Heather has a couple wedding dresses she has used for models as well as to model in herself for other photographers. I made sure I packed my bags lightly so I could throw the dress in my bag. Before we left for Cuba I knew exactly where I wanted to go. 45 minutes away from the Paradisus in Cuba is the town of Gibara. It’s a fishing town that was hit by hurricane Ike a few years ago which you can still see clear signs of to this day. I rented a guide and jeep to get us around which was probably the best decision I made for the trip as having a translator came in handy. My Spanish is still very limited.

This ship was broken into three pieces and has been sitting on the rocky shore for years. While the locals thought I was crazy for wanting to go take pictures with them it was actually one of the biggest reasons I chose to go here.

Instead of taking a Taxi, I rented a car. I knew it couldn’t just be any car, we had to ride in style. So what better way to explore Mexico then a Jeep Wrangler. There is just something about a bride in a jeep with the top down that just screams photo op.

First stop, Puerto Morelos. A small fishing town 10 minutes from the resort.

Considering we saw hundreds of people (sometimes in the same vehicle) piled into the backs of cars, Jason thought it would be OK to be doing a little stand up driving down some side streets.

We drove for a while and came to a cenote. I’ve used cenotes in the past so I was looking forward to trying a new one. Once here I was a little excited about the cliff we found. I think Jason told the story best when we got back, but my eyes really lit up when I found out it was deep enough to jump from.

After changing dresses, Linda started chatting with a little girl that lived on the property.

My favorite shot of the week. Good thing the water was warmer then the pools at the resort.

One last one. This was taken by Jason as we were driving down the highway.

One thing I love about what I do is convincing those who hate getting their pictures taken that it’s really not such a bad thing (in the right hands). Kevin was one of those guys, so it really meant a lot to me when Kevin told me after their trash the dress session that he had no idea he would have so much fun and it was one of the best parts of their trip.

That’s all for now. I can’t wait until my next trip to Mexico at the end of this month with a couple from Edmonton.

This image has easily become one of my new favorites. It really makes me want to live in Mexico so I can shoot more underwater trash the dress sessions.

Another one of my new fav’s. I have been to this cenote before but ran out of time before I could take any pictures of a bride in lily pads. I knew going in there that I just had to get it this time.

It was so much fun being down there with such an awesome couple. I can’t wait to be down to Mexico for another wedding again at the end of the month.

We did things a little differently and trashed the dress (or rather, a dress) the day before the wedding. Jen had bought a second dress just for this occasion so a pre-wedding TTD was a worry free endeavor. I arranged a trip to a cenote for a few hours to get a truly unique and authentic setting for the couple.

Here are just a few of the shots that we took on that day.

After the cenote we headed back to our resort to finish off the day with some beach and pool fun.

Thank you to Jen, John, and the whole group. You guys were amazing and fun to work with. Thanks to those as well who had me join their tables for meals so I wouldn’t eat alone – you sure know how to make a guy feel the love!

I will have lots more to post in the next couple days as I have only had a small amount of time to make any edits. Check back for more pics soon!