When I first began to study photography (and I do mean study- I am probably the only person who would have purchased every photography book available at Barnes and Nobles and practically memorized them before actually buying a camera and signing up for a class- I mean really, who does that?) I embarked on a mad love affair with color… only to fall head over heels with black and white contrast and shadow when I began to develop and print in the darkroom. In those non-digital times one had to choose ahead of time between “seeing” in black and white and in color, or as I eventually began to do carry two cameras- in my case usually with a roll of tri X or an Ilford BW film in one and color transparency film in the other. Nowadays things are so much more flexible since we don’t need to decide ahead of time whether the photographs will be developed in black and white or in color.

Alejandrina and Marcelo’s photographs reminded me of how awesome that artistic freedom really is. The couple had a very elegant and classic beauty and as Lauren and I photographed the two of them at Merida´s Casa Faller I knew I would love seeing many of their images in classic black and white. At the same time there were elements throughout the day (such as the beautiful details that BAKU EVENTS brought to life at the couple´s  Hacienda Hunxectaman dinner reception, that just begged be be portrayed in color! I guess that is what ´s called having the best of both worlds!

Ale y Marcelo, nos encantó acompañarlos en su maravilloso dia, les mandamos muchisimas felicidades abrazo fuerte de parte nuestra.

All photographs (c)2013 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

Laruen and I had a great time with Fernanda and Marcelo. While we enjoy doing most of our shooting somewhat far afield there is something to be said about photographing close to home! This pre-wedding bride and groom session took place on a beach in San Benito, Yucatan a few days prior to the wedding. A breath of fresh air! Marcelo y Mari Fer gracias por compartir su boda con nosotros. Felicidades y les deseamos todo lo mejor en su nueva vida!

Wendy and Rob are seasoned travelers who reside in Scotland and obviously have a romantic and adventurous spririt. After all what could be more romantic than to be married on one of their trips?  The couple was joined by two close friends for a wedding at the Hacienda Chichi Suarez in Merida, Yucatan which was very intimate and beautiful. I  really loved the photographs that Lindsey and I were able to capture through out the day´s events in the different areas of this historic hacienda. Thank you Wendy and Rob! I hope you enjoy the photographs!  Event coordination BAKU Events. All images ©2012 Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina

Getting ready, Merida Centro, Casa de Las Sirenas:

The lovely ceremony was held in the ruins of the Hacienda´s Casa de Maquinas.

The group was serenaded by mariachis in the hacienda´s wine cellar, then it was time for a candlelit dinner on the lawn of the hacienda. Amazing!

One thing that makes photographing local weddings extra special is seeing so many friendly familiar faces! In the case of Elsa Gabriela and José´s wedding in Cholul, Yucatan it was especially true because both the bride and groom have sisters and brothers-in-law who we feel very fortunate to count among our favorite past couples!  Gabriela and José were married in Catholic ceremony in Merida, Yucatan. Family and bride and groom photos were done earlier in the day at the reception site. Please be sure to scroll down to check out the stylish way they incorporated a very large and adorable group of  little ones (not to mention their beloved pets perfectly dressed for the occasion of course), not to mention the amazing reception. This wedding was coordinated by the team at BAKU Events.  All images © 2012  Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

Adventurous world traveling New Yorkers, Louis and Alexandra chose a very unique and special location to celebrate their destination wedding, the Hacienda Tixcacal in Merida, Yucatan. The wedding could not have been more lovely, the  brilliant red details and the colorful and very rustic location meant plenty of eye candy for Lindsey and I to feast on! And of course it will be apparent even in this tiny sampling of the day’s images that Alexandra and Louis were a beautiful couple that really share a special magic. Congratulations Louis and Alexandra, we thank you and wish you all the best in your life together!

The first photographs are from the fantastic boutique hotel that served as a base for the group in Merida’s centro, Casa Lecanda This was the first time we had photographed at this location but we hope it won’t be the last since it seems a very charming location to celebrate an intimate wedding. The Catholic mass and the cocktail hour and reception were held at the Hacienda Tixcacal, the wedding was coordinated by BAKU events.

As amazing as it is to photograph in new and exotic locations the opportunity to play on our home court is just as exciting and a very nice change of pace! Rosannette and Arturo were married in a Catholic ceremony at the Iglesia de la Tercera Orden in Merida, Yucatan‘s colonial centro. The reception was held in a lovely open air location on the grounds of the Yucatan Country Club.  This wedding was coordinated by Celebra Organización de Eventos. It was a real pleasure to document the wedding of such an enjoyable couple, I think their happy expressions can best tell the story of the day…

Lauren aced the next shot!

El baile de los novios…

Father and daughter dance…

All photographs (c) 2011 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina.

Mexico Wedding Photographer Elizabeth Medina photographs weddings in Merida, Yucatan and throughout Mexico.

Hola blog readers…  I know, I know! Long time no blog! Crazy but this month marks the five year anniversary of this little wedding photography blog! (and even more amazing the website itself has been going strong for over a decade!) Ironically we seem to have celebrated this blogging milestone by playing blog hooky, stealing extra time to work on images from some very special weddings as well as other very exciting creative projects. Jared and Wadia’s wedding is more than enough reason to pick things up. This lovely couple reside in the US but incorporated a great deal of Yucatecan charm in their wedding celebration, beginning with the welcome dinner at the Hacienda Chichi Suarez in Merida. An enormous amount of rain that fell over the weekend, however far from slowing anyone down it only seemed to add to the adventure! Wedding photography coming soon! All photographs Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

Here are few photographs from Wadia and Jared’s casual photo session and the hacienda welcome party that followed. Location: Hacienda Chichi Suarez, Event Coordination: Icela Cardenas, Celebra Events.

After being an extremely warm and humid afternoon the skies finally opened up and poured just as the party was to start!And no this did not stop anyone from having a fantastic time!

We have been wanting to share photographs of this sweet couple for a while now. Here´s hoping that this will be the start of recovering from the busy wedding season and being caught up again with editing and blogging! Samantha and Miguel´s civil wedding was held at the Casa Faller in Merida. Although it was not possible to photograph the religious wedding we were so happy to have the opportunity to photograph Samantha and Miguel and their joyful group of family and friends for the celebration of the civil wedding. The event took place at the Casa Faller in Merida, Yucatan, coordinated by our friends at Baku Events. Samantha and Miguel we are looking forward to more photos of the two of you very soon!

Elizabeth Medina Photography, Mexico´s premier wedding photographer, photographing weddings in Merida, Yucatan and throughout Mexico.

One final blog post for Alexis and Alain’s wedding, of course you know I could not resist sharing photographs from the hacienda trash the dress session! Lindsey and I great time wandering around Yucatan with Alexis and Alain! I know that from the time I first met Alexis months before the wedding she had a vision of a hacienda TTD session, it was such a pleasure to be able to see the result come to life so many months later. Alexis and Alain, congratulations and we hope to see you in back Merida in the future!

All photographs (c)2011 Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

Alejandro and June’s hacienda wedding in Merida, Yucatan… where to begin?  We were fortunate to spend a great deal of time with this very sweet couple, starting off the day prior to the wedding with a bride and groom photo session at the Hacienda Teya and finishing up with a visit to the happy couple on their honeymoon in Tulum! (they invited us, honest!)  The wedding day was full of photo opportunities, the bridal “getting ready” took place at the historic Gran Hotel in Merida’s “centro”, and it was so awesome that June and her party were able to literally cross the street to arrive at the Catholic ceremony at the very lovely Iglesia de la Tercera Orden. For those that are not familiar with Merida, this colonial city is home to many very special Catholic churches and June and Alejandro chose a beauty for their Catholic marriage celebration. I hope you will scroll all the way down for a little taste of the Hacienda wedding reception and the “eco chic” Tulum TTD session which was a fun adventure! June and Alex thank you so much, it has been wonderful to get to know the two of you and we appreciate all your collaboration along the way!

OK, this next image of June’s dashing groom is not going to do anything to dispel the idea that we are a little old fashioned here in Merida.  :-)

You guessed right, there is a back story for the next photograph! It seems that back in the day before June and Alex started dated Alex commented that when he met the girl who would push/jump start his old Falcon he would marry her… and you know who that beautiful girl was!

Getting ready on the wedding day, El Gran Hotel.

The next image is one of my favorites, it just says Merida to me.

Just a few images from the reception at Teya…

And finally the trash the dress session in Tulum at an eco chic hotel called Azulick…muy rustico but a great spot for June and Alex’s final photo session!

Could someone please tell me how to sign up for blogger’s anonymous? I just popped in with the idea of adding five or six images from Amber and Jero’s engagement photo session and somehow I have uploaded more than twenty photos! Amber and Jero, it was so much fun hanging out with the two of you at the amazing Hacienda, Temozon . These engagement photos were just the beginning and we can’t wait for your wedding weekend!

Mexico Wedding Photographer Elizabeth Medina, hacienda wedding photography, engagement photo sessions, wedding photography in Merida, Yucatan and throughout Mexico.

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.

Sometimes people ask me about my ¨typical clients¨  which I have to say is a question that completely stumps me. We have been so blessed to meet and photograph amazing brides and grooms from literally every continent, photographing very intimate  weddings and affairs with surprisingly long guest lists, beach weddings, church weddings, extremely formal and elegantly casual affairs, crazy parties and more reserved celebrations. I think the common thread that seems to tie together all our couples is their willingness to go the extra mile to have special photographs to remember and celebrate their ¨big day¨. Oh and of course they are all simply beautiful people and totally crazy about each other!  On a more random level a common trait that seems to appear would be that we have photographed many, many graphic design professionals, both brides and grooms, which is totally fantastic! I love knowing that our beloved jpegs will be in good hands and get put to many creative uses. In this case the beautiful bride is an experienced graphic designer and when Ana Mercedes reached out to me over a year ago she already was excited about the photographs. It was hard to have to wait an entire year for the photo session at the Quinta Montes Molina! Ana y Lucio, espero que les gusten las fotos y que no les haya cansado demasiado!  Fue muy especial fotografiarlos, gracias y un abrazo!

La primera foto es de Lauren… estaba increible el cielo!

I told you she was beautiful…

Lucio was all smiles waiting for the first glimpse of his bride!

The “first look” on the front porch of the Quinta Montes Molina, very special.

Photographs of the couple in different areas of this historic home.

Bridal details, Ana’s bouquet and shoes…

We captured some very special bridal portraits of Ana in the interior of the quinta… I could have photographed a few more hours (or days, haha!) and not run out of interesting locations but of course Ana and Lucio needed to get married!

Bride and groom on the grounds of the quinta at sunset…

Ana and a few of her damas…