#Bride and Groom wedding riviera Cancun

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Wedding day Dream Natura Spa Resort A and S

Wedding day Dream Natura Spa Resort A and S

Wedding day Dream Natura Spa Resort A and S Awesome wedding day with A and S at Dream Natura Spa resort Cancun We enjoyed a day with A and S from the getting ready to the night party Photo by Alessandro Banchelli and Ernesto www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com

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Wedding: October 7, 2017

Ceremony: Timberhouse at Rolling Acres Country Club, Beaver Falls, PA  

Reception: Timberhouse at Rolling Acres Country Club, Beaver Falls, PA

Hair: Samantha Horne from Christine’s Salon and Spa in Hopewell

Makeup: Jessica Olsavsky

Florist: EcoFlowers

Bakery: Family Friends

Entertainment: Tim Cain from JL Entertainment

Colors: Plum and Gray

Honeymoon: Riviera Maya, Cancun, Mexico.

Let me just start this blog post by saying that sometimes the stars align, you meet someone that brings you joy, they enrich your lives and will forever hold  a special place in your heart. While there is no doubt that Theresa and Nate have this but here, I am talking about my relationship with this couple. Theresa is truly one of the sweetest, most hard working individuals that I have ever met and she can no longer be called a client, I knew this, I felt this about 5 minutes into meeting her…she is my friend and I treasure her.

Our day started at Theresa’s sisters home with pre-ceremony coverage, where I truly believe that I witnessed a family dynamic that is unparalleled on so many levels. The entire family gets along so well and it made everything run so smoothly that we were able to leave and arrive at the Timberhouse to continue the getting ready photos. Once we completed the pre-ceremony coverage with Theresa complete with photos of her very soon to be in laws, we proceeded to another area to get photos of Nate and his family and groomsmen.

I have met Nate a few times but the stunning woman that is his mother has got to be the reason to which I had the honor of photographing Theresa and Nate’s wedding. Nate’s mother, Susan AKA Sue is so sweet and a long time friend of ours. She is an amazing chocolatier and the owner, operator of Noland Chocolates. Seriously, if you have not tried her chocolates, they are a must! They are so delicious and creamy and the take away box that Theresa and Nate packed up for me at the end of the night seriously saved my sanity of the weeks following their wedding haha. October is always a crazy month for me with several, always popular October weddings and my amazing daughter Addison’s birthday is on Halloween, which since she was born has become a month long celebration with Pumpkin Festivals and Fall farm visits all month long.  But truly Sue Noland’s chocolates are amazing and I insist you try them I promise you won’t be disappointed!

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE DAY: Pre-ceremony…who knew that it could or would happen so soon! Theresa and Nate’s only photo request was that we capture their prayer prior to the ceremony. You will see tons of wedding samples on Pinterest that have a photo of the bride and groom on either side of the door, to preserve that precious first moment of seeing each other as being that moment that she walks down the aisle but this, this was different. These two are starting their lives together is the best way, they are putting God first! A marriage requires three people for it to be whole, to be successful, for it to be long lasting and true. Those three people are a bride, a groom and God.  These two…they just get it!

We had gorgeous 82 degree weather and the Timberhouse steps set the stage for this amazing couple to get married. The ceremony had all the perfect elements to unite these two, there was family, friends, laughter, tears, pure joy and excitement!

Following the ceremony we use those same steps for family photographs, I LOVE how you can see the reflection of the gorgeous fall trees in the reflection above that window, immediately followed, by bridal party and bride and groom portraits. This Rolling Acres Golf Course and Timberhouse have so many options for photography that we just simply walked across the street to capture all those special moments.

After heading in to the reception, they made quick work of the first dance, toasts and blessing. Now in talking with the couple they expressed extreme interest in sunset photos, based on our timeline that sun was going to set right in the middle of dinner, while I wouldn’t normally interrupt a couples dinner for photos,  let’s be honest, we need that break for food as well, but Theresa said to come get her and we will go.  So we hit up the buffet line after immediate family, scarfed our food and got back to work. Boy o Boy am I glad we did! The sunset portraits are definitely my favorites, the sky was fairly clear and the colors are spectacular. I also LOVE getting that photo on the front steps of the Timberhouse with the warm ambient light indoors contrasting with the cool twilight sky outdoors.  I feel these moments are essential to a successful wedding; it gives the couple a moment to calm down, regroup and realize just how quickly this day is flying by and to really savor the moment of THEIR day!

Following dinner we started the dancing off with parents dances. Theresa and her father, followed by Nate and Sue and in quick succession was Theresa and her step father, bridal party and open dance floor. Open dance floor, there wasn’t an open space on that dance floor that wasn’t being occupied but a guest dancing the night away! Everyone was having so much fun and it was a blessing for us to capture all the love in that room. Speaking of love and it may just be my second favorite moment of the day, let’s talk about Nate’s dad Pat and his mad dancing skills, now I don’t want to call myself judgmental but maybe I just happen to lump all men into a category of non-dancers and bad dancers LOL.  I see a lot of my dad’s “type” in Pat, strong, hardworking, amazing providers and fantastic fathers…but my Dad will slow dance with my mom but that is 100% absolutely it, my Dad would never even consider “fast” dancing on the dance floor! I truthfully don’t know why I do this judgment, my husband is a dancer, he’s quite good also, he has good rhythm and doesn’t look goofy at all. I just never in a million years expected that from Pat, to the point where my husband was jealous and taking notes haha. Kidding of course, but it was one of those moments where I thought to myself, everyone should have video at their weddings because this is fantastic! Theresa, please tell me someone, anyone captured this!

We left shortly after the garter and bouquet but not before hugging and congratulating my dear friends Theresa and Nate. That’s when Theresa asked if WE could get a picture together, I don’t get very often but once in a while and let me just say, its super sweet and I treasure it each time it does happen, it really shows me that I have made some sort of impact on this bride, I am appreciated and an important part of their day. While I HATE having my photo taken just as much as nearly every groom I encounter, which is why I am behind it haha.

I will forever treasure Theresa and Nate, as clients whom I was honored to photograph on their wedding day, but more importantly I am blessed to call them friends. We made a promise on her wedding day that just because the wedding day was “over” that we would remain friends and stay in touch, I intend to keep that promise because I made a vow many years ago to surround myself with kindness, with people who have good values and integrity, people who love the Lord and recognize their blessings as much as I do and those who just simply make me feel good.

These are the Hands

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.

These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.

These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.

These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

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Grateful to get the best photography at Hard Rock Riviera maya #Cancun #Finest #WeddingBride #wedding #bride #love #weddingdress #weddingday #weddingphotography #photography #weddinginspiration #prewedding #makeup #weddingplanner #party #bridal #bridetobe #weddings #groom #engagement #weddingphotographer #mua #weddingdecor #instagood #indianwedding #weddingideas #instagram #makeupartist #photographer (at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya) https://www.instagram.com/p/By3ivJCj7_N/?igshid=3murgn1j25vg

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Cancun, Mexico Indian Fusion Wedding by Sarani Weddings

Maharanis! The pristine waters of Cancun, Mexico are our next destination! Claire and Rishi are the beautiful pair that tied the knot at paradise and the fantastic Sarani Photography traveled with them to captured their best moments. After some auspicious pre-wedding celebrations this lovely pair held a lovely western ceremony backdropped by the scenic views of the ocean at the highly exclusive Dreams Riviera Cancún. The blushing bride, Claire went for a stunning bridal hair and makeup look thanks to Styling Trio glam squad. She opted for a gorgeous white gown she combined with a precious cathedral length veil that gave her the most elegant flair while her dapper groom Rishi said I do in full white! The violets and whites reigned and were even included in the fabulous bridal party dresses. What an unforgettable day! Check out the gallery for more of this Cancun soiree! http://dlvr.it/R3wY94

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Every little detail counts. Clean shaven for his bride to be, really want to nail that first kiss #wedding #groom #groomgetsready #calgaryweddingphotographer (at Now Jade Riviera Cancun) https://www.instagram.com/p/BquUd-IAvTm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gfalaw9imhmt

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Una Vez Más! Our Vow Renewal in Mexico

Wedding Vow Renewal in Mexico

Five years ago, we made the decision to return to the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar Resort, located in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. When it came time to make the reservations for the trip, we thought about doing something extra special for this milestone moment. We wanted to include our boys and we wanted to do something big and memorable.

That’s when the idea to have a vow renewal ceremony was hatched.

We know vow renewals are a thing, but we haven’t met anyone whose done a vow renewal – so we didn’t know what the ceremony entailed. Or even where to begin?

We had a great experience getting married at the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar, so we reached out to the resort to see if they hosted such events and what options were available. We were happy to learn they host vow renewals ceremonies all the time, so we didn’t have to worry about the details.

The more we bounced around the idea, the more we liked it. Doing a small ceremony on the beach was the perfect compliment to our family vacation and it allowed our boys to be involved.

About our Vow Renewal in Mexico

The planning process is easy. It’s similar to when we planned our wedding, so it felt familiar (it was also quite nostalgic!). The Iberostar Paraiso del Mar uses its wedding packages and revises them for the vow renewal ceremony. We decided that we wanted our ceremony to be short, simple and elegant.

The first step in the process is to choose your wedding package. We went with the Star Package, which is the most basic option. For our ceremony, we chose the beach location, instead of the gazebo location (which is more private and surrounding by water and trees). When we were married 10 years ago we chose the gazebo option because we wanted the privacy. The downside for the beach option is that there are lots of half naked people watching you.

We decided to do the ceremony at 5:00 PM because we didn’t want it to be too hot and we hoped for a nice sunset. It’s also a better time for photos.

This is what’s included in the ‘Star Package’:

On-site wedding specialist

Minister, judge or priest

Witnesses (if required)

Setup of wedding venue (canopy, chairs and table with white linen)

Cava toast after the ceremony

Bride’s fresh floral bouquet and matching groom’s boutonnière

Traditional white frosting cake decorated with fresh flowers

Wedding dinner in a specialty restaurant (one hour and a half)

This applies for the first 10 people. There’s an additional charge of $20 per person after that.

Planning our Vow Renewal in Mexico

Mireya was assigned as our wedding coordinator. All of our communication pre-trip was via email. She was very helpful with our planning and made us feel like we were in good hands.

When we arrived, we met with our coordinator a couple days before the ceremony and confirmed the plans for the ceremony. The meeting was less than one hour.

There are plenty of options available, like runners, bows, tiki torches, mariachi band, violinist and more. You can customize your ceremony to meet your expectations. Most requests can be accommodated.

You’ll also need to pick songs for the ceremony. A high-tech sound system is available and there’s a person dedicated to managing the mic and music. They had our songs pre-loaded and the coordinator made sure the right songs were played at the right time.

We opted for white linens and a simple décor. The standard flower options included gerber daisies or lilies. We chose white lilies for our flowers. You can see the set-up in the photos below.

The resort has an on-site photographer, Adventure Photos. We met with them and went over our simple needs. The photographer came out for about 30 minutes and we selected about 20 photos. They gave us the original files (some are included in this post) and we also had a nice hard-copy photo album created.

The ceremony was perfect. It was exactly what we hoped for.

Related – Resort Review: Iberostar Paraíso del Mar, Mexico

One of the reasons we chose the Iberostar Paraiso del Mar for our wedding (10 years ago) was because they only do one wedding per day. That was important to us because we didn’t want to feel rushed and we didn’t want to compete with another wedding for time and attention.

While planning our vow renewal, we felt like the resort still follows this practice of only one ceremony a day (wedding or vow renewal). But, if this is important to you, it’s best to confirm with the resort directly.

Sand Ceremony with our boys

An option that was offered to us by our wedding coordinator was a Sand Ceremony. We were each given a bottle with a different colour sand (we had light blue, white, green and tan).

After we renewed our vows, we each poured a little sand in a little jar. The result was a colourful swirl of sand that was contributed by each of us (see photo below). It’s meant to represent our family bond.

This was a really nice way to involve our boys and it gave us something to take home to remember the day. The jar is now sitting on our fireplace mantle in the living room.

The unexpected surprise

Something we didn’t expect, and was a nice surprise, was that the minister was the SAME person who married us 10 years ago! What are the odds of that?

When we were introduced to the minister Cameron immediately recognized him.

We asked him, “how long have you been doing ceremonies at this resort?”

His response was, “about 10 years now”.

“You married us 10 years ago!” was our response.

He was thrilled to learn he would be marrying us a second time. He was also happy to see that our union had produced two cute boys, too. We could tell that this moment was special for him too.

The vow renewal speech he prepared was incredibly heartwarming. If we’re being honest, we actually loved those words more than our actual wedding vows!

At the end of the ceremony the adults had champagne and the boys had fresh lemonade. The lemonade was a big hit for them, especially Connor!

Braydon was so excited to wear a tie. He wanted to wear this outfit every day.

Our clothing was purchased at home and we brought it with us. Nicole’s dress is from BHLDN, the boys clothes are from The Children’s Place, and Cameron’s shorts and shirt is from Quiksilver.

Brotherly love.

Who says you can’t make Sand Angels?

Braydon didn’t make it. He fell asleep and needed to be carried back to the room.

This is what our bed looked like when we returned to our room after dinner. We appreciated the small details the hotel provided. We had a nice welcome package, an oceanfront view, champagne upon arrival and stuffies for our boys.

It was clear that the staff wanted to make our visit special. They were successful.

Final Thoughts

We had a fun vow renewal ceremony and would recommend the experience. The planning process was easy and the hotel did a great job executing the plan. We didn’t have to worry about anything, which gave us more time to enjoy our family vacation. If you’re considering a vow renewal, do it! You won’t regret it.

We’re thankful for the memories that were created on this trip. It required a little more planning and money, but it was so worth it. We will cherish these memories and look back on this experience with big smiles.

We wrote a review about this all-inclusive resort from our visit 5 years ago – read the post here. We also made a short video about the resort – watch it here.

We will do another update soon that has recent photos. We were impressed by how well the resort is maintained. It looks exactly the same way it did 10 years ago.

More info about the resort can be found here.

Una Vez Más! Our Vow Renewal in Mexico is a post from: Traveling Canucks

Related posts:

Photos of the Iberostar Cancun Resort in Mexico

50 Photos from our Summer Adventures

Starting 2018 with Sun, Sand and Family

First impressions and observations from our trip to Aruba

[labrisaphoto]

The #HarrisonWedding2Point0 wedding was a non-stop celebration of awesomeness! Stephanie and Bradley wanted the most casual and celebratory wedding ever and that’s what they achieved! Congrats again to these two and the 70+ family and friends who took tequila shots with the bride and groom!!! 35mm | ISO 200 | f/3.5 | 1/320 Happy to answer any #photography questions! I love beach weddings. There is something magical about simultaneously hearing the rhythmic sounds of the crashing waves with the lifelong vows of commitment. As Stephanie and Bradley were about to walk down the aisle, I wanted to get a lower perspective to make the tossed petals look higher and larger than life. I love the guests’ genuine equal excitement for both tossing petals and for the bride and groom. And I love Bradley’s expression as he looks up as the petals arc over him. #StoryBehindTheImage #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #LoveNeverFails #DreamsRivieraCancun (at Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa)

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@cmendozaphoto #carlosmendozaphotography #nikon #color #underwater #mexico #quintanaroo #rivieramaya #cancun #caribbean #playadelcarmen #tulum #islamujeres #documentaryphotography #instagood #destinationphotographer #destinationweddingphotography #destinationwedding #weddingphotography #weddingplanner #marriedinmexico #wedding #inspiration #beautiful #love #life #bride #groom #trashthedress #instadaily (at Mayan Riviera)

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Beach Elopement Cancun K and G

Beach Elopement Cancun K and G

Beach Elopement Cancun K and G Venue: Riu Costa Mujeres Cancun Photographer Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com https://elopementrivieramaya.com/

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Destination wedding photography Riviera Maya Bride and Groom First Dance

Destination wedding photography Riviera Maya Bride and Groom First Dance

Destination wedding photography Riviera Maya Bride and Groom First Dance Bride and Groom First dance Wedding preview K and C Venue: Royalton Riviera Cancun resort Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com

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Wedding Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort

Wedding Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort

Wedding Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort

Full wedding day with J and R at Wedding Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort

Photo by Alessandro Banchelli and Florencia

www.photostudioab.com

Email:ideaofotoplaya@gmail.com

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Elopement Wedding Playa del carmen E and R

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Elopement Wedding Playa del carmen E and R We love to shot photos when the couple leave us to enter in their intimate story. We visited E and R at Chemuyil for the getting ready in the jungle and after we moved to Playa del carmen to celebrate the ceremony on the beach. A amazing Sunset say hello to the Bride and Groom. Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Elopement Planning…

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Preview Engagement photo session Valladolid Yucatan

Preview Engagement photo session Valladolid Yucatan

Preview Engagement photo session Valladolid Yucatan Engagement photoshoot at Valladolid Yucatan Downtown Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com

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Cancun Wedding Preview K and J

Cancun Wedding Preview K and J

Cancun Wedding Preview K and J Wedding day with K and J at Cancun Quintana Roo Mexico Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com

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Blue Venado wedding L and A Playa del carmen

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Blue Venado wedding L and A Playa del carmen Wedding day wiht L and A at Blue venado wedding Beach We are very happy to offer at our client a new photo edition option called “Vintage” with golden and Brown tones. Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com

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Preview wedding Finest Playa Mujeres Cancun M and C

Preview wedding Finest Playa Mujeres Cancun M and C

Preview wedding Finest Playa Mujeres Cancun M and C Wedding day with M and C at Finest resort Playa Mujeres Cancun Photo by Alessandro Banchelli www.photostudioab.com Email:ideafotoplaya@gmail.com