Aubrey and Colton | Destination Wedding @ Riviera Maya, Mexico (Part 1)

We had such an EPIC week with Aubrey and Colton at their Destination Wedding in Riviera Maya Mexico we are going to have to split this up into TWO blogs: one for the wedding and one for the next-day trash the dress session. About 7 years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Aubrey’s family through her brother Chad’s wedding. Fast forward to a couple of months ago and we were talking with Aubrey and Colton about their Mexico wedding extravaganza. The couple gracefully went with the flow as our planned engagement session got rained out driving us further south for photos until we ended up at the dry spot of Allerton. We got to know each other and I left knowing that we were going to have a blast with them at the wedding, we weren’t wrong. As all destination weddings go, we got usual responses from people when we talked about our upcoming trip such as “oh wow you are so lucky” and “must be nice” but we want to make sure we set the record straight. While we are the two luckiest photographers in the world and destination weddings are amazing as all get out we have to let you know that it isn’t all roses and sunshine on the photography end. Travel is almost always interrupted by something (if you don’t believe me check out our Curacao wedding last year during Hurricane Irma) and traveling with ALL your photo gear is pretty nerve wracking. Not to mention unpredictable conditions, venue rules, and outside impacts that are completely out of your control. There is a lot of risk and reward to be weighed when shooting a wedding out of the country, especially making sure that you remember it’s a work trip and you are responsible for someone’s wedding memories. We thankfully found time to work the three days we shot and have a little fun in the process. If you’re thinking about having a destination wedding I hope you are as cool and laid back as Aubrey and Colton were because these aren’t the kind of weddings for control freaks, you just gotta be flexible 😉 This was probably the smoothest destination wedding we’ve shot to date in that it was hurricane free and there weren’t any major timeline disruptors aside from a few airline delays. Colton and Aubrey, however, are what made this destination wedding so successful and unique- they were just happy and in love and didn’t sweat the small stuff. We landed in Cancun with all our luggage and gear and headed to the El Dorado Royale Resort in Riviera Maya where we unpacked, grabbed some food, and then instantly joined the wedding party in the pool. We got to meet the rest of the family and bridal party, catch up with those we already knew, and hear all about the journey’s people had to get to the wedding. We enjoyed a quiet evening before Friday’s activities. Friday brought on “Bridal Party Olympics” where we got to both enjoy and shoot the fun with a competitive game of Pool and Beach Volleyball and a canon ball contest all before we had to get ready for the rehearsal. One of the things we love about destination weddings is because of the small group we really become immersed in the family, hearing about all the drama and crazy things within bridal party antics and we always end up embraced in some way as “part of the family” for the week and that allows us to get more intimate, closer shots when we know the entire group at the wedding. It really is a very unique experience. Rehearsal was smooth and fun and the rehearsal dinner was so lovely. The morning of the wedding we were a little concerned about the high humidity and heat but were pleasantly surprised that the ceremony and reception were met with the most lovely breeze making being outside very tolerable. Thankfully Aubrey chose an evening ceremony time which provided less harsh light and cooler temps. She and her bridesmaids got ready together and once it was go time Aubrey was stunning in a “made for beach wedding” dress which left her looking like she came straight out of a bridal magazine. I’m always so thrilled when brides choose the RIGHT dress for the RIGHT venue and Aubrey NAILED it. Doug spent time with Colton and the guys in the morning and only the photos will tell how much fun they had before the ceremony 😉 When it was ceremony time we could tell Colton was getting a little nervous and it was the sweetest moment ever when he saw Aubrey for the first time walking down that aisle with the sun behind her. It was a touching, beautiful moment and I’m not sure there were many dry eyes in the audience. The two exchanged vows by the beautiful beach and with that, they were married. We took some time taking photos down by the water and everywhere in between, taking advantage of all the time that we were given before the reception. The entire day went so smoothly and the couple was so relaxed and went with the flow it’s not a surprise the reception went exactly the same way. Their cake cutting and speeches were memorable and the dance floor was hopping the entire night. I knew without a doubt this would be one of the funnest bridal parties we would ever have when they ended the night with a full jump (x2) into the pool. The party continued long into the night even after the reception ended. (Disclaimer: while we DO have the epic pool photo we chose not to share it in the blog, we know a lot of people don’t want their Mexico shenanigans online 😉 )

We wanted to thank Aubrey and Colton for trusting us to bring us on this journey with them for one of the biggest days of their life, we absolutely loved working with them and we hope they had as great of a week as we did. We certainly won’t forget all the fun we got to have while we were there. We also wanted to thank the family and bridal party for going beyond the normal wedding to attend and help with the wedding, we noticed that everyone pitched in to help with little things here and there and it was really a team effort. In addition to this blog, we’ll be sharing with you the trash the dress photos soon in the next blog. Also, as a surprise to Aubrey and Colton we also filmed a little of their big day and we can’t wait to share it with them.

Congrats Aubrey and Colton- you’re both awesome!

-The Keys