Or should I say a hot day with a hot couple?  :-)  Also true! It had to be one of the hottest days of the year, hopefully of the century! But with the clear blue sky and the gorgeous turquoise blue Playa de Camen water just perfect for a wedding, especially with Megan and Michael, a lovely couple who didn’t need much encouragement to go for it and fit in a mini trash the dress session before the reception. (Did I mention it was a hot day?). These two have so much fun together, it was fun to see all the laughter in the photographs!  Congratulations to you both! Lindsey and I wish you all the best in your life together!

Megan and her girls on the way to the ceremony…

My new favorite hammock photo…

Speeches…

First dance…

It always amazes me how each wedding that I photograph is different from all the others, but that each has its own special magic! Lisa and Brian were married in a very unique and extremely beautiful destination wedding on a private beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The event was planned by wedding coodinators Maria and Erica at Weddings in Playa. and I thought the timing (or the day itself) could not have been more perfect. The fiesta was held at the Casa del Agua restaurant on Playa del Carmen’s Quinta Avenida. Lisa and Brian, I felt so fortunate to have been chosen to photograph your unforgettable wedding in Mexico! Felicidades a los dos!

I had never seen a dress quite like Lisa’s dress from Pronovias in Spain, it was absolutely perfect for this wedding.

We did a few pictures at the Shangri La Caribe before leaving for the ceremony site, I loved this one of the groom.

These Mayan ruins were located very near the ceremony site. It was so much fun to photograph Lisa and Brian and their families in that setting.

Those conch shells really put out a lot of sound! The Mayan wedding ceremony was very heartfelt and lovely,

The walk to Casa del Agua, everyone yelling out congratulations to the novios…

The Casa del Agua, an amazing place for the fiesta.

Playa del Carmen wedding photography by wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina, Riviera Maya, Mexico.

What a wonderful day! Because of scheduling conflicts Evonne and Forrest were unable to fit in a trash the dress session that had been contemplated for the morning after the Thanksgiving day (US Thanksgiving day that is) wedding. Instead, I arrived early in Playacar the day of the wedding in time for a photo session with just the bride and groom at noon. Looking over the images I am astounded by how many special images came from that session, held at a time of day notorious as bad for photography!…Forrest and Evonne make such a spectacular looking couple and interact in a beautiful way, and while they were initially a little unsure about what to do in front of the camera they loosened up very quickly! They also turned out to be really good at the kissing pictures, actually I think they may have even forgot about the camera completely for a while!

The resort is gorgeous and the weather was a photographer’s dream. I thought the ceremony was absolutely lovely, and I appreciated very much being able to talk to the officiant prior to the ceremony. He was very open to finding out what I thought would be the best positioning for himself relative to the bride and groom, that can make such a difference, in this case the camera (and the congregation!) could see Evonne and Forrest’s faces and expressions throughout the ceremony which makes the ceremony especially meaningful for the congregation. The icing on the cake was that after the family photo session and in the last minutes of daylight Forrest and Evonne decided to go for it and do a spontaneous mini trash the dress session before the reception! Of course Evonne had it all under control and walked into the reception an hour later looking fabulous in a second beautiful gown!

Gracias Evonne and Forrest, it was such a joy to met you both.

The groom….

I usually never see this sight because I don’t usually shoot in the sun at midday…which just goes to show sometimes its good to break the rules!

This image really makes me smile, it is just the kind of relaxed, beautiful moment that I hope to capture.

Forrest and Evonne each had a longtime friend to stand up with them. I thought it would be fun to photograph the bridal party in the “palatial” lobby of the Rui Palace Rivera Maya Resort.

Final prep…

The Riu Palcace gazebo ceremony…

After “the kiss” Forrest and Evonne jumped the broom, this was the first time one of my weddings had included this African American wedding tradition that marks the bride and groom starting their life together as man and wife.

Los mariachis….

The unexpected trash the dress session! How many couples go for a swim between the ceremony and reception?

The dinner was held in a private room, which had been decorated beautifully. Evonne used shells, candles and framed pictures of her and Forrest together as a couple to decorate the tables. My assistant and I felt so honored to see that she had even included our place cards and favors with personal notes to each of us.

OK, I won’t go into it all, I will just say that Evonne’s siblings had some VERY FUNNY surprises to welcome Forrest into their Asian family, I don’t think wedding photojournalists are supposed to laugh as they photograph, but I seriously could not help it!

Rui Palace Playacar, Mexico photography by Elizabeth Medina, Mexico destination wedding photojournalist.