In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the beautiful wedding blog Elizabeth Anne Designs fittingly featured Suzanne and Joe’s Puerto Vallarta wedding, designed with a serious Mexican flair by The Dazzling Details. Thanks to my good friend Nate Cordova for second shooting with me.
Rene and Yokaira brought some serious New York and Latin flavor with them for their Puerto Vallarta wedding. Their ceremony was at the Church of Guadalupe, Vallarta’s crowned icon, and their reception was held at Grand Velas in Nuevo Vallarta. To my delight, we had a little time to roam the streets around the church for some photos of the two of them before their grand entrance into the reception. I loved these two and their extended families and friends and feel honored to have been the one to document this wonderful time for them.
Congratulations Rene and Yokaira!
Conchas Chinas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Monica and Jared’s wedding was held at the stunning villa Quinta Laura in the hills of Conchas Chinas. With a ceremony over-looking the Pacific Ocean, a classy, hacienda style dinner, and a night of dancing and fireworks under the palapa and the stars, the amazing design team The Dazzling Details worked their magic, transformed the space, and handled every little thing so Monica and Jared could soak it all in.
As a suprise for the couple, The Dazzling Details hired an artist to paint their wedding dinner. What a wonderful gift.
Congratulations Monica and Jared. It was such a pleasure to work with you!
New York, New York
This is an extra special post for me as these are two of my dearest friends. It’s a magical thing when two good friends get married and I always feel honored and lucky to document their love and this special time in their lives. Ben is an amazing documentary film maker and has always been very supportive of my photography, which made it extra fun to create images for them. Check one of his films out here.
Here are a few of my favorite images from their wedding and the session we did in Coney Island a few days later. Coney Island is one of my favorite places in New York -couple it with my favorite people and I’m a happy girl. I love you Ben and Katharine, wishing you a lifetime of great things together.
This image taken by my awesome associate photographer Kiersten Rowland.
This shot was Ben’s idea. He has two photos that I took in his bathroom of Questlove of The Roots washing his face. He wanted both of us in the picture with my photos on the wall.
I love this image Kiersten took of all of Ben’s guys sending him off.
Another great one by Kiersten of Ben seeing Katharine for the first time.
While I was taking a similar photograph, Kiersten snapped this masterpiece. I love it!
They had their wedding and reception at a photo studio called Sunwest Studios. First dance on the Cyc wall.
El Tamarindo, Costalegre, Mexico
Brie and Mike held their wedding at the boutique resort El Tamarindo, along the Costalegre, 3 hours south of Puerto Vallarta. One of the nicest resorts I’ve seen yet, it has a wonderful balance between nature and luxury. Literally in the middle of nowhere, you might pass it if you blink! I really enjoyed photographing their lovely wedding and getting to know these lovebirds. Just look at those smiles. Congratulations Mike and Brie, you really know how to throw a wedding with style. I was also lucky enough to have my good friend and amazing photographer Mark Callanan along for the ride snapping shots as well.
Mark’s image:
Mark’s image:
I have a soft spot for female djs as I used to dj myself!
Mark’s image:
Yes, that is their guest with his tongue in the chocolate fountain. Hey, he was thirsty!
To Brie and Mike!!
I’m really excited to announce that Alex and Matt’s beautiful Four Seasons, Punta de Mita, Mexico wedding is featured in the winter issue of The Knot on new stands now.
I didn’t photograph the cover but here it is, so if you see it it’s on pages 7 and 8.
I feel lucky to do what I do, to have access and a window into the happiest days of people’s lives. It’s a pleasure and a special challenge to document weddings in a creative, original, and artistic way and create images that will serve as reminders and homages to this amazing moment of people’s lives for generations to come. I find each wedding to be special, exciting, romantic, and magical in their own way… it never gets old to me. After I moved to Mexico and met the design and coordination team The Dazzling Details, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The sheer effort and imagination that they put into every wedding boggled my mind. At every wedding I work on with The Dazzling Details, I find myself behind the scenes at some point saying, ‘You are crazy people! How do you do it??’ (This is my highest compliment of course). From the start, they made a decision not to do the same idea, altar, design, etc. twice. I really respected that stance and have come to look forward to seeing what they create. As if my job of photographing these magical moments couldn’t get any better, enter the Dazzling Details into the equation and I’m one happy photographer.
Here is a collection of images from weddings designed by this extraordinary team….
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Another smashing wedding coordinated and designed by the Dazzling Details.
Suzanne and Joe’s wedding was originally scheduled for a few months later, but Suzanne got pregnant and we all scrambled to fit a new wedding date into our schedules, so they could get married before the little one arrived. I loved the style and look they decided to go with and had a wonderful time documenting Suzanne and Joe, their loving families, and all of the amazing details and fun of their wedding day. My former second shooter of two years Nathan Cordova was in town for another wedding so I lucked out and he came along with me.
Coordination/design: The Dazzling Details
Ceremony location: Hacienda San Angel
Reception location: Villa Leonarda
Catering: Plush
Nathan’s image:
Nathan’s image:
Nathan’s image:
Nathan’s image
The wedding party paraded through the streets from the chapel to the villa. Images by Nathan and me.
Beautiful Puerto Vallarta:
Grid images by Nathan and me:
I love the idea that when I bring an extra photographer on a shoot, I can guarantee we will see and shoot things in different ways. I can look over at another photographer shooting something and have no idea what they are doing with their composition. There are times that I’m with clients and putting them on a dirty lot or a run down area, and as they look at it trepidatiously, I just have to say, ‘trust me, this looks great’. I’ve had a few reviews by brides and grooms exclaiming at how I laid on the ground or climbed trees, my pants sullied by the end of the day, and I’ve been labeled ‘ninja photographer’ by several people independently. Here are two fun examples, one of me standing on a chair (which you can’t see in the photo), and one of me lying on the ground. I find it interesting how you would have no idea what my picture looked like until you’ve seen it. I know people must think I’m crazy sometimes, but I don’t care because I’m looking through the lens and I’m liking what I see.
Taken by the very talented photographer Mark Callanan:
Through my lens:
Taken by my second shooter extraordinaire of 2 years, now on his own doing amazing things Nathan Cordova:
Through my lens:
Cuixmala, Mexico
Frank and Lauren were engaged for a year and planning for a big southern wedding, until they threw in that towel and decided to tie the knot all by themselves (well, with a few (hundred) zebras, emu, crocs, pumas, turtles, flamingos, and the list goes on…). I think they made the right decision. Here’s what Frank wrote to me after they arrived at Cuixmala, ‘I would describe the vibe as Africa meets Mexico meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets Jurassic Park’. Cuixmala is a 2,000 acre estate, partially operating as a hotel, surrounded by 32,000 acres of biosphere reserve. For a very interesting read on Cuixmala, it’s mission, and it’s owners, click here. It was a tall order to do justice to Frank and Lauren’s fantastical wedding surroundings in just a few hours but I think we did alright.
Congratulations you two, you are an inspiration.
