This was an all around a beautiful destination wedding at the Royal Resort in Playa del Carmen! I hope this small sample of the day’s photographs gives a little glimpse into the day that Roza and Gerard spent with family and friends who traveled to celebrate their marriage in the Royal’s beautiful gazebo overlooking the ocean in Playa del Carmen. (some from all the way around the world!). Roza and Gerard we are so happy for the two of you and thank you for letting us share in your day!

The bride and wedding party (bridesmaids and groom’s ladies!) made a very dramatic and beautiful entrance to the ceremony.

Pretty ceremony details! There is nothing like a turquoise ocean as a backdrop of course!

Some photographs on the beach during the cocktail hour…

Bride and groom, this photo was taken in the gazebo where they said “I do”.

All photographs 9c) 2011 Elizabeth Medina and Lindsey Medina. Elizabeth Medina Photography, Wedding Photographer Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Such a beautiful beach wedding! Yari and James are an awesome couple! We loved being able to share in the oodles of laughter (and more than a few happy tears!)  these two shared with their friends and family throughout the day. By the end of the evening we felt like we had made a whole new group of friends (not to mention a new branch of the Medina clan). It was very clear that many hours had been spent lovingly and carefully planning this lovely vintage inspired beach wedding. The Azul beach resort in Puerto Morelos, is one of our favorites in the Riviera Maya, it was perfect for this intimate event. I hope the photographs reflect a bit of the happiness and bring back wonderful memories for the bride and groom! All photographs Lauren and Elizabeth Medina.

This destination wedding had a vintage theme that was carried out elegantly, the brooch bouquets carried by the bride and bridesmaids were amazing!

Elizabeth Medina Photography, Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographsdestination weddings, offering wedding coverage throughout Mexico and internationally.

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a relaxing summer!  Toan and Jessica’s destination wedding was held at the Royal Cancun. Hot and humid with clear skies above the beach ceremony and reception, Cancun’s famous white sand and turquoise water were amazing. All in all a beautiful day in paradise… right up to the end of the reception when a sudden rain took us all by surprise! Lindsey and I met up with the  bride and groom early the next morning for the day after session. This was a lot of fun as well and  a great chance to take some relaxed photographs (especially once everyone had finished waking up!) Jessica…. you have been patient long enough so I will stop writing so that you and Toan can see a few of the photographs from your very special big day in Mexico! Below, a few bridal photographs before the ceremony. I loved Jessica’s smile and the wedding colors really popped with the bright water in the backdrop!

The wedding party was a lot of fun… it was HOT out and super bright on the beach but they were a lot of fun all through the photos.

It was a great party…this was such a fun crowd and DJ Doremixx kept everyone on the dance floor.

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier destination wedding photojournalist, photographing weddings throughout Mexico in locations including the Yucatan, the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Puerto Morelos, Puerto Vallarta, Las Caletas, San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato, Cabo San Jose and Cabo San Lucas and available for international commissions.

I guess I would have to say that other than the opportunity to make good use of my share of the creativity (something I am convinced we are all blessed with!) my favorite thing about photographing weddings would be the fabulous people met along the way, whether they be colleagues and clients. Shani and Steven,…WOW! Lindsey and I have loved getting to know the two of you very much, thanks for sharing your celebration at the Mayan Riviera’s Azul Sensatori Resort. The first photos I am posting are from the morning after trash the dress session, followed by the wedding day images.  All images Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

Wedding day at Azul Sensatori. It had looked like it might rain but turned out to be a fantastic day!

What a fantastic day!  With its beautiful architecture and grounds the Fairmont Mayakoba is hands down one of our favorite Playa del Carmen wedding photography locations. Corey and Jillayne were marriedon the golf course this Playa del Carmen wedding venue on a bright day in May. I love seeing the beautiful day and the sunny disposition of this very happy bride and groom captured in the wedding photographs.  The clock seems to flow in very unusual and mysterious ways when a wedding is in process and we sometimes feel that the biggest luxury we encounter at a wedding is time during the day to create relaxed and memorable photographs. Little by little I have come to appreciate as one of the most important skills an experienced wedding photographer can possess the ability to wrestle that ticking clock into submission and make every minute count!  Jillayne and Corey’s wedding stands out as one in which a relaxed schedule (and couple) allowed for a great variety of images and lighting conditions, not to mention that  starting the day somewhat early allowed for photographs not only of bride and groom candidly with their respective teams but also alone together before the ceremony (first look photographs = priceless!). Now if we could just figure out how to manage time to have enough days on the calendar to both shoot and edit our summer weddings!

I know, I know, things have been moving slower than usual here on the blog… fortunately not for lack of photos but because there are so many! Being so busy shooting and editing the images from weddings on both coasts (and points in between!) has meant a portfolio bursting wide with photographs but very little time to blog! Here’s a little taste of spring from John and Ashley’s late March wedding at the Mayan Riviera’s beautiful Azul Sensatori Resort. I felt so blessed to photograph such a truly lovely couple on their very special day!

A few ceremony moments on the beach at Azul Sensatori.

After the ceremony Ashely and John did their ‘first dance’ on  the beach accompanied in song by one of their family members, beautiful!

The next two are from Lauren’s camera, so lovely!

The day’s schedule and relaxed vibe allowed for plenty of daylight for photos of the bride and groom, this part was so much fun!

Wow, Ashley!

Bright sunny day, turquoise ocean, beautiful laid back couple, smiles all around… lots of love and a crazy, crazy party, ie. the perfect destination wedding. Vanessa and Sean… the wait is over, I hope the wedding photographs take you back to  your very memorable day at Azul Beach!

Mexico’s premier wedding photographer photographs Mexico destination weddings in the Mayan Riviera and throughout Mexico.

Warm holiday wishes to all our very special couples and friends from team Medina! For all those who are feeling a little chilly about now (it is actually even a bit nippy here in the Yucatan) here comes a little bit of sunshine in the form of a blog post! Kate and Cam were married in November in a bright and colorful beach ceremony at the beautiful Secrets Maroma Resort in the Riviera Maya. The bride and groom seemed to be having a wonderful time at the beach ceremony and cocktail reception as well as the dinner reception which followed at the deck of the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort. I hope you enjoy the photographs from this bright and colorful wedding!  A few details from before the ceremony… the rings, invitation and the bride’s pretty aqua blue jewelry…

Bridal preparations… Kate and Cam’s nicknames for each other are Boo and Sparky and it was fun to see that Kate’s dress hanger even incorporated those pet names!

Bride and groom exchanged gifts and special notes before the ceremony…

Finally it all came together and it was time to go get married!

Time for the ceremony… the arch was so pretty with the bright hanging rose pomanders… the flowers and ceremony set up was provided by Cancun’s Planner 1 Events, beautiful! Kate chose to include custom painted maracas and printed details like the special signs for the reserved seats in the ceremony, these really special personalized touches were from Mishka Designs in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The cocktail hour was held on the beach at Secrets Maroma, the mariachi band and bright maracas added to the fun Mexico ambience.

Bride and groom photos after the ceremony…

A few photos from the reception at Dreams Riviera Cancun. First dance…

Mexico´s premier wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina photographs weddings in the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Yucatan, Puerto Vallarta, San Miguel de Allende, Costa Careyes and throughout Mexico.

December, crazy December… time has been flying by! Its hard to believe that 2010 is almost a wrap, this was such a great year with some of the most amazing couples ever. I am really excited about sharing the final 2010 weddings here on the blog!  Ashley and Mark were married in a colorful beach ceremony at the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort in the Mayan Riviera. Lindsey and I were blessed to be this sweet couple’s wedding photographers on that sunny day in paradise.

Mark and Ashley honored Mark’s mother’s memory throughout the day, one way they did this was by including her engagement ring in the photographs.

This is a photograph of a detail from Ashley’s dress, so intricate and beautiful!

Some last minute bridal preparations…

and Ashley and her group of girls, so bright and pretty in crisp white, navy blue and yellow!

Ashley was so beautiful and relaxed, the ultimate low maintenance bride, she even stayed calm and cheerful when the photographers temporarily misplaced her groom!

Ashley and Mark met up before the ceremony for some bride and groom photos…

Beach ceremony at Dreams Riviera Cancun…yellow flowers on the chuppah and blue sky above…

The next two are Lindsey´s…

You may kiss the bride!

Something I get asked about quite a bit is if it will hurt the photos if the bridal party has an “uneven” number of bridesmaids vs. groomsmen. I love to photograph a bridal party like Ashey and Mark’s that is a little asymmetrical, I think it lets me play a little more with the compostion of the wedding party photos and adds a little extra zing. What do you think?

A few bride and groom photos after sunset…

And time for the reception, held on the ocean front deck.

Mayan Riviera Wedding Photography by Elizabeth Medina Photography, wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina photographs weddings in Cancun, Yucatan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

Casey and Ron’s wedding was the first of the fall season for Lauren and I and we thoroughly enjoyed photographing this beautiful tie the knot on a Mexican beach. This wedding and the morning after TTD session at the Dreams Riviera Cancun resort in Puerto Morelos was a great way to get our feet wet (literally!) and jump back in right where we left off shooting amazing weddings for incredible couples. We are looking forward to a wonderful season and adding weddings featuring both destination and local couples to the blog very soon.

Casey had planned a good window of time for the pre-ceremony photos, I love this type of schedule because it gives us time for getting ready candids of both bride and groom as well as photos of the yummy bridal details (and Casey’s were to die for!) not to mention bridal photos…there is not always time for these so I consider it a luxury to be able to have some quiet time to focus on the bride before it all begins.

The photo of the shoes is Lauren’s, I have noticed that when I tell Lauren that a detail shot she’s in the process of making won’t work it tends to end up on the blog! Oops…Lauren I love this shot and I promise to have a little more faith!

One “getting ready” photo of Ron before the ceremony…

No one wants to get emotional and risk ruining the make up prior to the ceremony…Casey took one look at her mom’s proud and happy expression and it was inevitable that she would get choked up as well. I loved how this photo tells the story.

Another story telling image, while Casey’s mother was attaching a wedding brooch that has been handed down through the generations and worn by each bride she told the flower girl that someday she may wear it herself, I loved her reaction to this little piece of family history.

Bride and groom on the grounds of Dreams Riviera Cancun before the ceremony.

A few photos from the beach ceremony, the flower girl and a proud father of the bride.

Bride and groom, a few happy beach photos after the ceremony…

Casey and her girls…

A few photos of the bright orange and fuschia ceremony decor for the pool side reception overlooking the oceean.

First dance and fiesta…

The day after session… bright and early! Casey and Ron, you were such good sports, or maybe you were really just very obedient sleep walkers…either way I thank you for your patience so early in the morning!

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier destination wedding photographer, photographing weddings in Puerto Morelos, the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Yucatan, Campeche and  thoughout Mexico

Aaahhh, Yucatan! One thing that never ceases to surprise me is how few people outside of Mexico seem to even know the state of  Yucatan (as opposed to the more touristy state of Quintana Roo with Cancun and the Mayan Riviera are a part) exists! Yucatan is a very unique state (it was even a separate country for a while there!)  full of quirks, interesting customs, an amazing local cuisine (panuchos anyone?) and more history than you will find just about anywhere. Legend has it that if a traveler drinks the water of  Yucatan he will become a resident for life (and take my word for it they don’t share this information until after it is too late!). Pierre, who hails from France, and Andrea share a love of sailing and it is only fitting that this lovely couple’s Mexico civil wedding be held on the beach in front of Las Tunas, Andrea’s family’s beach house in the village of Telchac Puerto, Yucatan. Here are a few images from a very intimate and special wedding celebration.

Yucatan’s Gulf of Mexico coast has one of the world’s largest populations of flamingos, a group flew overhead right after the ceremony.

Merida, Yucatan Mexico wedding photography, Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographing weddings in locations throughout Mexico.

I see it over and over…one thing I have always suspected about destination wedding is that one reason everyone seems to have such a good time is that the ho-hum guests probably are most likely to be the ones to stay home… Katie and John’s wedding at Dreams Tulum seemed to prove my point, this group was anything but boring! It was great to see this very high energy crowd having such an amazing time celebrating Katie and John’s marriage!

We spent quite a bit of time with Katie, the girls and her family prior to the ceremony… they were a wonderful group and having a really good time helping Katie prepare for the wedding, it was fun to document the details and general atmosphere of anticipation not to mention the beautiful bride and her friends and family.

Little did I know when I crossed the resort to meet up with John and the guys the shock that was waiting for me! I was rendered speechless! It was a huge relief to find out that cutoff jean shorts  were a joke and not the groomsmen’s ceremony attire! You would think by now I would have seen it all but apparently not!

The ceremony… beach ceremonies at Dreams Tulum are gorgeous!

The reception was so much fun, I have omitted several photos on the grounds of not imagining how to go about explaining what was going on! The wedding party made their entrance in fun sunglasses and Katie did a really cute choreographed dance with her dad and things went from there!

Glad to finally be able to share Rachel and Adam’s photos! We try to keep things moving along relatively quickly and are proud to have never passed the 8 week editing mark but this wedding from late in our spring season cut it a little close for comfort. Wish as I might for a magic bullet (or a magic mouse or Wacom tablet as the case may be) as an artist I have never been able to find a way around the notion that each individual photograph deserves to sparkle and that the elegance lies in the the little touches. I am sure that each photographer has their own process and way of doing things, contrary to what common sense and practicality would dictate the polishing process at Elizabeth Medina Photography seems to involve about 87 steps, the final and most time consuming of which are customarily carried out on a computer which decided that July was a good time to take a break. (we are suspecting that the Macs may be in cahoots because the iphone decided to go for a swim in salt water, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the others for signs of rebellion). Happily we are up and running, chugging away a little slower than we’d like but definitely on track. (and Amy and Matt your San Miguel de Allende weekend is up next!)

This was such  beautiful day, super fast paced with a great couple and a really super fun group. I think the Sapphire Riviera (formerly Paradisus) in the Riviera Maya has such an ideal beach wedding set up with a very private beach ceremony site and a deck overlooking the ocean that was just perfect for Rachel and Adam’s event. Rachel is in fashion and has great style, and is just a really nice person to be around. I loved hearing that she found me through another very cool past bride.  Rachel and Adam, thank you for all your patience and good humor on the wedding day (a little warm, no?) I hope you enjoy the photographs as much as I have!

I stole Rachel for a few minutes between the Ketubah signing and the ceremony, these “stolen” bridal portraits where some of my favorite images from the day.

I loved these shoes so much!

We had time for just few bride and groom shots before the ceremony. Did I mention it was warm out?

Corlorful beach ceremony decorations, love the flip flops for the guests and  the combination of bright colors.

Rachel was not the only one with blinged out footwear, her flower girl was right there with her!

A few ceremony moments.

What do you do when you reach the end of the aisle and there are still petals in the basket?

Mazel tov!

Th ceremony was timed very close to sunset, we a very quick bride and groom photo session after the ceremony, I was very happy that Rachel and Adam we were able to capture so much variety and expression in such a short time.

A few reception details, and some of the action…

During the father of the bride’s speech…

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographing events in the Riviera Maya, Cancun, Yucatan areas as well as San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and throughout Mexico.