As a pretty seasoned wedding photographer I have photographed countless destination ceremonies. Diane and Richard were referred to me by a guest at a previous wedding and hearing Diane explain their plans for a small commitment ceremony in Merida centro I could tell it would be something I would enjoy photographing. As the months went by Wedding Studio came on board as planners, the rustic, open air Japoneza Retreat Center chose as the location, and Bravo Catering joined the team as well. As the date got closer I was looking forward to finally meeting the the couple and capturing some exciting images.
A few days before the ceremony the weather forecast suddenly took a turn for the worse. Along with some of my favorite couples we have survived tropical storms and have some pretty cool photos to show for it. But Hurricane Beryl promised to be something else completely. The storm was barreling toward the peninsula and specifically Meridda as a cat. 5 hurricane and seemed destination to pass right over our mostly open air wedding venue.
As the couple discussed options with their amazing wedding planners I looked at my cameras and tried to figure out which was most waterproof and in a worse case scenario which of my camera babies I would be most willing to sacrifice to the local rain god Chac. When I found out that Diane and Richard had against all caution decided to go for it, postpone the wedding by one day and carry on with the plans I was thrilled. My biggest worry was that the wedding would go on but that I would not be able to reach the venue due to flooding in the streets. A wedding photographer´s worst nightmare come to life! All we could do was hope the storm would change course.
And, remarkably, it did.
On the day of the event instead of damage from Hurrican Beryl we were rewarded with clear skies and time for a mini photo session in the neighborhood surrounding Japoneza, as well as something I had never in a million years expected to see that day: sunshine! I think I was smiling just as much as Diane and Richard!
The ceremony itself was a personal and non traditional happening, and I loved photographing the intimate group of family and friends participating. The group dined under the open sky in Japoneza’s palm filled courtyard area. It was an honor to capture these moments!
