One of the first things that impressed me about this wedding was the distance that so many of the guests had travelled to attend…most of the guests flew in from the other side of the world to share in Chris and Nichole’s day. The beach front ceremony went off perfectly and Nichole and Chris were wonderful sports about being photographed all over the grounds of the Dreams Tulum resort, despite the very warm weather. Thank you both for letting me share your day with you! Here are just a few of the images from that amazing day…

The ceremony on the beach…

Tulum has so much scenic beauty and the beach right next to the ceremony site was an incredible location for a post ceremony photo session with this wonderful couple, I thought it looked like a desert island from a movie! And Nichole…wow!

Like most of the couples I photograph, Nichole and Chris started off a tiny bit camera shy and then really relaxed during the photo session (I think I wore them down, they were so patient!) and the result is many special photos of the two of them together.

Maya Riviera wedding photography by international destination wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina.

Russell and Brit were a fabulous couple to work with…I could tell Russ was a sweetheart when I saw the note he had left for Brit before the wedding made out of bracelets and necklaces! Brit was very beautiful and sweet and I could tell immediately that they are crazy about each other! It was so much fun to catch the spontaneous, joyous moments between the two of them. What more could a wedding photographer hope for? Muchas felicidades Brit and Russell!

It looked like rain right up until the time of the ceremony, so the ceremony was held in an alternate location, fortunatley the weather cleared up and we were able to photograph outdoors afterwards.

Brit wore a mermaid style dress, the train bustled in the coolest way!

The reception location was one of the loveliest I have seen, the palapa was very open and had a breathtaking view of the ocean. The sky cleared completely to reveal an amazing full moon.

Playa del Carmen wedding photography by international wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina.

During the planning stages for her marriage to Mark at the Excellence Resort Denise’s emails never failed to brighten my day, they were always cheerful and full of funny little comments. It was great to meet Mark and see that he had such a similar sense of humor and fun, they are a great couple to spend time with! Unfortunately, about an hour before the ceremony the weather took a turn for the worse and the beach ceremony that had been planned all along was not possible, it was pouring rain! Everyone took it in stride and fortunately the weather improved just in time for our planned day after or “trash the dress” session the next morning. Denise was my first “two dress” bride, I loved that! I think both dresses probably got wet…one in the rain on the wedding day and one when Mark threw her in the water. Thank you for everything Denise and Mark!

The day after session..

I lvoed this wall, the black an white photographs there are spectacular with all that texture.

I thought this image was so peaceful…

Denise and Mark wanted some photographs in the spot where the ceremony was originally planned.

Finally it was time to throw the bride in the water!

Having written back adn forth with Gladys for a few months before the wedding I knew a little about her, for example that she was in a visual, creative, profession, and that she was hoping for colorful, artistic photographs of the wedding she was planning in Playa del Carmen. It was great fun seeing how she put her creativity to use in planning a very special wedding to be enjoyed with the guests that had traveled to Playa del Carmen. ¡Muchas felicidades a una pareja lindísima!

A few pre ceremony getting ready shots…

Gladys and Carlton decided to see each other before the ceremony which allowed me to photograph these very special moments when they met.

I thought the groomsmen looked like something out of a movie as they walked up.

The ring bearer was a little shy, but his colors weren’t!

I loved the bridesmaid’s colors!

A moment during the ocean front ceremony at the Royal Porto Real Resort’s gazebo.

One of my favorite parts of the event was when the wedding party walked down Playa del Carmen’s 5th Avenue (la Quinta), while being serenaded by a trio. I later found out that Carlton used to play football and Gladys runs marathons..they seemed to move very quickly, but of course I was running backwards and photographing with two cameras most of the time!

The reception was as the Yaxche restaurant. Yaxche is very cool because the open air banquet area it looks just like a Mayan ruin. I loved it that Gladys used one of my photographs from Guatemala for her save the date and place cards.

It’s hard to know what to say about this wedding…other than the fact that it could not have been more beautiful and that there could not be a nicer and happier couple than Mallory and Matt, It was inspirational to be around them, and their joy and that of their families and friends was contagious. It was hard to stop smiling! Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph the wedding!

The festivities included a welcome dinner the night before the wedding, I was happy to be able to get some casual photographs of Mallory and Matt on the grounds of the El Dorado Royale.

Mallory before the ceremony.

The ceremony was held in the chapel, which was perfect for the size of the congregation.

After the ceremony a golf cart took us to a beautiful natural area to do some photography of the bride and groom.

In the months leading up to Jackie and Don’s Cozumel wedding I got to know Jackie quite well through her emails and I could tell that she and Don would be having a fun, informal beach wedding, surrounded by a large group of family and friends. They decided to see each other before the ceremony which was great, I was able to photograph the emotional moments when they first saw each other, and we were able to do the photographs around the grounds of the Meliá without Jackie and Don missing out on any of the reception.
Jackie and Don, thank you for making us feel so welcome and congratulations to the both of you!

This bridal photograph was taken on a balcony outside of the room where Jackie and her girls got ready…I love how all the bright yellow (which you may have guessed is one of my favorite colors) bounced of the walls and gave such a warm glow to the image.

Anyone who has been to the Yucatan Penninsula knows that hammocks are everywhere! This is one of my favorite hammock shots so far!

A few moments during the ceremony.

Mariachis of course!

I love how the sun sets over the water in in Cozumel.

The reception was held just a few steps from the site of the ceremony, it started indoors and ended with dancing on the beach.

Cozumel wedding photography by Mexico wedding photographer Elizabeth Medina, Meliá Resort, Cozumel, Mexico.