Elizabeth Medina

Hola Josefina, How nice to see you here. The Cancun JW Marriott/Casa Magna is such a nice wedding venue and all around nice place to stay in Cancun. I am going to attach of few images from my blog from weddings I have shot at the Marriott. Saludos! Elizabeth This wedding was held on the beach with the reception in the garden area. Another wedding, this one was in the gazebo and the reception in the pool area overlooking the ocean.

Hola! Fannie thank you so much! It is so motivating to know you and Pierre can relive your day through the photographs. I just watched your slideshow again myself... I have to say you and Pierre were an awful lot of fun to photograph! I think you two have the greatest chemistry, it was fun to see you so happy together, I think everyone felt that way! thanks to all! Elizabeth PS, oops found a little mistake, I am going to fix and re-upload in about an hour. :-)

Those really are phenomenal images! And what I appreciate most is that despite the imitators out there I would know them anywhere as Sol´s work. There is so much more to photographic vision than using a similar lens, photoshop technique or pose and when you are looking at the work of a photographer who is the ¨real thing¨ and has defined their own consistent personal style and vision you know it!

I just want to shout out CONGRATS to amazing Rivera Maya wedding photographer (and BDW member) Sol Tamargo for her prize winning photos the Wedding Photojournalist Association and Bride's Magazine contest. The images and story are posted on Sol's blog. Muchas felicidades, Sol!

Hi Bess, Congratulations! Thank you (and Tammy!). I am afraid I am not available for your date. Sorry about that! Best wishes for the wedding!

That is such great news! Hooray!

Hi Kim! I did not know you were on BDW what a nice surprise! It was such a great wedding and I am sure all the Hilton brides will be be very pleased when their dates come along. There really was a lot of chair moving that went on, I was so glad the outdoor ceremony was possible! And here is the link to the slideshow, I think the one above is not working, Kim and Reggie Here is the link to the blog post from Kim's wedding.

Thank you Joy! That is the only think I can´t stand about wedding photography! i would have loved to photograph the wedding. Best wishes I know it will be just amazing!

In English, how cool is that? There is a lot of good info on the different ruins, museums, etc, on the INAH site by the way. I am constantly amazed but the wealth and diversity of art, culture and history here in Mexico!

Hi Carla, Mexico's archeological zones are the responsibly of the INAH, the National Institute of Anthropology and History. The Federal Law on Historic and Artistic Monuments and Archaeologic Zones might be what you are looking for. http://www.inah.gob.mx/Transparencia...os_zon_arq.pdf I hope that helps!

hi Jaime! I had to come and check it out! That is going to work really well for you, you are wise to think about the humidity factor. I really like it that it has some height and movement, you are going to look amazing! Don't you dare post a photo with both dress and hair before the wedding day!

Hi Kate, I don't think it is silly at all. I think it is a wonderful idea to incorporate the lazo into your ceremony and would be similar in symbolism to the unity candle or sand ceremony. Since you are getting married in Mexico I think it is very special of you to want to incorporate traditional Mexican elements in your ceremony! best, Elizabeth

Out of fairness for other times of day, sunset can also be beautiful, its just not usually going to be over the water in the Maya Riviera. (and often there are buildings or clouds that obstruct the view) These two shots from an early moring session are so different but were taken within just a few minutes. And finally, when the sun is bright and higher in the sky there are still photographs to be made. I prefer to work with the natural available light whenever possible. Rather than setting up lighting I just love to look for the light and (it can be hard or diffused, directional or reflected as the light on Annie's face in the horseback shot, so many variations!) then make it work for the image. I am grateful to live in a location that is blessed by sunshine most of the time! What could be more beautiful! PS. Don't worry about having time for the hair and makeup for trash the dress, as Kate said, the natural look really makes the trash the dress images something special and different from the wedding day images.

Hola! I must have missed this topic. Great question! I personally blame (I mean give credit to, haha) a couple of my adventurous BDW brides for starting a mini Maya Riviera sunrise trash the dress movement. Somehow their photographs seemed to convince many of my upcoming brides (who otherwise seem very sane!) to want to wake up for photographs at 6 am on the morning after the wedding! Of course I am convinced that I have the skills and creativity to capture great images at any time of day, I think that should really be able to go without saying for a professional wedding photographer! But the truth is that the sun rises over the ocean in the Maya Riviera, so for images like these of Becky and Brian in Playa del Carmen there is no other time than way too early! Another thing that makes it a little easier to get out of bed is the amazing feeling of having the whole beach to yourselves. to be continued....

It is true you EDR couples really have chosen a beautiful location for the wedding. Thank you BandE for your comment, best wishes for your wedding, I know it will be a wonderful wonderful day. Linda, it will be here before we know it! :-) Brian! Thank you for popping in! I can't believe it has been a year, I am so glad you and Amy are still looking at the photographs all the time, knowing that really makes me love my job more!

Hi El Dorado Royale brides! I thought you might want to check out the slideshow from the most recent wedding I photographed at EDR, Lauren and Ryan EDR Wedding I thought the wedding was so pretty and you can see some of the different areas of the resort. This is the slideshow I made for the bride and groom, sorry it is sooo long!

I am sure it will be worked out quickly. Apart from travel plans so many people depend on the resorts for their income. I absolutely think they will find a balance between enforcing the environmental laws and affecting the local economy. I hope this doesn't cause too much stress for anyone!

Hey there, I think that is a really great location for a wedding. I have not photographed a wedding there myself but tagged along with Juan Carlos Tapia when he shot a wedding at the Presidente. Juan Carlos belongs to BDW but since he is located in Cabo I am guessing he probably doesn't make it to this part of the forum, maybe you could pm him (and try to talk him into showing the photographs, I bet they are spectacular!) best, Elizabeth

Aaww...Thank you all so much for looking and commenting! Sarah, you crack me up! I have never heard anyone explaining that they look so good because they got three hours sleep in their makeup! Even as gorgeous a couple as Sarah and Kevin are (and really how can anyone look that ridiculously good at 6AM, I personally am not buying the day old make up explanation!) I think it is the inner beauty, happiness and love that shines through in the photographs. Fannie (Royfa) I can't believe its finally almost here! Jaime, It will be sooner than we think!

I just peeked at the slideshow since I have met the bride, but I have a couple of comments... #1 Leshay you looked fantastic!!!! Wow! Congratulations to you both! The photographs show it was a beautiful heartfelt day! #2 Cancun bride, when you compare the prices with the photographers in Cali it is good to be sure you are comparing apples to apples, ie. experience and ability of the photographer and also what is included in that price. If the fee includes only the session and you need to purchase all the images afterwards it may not be the "deal" it appears. I think that most experienced photographers will charge at least that as a creative fee if they are including the set of edited high resolution files. If the full size files are not included it would be good to find out what the cost would be to purchase all those images (even the ones you don't want to have printed will be part of your memories and you will probably want to have them!) and then compare pricing based on that! Hope that helps! best, Elizabeth

Hi everyone! Since Sarah and Kevin were so much fun to photograph and Sarah is a BDW bride I could not resist sharing their slideshows from the wedding (and the surprise beach reception!) and the trash the dress session at 6 AM the next morning! Thanks in advance for looking, I really appreciate being able to share the images with the BDW community. Elizabeth Medina slideshow, Sarah and Kevin´s wedding photographs Elizabeth Medina slideshow, Sarah and Kevin´s TTD photographs

Hey there, I think that is a great idea. I love to do that. Here are a couple of slideshows from two weddings last year, both of BDW members. The first was a quick set of images before the welcome dinner, I loved it that they dressed in black! The second was actually done on the morning of the wedding and again I loved the casual white they chose. I say go for it! Mallory and Matt Cari and Nick

One thing to keep in mind is the positioning of the videographer. It is very common, especially for the resort videographers, for the cameraman to stand right in the front, just a short distance from bride and groom. If there are two videographers there may be another standing in the aisle. That means that means there can be literally no time during the ceremony when the wedding guest ever have the view of the wedding that most of us imagine... bride groom and officiant surrounded by beautiful scenery. In a case like that the quality of actual moment is being sacrificed for the video. And of course once the ceremony starts there is nothing to be done. Also it has been my experience that brides and grooms do not quite let go and "open up" in the same way for me as a photographer during the portrait session if it is being filmed. Which I guess is quite natural but another factor to weigh when deciding what parts of the day to have filmed. I hope that doesn't seem negative...but just something I see over and over that I don't think is usually thought about much ahead of time.

Hola! How nice to find comments on this post, since it has been a while! Thank you Rodolfo and Dino, it is so nice to hear from other photographers! Rodolfo, I hope you get your wish to photograph a hacienda wedding soon. As for me, I would also love to someday photograph an amazing California wedding (not to mention destination weddings in Italy, Greece or a lot of other places!) You never know, right? Se vale soñar! KB, The haciendas in Yucatan and Campeche are not at all the typical tourist locations, I think there is a lot to do but more along the lines of exploring the Mayan and Mexican culture, the archeological sites, cenotes, etc. So it really depends on the group of people involved. But they are fascinating, unique destinations, no doubt there. To answer your question I have not started booking for 2010 quite yet. I would love to hear about the plans though! MsSunshine (love your name!) Thank you for your comment. Here are a few more hacienda wedding photographs and a slideshow from a wedding of a fantastic couple at one of my favorite locations, the Hacienda San Jose in Yucatan. Hacienda San Jose Slideshow The Hacienda San Jose Here are a few images from a wedding another great location, the Hacienda Xcanatun, also located in Yucatan. This is another beautiful location and perfect for a dream destination wedding. ::: Hacienda Xcanatun::: Thank you for looking!