I have to say that my blogging intentions have not kept pace with reality this summer! Sorry that things have been so slow around here, there is so much I would like to share but not enough hours in the day! I am just going to try to jump in and break the blogging drought with a beach wedding at Playa del Carmen’s Le Reve. The wedding staff at Le Reve is such a hospitable bunch, it was fun for Lauren and I to be able to work with Arlenis and the gang again! Nicole and Brian had a really fun group of friends and family travel to their destination wedding. It was so awesome to see everyone have such a great time dancing to the reggae band! Nicole is a designer and I am sure that you will notice her special flair in the details that California event planner Alison Events incorporated into the wedding. Here is a little peek at the wedding photography from this beautiful day in Playa del Carmen. All images (c)2012 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

Amazing, amazing, amazing… possibly the most overused adjective in the English language! One bad habit I would like to put behind me in the new year is the overuse of this superlative. Unfortunately I will have to start tomorrow because here is no way I can avoid saying AMAZING  just a few more times in describing Karah and John’s big day! Karah and John chose a destination wedding and  the Hacienda San Jose Cholul as the wedding venue. This location is truly special, it has a very intimate scale, authentic rustic charm, and of course the incomparable local Mayan culture. Located very near my home base of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, this colorful venue has hosted some of my favorite weddings to date. The Hacienda San Jose somehow seems to attract the most amazing (oops) people and Karah and John and their whole group certainly were just that.

Karah and John’s choice of colors really complemented the location and the team from Baku Events did an amazing outstanding job with the wedding set up.

After finishing up with photos Karah and John joined their guests at the cocktail hour held near the pool, I loved being able to capture the quiet moment when they walked down the path to meet their friends and family.

One thing I love about this hacienda is the way the spaces visually separate. The walk from the pool area to the garden area area where dinner and dancing took place had a very dramatic and beautiful ambiance.

Fotografia de boda, Hacienda San Jose, Merida, Yucatan, 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.

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

Best friends. Sunny day in paradise. Perfection. Jannae and Ryan, thank you so much for letting us be part of your very unforgettable day.

Jannae and her flower girls before the ceremony…so much excitement and anticipation during this part of the day! The time always seems to fly by.

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The girls were not the only one with colorful footwear!

The bride looked amazing! I just love it when there is enough time for a few bridal portraits before the action begins.

Time to go! Jannae and Ryan were so excited to see each other before the ceremony!

After the big reveal we were able to do some photography on the grounds of the Riu Palace, it was a very warm and bright day and I really appreciated the bride and groom being such good sports.

The bright maraca wedding favors were custom painted in Puerto Vallarta by Mishka Designs. I dare any Mexico wedding guest to try not to have a good time with these!

Kind of like parades or fireworks destination weddings are spectator sports!

A few post ceremony beach photographs of the new husband and wife….

La fiesta started off with a mariachi band…

It was a beautiful day. But the weather…unbelievably atrocious! This tropical storm wedding made me feel blessed to be photographing Tania and John, a bride and groom with the amazing ability to roll with it all and never let the weather put a damper on the day´s festivities. I don´t think it ever stopped pouring down all day or night, but thankfully it cleared just long enough the next morning for some outdoor bride and groom photographs before the storm rolled back in and completely soaked us all! Thank you, Tania and John and best wishes! Lauren, thank you for your detective work!

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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.