacio Tesip, and it could not have been a more fitting place for this joyful celebration among family and friends!

A few wedding day images, Natalia getting ready…

The bride and groom prior to the ceremony. natalia said she felt very relaxed knowing that the photo session had taken place a few weeks earlier, I guess I could say the same, but did capture quite a few relaxed and happy portraits!

I received an email recently asking if I photograph the family on the wedding day which I thought was a great question. But of course! I think the family photos can be one of the most important aspects of the day, images from family milestones have always been a key part of family history. Having specialized in studio family portraiture before catching the wedding bug I welcome the opportunity to document the families on such an important day. The photo below is of the bride and groom with both of their immediate families, what a beautiful group!

The “paje” was such a cutie!

The beautiful bridesmaids, I loved the bouquets!

Natalia and her father arriving at the Nuestra Señora de Libano church in Merida, Lindsey captured this image as well as the tears that followed!

The church was decorated beautifully with greenery, flowers and trees hung with candles, amazing!

As the guests entered the hacienda they walked across the garden area accompanied by th music of a pianist…it was almost surreal to see the grand piano in that setting and very beautiful.

The walkway was lined with hundreds (or maybe thousands!) of candles.

The reeption area, Wow! the canopy was supported by “trees” lit up by candles, just amazing.

The first dance…

And time to party…there´s no place like home for that either!

Yucatan Mexico hacienda wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

I am not one to divide up my blog posts, but Natalia and Raul’s wedding will be an exception since it is vacation time here in Yucatan and I can’t wait until next week when it is all finished to share photos from this special wedding! Natalia and Raul were one of my favorite couples of all time before the wedding day even arrived! I was so happy that they planned a photo session prior to the wedding date. The wedding was a large one with many guests and this pre wedding photo session was a fantastic way to get to know each other better and to have plenty of time to really enjoy the photography without the hurry and nerves of the “big day¨.  I loved hearing Natalia say that she did not regret it, in fact it was the best thing they could have done! Here are just a few photos for now…stay tuned for many more images from the fabulous ¨big day¨in my next blog post coming next week!

The wedding was held at Natalia´s family´s beautiful old hacienda. This photograph of the bride surrounded by the beauty of the hacienda took my breath away even before I pressed the shutter of the camera.

Bride and groom….the first look was very moving, I am saving your tears for the slide show!

Natalia and Raul, just a few more for now, the rest to follow soon!

Hacienda wedding photography by elizabeth Medina in Merida, yucatan, Mexico.

Unfortunately I seem to have run out of superlatives somewhere during my last post, if anyone has a few to donate I appreciate it, I will be needing them over the next few weeks as the blog explodes with amazing weddings! I guess for now I will have to let the photographs do the talking for Nicole and Ben’s fantastic Riviera Maya destination wedding at Azul Beach near Puerto Morelos. The wedding was coordinated by Luxe Destination Weddings and featured a very stylish and fun bride and groom, basically it could not have been more beautiful!

I know this could not be the view every bride dreams of seeing out her window a few hours before the ceremony! Fortunately if was a false alarm and it stopped sprinkling just in time for Nicole and Ben’s “first look” and bride and groom photos on the beach.

A few getting ready details…

The first look…

The Catholic ceremony was held at the Marina Maroma Chapel, what a nice location!

Gotta love those signature drinks! And in my favorite color!

The reception was held back at Azul Beach, perfect!

Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, Wedding photojournalism in the Maya Riviera, Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and throughout Mexico.

One thing tha I LOVE about photographing destination weddings is the multicultural aspect. Being part of a multicultural family myself it makes me happy to see so many couples of different backgrounds travel to an exotic location to start their lives together! The world is getting smaller all the time! Nicole and Alfredo are North American and Nicaraguan and got married in Mexico, what a great combination. It was fantastic that so many people were able to make the trip from both countries! They are both bilingual and amazing salsa dancers…see more on that below, but most of all I enjoyed their sparkle throughout the day and Nicole’s kindness when the photographs from my last 2008 wedding took a little longer than expected. Gracias y un abrazo!

Nicole and her girls got ready at La Tortuga en Playa del Carmen, I was happy to be able to catch a few relaxed portraits on the way out the door.

We met at The Royal for photographs before the ceremony.

I had a backup photographer for the family photos….she was not kidding around, I am sure she got a lot of great shots! And I could tell she was a true photographer because she didn’t care to be in front of the camera at all!

We were able to photograph on the beach before the ceremony, nice!

The next image is a little crazy but I loved it.

Teh ceremony was held at Nuestra Señora del Carmen. After never having photographed there this was my third wedding in 2 months at that chapel! It is very pretty but a little challenging to photograph in because of its very small size.

When Nicole reached the altar and saw Alfedo it was such an emotional moment.

Nicole and Alredo used the traditional Mexican lazo during their Catholic ceremony.

The reception begain with an outdoor cocktail hour in the garden area of The Royal resort, the dinner and dancing were held in a ballroom.

The first dance started out slowly…

and suddenly turned into an amazing salsa performance!

The next photograph of the musician is from Lauren’s camera.

Wedding cake…

And the whole group hit the dance floor, fue una muy buena fiesta.

Playa del Carmen wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photography in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

This was my very first Greek-Mexican wedding (or Greekxican as Jackie would say!). John and Jackie were a dream to photograph because they are so in love and experienced the wedding day emotions to the fullest. I was a little worried because Jackie had requested a photograph of “John crying when I enter the church”…I was thinking it would be really hard to get that shot if he did not cry, and I didn’t want to disappoint her. But of course he did not disappoint neither Jackie nor the photographer! The Greek ceremony was as meaningful as the reception afterward at Blue Cacao Beach club was crazy…We were so fortunate to document this unforgettable day!  And for those who have never tried it breaking plates it is a lot of fun, I highly recommend it!  This wedding was coordinated by Playa del Carmen wedding planner Federia of Micas de Miralls. 

This peaceful image was taken while Jackie was preparing for the wedding at Mosquito Blue.

I loved capturing Jackie’s excitement on the way to the chapel!

John at the altar, the wedding was held at the Nuestra Señora del Carmen, it is a tiny chapel, especially for this wedding with its large bridal party, but very pretty.

Jackie at the altar after the ceremony, I loved this image.

The weather was cool that day and had looked like it would rain, but it never did and we were able to photograph the bride and groom outdoors after the ceremony.

El novio…

John and Jackie´s first dance as husband and wife. The reception was at Blue Cacoa Beach Club, a very cool location for a wedding!

The toasts…

Greek dancing…so much happy energy!

My favorite part…breaking the plates!

I won´t go into the whole story of next couple of images…lets just say that there was a little surprise for John.

Mexico wedding photography by Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

See, I wasn’t kidding about blogging up a storm! Brandy and Matt were married in a Catholic ceremony at the Our Lady of Carmen chapel on Playa del Carmen’s Fifth Avenue. The chapel is so pretty, and Brandy and Matt folloed up the ceremony with a stroll down the Quinta Avenida accompanied by a mariachi band. The reception was held at Lunata, a small “boutique” hotel, also located on the Quinta Avenida. The garden of the hotel was totally transformed through the vision of Brandy and her event designer Jennifer McCrackin with the aid of Playa del Carmen’s Ajua weddings.  Spectacular! Brandy and Matt could not be a nicer couple or seem more perfect for each other so it was an absolute pleasure to photograph their very special day.

Preparations….

Heading out to meet Matt for pre-ceremony photographs at the Royal Resort.

The beautiful bride before the ceremony.

A relaxed portrait of the groom…

The Catholic chapel, tiny but very pretty, it overlooks the ocean.

Bridal party photos at the altar don’t usually have palm trees in the background! Only in PDC!

A few detail shots of the table decoration, it was gorgeous and I know not easy to pull to in this part of Mexico.

Playa del Carmen wedding photography by Elizabeth Medina, destination wedding photojournalism in Playa del Carmen.

This wedding had so many fun elements! What a joy it is to tell the story of a day like this! A traditional Mexican Catholic mass, a mariachi serenaded stroll down the streets of Playa del Carmen, a dinner dance reception in the garden of the Royal Resort (one of my favorite locations), a romantic bride and groom photo session on the beach and of course a bride and groom who were obviously crazy about each other and happy to be celebrating in Mexico with a close group of family and friends! ¡Fue un dia inolvidable! Thank you so much Rocio and Eliazar, I loved photographing your happiness and love on your wedding day in Playa del Carmen!

A getting ready shot…when I see the bridesmaids pitching in to get the bride ready I always remember the saying “it takes a village”.

Details….

Is this little guy cute or what?

The Catholic church in Playa del Carmen where the wedding ceremony was held.

I always have an eye out for both the “big picture” and the small elements that quietly illustrate the day’s story.

Los novios, joined by the lazo en the Mexican tradition.

Los mariachis started playing when the bride and groom made their exit from the the church.

Everyone walked from the church to the reception at the Royal, a beach front resort. I think that is so much fun!

Arriving at the Royal…

The mariachis must have been a bit tired after that walk…but they never missed a beat! I wish I could remember what song they were playing here…I think it may have been “Somos novios”

Bride and groom pictures…what a great couple!

I confess, as much as I LOVE wedding photojournalism I am very proud of my skills as a portrait artist, and envisioning and creating expressive images like the next one makes me very happy.

First dance in the garden area of the Royal Resort.

I don’t know if this groom toss looks like fun to me or jsut plain scary…but Eliazar actually seemed to be enjoying it!

Great way to end a reception on a hot, hot, hot day!

Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photojournalist located in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. She specializes in destination weddings and photographs weddings in the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Cozumel, Tulum, and Isla Mujeres, San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and throughout Mexico.

What a beautiful day! It was so enjoyable to photograph this adorable (I don’t use that word very often…but they really are an adorable couple!) having such a splendid time with the very diverse group of family and friends that had traveled so far to be part of the day. A much as I enjoyed capturing and putting together the collection of images to tell the story of the day I am also really looking forward to designing the wedding album, it is so wonderful to compile the images of such an important event into a tangible piece of family history.

Darlene and Manoj’ wedding was the third I have photographed at the JW Marriott and I have to say it has become one of my favorite wedding locations. There are several different spaces that can be used throughout the hotel grounds, including the gazebo which is authorized to hold a Catholic mass, so each event seems to be different. The coordinator, Francisco Roman, seems to do such a nice job of keeping everything flowing. I think the gazebo with its ocean view is really special…and of course that amazing turquoise Cancun water, WOW!

The only thing that was a little sad for me is knowing that this was the final wedding that my photographer friend Grace Kim from Seattle accompanied me to as a “second shooter”, I loved having her help and knew I would really miss her when I looked over at one point and saw her carrying, in additional to her own gear almost all of mine! Grace is not a very large person so it just looked like a mountain of equipment walking along! I guess I had been so intent on the photographs I was taking that I just left everything behind! Thank you so much Grace it was amazing to have you here! I hope some day for the chance to repay the favor!

I thought the bridesmaid’s dresses were really special, it turned out that a very talented bride’s maid had actually made them herself!

Darelene’s mother placed the finishing touches on the veil.

I think this “grab” shot looks almost posed, I think that they were all standing in a strip of shade about 6 inches wide waiting for the ceremony to begin.

A few images from the Catholic ceremony in the gazebo.

The ring bearer was very serious and did an excellent job.

Grace caught this great moment right after the kiss.

This one is for Darlene…

After the ceremony we were able to do some photography on the beach.

The reception was set up poolside right in front of the ocean, this is just a little detail from the table decoration.

Darlene “escaped” from the reception for a couple of pictures.

The toasts had everyone laughing and crying and then laughing again!

Father daughter dance.

Ok…this crowd know how to dance!

Wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina photographs destination weddings in Cancun, the Riviera Maya and throughout Mexico.

Ever since I met Susana I know it would be a joy to photograph her wedding, first because she is a close friend of one of my favorite past couples, second because she told be right away that the photographs were very important to her, and third because she and Felipe wanted to be photographed at the beach, something that is not extremely common here in on the Gulf side of the Yucatan penninsula. This is a little look at just a few of Susana’s and Felipe’s photographs.

Desde que conoocí a Susana supe que sería un placer fotografiar su boda, primero porque es muy buena amiga de una de mis parejas favoritas, segundo porque me dijó enseguida que las fotografías eran muy importantes para ella, y tercero porque ella y Felipe pidieron hacer fotografía en la playa, algo que no es muy común en está parte de la peninsuala de Yucatán. Estos son unas cuantas fotografías captadas el día de la boda de Susana y Felipe. ¡Muchas felicidades a los dos!