Laura & Bobby's beautiful wedding story in the outstanding venue of Acre Baja in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico
To share with you, this inspiring wedding story is truly a joy. Laura and Bobby are two incredible human beings, with whom I had a natural connection from the beginning. I enjoyed every email we exchanged before the wedding, I could tell that they fit and completely trusted the Dennis Berti style :-) I also met twice with them, a few months before the wedding, and a couple of days before to the wedding day. Always in a very relaxed mood of trust, I could deeply understand the meaning and importance for themselves of the celebration of their wedding. A perfect story for my storytelling!
Destination Wedding Photography
Something that caused me a lot of curiosity from the beginning is that they continually repeated to me that they didn't want weird photos or pose looking at the camera as most wedding photography is. Especially the groom, for whom posing for a photo is a real trauma (LOL). In one of the emails, he shared that, since he was a child he hated having his picture taken because he has never felt comfortable standing in front of a camera and trying to pull off a fake smile. So, when they told me that "instead of the bridal party standing in a row with the exact same pose," they "would rather have a picture of all of them laughing at a joke… snapshots of the moments as the moments naturally happened"; as you may understand, I was simply excited about shooting this wedding. This is exactly the kind of Wedding Photography evolution that I had mentioned before!
UNSCRIPTED WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
And there you have a lovely wedding couple, mobilizing dozens of people from their intimate circles, to travel from New Zealand, the United States, Brazil and England, to Mexico, and thus share with them a memorable destination wedding. Obviously a perfect fitting for the bride's number one passion: to travel. She loves "to go to new places and learn about how other live", and she says that if she doesn't explore new places, she gets restless.
And I must say that it was notorious as all the guests were people with good vibes, you could feel the special connection that was between all the relatives and friends. Throughout the day, there were few isolated groups of people, all seemed to mingle and interact with everyone with a pleasant atmosphere. There were many laughs, moments, and emotions at this wedding. I had a great time, shooting a lot of unscripted moments of authentic beings enjoying a wedding celebration, as it should be. I insist, there is no need to ask the bride and groom to do anything-at-all during the wedding day for the sake of the photographer… everything is happening in front of you, there it is the true story to tell.
In their own words: "Tucked in the foothills of San Jose del Cabo is Acre, a lush sanctuary set on 25 acres of abundant greenery"… Undoubtedly, an excellent backdrop for an authentic, relaxed, intimate, and meaningful spring wedding in Los Cabos! Because, it is true that between the variety of wide places surrounded by vegetation, and the unique personality of this place; It turned out to be the perfect venue for a hot spring day in Baja, for this bunch of peculiar and adventurous travelers.
Acre Baja has a unique vibe, which attracts people with interesting personality too. It has several available spaces with a different mood. The garden with farm animals close to the ceremony area. The pool and its surroundings full of pleasant colors to enjoy together during the cocktail. The Mango Grove open-air rooftop has incredible mosaics. Several roads full of vegetation and secret spots surround the atmosphere. And I haven't talked about the treehouses, for a real boutique accommodation experience.
The venue joins the mood and philosophy of the couple and guests, in a mixture of emotions. And, all these factors are a source of inspiration during my coverage of the wedding day, to capture as many amazing moments as possible.
No doubt the venue, the place simply inspires. It is spacious but intimate, it has many special spots, and above all, it is a place that has a refreshing offer away from the classic beach Cabo style. I believe that Acre manages to combine a destination wedding, pleasant climates, great Mexican food, with a charming wedding atmosphere; but out of the stereotype.
Something that I enjoy every time it happens, as in this case with Laura & Bobby, is that the couple met several times before the ceremony. After all, I want to believe that this is the basic concept of the so-called "first look"; generate a moment of intimacy and stillness between bride and groom, so that they share their nervousness and emotion before the big moment (not for the sake of a photo album). So, when a couple spends time on the wedding day and looks for furtive "getaways" to share the experience of the day, the photos that result from those moments are super relaxed and real, which happen not by tradition but by complicity. And so it happened, organic, natural and in the best way.
Another detail that I really enjoyed is related to Laura's next photo, while dancing with her father. I must say that this photograph meant a lot to me, because it captured the really intimate and magical moment that happened on that dance floor between father and daughter. And it all made even more sense when Bobby commented precisely this photo on my Instagram!
"The song playing was Annie’s Song by John Denver, which we kept a secret. Laura’s father used to sing this song to her as a small child. At 10 years old, it was the first song that she ever performed to. She remembers her dad sitting in the front row with tears in his eyes. When this song started to play, he broke down and said, “You remembered”? Thank you for capturing this moment, but more importantly, the story."
You need to communicate a lot with your photographer previous to the wedding day: video chat first, followed by several smart emails with mutual feedback, and then just relax and enjoy. Is essential that you trust your choice of photographer once you are on your wedding day, Right?
The point here is to embrace the full experience, to trust me as storyteller. To know more about you, your expectations and your dreams; for me it’s the key to tell a better story. Yes, It’s my vision, my point of view of your wedding day, but if I know what matters most for you, I’ll be able to tell you more trough my photos.
See you around folks, stay tuned! D.
A MEMORABLE AND AUTHENTIC CABO DESTINATION WEDDING!