NateBroshot

Hey Guys! Wanted to throw this post up of photography from Sarah + David's Puerto Morelos wedding. For those that haven't been to Puerto Morelos, it's a lot smaller than the surrounding mega-resort areas of Cancun and Playa. Brightly painted walls, cobblestone streets, hand-painted signs, you know, that awesome rustic mexico. After the first look and before the ceremony, we took Sarah, David and the whole Bridal party into town for photos. I recommend this to anyone shooting in Puerto Morelos, or even as a location for a TTD, if you're getting married in Cancun or Playa but looking for photos with a real authentic feel. Of course, we still shot at the beach after the ceremony, and I'll only post the photos from in town here but you can check my blog to see más, and more photos from Hotel Marina el Cid. Enjoy! -Broshot

Hi guys, I posted this in another thread but it thought it would be relevant here. It's the idea of taking couples off-site from the RPDC for photos during the cocktail hour instead of shooting at the hotel or on the beach in front of the hotel because of the light sitch and how crowded it is. Here is the link to my post with some photo examples! Hope it helps! http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/thread/66416/photo-ideas-for-rpdc-brides

Hey guys! So something I've done at my last two Royal Playa del Carmen weddings has been to take couples on a mini-trash the dress after the ceremony. By mini-trash the dress I mean take the couples off-site : ) I think this is a great idea for a couple reasons and I imagine there might be some local to Playa photographers that do this as well. Here's why I think this is an awesome idea. Yes, the RPDC is a great place to have a wedding, but there are a couple of drawbacks about the site from a photographers standpoint. 1) The RPDC is crowded. Unless you're getting married in the gazebo odds are gawking tourists and hotel goers will get as close as they possibly can to your ceremony with their cameras and cell phones out. The beach is also crowded and narrow, lots of half-dressed people and again, gawkers, not a lot of room to work and a lot of distractions. 2) The sun sets behind the RPDC. Matt from Del Sol touched on it in this post and it's photographic draw backs. If you're shooting on site in the late day at the RPDC, you can't use any of that awesome light that is so important if you are a natural light photographer or working with one. Within a five minute taxi ride of the RPDC are a variety of more Mexican looking neighborhoods, brightly colored buildings, hand painted coca cola signs, and sweet looking doorways. Just a couple minutes north of the RPDC there is also an isolated stretch of beach, with virtually no tourists and no buildings blocking that late day light. A mini-Trash-the-dress is awesome and I highly suggest this to any bride getting married at the RPDC. And of course a few photo examples below!

Sanyu and Deke added a Ugandan wedding tradition to their ceremony that I thought was really neat. And well, Sanyu being from Uganda this worked perfectly! You can check out all of Mishka's design work for this wedding on Mishka's BDW post here. The below photos are of the Ugandan wedding baskets they used. Each basket represents a blessing bestowed on the couple during the ceremony by Sanyu's (very excited) mother Margaret. Awesome stuff. Unique and true to the couple. And of course, a few photos of the happy duo at the end!

Thanks a bunch Brandy!

Rockin a sneak peak on my blog from my most recent trip to the Mayan Riviera to shoot two weddings. One at the Royal Playa del Carmen with Kerri (an awesome BDW bride, read her BDW review here.) The second was Sarah and David's wedding at the Hotel Marina el Cid in Puerto Morelos. I'll post an update when I do the full blog post for both of these fun couples. Below is the full text and photos of my blog post. Enjoy! Aaaawwww yea! Mexico Time! It’s November which means I’ve wrapped up my Oregon weddings (save my last one, Brittany and Sean, that I’ll blog on Tuesday). I just got back from my second trip to Mexico already, a trip to Puerto Vallarta for Sanyu + Deke’s villa wedding at the edge of one of my favorite beaches, Playa Punta Negra. But first, I wanted to throw up a little sneak peak from my first DW trip of the season to the Mayan Riviera. I flew into Playa del Carmen November third for Kerri and Mark’s wedding the next day at the Royal Playa del Carmen. I get really excited about shooting in unfamiliar and new areas, and I usually use every free moment to scout new locations to shoot couples. Which is exactly what I did in the morning before their wedding. We took a break after the ceremony to shoot a bit in some nearby Mexican neighborhoods during the sunset light awesome-goodness time. Kerri and Mark are an outgoing fun-loving couple that can’t stop giggling with each other and I think their photos definitely reflect that. : ) Although I’ve shot in Playa del Carmen before and at the Royal, the next day was an entirely new location for me. Early on the fifth I rented a car to drive up to Puerto Morelos for Sarah + David’s wedding at the Marina el Cid. I loved walking around this once quiet fishing village in the early morning, and the one thing that I love love love about the Caribbean is that blue blue ocean! Aaa! It looks sooo good (like below). It just makes for such an awesome color! I’ll be totally honest and just say that I was dreading this trip a little bit because of the forecasted weather. Honest to god, the whole week preceding the trip, everyday I would look at the weather app on my droid and it was just thunder in lighting over the Yucatan… I can not tell you how excited I was, when on the two days I shot, it did not rain once. In fact, there were breaks of golden light mixed with little puffy clouds most of the time. I’m pumped to blog Sarah and David’s pre-ceremony photos from our walk around town that started in the main square of Puerto Morelos, and included little fishing docks, brightly painted walls, walks down cobblestone streets and even a giant abandoned in-ground pool I found in one the neighborhoods. Congratulations to both couples, and thanks for the unique experience I had with you guys making awesome photos!

Hey Beaches T&C Brides! Question... I mainly shoot DWs in Mexico, but have a bride interested in booking me for her upcoming wedding at Beaches T&C, however she was told that she couldn't bring any outside vendors, period. No outside vendor fee either. I believe the planner/coordinator's name that she's spoken with is Monica Bozelle. Anywho, I'm totally in the dark on this and was curious if any of you guys have been able to get an outside vendor or photographer in? Tips, tricks, ideas? Any help would be great! Thanks a bunch!

Definitely agree with Mishka. In the two years I lived in PV, it never rained once between November and May. December through February are definitely the coolest months. But not in a bad way! We're talking mid-80's for daytime highs, dry, sunny, and really pleasant. If you don't want to sweat on your wedding day do it then! May is definitely the busiest month for weddings. Costs at hotels and clubs will be down for sure, and still in May there will only be a slight chance of rain. Temperatures are definitely a little higher than the previous months, maybe high-80s to mid-90s, and a little more humid. You will probably sweat in a wedding dress and definitely in a suit. Like Mishka said, AVOID July-September AT ALL COSTS. Unless you want a hot, humid, and rainy wedding day : )

¡No Problemo! : )

Interesting Kball21. Like I said earlier, I've seen these guys at A LOT of weddings in the PV area over the past three years, so I imagine they have a good reputation and standing among wedding planners. In this business and when planning from afar reputation is everything. So do let us know how everything works out!

Couldn't agree more with Mishka, and it looks like we might have similar tastes! When I first moved to Vallarta in 2007, a friend took me through Ztai, and it totally caught me by surprise. From the outside, you can hardly see anything inside, although the outside does have a nice design. You enter, and eventually you end up in this really awesome court yard area, a little music, a really kick-a** tree from what I remember and some really great ambient lighting (and from a photographic standpoint this is great!) I never really thought of it before but Mishka is totally right about Ztai having a great ambience for for a Rehearsal Dinner or even a late-night post-wedding after party (w00t!!) The courtyard especially, with it's open air and lighted ambience, would be really awesome and I would LOVE to take photos there. I have no knowledge about their services for large events but if someone gets ahold of them using the contact info Mishka provided let us all know!

When I figure out how much time to allot for photos after the ceremony I always work backwards from the exact time of sunset. So let's say Sunset is at 7pm exactly. I would go in this order after the ceremony. Family, bridal party, couple photos. 6:35pm start bride and groom photos 6:25pm all bridal party together (bride, groom, groomsmen, and bridesmaids) 6:10pm start family (assuming immediate family and grandparents) I don't know how long your ceremony will take but if you start at 5 I imagine that you will have plenty of time. There are obviously a few variables after the ceremony, like, Do you want a group shot of all your guests together? Do you have split families, i.e. parents divorced? Do you want photos with a dozens of aunts uncles and cousins? Those will all obviously add time. Another thing I like to take care of before the ceremony is photos of just the bride by herself, and photos of just the groom by himself, as well as photos of the bride with her bridesmaids and the groom with his groomsmen. I think as long as you have a photographer who is a great communicator and good at directing people a 5pm or 5:30 start time should be plenty of time. Star18, JR14, and adcarter41, if you guys want to post some more info about what you're thinking you'd like for photos I'd be happy to come up with a potential timeline that I know would work well for my clients. Good luck!

Couldn't agree more with using Jillian Mitchell and Elizabeth Lloyd, they are both excellent choices, super helpful, and very professional. Both great friends of mine. I always feel that the most important thing when picking a photographer other than their body of work is their personality. Does it mesh with yours? I can tell you that from a photographer's perspective it's super important to me that I attract the kind of clients that will mesh well with my outgoing and creative personality. And in the end, this will affect the outcome of the photos. Finding clients who are also super-positive, outgoing, and have a strong sense of self is really important to me because I know my style of photography thrives and is at it's best in that environment. Hope this helps!

Couldn't agree more with AfricanVenus! When you're paying for an outside photographer you're not just paying for the photos, you're paying for a personality and an experience. I can definitely tell you that my relationship with my clients definitely affects the photos. If we click, the photos click and everything works out perfectly. Brennanandmari, if you can get in touch with Edgar Navarro Mancilla, have a phone conversation with him or exchange some emails and it seems like you will all get along great, then go for it! Awesome! But if you're not feeling his vibe, or even another photographer's, I would definitely consider searching until you find someone that meshes with your own style and personality. Good luck!

Mariachi "Los Galleros" has played at quite a few weddings I've shot around the bay. Really professional group and their leader Baltazar Lorenzo Garcia, whom I'm spoken with a few times is a really nice guy. I have no idea what they charge, so if you're still looking and find out I'd love to know. Reading off the business card in front of me, this is their contact info: Email: elnoearpa@hotmail.com Phone: (both mexican numbers) Tel. 22 238 51 Cel. 322 170 50 15