Hola! I have been wanting to share Lucia and Paul’s Merida wedding for a few weeks now! After so many hours spend lovingly shooting and editing hundreds of photos from a wedding somehow the hard part is to have to choose a reasonable number to include on the blog! Paul and Lucia’s wedding traveled a great distance to be married in a very special location, La Hacienda San Jose Cholul, located oustside of the village of  Tixcocob, near Merida, Yucatan. I really hope that the photographs will give a feel for the ambiance of this special Mexico wedding location and little look at some of the magic that happened on this very happy couple’s wedding day. Muchas gracias Lucia y Paul por compartir su dia, esperamos verlos de nuevo en Merida! All images (c) 2012 Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

A big shout out to our friends at Floreria Magnolia for the beautiful white floral decor.

Three flower girls make their entrance with one very well behaved canine ring bearer!

Merida, Yucatan wedding photographers, Elizabeth Medina Photography.Hacienda San Jose Weddng.

If there is one thing that this wedding photography blog has revealed to me of the years it might be just how delightful it is to be able to share a really good story. What a blessing it is to be able to communicate through imagery, especially considering how difficult it is (at least for me!) to describe with words a once in a life time experience like a wedding.  Alicia and Sean had a perfectly intimate wedding celebration, the bride and groom together in a breathtaking ancient chapel in the middle of the jungle, can it possibly get any more romantic? The days leading up to the wedding were a little bit suspenseful with Hurricane Rina off the coast of the peninsula. As it turned out the wedding day brought showers on and off, but Alicia and Sean did not let the weather dampen their spirits for one second, between the wonderful relaxed spirit of the couple and the peaceful atmosphere of the location it just could not have been more lovely. All images Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

Hacienda Uayamon photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Viva Mexico, viva Hacienda las Trancas and of most of all viva Tobias and Veronica!  Located in Hidalgo Mexico in a village between the charming and historic cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, this hacienda has an energy that I find entirely magical.  Tobias (who is also a wedding photographer!) and Veronica hail from the  US Midwest but seemed beautifully at home, I loved being able to add these photographs to their family history.

Maybe it has to do with lunchtime being almost here, but I can’t help but thinking of Ky and Cody’s destination wedding in Mexico as just plain delicious. So much yummy color and texture and of course such a sweet, sweet couple! It is no secret by now that I am always delighted to have the Hacienda Uayamon as my photographic playground. What is a little hard for me to wrap my brain around is the idea that I have the privilege to be photographing amazing couples who have found, chosen and traveled long distances to such a remote location after falling in love with it through the photographs on this very blog. Ky and Cody, I appreciate so much all you did to make the hacienda wedding a reality, I loved spending the day with the two of you and your families, thank you so much for appreciating my vision and  letting me be part of your wedding.

Ky looked amazing…

The “first look” brought on a few tears.

We were able to do quite a bit of photography of the bride and groom around the grounds of the hacienda.

Gotta love all the color and how it “popped” against the backdrop of the rustic hacienda walls.

Cody spotted this little ‘tortulita” sitting quietly right above the spot where we were photographing.

Bride and groom taking a little break…

The ceremony was held in the ruins of the chapel, I think this site is simply magical.

The reception was set up in the hacienda grounds, and of course the use of color was again evident.

I love the next image of the intimate dinner served under the giant Ceiba tree, it really evokes to me of how it felt to be there.

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico´s premier wedding photographer. Specializing in destination weddings she covers events in Yucatan, Campeche, Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, San Miguel de Allende and throughout Mexico.

I think it is no secret to anyone reading this blog that we love, love, love all our brides and grooms, they are the very best people! I certainly can´t imagine a sweeter job than documenting their love for each other. We hope you enjoy our tribute to some of the most special people anywhere, all of the amazing couples we were privileged to photograph during 2009. To view the slide show please click here and allow a moment for loading.

So beautiful! Miko and Kenji were married in a very intimate and spiritual ceremony at the Hacienda Uayamón in Campeche, Mexico. Uayamón is truly one of the Yucatan Peninsula´s gems and I could not feel more happy that so many people have become familiar with this magical hacienda through my work. I tend to get multiple emails every week asking about this location which tells me one thing… that many of my blog ¨readers¨ actually skip my ramblings and just look at the pictures. Which is something that I endorse wholeheartedly! This hacienda is far off the beaten path in the state of Campeche and Kenji and Miko experienced some interesting adventures along the way that I am sure will make fun stories someday. Their spiritual wedding ceremony was truly moving and I felt honored to be present, the atmosphere was simply magnificent and not something I can easily describe in words. Rather than trying I will let the images speak. Congratulations Miko and Kenji, and thank you.

Kenji and Miko symbolically joined two candles to light one single flame, but their individual flames continued to burn next to each other throughout the ceremony.

Wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, wedding photojournalism in Yucatan, Campeche, Riviera Maya, Cancun and throughout Mexico.

it has been such a treat this fall to photograph beautiful local weddings like this Kika and Chino’s at the Hacienda Chichi Suarez here in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Kika is a graphic designer and almost as excited about the photographs as I was. She and Chino were willing to go the extra mile for their photos and we met at the hacienda in the afternoon for a “first look” and portrait session before the civil ceremony and Catholic mass took place later in the evening. The bride and groom were both so happy all during the day, and I love how that happiness could not help but show in the photographs!

Hacienda wedding photography in Yucatan, Mexico by Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Paul and Loly are a wonderful couple from California, it was a true honor to have them fly in from California for their anniversary photo session. What can I  say… each and every bride and groom I photograph is a rockstar and I am so blessed to be their photographer!    Loly and Paul, thank you so much for trusting me with such important photographs, it was a privilege.

After a bit of deliberation (Mexico´s states of Yucatán and Campeche are both studded with so many unique and amazing haciendas!)  Campeche´s  Hacienda Uayamón was chosen as the location for the photo session. I really can´t say enough good things about Hacienda Uayamón, it is a gem,  a fairy tale location run by the nicest people around. Absolutely nothing could be more satisfying than hearing people say that they have found and fallen in love with their Mexico wedding location through my photography and this year I look forward to returning to fantastic spots with couples who have found their locations right here on this blog. What could be better?

The next shot is Loly and Paul´s style…they really enjoy each other.

Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photographer located in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and photographing weddings in Yucatan, Campeche, Mayan Rivera, Cancun and throughout Mexico.

I hope no one minds if I take a few minutes break from shooting, editing and blogging up a storm to share a little studio project. This little book is volume one, (volume two will naturally feature Mexico’s fantastic beach wedding destinations) was done as a personal project to showcase some of our wedding photography  in Mexico’s incomparable haciendas and historic homes. I truly feel that there is nothing better than a destination wedding in Mexico and that Mexico’s haciendas are magical wedding destinations. Having photographed a good number of weddings at haciendas in Yucatan and throughout Mexico and just love for people to find out about the amazing locations for wedding photography in Mexico through my work!

Those that have been reading this blog for a while already know that I consider travel + leisure magazine as one of my photographic influences so I hoped this project would reflect a bit of that  T+L vibe. Being busy with work for my clients I turned to Karen Dahlquist for the design and layout of this book. That proved to be a great decision because it was way too hard for me to choose just a few images from each wedding/location! I would have given up had I not been able to send folders of images for Karen to wade through! Maybe because I was at all the weddings and have great memories of each one, but I just loved how it all came together. Not sure if amazon.com will be calling soon but I do hope it will give a bit of exposure to Mexico’s haciendas as wedding locations.

Here are a few glimpses at the book’s contents. This spread is dedicated to the Hacienda Xcanatun this is a wonderful wedding location. (Zach and Lolita I can’t wait!)

Another absolute favorite, Hacienda Las Trancas is located in Central Mexico and is a magical destination. I am looking forward to shooting Amy and Matt’s wedding next summer at this location!

The hacienda wedding photography volume includes several weddings from Yucatan’s magnificent group of haciendas operated by Starwood Resorts. This group of haciendas include amazing locations like Temozon, (So excited about upcoming 2009 weddings at that location), San Jose (love, love this one!), Santa Rosa, (very cool hacienda venue, I photographed the very first wedding at Santa Rosa!) and of course Hacienda Uyamon in Campeche, Mexico.

emedina_book_tsip

The Hacienda Chichen Itza, it has been several years since I photographed at this location but I would just love to photograph another wedding at the hacienda.

Well, enough of all that… but please stop back soon for Alex and Drew’s wedding at the Royal in Playa del Carmen, to be followed by Katherine and Jim and Kelly and Michael both at the Azul Sesatori! I can’t wait to post each of these colorful one of a kind weddings to the blog, to be followed by Benny and Sandra’s Maya Rivera wedding and finally Jessica and Scott’s incredible San Miguel de Allende wedding.

Mexico wedding photography by Elizabeth Medina, a wedding photographer based in Yucatan, Mexico and available for photographic coverage throughout Mexico and internationally.

I think photographers and fishermen have something in common….obsessing about the ones that get away. I was so sad not to be available for Christiane and Gerardo´s date, since from the very first contact with Christiane I could tell she would be a wonderful bride to work with and the wedding would be an absolutely one of a kind event at one of my favorite locations, the Hacienda Uayamón in Christiane´s home state of Campeche, Mexico. I was lifted out of my depression by the request that we travel to Campeche for a portrait session of the bride and groom prior to their civil ceremony. (For anyone not familiar with Mexican custom it is common to have both a civil and religious wedding. The civil wedding can be either the same day as the religious wedding or on a separate date, in which case it can be the occasion of a celebration with a more intimate group than on the ¨big day¨, kind of like a rehearsal or welcome dinner). True to Mexican tradition things ran a little behind schedule (or is there some alternate schedule somewhere that no one has ever told me about?). Watching the sun sink lower in the sky, I was just about to despair completely when Christiane and Gerardo appeared looking totally fabulous! I decided that if pilots can make up for a late start in the air (how do they do that anyway?) then Lindsey and I could at least try to do the same with such a fantastic couple´s photographs!

Hacienda wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, Merida, Mexico. Fotografia de bodas en Mexico.

I am not one to divide up my blog posts, but Natalia and Raul’s wedding will be an exception since it is vacation time here in Yucatan and I can’t wait until next week when it is all finished to share photos from this special wedding! Natalia and Raul were one of my favorite couples of all time before the wedding day even arrived! I was so happy that they planned a photo session prior to the wedding date. The wedding was a large one with many guests and this pre wedding photo session was a fantastic way to get to know each other better and to have plenty of time to really enjoy the photography without the hurry and nerves of the “big day¨.  I loved hearing Natalia say that she did not regret it, in fact it was the best thing they could have done! Here are just a few photos for now…stay tuned for many more images from the fabulous ¨big day¨in my next blog post coming next week!

The wedding was held at Natalia´s family´s beautiful old hacienda. This photograph of the bride surrounded by the beauty of the hacienda took my breath away even before I pressed the shutter of the camera.

Bride and groom….the first look was very moving, I am saving your tears for the slide show!

Natalia and Raul, just a few more for now, the rest to follow soon!

Hacienda wedding photography by elizabeth Medina in Merida, yucatan, Mexico.

If the Mexico destination weddings and couples I photograph were not so amazing and the energy of the wedding day so addictive, my dream would be to photograph for magazines like T+L (Travel and Leisure) or Conde Nast Traveller. Long before I started photographing weddings I would look at the images in those magazines and analyze how they were made. So when I get to photograph weddings that have that kind of cool travel vibe I could not be happier. Shaelyn and Tony were married at a private hacienda very close to Merida, Yucatan. This hacienda is quite unique in that it has kind of a funky, bohemian style and a lot of personality. The whole group seemed very relaxed and ready to enjoy the Yucatecan flavor of the wedding. All in all…a fun way to kick off 2009. Gracias, Shaelyn y Tony!

Hmm…a birdcage veil and a birdcage…couldn’t resist this one.

The ceremony was held on the front lawn, Lauren captured this photograph from the roof of the hacienda.

When in Yucatan you can’t miss trying panuchos, especially from fresh handmade tortillas.

Placecards!

When the bride and groom kissed they were surrounded for an instant by a sudden flash of fireflies! How cool is that!

The little dolls were made by a friend…so cute I had to borrow them for a photograph of the wedding rings.

The reception was held by the pool.

Having photographed a wedding at the Hacienda Las Trancas some months ago, I knew a little bit of what I was getting into when Ken contacted me about photographing his wedding to Julie at the Hacienda Las Trancas outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Basically, the hacienda is a historic site that has been restored in a very loving way. It has a warm and intimate Mexican atmosphere that is simply perfect for a destination wedding. How considerate, photogenic and fun Ken and Julie and their families and friends would prove to be was a complete surprise and icing on the cake! I loved the color images but also thought the black and white photographs had a timeless beauty. Thank you, Ken and Julie! I hope your travels bring you to the Yucatán sometime soon!

Getting ready photographs. I love to do these because of the anticipation and range of emotions. Everyone is too busy with the preparations to worry at all about the camera. I think just about every bride wonders at the last moment if the dress is really going to zip or button up…such a relief when it does!

The happy groom prepares…

Wow.

The grounds of the hacienda are so unique, Ken and Julie and sitting by the door to the secret garden.

Some of the relatives/friends were teasing Ken and Julie as they posed.

Empieza la ceremonia…

The reception was held near the fountain, this area had been floored since I last visited the hacienda. If you look carefully you may be able to see the horses in their stables.

Two of the guests were professional salsa dancers, they gave a wonderful demonstration and class to the guests, it was amazing how quickly (most) everyone learned!

Wedding photojournalism in San Miguel de Allende Mexico by professional photographer Elizabeth Medina, specializing in wedding and destination wedding photography. Elizabeth Medina is based in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and photographs weddings throughout Mexico.