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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When we met up with Mulu in the salon at the Dreams Resort in Cancun there was tension floating in the air along with the hairspray. Her relatives, including her father who was to walk her down the aisle had been scheduled to arrive the day before but instead had been stranded in a far off airport, unable to reach Cancun in time for the afternoon wedding ceremony. Fortunately the wedding story turned out happily, the resort graciously allowed for the ceremony time to be moved back and Mulu´s family arrived just in the nick of time for this once in a lifetime celebration.

I have to admit that I love all my clients. Something about spending their happiest day ever focusing on capturing all the joy they are experiencing seems to have that effect! Mulu and Sean were an extra extra special pair! After having such a fabulous time spending their wedding day and trash the dress session with this beautiful couple at Dreams resort in Cancun it makes me sad to think they live so far away! Mulu and Sean, thank you for all your kindness in sharing your day with us!

Mulu was such a beautiful bride as I am sure Sean would agree!

Bride and groom with the whole wedding party

This next one is just silly! Can´t have a destination wedding without speedo man, right?.

Mulu and Sean did a ¨first look¨ and some portraits before the wedding, such a great idea to have a private moment before the wedding day craziness begins.

The next two shots were taken when Mulu walked up the to the ocean front gazebo.

Sean´s wrote his own vows and they were very moving.

The beach reception…

The sunrise trash the dress session at, gulp, 6 am the moring after the wedding. It was actually dark when we started!

The Dreams Cancun lighthouse is one of the reasons Mulu and Sean chose the resort so it was fun to incorporate it into the trash the dress photos.

Cancun wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism in Cancun Mexico-

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.

Being a little bit allergic to perfume I guess I have never been able to get on board with the concept of aroma therapy…somehow it just doesn’t seem right that something that makes me sneeze could really be therapeutic. After photographing John and Jessica’s beautiful wedding in Careyes, Mexico I will say I am a true believer in color therapy. Actually Jessica is probably thinking about now that I want to keep her photographs all to myself…I guess they are so much fun and put me in such a good mood remembering this fantastic weekend in an amazing destination on Mexico’s Pacific coast that I have been working on them a little longer than strictly necessary! They are all yours now though John and Jessica! I hope they put a smile on your faces like they have mine! Thank you so much for allowing Lindsey and I to document such a special event, it could not have been more lovely.

The wedding ceremony and reception were held at a private villa overlooking the ocean, the next image was taken after the rehearsal at the villa.

The rehearsal dinner was held down the Costa Careyes beach at Playa Rosa, true to its name it was a celebration of pink.

The preparations and bridal party photos were done at the El Careyes Resort, a perfect location!

I love non matching bridesmaids dresses, Jessica’s color palette was brilliant!

The ‘first look’…then portraits of bride and groom and the wedding party around the resort grounds followed.

The wedding location was fantastic, it had several levels that were perfect for the cocktail hour, ceremony and dinner Julie Cambrell, a fab wedding coordinator from Colorado was on-site and made sure all ran flawlessly. The sunset ceremony…

A few details of the many details and a bit of reception action…

The next afternoon we travelled down the beach with John and Jessica to a secluded cove to “trash the dress” at sunset.

Elizabeth Medina, destination wedding photography at Costa Careyes, Jalisco, 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.