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.

Minty and Giovanni’s was elegant, joyful, and best of all right here at home in Merida! It has been wonderful to photograph events close to home this fall and to see and photograph so many familiar faces. And let’s face it…  Here in Yucatan people know how to throw a party like no where else! Minty and Giovanni were such a wonderful couple to photograph, I loved the way they both absolutely lit up with happiness when they first saw each other before the ceremony. I don’t think that either of them ever stopped smiling for the rest of the night! Minty y Giovanni, me encantó poder acompañarlos en un dia tan inolvidable!

The serene image in the doorway is Lindsey´s!

I loved Giovanni´s expression when he saw Minty for the first time!

Not sure how many are in this photo but there were 20 bridesmaids in all including some of my favorite past and future brides!

I couldn´t decide between the next two images of Minty walking down the aisle on her father´s arm, so much happiness!

A few reception details, the reception was held at the Club Campestre.

Minty and Giovanni´s first dance as husband and wife.

There is no place like home! After traveling for almost all of our spring weddings it really has been a lot of fun to shoot a succession of local weddings here in Yucatan this fall!  Andy and Enid are such a sweet international couple, with Enid coming from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and her fiancee Andy from far away England. It was wonderful to see how the bride and groom incorporated the culture and feel of the Yucatan into their wedding at the 16th century Hacienda Petcanche in Merida.  The garden of the hacienda seemed perfect for their event. Andy and Enid just seem to be so absolutely right for each other and it was a joy to see them so happy on their big day.

Andy’s very delighted expression as Enid arrived in the garden area for their “first look”.

Enid made great use of the hacienda’s colors for her fall wedding, she also managed to work quite a bit of bling into her wedding look!

Bride and groom portraits at the Hacienda Petcanche prior to the wedding mass.

The ceremony was held at the Itzimna Church, a very traditional church for weddings in Merida,

The next image belongs to my fab assistant Lauren! I loved this one.

Nothing like kicking off the wedding season with a beautiful local event that takes us back to our hacienda wedding photography roots! Having known Daniela for some time and having photographed her brother Paco with his bride Zahia back in May we knew it was going to be a wonderful day spent in very good company. Hacienda Chichí Suarez dates from the 16th century, we have photographed a few events in this location and love the way different spaces have been used in a way that has made each event seem very unique. Daniela and Alejandro had their wedding at 1:00 pm, which allowed for wonderful photography opportunities.  …I love love love seeing and working with natural light, there is just nothing like it!

The first one is Lindsey’s photo, what a lovely composition!

Daniela was an extremely beautiful bride!

Daniela and one of her “pajes”

The next one is Lindsey’s, I wish it were mine though!

The two familes together…

The reception had such colorful details! All perfectly tied toghether but very unexpected, just perfect for this afternoon wedding… a very unique twist on the hacienda setting! My regular blog readers have probably deduced, this Merida, Yucatan wedding was designed and coordinated by my friends at BAKU Events.  I really can’t say enough good things about the BAKU team, it is a real treat to watch them in action as they work their magic!

We were ablet o do a few more photographs around the hacienda grounds before it was time for Alejandro and Daniela’s ‘first dance” as husband and wife.

First dance and father daughter dance…

Many more coming soon!

Elizabeth Medina, wedding photographer Mexico.

I had looked forward to this wedding for quite a while!  Having photographed Ana Paulina with her sisters (and of course Junior!) I already knew what a gorgeous a bride she would be and that the civil wedding (this was part 1 for this couple, the religious wedding is coming up in November) to be held during the “temporada”  in Uaymitun, Yucatan would be a very special event. Not to mention that it was coordinated by our amazing friends at BAKU Events! There really is no place like home and we are so excited about the upcoming weddings we have this fall here in Merida. It was really fun to see so many familiar faces and it was especially nice to see some of our past and future brides looking so totally fabulous and having such a great time celebrating with Ana Paulina and Gabriel. There is no doubt that Yucatan is an amazing place, in large part because of its wonderful people!  Felicidades Ana Paulina y Gabriel, estamos emocionadisimas por la boda en noviembre!

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.

Did you ever waste time worrying about something that never ends up happening? The day of Zahia and Paco’s wedding the weather did not start out in a very promising way…as I drove to the beautiful Casa Faller mansion in Merida where I was to do a portrait session before the wedding ceremony it was dark and dreary, I was sure it was going to rain at any moment. I also knew that the location would be fully set up for the reception and that finding place to photograph could be difficult. Finally I was worried that the bride might not be ready in time for a complete photo session since the mass was very early by local standards and I thought if it was raining she might not even want to risk going out in the bad weather before the ceremony! When I reached the venue to my surprise things immediately fell into place. The weather cleared up just as Zahia (who looked amazing in a gorgeous Vera Wang gown) arrived. A few minutes later Paco drove up in the cutest vintage Mercedes Benz. Gracias Paco y Zahia, ¡me encantó hacer las fotografías de tan linda pareja!

The two of them seemed so relaxed and happy on their big day, it was so much fun to photograph them! The grounds of the Casa Faller looked amazing (the wedding was coordinated by Baku Events) but were indeed completely taken over by caterer Rigel Gonzalez’ very large crew, but the lovely house itself was a perfect setting for the portrait session and the family portraits that followed. Perfect!

There was time to photograph some of the details, I love those photogrpahs to include in the album,. I thought Zahia’s shoes were especially pretty.

The couple with their immediate families.

I would love to include a photograph of each of the children that participated, but this being Merida there were almost 20, I loved seeing so many familiar faces from past photo sessions and all as cute as could be!

Elizabeth Medina is a wedding photographer based in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. She photographs destination weddings throughout Mexico and is a member of WPJA, Wedding Photojournalist Association.