This was such a splendid day! Ever since I had emailed back and forth with Megan I could tell she was a lot of fun. Her excitement about the destination wedding she was planning in Tulum, Mexico was contagious. I knew that she and David had planned a beach wedding because of their love for the ocean and I could tell that Megan was enjoying the wedding before even leaving for Mexico. The weather was perfect, the Dreams Tulum beach gorgeous, and the bride and groom very laid back and happy celebrating with family and friends (and of course very beautiful and handsome), I really don’t know what else a wedding photojournalist could ask for. Thank you Megan and David, it was a great day and Lindsey and I loved being part of it!

I love doing pre-ceremony bridal portraits. Even though Megan is usually smiling I wanted to capture a few more dramatic, serious portraits as well.

The flower girl before the ceermony, she kept the sand pail that was used for the petals close at hand.

The ceremony site, the lime green accents were so pretty!

Bright rose petals in the sand.

The beach ceremony.

Megan and her girls…

The full bridal party…

I loved this image.

Contrary to popular opinion there are sunsets in the Maya Rivera, you just have to look for them!

The outdoor patio reception…

Megan and David’s first dance as husband and wife.

The mother son dance…

The cake cutting followed family tradition, those are Megan’s parents in the photograph on the table.

The girls having fun on the dance floor.

The tequila shot procedure seems to get more and more elaborate at each wedding…how funny!

Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photogrpaher based in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. She photographs weddings in Yucatan, The Rivera Maya, tulum, Cancun, and throughout Mexico.

As a wedding photographer I love going to a familiar location and finding new and different viewpoints. Having photographed at Dreams Tulum twice recently, reminded me once again that each couple and the dynamic of each wedding is totally unique. While I love finding new ways to incorporate a sense of place into my images (especially when the place is as gorgeous as Dreams Tulum), I think my most important task is to be aware of the unique moments and beauty that every event possesses. Amanda and Jay were so much fun to work with, and the way the two families blended so completely to have a great time together highlighted to me one of the very best aspects of a destination wedding. I hope that these few photographs along with the MANY that Jay and Amanda will receive will be a unique part of the fabulous history of a whole new family. Mil gracías Jay y Amanda, fue un placer conocerlos!

Amanda before the ceremony. Jay and the guys had no idea that she could see them from her balcony!

The ceeremony site. rain had been forecast, but it was a clear and very sunny day.

Annie was one of those brides who really love and appreciate the importance of photographs (something I can relate to!), it was so much fun to hear about all her photography ideas for the wedding day and also for the unique “trash the dress” photo shoot she had planned for the morning after the wedding. The “trash the dress” session to me is not really about the dress at all…basically it is just a relaxed opportunity to create special photographs of the bride and groom, without having to worry about all the guests, timetables and nerves of the wedding day. And if the bride and groom are adventurous like Annie and Marc, all the better!

Right before the ceremony at Dreams Tulum it started to RAIN! I couldn’t believe it since it had been nice all day… fortunately it stopped in time for the ceremony and everything was beautiful!

The wedding ceremony site at Dreams Tulum was so beautiful, I think it looks like a desert island.

Annie and Marc during the ceremony.

Marc and Annie celebrating with their beautiful flower girls.

A perfect destination bride…

Annie asked for pictures with flowers, since it was winter at home. I decided to try to frame them with flowers and think that I succeeded in both of these images.

The next morning early we headed out for the trash the dress session. Gorgeous!

One of the first things that impressed me about this wedding was the distance that so many of the guests had travelled to attend…most of the guests flew in from the other side of the world to share in Chris and Nichole’s day. The beach front ceremony went off perfectly and Nichole and Chris were wonderful sports about being photographed all over the grounds of the Dreams Tulum resort, despite the very warm weather. Thank you both for letting me share your day with you! Here are just a few of the images from that amazing day…

The ceremony on the beach…

Tulum has so much scenic beauty and the beach right next to the ceremony site was an incredible location for a post ceremony photo session with this wonderful couple, I thought it looked like a desert island from a movie! And Nichole…wow!

Like most of the couples I photograph, Nichole and Chris started off a tiny bit camera shy and then really relaxed during the photo session (I think I wore them down, they were so patient!) and the result is many special photos of the two of them together.

Maya Riviera wedding photography by international destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.