A quick preface before I answer my four questions… I love every single wedding that I have the honor of photographing and each one has something extra special about it because each wedding is so unique. However, this day was a little extra special because the groom is my cousin. When we were young, we used to see one another regularly at holidays and going on family vacations together but as the years passed and seasons of life changed, we didn’t see one another quite as often. When his fiancé, Alyssa, reached out to me to talk about the potential of photographing their wedding, I was pleasantly surprised and so. very. honored. Through the months leading up to the trip to Mexico, Alyssa and I grew closer as we chatted about wedding ideas and details, and the experience has brought my cousin and I closer than we’ve ever been before - and aside from how beautiful and fun and exciting it was to be a part of their wedding celebrations, what I cherish most is how they’ve welcomed Brent and I into their new life together and we get to call them friends!
1) Favorite moment?
All of these questions are so tough because even though there was only one official wedding day, we were able to spend a few days with everyone so there are SO many precious memories from the entire trip! But… one that stands out to me the most is when Alyssa wanted to go INTO the water (like.. really into the water, not just a little splish splash on the edge of the water) for portraits. It was so romantic and I loved seeing both her and Adam living up some of their final moments as a bride and groom on their wedding day.
2) Favorite detail?
Well, the palm trees, of course. JK. I honestly just can’t pick one!
3) When did you cry?
There were two specific times that really got to me. First, Adam and Alyssa planned a beach bonfire gathering the night before the wedding after we had the rehearsal. Adam and Alyssa chose two people to share some words: Adam’s brother, Mark, and Alyssa’s best friend, Adelle. I’m counting this general time frame as ONE time, because I cried during both of their remarks. They were heartfelt and such a testament to how thoughtful, generous, and kind Adam and Alyssa are as a couple. It was awesome. And second… when Adam saw Alyssa walking down the beach. It was priceless.
4) M.V.P of the day?
When we returned from Mexico, our friends and family were of course asking us how the trip went and how we enjoyed our first out-of-country destination wedding… the one thing that I noticed myself saying over and over again was how wonderful it was to just spend time with everyone. Most of the friends and family who traveled for the wedding all arrived three days before the wedding day, including us. So, we all had a chance to meet and get to know one another. We felt so welcomed by everyone and we were so appreciative every time we were invited to hang out by the pool or go to breakfast or just sit and talk! Brent and I both were so excited that we came home with new friendships!
And finally… I just want to mention that Brent was the M.V.P. of this entire trip in so many ways. From reminding me not to worry about things that are outside of my control, to encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone… to being that guy who I fell in love with, who can literally make friends with any person in a matter of minutes… to patiently calming me down and then rinsing my eyeballs out when, for some mysterious reason, my eyes were having a reaction to something just an hour before I was supposed to start photographing for the day and my vision was completely blurry. Pretty important to be able to see when you’re photographing a wedding… haha! AND saving the day when I showed up at the hotel room door sweating and almost in tears because I couldn’t figure out how to make my vision happen for those dress shots below - needless to say, he stepped up as he always does and reminded me again and again how incredibly blessed I am to be his wife.
ANYWAY… props to you if you made it through all of that, especially the final rambling and semi-sappy paragraph. Here are the photos! :)
