Bridal Dinner at Ka’ana

I never photograph 2 weddings in 1 day. That’s one of my main rules, but the story behind this is different and unusual.

Melissa and Gwaeron, Ka’ana’s guests, held their Wedding Ceremony at Xunantunich. I arrived at Ka’ana to photograph the wedding I was hired for when I saw them leaving. I thought, “Interesting… 2 weddings at the same location, 2 hours apart… That needs perfect coordination from the resort to do and…” Yes, everything went the way it should have gone, and more.

I was hired to photograph a part of the wedding, so around 5 p.m. I was finished. There was still enough light available when I took a walk around the resort – I LOVED the lights. Ka’ana is one of the most romantic places I have ever seen, especially with candles lit throughout. Then, I saw something interesting: 2 guys with a handful of candles were arranging a dinner table around the pool. “What’s happening? Who is it for?” I thought. The servers noticed my excitement and told me, “This is a dinner for another couple that married today.” My mind started to click and I saw all the poses. The place was a piece from a movie and looked more than perfect! I told myself, “Oh, I need to photograph this!”

I spoke with the manager and asked her about the outfits of the bride and groom. She smiled and told me they were classic: black and white. I told her that I wanted to photograph them as their photos would be a different flavor. And that was how it started… The bride and groom were thrilled! I introduced myself and they said, “We can’t believe it. You were our first choice, but you weren’t available for this date!” I had booked the wedding before theirs and I had no clue that their wedding was also at Ka’ana. :) It’s funny how things work out sometimes.

Long story short, I photographed their first dance by the pool, their romantic dinner, their walk on one of the many paths at Ka’ana and, of course, their first champagne around the fire deck… The staff helped me with EVERYTHING I needed! I was so happy and pleased! Melissa and Gwaeron kept giggling and smiling… I reminded them a few times not to, but they laughed harder! They told me that the hardest thing for them to do was to STOP smiling! Too cool! :)

It was amazing. Their photos tell the story of their happiness and show the Ka’ana’s romantic setting… An amazing resort.

2 days later, they came into my office, here on Ambergris Caye and they told me, “After our photoshoot, we continued our dinner and we both cried with happiness. We could not believe how lucky we were to meet you – and to experience a photoshoot with you, which we will remember for the rest of our lives.” Now this is cool!

Holland (Their country.), welcome to Belize! :)

I will ask them to write their wedding story under this blog.

Here are their photos:

 

 

A different kind of wedding: at Ka’ana & Xunantunich

“Michelle & Adric,

 First of all, let me tell you that you were AMAZING! Your wedding day was different than anything I ever photographed and I loved it!!!
Ka’ana fit your style like a glove. Was the PERFECT choice for your wedding. I loved the First Look, I loved our mini-photoshoot around the resort, and I also loved when we were coming back from your Ceremony at our mayan temple, Xunantunich.
The family photos were blast and I am very happy that we were able to do that. Adric, your dad told me that he did not had a formal photoshoot in 30 years and he really need it! I am more than happy that we did that!
I am also happy we had our romantic shoot in your villa, with hundred of candles and sooo romantic atmosphere. The staff from Ka’ana was beyond my expectations, and when I’m thinking about this resort, I have too many great words in my mind and I don’t know which one to say first!…”
This is the way I start my first email to my bride&groom, after the wedding.
My bride’s dress was a completely different style and an unusual color: TOPAZ/GREEN! When I asked her, “Why this color?” she told me, “Oli, I am not a ‘whit’” person… I want to do this in my own way, and this is my dream wedding outfit”. Cool! I like different and I loved the combination of the outfits. The most important thing is for my couples to experience their day how they dreamt it, and my job is to capture it how I see it!

 

We started with bridal portraits of the bride and groom. The abundance of greenery at Ka’ana is amazing! Everywhere you look you see LIFE! I photographed Adric at the entrance, while he was waiting for his bride. A relaxed groom and an amazing backdrop… Perfect!

Moments before ceremony at Ka'ana
Moments before ceremony at Ka’ana

The “First Look” was at Ka’ana. Her color fit perfectly with the environment. I loved the feeling of the reveal… His smile widened when he saw her as his bride.

His First look
His First look

 

Bride&Groom around Ka'ana Resort

Bride&Groom around Ka'ana Resort

After, we left for Xunantunich Maya Temple where they had the ceremony and fun family photos.

Green Wedding Rings

Green Wedding Rings

When we returned to Ka’ana, I wanted to show the romance of this amazing, amazing resort…

…And around the new Private Pool Villas. When I mentioned this to the manager, she loved the idea and helped me out! Later that evening, we had a photo shoot around the new villa… We were amazed of how romantic it was!

 

When we returned, everyone went to the bar – and my day was officially over… Theoretically!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

I saw the staff preparing a romantic dinner around the pool in the opposite direction of where my bride & groom were… When I asked for who that was, they told me “There’s another couple that married at Xunantunich today; this is our surprise for them: A candle dinner around the pool.” Long story short, we had a mini photo shoot. I had the chance to photograph a second couple in the same evening, but from a completely different point of view. The next article on my blog will be about this…

to see the album of this Wedding, please go on the website dedicated on weddings at Mayan Temples only (www.MayanRuinsWeddings.com).