I am happy to be able to share the photographs from Tracy and Bryan’s beautiful destination wedding. The couple’s Jewish ceremony was held at sunset under a chuppah which overlooked a beautiful Mayan Riviera beach, at Karisma Resort’s El Dorado Royale Resort. The day the couple spent with friends and family was really wonderful with much emotion, fun and enthusiasm on the dance floor. Icing on the proverbial cake? Getting to spend time the next morning with Tracy and Bryan for a morning after trash the dress session! All photographs Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

First a few images of the many taken the morning after….

Now the wedding day… Tracy and her girls under the beautiful palm trees.

Bryan and Tracy met for a “first look” before the ceremony, the photo below is bryan’s reaction to seeing Tracy for the first time as a bride. You know we love doing this, especially because it allows us to photograph the bride and groom (and in this case the family) together before the ceremony, leaving more time for bride and groom to spend having fun with their guests post ceremony. And despite common belief, I have witnessed over and over that this private encounter does anything but diminish the emotional impact of the processional,  if anything the opposite seems true!

The Jewish ceremony began right at sunset, very lovely, I hope the photographs are somewhat able to do justice to the moments.

I have a huge appreciation for the way family is included in the Jewish wedding ceremony! Tracy and Bryan each entered the ceremony on their parents arms

Mexico Wedding Photographer Elizabeth Medina Photography, photographing weddings thoughout Mexico.

I think everyone, wedding photographer or not, will probably remember how they spent November 11, 2011. I really hope that everyone’s 11-11-11 was as “lucky” as ours! Trisha and Jeff were such a fun, happy couple, a joy to photograph, their wedding photography in Playa del Carmen included getting ready photographs at El Taj hotel, a Catholic mass at Nuestra Señora del Carmen Chapel on the Quinta Avenida and a reception at Las Palapas, also in Playa del Carmen. We could not help but especially appreciate the beautiful weather for our Playa del Carmen beach photographs after a near brush with rain. (I think that I actually felt 11 tiny raindrops before the weather blew over and the afternoon turned absolutely beautiful!) I would have liked to celebrate this special date by posting only 11 photographs to the blog… but of course it would be impossible to narrow down! Trisha and Jeff, congratulations, we wish you all the very best! All photographs Lindsey and Elizabeth Medina.

Such a beautiful beach wedding! Yari and James are an awesome couple! We loved being able to share in the oodles of laughter (and more than a few happy tears!)  these two shared with their friends and family throughout the day. By the end of the evening we felt like we had made a whole new group of friends (not to mention a new branch of the Medina clan). It was very clear that many hours had been spent lovingly and carefully planning this lovely vintage inspired beach wedding. The Azul beach resort in Puerto Morelos, is one of our favorites in the Riviera Maya, it was perfect for this intimate event. I hope the photographs reflect a bit of the happiness and bring back wonderful memories for the bride and groom! All photographs Lauren and Elizabeth Medina.

This destination wedding had a vintage theme that was carried out elegantly, the brooch bouquets carried by the bride and bridesmaids were amazing!

Elizabeth Medina Photography, Mexico’s premier wedding photographer, photographsdestination weddings, offering wedding coverage throughout Mexico and internationally.

Mexico… what can I say I am a little biased since this is my home. But there are no two ways about it…  I am firmly convinced that there can be no more perfect place to be married! Kim and Thomas’  wedding at the Royal Resort in Playa del Carmen is a case in point. The couple shared a very intimate and relaxed  gazebo ceremony with a very happy and spirited group of family and friends, followed by an exhilarating toes in the sand beach side fiesta. In  between we somehow managed to steal time for images of the couple enjoying each other and the moment. Kim and Thomas, we had such a wonderful time with the two of you. We hope the photographs bring back some great memories!

The first photographs are from the morning after the wedding when Lauren and I met up with Kim and Thomas for a brief “morning after” shoot.

The big day! A few detail and getting ready photos…

Not only was she amazing to start with Kim had Adrian Guerra performing his makeup art!

When the veil goes on the whole bride thing somehow seems to becomes real.

The gazebo ceremony site, lovely and the wedding colors really popped against the blue sky, turquoise ocean and palm trees!

All photographs (c) 2011 Elizabeth and Lauren Medina. Elizabeth Medina Photography, photographing weddings throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, the Mayan Riviera, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Cozumel and Tulum, Mexico.

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a relaxing summer!  Toan and Jessica’s destination wedding was held at the Royal Cancun. Hot and humid with clear skies above the beach ceremony and reception, Cancun’s famous white sand and turquoise water were amazing. All in all a beautiful day in paradise… right up to the end of the reception when a sudden rain took us all by surprise! Lindsey and I met up with the  bride and groom early the next morning for the day after session. This was a lot of fun as well and  a great chance to take some relaxed photographs (especially once everyone had finished waking up!) Jessica…. you have been patient long enough so I will stop writing so that you and Toan can see a few of the photographs from your very special big day in Mexico! Below, a few bridal photographs before the ceremony. I loved Jessica’s smile and the wedding colors really popped with the bright water in the backdrop!

The wedding party was a lot of fun… it was HOT out and super bright on the beach but they were a lot of fun all through the photos.

It was a great party…this was such a fun crowd and DJ Doremixx kept everyone on the dance floor.

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier destination wedding photojournalist, photographing weddings throughout Mexico in locations including the Yucatan, the Mayan Riviera, Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Puerto Morelos, Puerto Vallarta, Las Caletas, San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato, Cabo San Jose and Cabo San Lucas and available for international commissions.

I guess I would have to say that other than the opportunity to make good use of my share of the creativity (something I am convinced we are all blessed with!) my favorite thing about photographing weddings would be the fabulous people met along the way, whether they be colleagues and clients. Shani and Steven,…WOW! Lindsey and I have loved getting to know the two of you very much, thanks for sharing your celebration at the Mayan Riviera’s Azul Sensatori Resort. The first photos I am posting are from the morning after trash the dress session, followed by the wedding day images.  All images Elizabeth and Lindsey Medina.

Wedding day at Azul Sensatori. It had looked like it might rain but turned out to be a fantastic day!

We had been looking forward to Amber and Jero’s wedding weekend since their engagement photographs at Yucatan’s Hacienda Temozon back in March. This time the location was the Mayan Riviera and the occasions was a two day celebration of Amber and Jero’s wedding, beginning on Friday with the civil ceremony on the beach of the Marina Maroma and finishing up the following evening with a Catholic wedding mass at the beautiful El Dorado Royale Resort. An all around beautiful event overflowing with love and happiness!

A few photographs from Friday’s civil ceremony, all images Elizabeth and Lauren Medina:

First time seeing each other as bride and groom…Amber and Jero had a more “beachy” look for the civil wedding…

A few bride and groom photos captured prior to the ceremony at the marina…

WOW… Jero’s bride made her ceremony entrance on a white horse accompanied by her parents.

The big day at El Dorado Royale. This resort is for sure one of my favorites because of the lush landscaping and beautiful ocean. Amber and Jero were married indoors in the evening but fortunately made the decision to meet for photographs prior to the ceremony which allowed us to play with some of the EDR’s beautiful scenery. Getting ready:

First look followed by photos of Amber and Jero together and off to the ceremony and reception….

A really tough thing about being a destination wedding photographer can be meeting a really fun bride and groom like Nikki and Larry and having a great time with them and their families and friends, not to mention seeing firsthand the kind of party they can throw, but knowing that distance totally rules out dropping by their place just to say hello or a casual hint for an invite to their future celebrations. Sad for us but probably a really good thing for Larry and Nikki since being stalked by the wedding photographers sounds a little awkward! At least we have our memories… not to mention a whole lot of photographs from the wedding and the amazing TTD session at sunrise the next morning! Larry and Nikki, it was so great to spend time with the two of you, thank you so much for your trust and for going the extra mile for your photographs!

Larry and Nikki chose to see each other prior to the ceremony for a first look and bride and groom photos. This worked out perfectly, the first look was awesome, we got to shoot in different areas than time would have permitted after the ceremony and also Nikki and Larry were able to spend quite a bit of cocktail hour time with their guests! I have often heard that some people do not wish to see each other beforehand because they think it will take away from the impact of seeing each other as bride and groom for the first time in the ceremony… this has really not been what I have witnessed, the ceremony meeting seems to be a whole new experience possibly even more emotional for couples who have already started to share the day together a bit earlier, scroll down and I think you will agree this was the case for Larry and Nikki!  Lauren rocked the next image from the first look.

I am pretty sure I have mentioned here on the blog (possibly more than a few times!) how happy it makes me to hear couples say that they found their Mexico wedding venue through this blog. Makes me smile because I know for a fact that there can be no better place to be married than Mexico! One thing I don’t think I have ever talked about though is how cool it is to know that so many couples of the future check the blog for wedding inspiration!  (I am not a big one for the self promotion hype thing but I hope you will bear with me just this once as I say that it blows my mind to know the number of visits that this little wedding photography blog receives on any given day!)  Showing up at a wedding and hearing from the bride that she has been inspired by one of my past bride’s photographs almost makes me envision a world where my past and present brides would get together over coffee to flip through wedding albums, I guess I just wish such amazing people could all know each other! Fortunately for us, some of our past wedding photos actually helped Tiffany discover us (along with her “inspiration wedding”) when a relative sent her the sideshow another of our beautiful brides from the same northern state (Puerto Vallarta Kate, that would be you!)

Fast forward to almost two years later, Lauren and I were delighted to travel to Cabo to photograph Tiffany and Scott’s lovely wedding. This very special destination wedding was coordinated by the delightful Leslie Bost and Adriana Dupinet, principal wedding planners of One Happenings in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The ceremony was held at Sunset da Mona Lisa and reception at Casa Dorada…. I know I am posting way too many images for one blog post but I can’t help but guess that this beautiful wedding may also prove inspirational!

Tiffany and Scott, we loved the time we spent with you and your group, thank you all for making us feel right at home!  How about starting with a little deserted beach trash the dress magic…. All photographs Lauren and Elizabeth Medina.

The wedding day…

There is not a week that goes by without several emails in my inbox asking for suggestions of Mexico wedding locations. As much as I would like to point future destination couples in the right direction I always feel that any suggestions I make would come up short since each wedding, couple and group of destination guests has such different needs. As they say in Spanish… zapatero a sus zapatos (or something like that!) There are amazing travel agents specializing in destination weddings and I am sure that they would have more informed suggestions than this photographer  (and probably a lot less photos begging to be edited!) That said, it is an awful lot of fun to discover and share neat out of the way locations! On a scouting trip to the Tulum area Justin and Alissa discovered Villa Yardena Located on Soliman Bay, and this private home on the bay was home to their March beach ceremony as well as the poolside reception. Justin and Alissa, thank you, it was an honor to photograph your beautiful day!

A few detail and getting ready photos

The beach ceremony…Justin and Alissa seemed so happy together.

I know, I know, things have been moving slower than usual here on the blog… fortunately not for lack of photos but because there are so many! Being so busy shooting and editing the images from weddings on both coasts (and points in between!) has meant a portfolio bursting wide with photographs but very little time to blog! Here’s a little taste of spring from John and Ashley’s late March wedding at the Mayan Riviera’s beautiful Azul Sensatori Resort. I felt so blessed to photograph such a truly lovely couple on their very special day!

A few ceremony moments on the beach at Azul Sensatori.

After the ceremony Ashely and John did their ‘first dance’ on  the beach accompanied in song by one of their family members, beautiful!

The next two are from Lauren’s camera, so lovely!

The day’s schedule and relaxed vibe allowed for plenty of daylight for photos of the bride and groom, this part was so much fun!

Wow, Ashley!

While the decision to travel so far for a wedding celebration might be a big one the weddings themselves are so special and enjoyable I would be willing to bet that everyone who is fortunate enough to travel to Mexico to attend a destination wedding is glad they made the trip! Jenn and Scott’s group of family and friends traveled all the way from Canada for this February wedding in the Mayan Riviera a the Gran Palladium White Sands Resort. It seemed to be such a sunny group, not only totally happy and excited for the couple but content to kick back and enjoy. Lindsey and I could not help but have a wonderful time capturing a bit of the magic not only  the wedding day with it s smiles and tears but also early the next morning when we joined Jenn and Scott for a sunrise trash the dress session.

A couple of bridal portraits (you know I love it when there is time for these!) and Jenn’s proud mom seeing her daughter as a bride…

We were able to photograph Jenn on the grounds of the resort prior to the ceremony…

Time to head for the ceremony in the ocean side gazebo…

Jenn’s ring did not want to go on but Scott gave it his best try! Photos by both Lindsey and Elizabeth…

Next shot is Lindsey’s….

Taking wedding crashing to a whole new level…

Photographs on the beach as the sun set and then it was off to enjoy the reception….

The next morning we were up bright and early for the day after session… thank you Jenn and Scott for being such total great sports! We loved photographing your wedding!

Starting the year off right… Mattie and Julian’s lovely destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was our first of 2011 and photographing this couple’s big day got the new year off to a great start! Mattie and Julian and their group of family and friends home base in Mexico was the Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort. On the day of the wedding the group traveled by boat to Las Caletas, a beautiful secluded inlet where Mattie and Julian would be married on the beach and later dance the night away. I would love to include this wonderful couple’s entire destination wedding on the blog but since that is impossible here is a glimpse…

The scenery on the boat ride to Las Caletas was breathtaking.

Arriving at Las Caletas…

Mattie and her girls arrived early and had time not only to prepare for the wedding but also to relax and enjoy the beauty of the island and the bridal “casita”.

No bridezilla here!

Las tres hermanas….

Mattie and her girls….

Meanwhile Lauren captured this image before departing Puerto Vallarta with the groom’s party and wedding guests.

Mattie and Julian did not see each other before the ceremony, I was very happy to be able to capture these bridal images of Mattie in the  jungle as the groom and guests arrived at the island.

The birght ceremony details were very lovingly planned including hand painted maracas to shake at the kiss, Mexican papel picado banners, and bright and colorful pashminas, all in the weddings starfish theme.

Bride and groom’s first glimpse of each other at the altar and ceremony moments….

The reception atmosphere was so pretty with many, many candles.

Las Caletas has the very best fire dancers I have seen and Mattie and Julian were very brave!

Lauren and I met up with Mattie and Julian the next afternoon for some day after photos starting on location in Puerto Vallarta and finishing up on a nearby beach at sunset.

Elizabeth Medina is Mexico’s premier destination wedding photographer, photographing weddings throughout Mexico in locations including Puerto Vallarta, the Riviera Maya, Cancun, San Miguel de Allende and Los Cabos.