Unforgettable! Lauren and I had a wonderful time photographing Erica and Doug’s weekend at the beautiful Barcelo Mayan Palace in the Mayan Riviera. These two make an awesome couple and had a really fun group of family and friends make the trip to Mexico to celebrate their marriage.  Erica is a graphic designer (I have had quite a few graphic designers as brides and grooms and always expect that it will make for an eye catching event!) and had applied her artistic vision all through the wedding planning. It was fun to see all the details that she had prepared, here is a little peek a the many photographs from the welcome dinner white party that was held on the beach the night before the wedding and the wedding mass the next day at the Barcelo’s Catholic chapel. Thank you Erica and Doug, it was an amazing weekend! We loved spending it with all of you! Mucho amor para siempre!

The welcome dinner was held the evening prior to the wedding. We were able to do some more casual photos of the bride and groom before heading to the party on the beach.

All the guests dressed in white for this event, the photo below is of both immediate families together, its not every day a photo op like that comes along.

Jsut a few detsils from the beach party…

The wedding day… details from the getting ready portion of the day.

Erica looked awesome, we LOVED her dress especially because it was jsut perfect for her.

It was fun to see how happy Doug was on the wedding day!

A few ophotographs from the ceremony and some group portraits on the beach, it was another very hot day, the bridesmaids and groomsmen were such troopers!

The reception was held in a beautiful French restaurant at the Barcelo Maya Palace. It was perfect for Erica and Dougs elegant destination style. This crowd know how to party, they were dancing from the very start of the reception!

Elizabeth Medina, Mexico’s premier  wedding photgrapher. Elizabeth Medina photographs destination wedding photography throughout Mexico in locations including the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Costa Careyes, Yucatan and San Miguel de Allende.

“I THINK I MADE THE WRONG DECISION!”  Words no wedding photographer ever wants to hear from a beautiful bride waiting ocean side for her groom to arrive for the pre ceremony “first look”  Time seemed to stand still,  but of course it was only an instant before I realized that Katherine was referring to the choice to risk setting up the reception outdoors despite the predicted rain showers.  Despite a few random sprinkles it turns out that all choices were right on target! The weather held and the wedding at the new Azul Sensatori was perfect in every way! Lauren and I loved being a part of this once in a lifetime day! Gracias Katherine and Jim, you are a beautiful couple! Congratulations!

Just because its my blog and I get to do whatever I want I thought I would start with the trash the dress session at sunrise the morning after the wedding.

The big day…

Love that bling!

I love a bride with a plan…Katherine planned more time than the usual for pre ceremony photographs, and had actually scouted some amazing locations ahead of time!

Mexico wedding photography Elizabeth Medina, at the Azul Sensatori a Karisma resort, Mayan Riviera, Mexico.

I loved photographing Alex and Drew´s Playa del Carmen Wedding! The wedding was held at the Royal in PDC. We have photographed several weddings at that location and honestly I ahve to say that no two have been alike and that I have loved them all! One thing I love about this resort, which is located right in the heart of Playa del Carmen, Mexico is that everyone present seems to be having such a good time. I think that Alex and Drew´s wedding more than proves the point! And as if a gorgeous beach location, happy guests and a beautiful (and ultra laid back) bride and handsome groom were not enough how about a zippy blue, green and yellow color scheme to melt a photographer´s heart? Simplemente perfecto!

The beautiful bride before the ceremony…

Bride and groom details…I LOVED the use of yellow and blue!

Alex and Drew had a dry erase board for guests to write messages, this was SUCH a hit, the messages were SO  funny and a great way to get wedding guests to actually use the disposible cameras!

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

Shana and Jeff, what can I say? Sometimes you meet a couple who seem so perfect for each other it just seems to prove that destiny is hard at work! Or as they say in Spanish that each person has a “media naranja” or “half orange” waiting to be found! In other words a dream team, two of a kind or “tal para cual”…know what I mean? It was an honor to be able to capture a bit of the magic of the day these two were married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Jeff is an amazing graphic designer and the couple was able to put a personal creative touch into many of the wedding details like the very unique invitation which featured their story and the favorite flower of both, the daisy.

The beautiful bride before the ceremony. I love doing bridal portraits prior to the ceremony whenever there is time, and the photographs are always some of my favorites. I think there are probably about 5 women in the universe that could pull of a dress like this one, it looked absolutely perfect on Shana!

Jeff and Shana put a special twist on the sand ceremony or unity by incorporating their families and wedding party.

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What a wonderful day it was! Linda and John are high school sweethearts who traveled to Mexico to be married an intimate ceremony on a breathtaking beach in the Mayan Riviera. Having photographed a few weddings at the El Dorado Royale and other Karisma resorts, and knowing that Linda had planned her details very carefully I knew that it would be a beautiful event and it certainly was that! It was so much fun for Lauren and I to get to know and spend time with John and Linda, there couldn’t be a nicer couple and we felt like old friends by the time we finished up the trash the dress session the next morning! Linda and John, I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I have! Congratulations to the two of you!

Some detail photos from the getting ready portion of the day…don’t let these tranquil images fool you, Linda was a blur of perpetual motion the whole time!

A relaxed portrait of John before the ceremony.

Time for the beach ceremony…so beautiful!

One of the best details I have seen to date…Linda and John used stones inscribed with meaningful words like love, family, dream as paperweights for the ceremony programs. After the ceremony each guest threw their stone into the ocean with good wishes for the bride and groom’s new marriage.

So much love!

The reception was held at the Tucanes palapa, I wish I had 2% of this group’s dancing ability!

A few images from the TTD session the next morning…

Mayan Rivera photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism at the El Dorado Royale Resort, a Karisma resort in Mexico.

Great news! I have finally made way out of the tunnel known as March wedding editing and lived to tell the tale! Kristina and Ingrid, I am pretty sure you are visiting the blog on a regular basis…. and the good news is yours are the next two weddings and they will be posted soon!

Stephanie and Andy had more than a great wedding day, they had an entire week to share with their group (and a neighboring alligator, yikes!) in a roomy villa overlooking the turquoise water of the Mayan Riviera’s Playa Secreto. The wedding was just beautiful! Stephanie and Andy are high school sweethearts, how fantastic that they were able to become husband and wife in such a beautiful setting.

Stephanie’s sister was unfortunately not able to be present in person because of a last minute complication, but was absolutely present in spirit throughout the entire day! She even appeared on video giving her matron of honor toast a the reception (wearing her dress of course!),

Wow! The bride has a spectacular wedding look!

I never cease to be amazed by some of the fantastic DIY projects that brides pull off, Stephanie’s prgram fans were beautiful and very unique!

Hooray! Let those rose petals fly!

Th wedding party!

Photographs of the bride and groom after the ceremony…

And a few images from the villa wedding reception.

Elizabeth Medina Is a wedding photojournalist based in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. She photographs weddings throughout Mexico.

Sometimes we meet a couple and notice right away how very beloved they seem to be by friends and family. Usually when that happens by the end of the day we also end up thinking the couple is the just the greatest and that is just what happened with Shannon and Jeff. I loved receiving Shannon’s emails and almost don’t want to send off the photographs because then she will have no reason to email! The ceremony was held on the lawn of the Hilton Cancun which overlooks the ocean. By some miracle it rained on the golf course which is just across the road and not one drop on the wedding! It was truly a beautiful day. And a great party!

The “first look”, i would recommend this to anyone getting married, I loved the portraits of Shannon and Jeff taken before the cermony.

A few details from this destination wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful and I was so appreciative of Shannon’s videographer, who was considerate and non obtrusive enough to film from behind the last row of guests. This makes such a huge difference in the photographs, I think the photograph below would NOT be the same with a videographer standing front and center next to the best man, between the bride and groom or in the center of the aisle as is so often the way at destination weddings.

The reception was held in one of the Hilton’s ballrooms. I guess it should come as no surprise that the banquet service was fantastic.

The first dance…

A funny toast…

And a great party. DJ Mannia really knows how the crowd moving, but I think this group did not really need much encouragement!

Cancun, Mexico wedding photojournalism by destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Another beautiful, beautiful day in the Maya Riviera. Christi and Lee planned their intimate destination wedding on the beach of the Secrets Capri resort. Destination weddings tend to be very warm and intimate affairs, really enjoyable and special for the guests as well as bride and groom. Everyone seemed to be so happy all day, especially Cristi and Lee who seemed to be absolutely delighted! I was very happy with the photographs because they seem to me to reflect the happiness of the day. Congratulations Cristi and Lee and thank you for being such a great couple!

Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism, Maya Riviera, Mexico, Secrets Capri.

Here we go, as promised I will be updating this blog often over the next weeks, so please be sure to scroll down so you don’t miss any amazing weddings! Rachel and Aaron’s destination wedding in Cancun…what can I say? This was a beautiful couple in every way, such a pleasure to photograph together as they experienced their day. The ceremony was held on the beach of the brand new Excellence Playa Mujeres, which is outside Cancun. It was a very emotional (somehow Rachel seemed to manage to laugh and cry at the same time!) and very joyous ceremony. Basically it was a perfect day and a real treat for the photographers.

The bride and groom had a fantastic suite with a private deck terrace overlooking the ocean, it was a wonderful spot to meet before the ceremony.

Recognize these two? We met when I photographed their Cancun wedding in late August. It was great to hang out with them again at this wedding…hopefully next time they come to Mexico it will be to Merida! Although I will have to make Reggie promise to stop stealing my thunder with his fast photo delivery.

Rachel entered the ceremony on both parent’s arms.

I loved this photograph of Aaron waiting at the “altar”.

Yes, I have said it before and I will say it again, destination weddings are the BEST! What a blessing to be able to tell the story of such a happy day!

Wedding photography in Cancun, Mexico byt destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

It never stops amazing me how each wedding I photograph is unique and full of surprises. Melanie and Chris in particular had some very interesting surprises along the way! They found out just weeks before the wedding that a new location would be needed, but rolled with it and had an amazing beach wedding at the Paradisus resort in the Maya Riviera. They were married on the beach accompanied by more than a hundred guests who had traveled to Mexico for their destination wedding. The weather was kind of so-so…but then in true Maya Rivera form took a turn for gorgeous, rewarding Melanie and Chris with an incredible rainbow during the ceremony! I may not have believed it had I not been there!

Melanie before the ceremony…

Chris waiting patiently.

for the “first look” before the ceremony.

Melanie and her girls on the way to the beach for the ceremony….

Such an exciting moment as Melanie and her father entered the ceremony.

Melanie and Chris were the last ones to realize that an incredible rainbow had appeared right over the wedding chuppah.

Lauren captured this one of the happy crowd as I was photographing from a second floor balcony.

Bride and groom after the ceremony on the beach.

The reception was also held on the beach, the next image is from the “first dance”.

The two families are so united, what a beautiful thing to witness.

I love the next photo from the cake cutting.

Things got a little crazy…

Fotografa de bodas Elizabeth Medina, fotografia de boda en la Maya Riviera.