WOW This is incredible!! We are actually still in Hawaii but returning home
tomorrow.
The slideshow made me want to rewind the clock and go back to experience
it al over again!! ….
How exciting. Perfect timing to get this email from you b/c the honeymoon
is drawing to an end. This was great.
Thanks so much Elizabeth. Better than I every dreamed,, REALLY.

Kristi

Hi Elizabeth!
The complements regarding your work keep popping up in my inbox. I have to share some with you:

“your pictures are amazing, probably the best I’ve seen”
- from my sweetly snooty New Yorker bridesmaid

“You picked the perfect photographer. She was great!”
- my mom

“I am totally crying in starbucks!!!”
- my sister

“All I can say is…..beautiful. They are amazing pictures.”
- a high school friend

“u should submit them to Quien”
- an American friend in the D.F.

“THOSE ARE FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love them. She is amazing. I looked at all her categories. Wow, she is talented. :)”
- my cousin (and bridesmaid)

“Those were some of the most beautiful photos I’ve ever seen!”
- a college friend

“The pictures are amazing, such a wonderful keepsake of your special day.”
- a grad school friend

I agree with all of them!!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for everything – I’ll be in touch!
Best,
Rachel

Tanya and Darrell were so much fun to photograph! They (along with family and friends) came all the way from Canada for their beach wedding in the Maya Rivera. Tanya had created all kinds of unique and special details for the wedding, We thought the water bottles were so neat, the contents label said 100% RDA love, 100% friendship and 100% admiration. All through out the day I could tell that the label summed up Tanya and Darrell’s relationship perfectly!

I thought the beach at the Grand Sirenis was one of the most natural and pretty I have seen, Akumal has always been one of my favorite places in the Maya Riviera.

One of Tanyas many handmade details were the programs they were very special, I thought they would make a fun background for a shot of the rings.

Darrell and the groomsmen, pre ceremony.

Tanya prepares with help from her mother and sister.

Tany’s shoes, the hair feathers were worn at the reception, she also had a second dress for dancing.

I love doing bridal portraits, Tanya was really a joy to photograph.

In addition to bridesmaids and a man of honor Tanya had two jr. bridesmaids, they did a great job!

The ring bearer and flower girl during the ceremony on the beach..

There was no end of amazing backgrounds for pictures at the Grand Sirenis, Tanya and Darrell were a lot of fun to photograph because they were very happy and natural in front of the camera.

I was photographing Tanya and turned around to see Darrell’s happy faces as he admired his new bride.

One last photograph. Thank you Tanya and Darrell and congratulations to the two of you!

Wedding Photography by professional photographer Elizabeth Medina at the Grand Sirenis Resort in Akumal, Rivera Maya, Mexico.

I often get emails asking for recommendations of “alternative”, wedding locations. I guess Taninah would fit into that category very nicely. A private compound in the middle of the jungle between Playa del Carmen and Tulum in Mexico’s Maya Rivera, Taninah was the perfect site for Veronica and Nathan’s one of a kind destination wedding. The very lush, green surroundings made for the perfect contrast with the red and black color scheme that Veronica and Nathan chose. I have never really considered underground cenotes to be my “thing’…possibly because they are basically caves with water in them! Not to mention bats! Also there is nothing that I like more than using natural light in my photography and underground you don’t get much of that. But of course I am always up for a neat photo opportunity and was thrilled to be able to photograph Nathan and Veronica in Taninah’s amazingly beautiful cenote. The water could not have been clearer or more beautiful, I would have loved to jump in and I am sure that I was not the only one., since it was a bit warm down there to put it mildly. Veronica and Nathan, it was a special treat to photograph your unforgettable wedding! Felicidades y gracias por ser como son!

I love jungle vegetation, there is nothing like seeing green in every direction!

We went down into the cenote right after the wedding ceremony, how amazing to have an adventurous group!

Dinner was served in the garden.

Veronica and Nathan danced their fist dance as husband and wife accompanied by a mariachi band.

I am posting a little out of order, but I thought this was the greatest idea. Veronica and Nathan had this cool lounge furniture set up and they sat their with their guests….

To watch the fabulous prehispanic dance show. It was extremely well done, I really enjoyed it and I know the weddings guests did as well!

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you so much from the very bottom of my heart.
Luis thanks you as well!

Tania

This was one of those fabulously international affairs. Mariana is of Argentine descent and had many family members make the trip from Argentina, Alex is from Switzerland and also had many people on hand for the event. It was pointed out that those two places are just about on opposite ends of the earth! They were also accompanied by a large group of friends from Mexico City! So as out of the way as Yucatan can seem to some it was really a common ground for this far flung group of family and friends and I think a special one since Mariana and Alex were able to incorporate so many regional details to really give the wedding the flavor of the Yucatan.

Mariana and Alex had both a civil wedding and a Mayan ceremony which were held on separate dates, both at the Hacienda Xcanatun in Merida, Yucatan. Xcanatun is an exceptionally beautiful hacienda, it has been restored spectacularly and the grounds are very lush and green. It was a very unique, once in a lifetime event and I was honored to be able to photograph it!

A few details for Xcanatun the night of the civil wedding (boda civil).
La boda civil.Los novios…

The grounds of the hacienda are so beautiful, it is like an oasis.

Xcanatun at twilight.

Mariana chose the perfect dress for the hacienda setting, it was just gorgeous and looked perfect on her.

Her shoes definitely made my all time favorite bridal shoe list!

I really thought that this photograph of Mariana before the ceremony captured a bit of her wedding day spirit.

The tables for the reception dinner were set up under the most amazing palm trees in the hacienda gardens, it was spectacular.

The Mayan ceremony was held in the garden of the hacienda at night.

An important part of the Mayan wedding ceremonies that I have witnessed is giving some type of offering back to the land, here the flower girl helped offer seeds and vegetables to the earth.

Another part of the ceremony is the “limpia” or ritual cleansing. The officiant was very thorough, not easy with such a tall groom!

A la fiesta!

The reception set up.

I was happy to have caught this moment! I love thinking that she will see this and the other photographs when she is all grown up and remember playing such an important role and how it felt.

Mariana assured me there would be no “first dance”, I guess it pays to be prepared for anything…

This detail shot is my fab assistant Lindsey’s!

Hacienda Xcanatun wedding photography by Merida, Yucatan, wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina.