What a wonderful day! Because of scheduling conflicts Evonne and Forrest were unable to fit in a trash the dress session that had been contemplated for the morning after the Thanksgiving day (US Thanksgiving day that is) wedding. Instead, I arrived early in Playacar the day of the wedding in time for a photo session with just the bride and groom at noon. Looking over the images I am astounded by how many special images came from that session, held at a time of day notorious as bad for photography!…Forrest and Evonne make such a spectacular looking couple and interact in a beautiful way, and while they were initially a little unsure about what to do in front of the camera they loosened up very quickly! They also turned out to be really good at the kissing pictures, actually I think they may have even forgot about the camera completely for a while!

The resort is gorgeous and the weather was a photographer’s dream. I thought the ceremony was absolutely lovely, and I appreciated very much being able to talk to the officiant prior to the ceremony. He was very open to finding out what I thought would be the best positioning for himself relative to the bride and groom, that can make such a difference, in this case the camera (and the congregation!) could see Evonne and Forrest’s faces and expressions throughout the ceremony which makes the ceremony especially meaningful for the congregation. The icing on the cake was that after the family photo session and in the last minutes of daylight Forrest and Evonne decided to go for it and do a spontaneous mini trash the dress session before the reception! Of course Evonne had it all under control and walked into the reception an hour later looking fabulous in a second beautiful gown!

Gracias Evonne and Forrest, it was such a joy to met you both.

The groom….

I usually never see this sight because I don’t usually shoot in the sun at midday…which just goes to show sometimes its good to break the rules!

This image really makes me smile, it is just the kind of relaxed, beautiful moment that I hope to capture.

Forrest and Evonne each had a longtime friend to stand up with them. I thought it would be fun to photograph the bridal party in the “palatial” lobby of the Rui Palace Rivera Maya Resort.

Final prep…

The Riu Palcace gazebo ceremony…

After “the kiss” Forrest and Evonne jumped the broom, this was the first time one of my weddings had included this African American wedding tradition that marks the bride and groom starting their life together as man and wife.

Los mariachis….

The unexpected trash the dress session! How many couples go for a swim between the ceremony and reception?

The dinner was held in a private room, which had been decorated beautifully. Evonne used shells, candles and framed pictures of her and Forrest together as a couple to decorate the tables. My assistant and I felt so honored to see that she had even included our place cards and favors with personal notes to each of us.

OK, I won’t go into it all, I will just say that Evonne’s siblings had some VERY FUNNY surprises to welcome Forrest into their Asian family, I don’t think wedding photojournalists are supposed to laugh as they photograph, but I seriously could not help it!

Rui Palace Playacar, Mexico photography by Elizabeth Medina, Mexico destination wedding photojournalist.

I had been waiting for Daniela and Marcelo’s wedding for a year and a half. I knew it would be a blast to photograph! Daniela and Marcelo live in Monterrey, Mexico, but planned an amazing wedding at Daniela’s home in Merida. Daniela is well known in Mexico as a professional jewelry designer and from the moment she came into the studio I was struck by her unique natural stylishness. I never guessed that Marcelo would be just as cool and that they would both be so much fun! Muchas felicidades a los dos y mil gracias por ser como son, ¡me encantó fotografiar la boda! PD, Nos vemos muy pronto en otra boda muy especial!
I begged Daniela to give me a few minutes to photograph her by window light. I was sorry to make Marcelo wait but I think it was worth it! I loved the way her vintage style dress and veil were complemented by the architecture.

I love the moment when the couple first sees each other, I think it is usually more emotional when it is a private moment before the wedding ceremony, these two were so delighted to see each other and I was able to capture teh moment from a distance with a telephoto lens.

I had wondered if Daniela would design jewelry to wear for the wedding…I had to smile when I noticed her bracelet!

the ceremony took place at the church in the village of Cholul, this church has been beautifully restored and has a lot of charm and personality.

I think this is one of my favorite photographs ever.

Time for the reception….

The reception site, so much color!

The first dance was very emotional.

La fiesta estuvo buenísima…

Elizabeth Medina, international wedding photojournalist, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

I have been visiting some photographers blogs lately, and realizing that I am doing this all wrong! It seems like the idea is to talk about how amazing my new images are, but if you have been reading my blog you will know that that I have been way too busy going on and on about how wonderful the couples are that I photograph and about the incredible weddings that I am so privileged to document, oops! This entry is no different, but I really can’t help it. Marlena and Tom were so great to work with and Cabo was simply breathtaking.

When I spoke with Marlena on the phone several months ago she described her impression of my photographic style better than I have ever been able to. I really wish I had written that down! I could tell that she had put quite a bit of thought into her photography and it was so fun to spend time with her and her very kind and patient groom Tom before the ceremony creating photographs of the two of them around the grounds of the spectacular Esperanza resort. And of course what can I say about Cabo! I loved photographing there and want to return as soon as possible. It was all just perfectly gorgeous.

The welcome dinner was held at the Marquis de Cabo, overlooking the ocean, wow! We had time for a few photographs before the guests arrived.

The beautiful future bride…

Los novios…

The party set up harmonized perfectly with the setting.

The salsa band was excellent!

Preparations for the big day at Esperanza.

This one is from my assistant’s camera…I loved it!

A few images captured during the ceremony.

Wedding photography by WPJA member Elizabeth Medina in los Cabos, Mexico. Marquis de Cabo and Esperanza resort wedding photography.

Courtney and Mark were married in a beautiful beach wedding in Tulum, Mexico. Courtney had been planning the wedding for many months and her attention to detail was incredible. It was fun to continually discover new details as the day went on, like a stunningly beautiful beaded Reem Acra gown, the date written in rhinestones on the bottom of Courtney’s Manolos, feathers in her bouquet or the little frog sparkling on Mark’s lapel to mention just a few. Color was everywhere, the amazing pinks of the flowers and bridesmaid’s dresses contrasted wonderfully with the ocean blues. The bride and groom and their guests met with some unexpected challenges, the first and most minor of which was the rain that started right about the time Courtney was slipping into her dress. They took the weather in stride and were able to have a very special beach ceremony.

Courtney and Mark, I truly hope the photographs will help bring back happy memories of the day to the two of you as well as your friends and families.

Courtney’s “girls”

The beautiful bride…

The little frog on Mark’s lapel.

More details, the ceremony program was a fan in Courtney´s colors, what a great idea.

The happy mother of the groon during the vows.

The reception…

The moon was beautiful over the ocean.

Amy and Daniel’s wedding was held the Hacienda Santa Rosa, a very unique and peaceful hacienda in Yucatan, Mexico. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of their friends and family had made the trip to attend this destination wedding, but not surprised at all to see how everyone seemed to be enjoying and the hacienda, Yucatan, and of course the celebration of Amy and Daniel’s marriage and the fiesta afterwards. Amy and Daniel, it was inspirational to spend time with the two of you.

The hacienda staff was setting up the reception in the main corridor of the hacienda overlooking the garden area when I arrived, it looked amazing.

The ceremony was held in a beautiful secluded garden surrounded by greenery, Amy wore a family dress and veil and they were perfect for her, she looked incredible.

Amy walked into the ceremony with her father through an ancient archway.

Before joining the reception Amy removed her veil and added a belt, it was an art piece was like nothing I have seen before and just perfect for her dress and the setting.

I really do not have words to describe how enjoyable it was to photograph Tiffany and Garrett at the gorgeous Hacienda Uayamon in Campeche, Mexico. The hacienda is breathtaking, and I was so nervous on the drive from Merida, Yucatan to Campeche because it truly looked like it would rain any minute! As I walked onto the hacienda grounds to meet up with the bride and groom and begin photographing I could actually smell the rain. Even though I knew that alternate indoor locations had been planned for both ceremony and reception and all would be fine I couldn’t help think that the photographs would be better outdoors!
Hacienda Uayamón, part of the fabulous Luxury Collection of Mexican haciendas, The Haciendas, that includes some of my favorites like Hacienda San Jose and Hacienda Temozón, is located deep in the jungle, and combines luxury, rustic old buildings, and nature…An amazing wedding location for a couple like Tiffany and Garrett who love travel and adventure and planned to celebrate a very memorable wedding with friends and family. Tiffany and Garrett it was such a pleasure for us to spend your day with you and your group, the happiness was contagious!
A few details from the hacienda grounds…

The hacienda was originally built to produce henequén (sisal), or “green gold” as it was called.

Do I need to say that Tiffany was an extremely beautiful bride?

Garrett and Tiffany met for an hour of photographs before the ceremony, here is the moment that Garrett first saw Tiffany dressed for the wedding…priceless.

I hope the pictures can do some justice to so much beauty.

Tables were set up under a GIANT Ceiba tree.

I can’t remember the name of this great Latin band…but they were amazing at getting the party dancing.

Mexico wedding photojournalist Elizabeth Medina, destination wedding at the Hacienda Uayamón, Campeche, Mexico.