You can hire someone local. You can go with whoever the resort recommends (please don’t).
But if you want your gallery for your destination wedding in Mexico (or literally anywhere else for that matter) to emotionally sucker-punch you in the face—with color, with feeling, with you so clearly seen—bring your own photographer. Preferably one who knows your vibe, your Taylor Swift references, and how to shoot the ever-loving hell out of a destination wedding (It’s me. Hi. I’m the photographer, it’s me).
Hannah and Sky’s weekend wedding in Cancun was a f*cking masterclass in what happens when you bring a traveling wedding photographer who walks in chronically overinvested and creatively charged.
Four rolls of film, a Mexican circus, and a catamaran boat ride later, and this was hands down the most color-drenched, cinematically inspired, Swiftie-coded fever dream of a wedding I’ve shot in years.
BYOP (Bring Your Own Photographer), folks. You heard it here first; we’re making it a thing.
And here’s why:
Vendors | Planner: Beloved Planners | Venue, Catering, DJ + Cake: Hyatt Ziva Cancun | Rentals: Dezibel Events | Florist: Omar Almeida of Pure Love Weddings & Floral Design | HMU: Zoe Elizabeth Makeup | Her Rings: Genesis Diamonds | His Ring: Ridge Rings | Dress: Madi Lane Bridal from Blush Bridal in Cincinnati | Day Veil: Karla Roble | Night Veil: Madison Chamberlain | Groom’s Suit: Trevor Furbay Bespoke | Bride’s Reception Attire: Abercrombie and Fitch | Content Creator: Gio Weddings | Second Shooter: Weddings By Shawnae
1. Your destination wedding photographer shows up creatively charged.
When you get married in March, April, or even early May there is a very VERY high chance that this is your vendor’s first wedding of the season. And if you’re working with a photographer like me, I am so creatively charged that first wedding back, it is freaking in-saaaaane.
During the off-season, I do nothing but rest, learn, and get better at my job. And during this particular off-season, shooting on film basically became my entire personality for three months. Like, I became so borderline obsessed that by the time Hannah and Sky flew me to Mexico, my heart was so ready to make art it might’ve exploded.
Four rolls of 35mm came with me, and only 24 of 144 frames didn’t make the ‘holy sh*t’ cut? That’s unhinged. That’s unheard of. That is by far the best roll of film that I’ve ever shot at a wedding (said with ZERO dramatics and full-body chills).
I mean, the first wedding back just… hits different.
I’m not necessarily trying to sway you toward having your destination wedding in the spring buuuut… when creative people have nothing to do but water their brains for three months? Yeah, we’re diving in head first and eyes wide the f*ck open.
2. I’m invested in your vision before the plane even takes off.
Hannah and Sky are two of the most genuine human beings that I’ve ever met. We found each other on TikTok, and we were vibing from the jump. She’s a Swiftie. I’m a Swiftie. Do the math.
And whereas most couples opt for a 3–4 color wedding palette, Han + Sky really said, “We’ll take ROYGBIV, thanks.”
Seriously: the vibiest of VIBING.
Han had their entire Taylor-themed Cancun wedding visualized from start to finish. I feel like I can say this because I am a Swiftie to the nth degree, but the line between being tastefully Taylor-coded and full cringe is razor-thin.
Han nailed it. Little callbacks in her vows. Layered references tucked into the reception and dinner decor.
Sky, not to be outdone, met her vision with the most organized 150+ wedding I’ve ever been to (did I mention this is in freaking Mexico!?) and the most THEM.
A really brilliant woman once said: “The rest of the world was black and white — we were in screaming color.” THAT’S H + S. Two people who embrace emotions of every hue and shade, loving each other and others relentlessly and without limitations.
And that shaped their entire (absolutely STUNNING) wedding gallery.
The fact that they chose the entire rainbow to paint their wedding weekend and ME to do the honors meant I was already seeing it in full color before we ever even left the DMs. And by day one in Mexico, I was ready to shoot with my whole chest.
3. You don’t get a roster of vendors. You get a kickass team that’s emotionally invested.
Hannah and Sky built a team who wanted to be there and they wanted there in turn.
I say this with zero shade to anyone who sticks to the venue’s default vendor list because pulling off a destination wedding is no joke. (Especially in Mexico, where logistics don’t always love you back.) But Sky and Han’s wedding is such a good testament to how important it is to choose wedding vendors who share your vision and heart… not just your zip code.
While Sky’s Canva skills are now the stuff of legend, a plan is only as good as the people running it, and their entire wedding planning team was rock f*cking solid. Lily Cruz and Jennifer Reyes from Beloved Planners, the on-site coordinator Pamela— not one person was phoning it in. Omar Almeida’s flowers were jaw-dropping. My second shooter Shawnae was a rock star.
And then there’s Zoe Elizabeth.
She’s the first makeup artist I’ve worked with who stayed the entire day. Through the ceremony, through portraits, right up until before dinner, Zoe was with us, quietly catching the things I don’t always clock in real time.
When I’m in ADHD flow, I’m tracking something different. The way your shoulders finally relax after the ceremony. The moment your pinkies find each other. The exact second you lose yourself in a shared kiss at sunset.
I’m locked in on emotion, composition, light. That’s where I live. That’s what I see. But Zoe caught every flyaway before it could sneak past and taunt me in post. And that kind of care protects the photos before they’re even taken.
Trust me: Hire a kick-ass team of vendors who are really good at their jobs. It does not matter if it is our first wedding of the season or a location an ocean away, we are going to do a kickass job every. single. time.
4. Your photographer doesn’t just blend in… she belongs.
Why do a traditional rehearsal dinner when you can book me and my second shooter for a boat party on catamaran instead? (I’ll wait…)
There we were drinks in hand, our gear held close, laughing with people whose names we knew as if we always had. You can’t fake that kind of inclusion. And THAT’S why Hannah and Sky’s gallery hits the way it does.
I never felt like I was the help. From the very beginning I felt like I was a part of the guest list, a part of the family. That’s equal parts Han and Sky but also just the team that they assembled and the people they surround themselves with.
From start to finish this wedding was a freaking banger, made even more so because they brought me in early, they trusted me fully, and I showed up close to creative combustion in the best possible way.
I genuinely miss H+S and I am eternally thankful we are now in the same orbit (Swifties stick together).
If you want destination wedding photography that doesn’t just remind you of where you got married but who you were with, how it all felt, and why it still makes you (and me) cry in the best way:
Bring your ride-or-die, creatively-feral, camera-in-hand-and-tears-on-deck traveling wedding photographer. Make the art. Trust the process.
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