I've seen a lot over my short career...situations where brides absolutely loose control and let the smallest trivial things upset or ruin their experience... I'm talking some super trivial stuff like somebody stepped on the gown or the dress actually touched the ground before they walked down the isle. Its really all I can take to shrug it off and keep on shooting.
Recently, I had a wedding in the Riviera Maya (11.07.09) where the client had planned an all out awesome adventure. They rented 3 beach homes in a private neighborhood, planned the wedding in the Blue Cacao beach club on an awesome stretch of beach but did NOT EXPECT the hurricane / tropical storm IDA to put a dash of rain on their plans....lots of rain. I've been involved in a wedding whose path completely changed due to a hurricane in the past, but that was in August, high hurricane season. This storm was on 11.7, a week or more past hurricane season....so needless to say, this was a completely unexpected storm.
What went wrong....Well, Monica + Jason would tell you that their 3 beach homes lost all power so they had to get ready in a hotel. The Blue Cacao's indoor location is one thats not totally 100% hurricane proof with one open side that couldnt be closed off, therefore the plan for the entire wedding + reception was cancelled there and moved to a restaurant in Playa del Carmen.... Negrosal Restaurant.
For 80 guests, Negrosal is very very small because the ceremony would be taking place in their basement....A small room with a bar and a dance floor, but could be converted to ceremony stage with some seats and standing room. The plan was made and everything went forward... Sounds like a bride's worst nightmare however what one doesnt realize is that the worlds biggest problems (at that time) were the biggest gifts. Jason + Monica like ALL of our other clients, write to us telling they are planning a party of their closest friends and family and that they were very interested in sharing as many intimate moments with them as possible.
IDA, the tropical storm from nowhere had actually placed them in an atmosphere where their friends and family were WAY closer to each other than they would have been when spread out on a beach... Every moment and emotional exchange was amplified 10 fold due to the tightness of their group on the big wedding day. I believe this to be the most amazing blessing in disguise for Jason + Monica. The wedding and reception were a total success. The storm actually brought everybody closer together! Their wedding story tells the tale...
Wedding Coordination by Erica & Maria from Weddings IN Playa.com. Special thanks to both of them for making this day happen...They were stars on this big day!
All photos by Matt Adcock.
This is a quick shot from my laptop as I was walking out the door...Yikes, looks like we will be getting wet.
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This image sequence is one of my favorites..
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Not much time for "portraits" because of the rain...rain...rain
I snapped this moment to remember the rain..
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But what I had to rely on was real moments for my portraits, unstaged, real live moments.
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I love this reflection photo.. Its difficult to try and figure out what is happening here. There was a reflective table about 10 feet away from the people in this shot. Its actually a restroom lobby area where people were haning out for a moment...a quick grab as I was passing the room.
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The toasts from this wedding made me realize what a tight group of these folks were. Eveybody was so involved with all the speeches.
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Day of the dead is actualy a holiday in Mexico to celebrate life :)
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Slideshow...
Thank you Jason + Monica for giving me an awesome photo experience at your wedding day...just amazing photo moments everywhere!
Saludos,
matt
UPDATED>
Thanks for sending in this awesome Testimonial Jason:
Matt,
I can't thank you enough. Dude, you are a MASTER. All my shutter bug buddies want to take lessons from you.
Honestly, you did a fantastic job. God blessed you with natural talent and you have cultivated it. Nice work my man, very nice work. I can't wait to receive the rest of the photos. BTW, thank you again for processing these so quickly.
Enjoy your Mexican Turkey day.
