It’s been a while since we’ve had an opportunity to feature a Trash the Dress session but it has certainly been worth the wait! Anna and Rafal married in Poland but honeymooned in Portugal and while there, decided that it was the perfect opportunity to Trash the Dress. Rita and Ricardo, the deadly duo behind R2Arte spent the day showing Anna and Rafal the sights of Lisbon and bhoy, does it look like they had fun!
We started planning our wedding in Belize, wedding number 12, with the help of the Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA), a Community-Based Ecotourism operator, we had contacted them via email and come into contact with Reyes Chun, the TEA chairman. It wasn’t until we got to Punta Gorda (PG) and got to speaking with Reyes that we really realised the extent of the work that the TEA do in PG and the surrounding villages, you can read more about TEA on 2 people1life.
After an eventful few days I said “it MUST get easier to arrange this wedding”. Well, we had been lucky enough to find a photography company who’s work we loved but they were on Ambergris Island which is 200 miles and a flight away. After a little persuasion they agreed to fly to Belize city and we agreed to collect them from there. Conch Creative’s images are very different to any others we have seen so far and we instantly clicked with Collette and Maya via email and knew they would be perfect. So that’s where we were heading… the day before the wedding. 200 miles to Belize City to collect Maya at the airport on the morning of the wedding and drive the 200 miles back in time for the wedding and then the day after the wedding drive the 200 miles back to Belize to drop Maya off in time for her flight back to Ambergris! But, it was a price we were willing to pay for the great images!
After a crazy drive across Belize we arrived in San Antonio at 3.30pm and still had a good list of jobs to do. We hadn’t managed to get in touch with the cacao plantation until the morning of the wedding and so hadn’t been able to confirm the location of the wedding to anyone…including the pastor, the marimba players or even Reyes! Everybody thought the wedding would be at the plantation… but… sadly we just couldn’t afford it! Our budget is so small and although the cost was nominal, things very easily add up.
We had decided on the waterfall as our location as it was so beautiful and had the cover needed if the persistent rain returned
I was invited into the house by Luciana and dressed in my beautiful hand made Mopan outfit. My lack of hair was a bone of contention but Luciana managed to do something with it for me with a splash of gel and a few pins. Her hair flows like beautiful black treacle when she lets it loose and I wished just for that day to have long hair again.
I added the last piece to my outfit, my handmade earrings and once I was ready Luciana gathered up buckets of bread she had made for us, a drum (no exaggeration) of home made cacao drink and a huge chocolate cake fit for 30 people!
We drove to the waterfall and emptied the van to the sound of the Marimba. We all stood and listened and then Venustiano invited us down to the waters edge to hold the ceremony. He looked so smart in his crisp white shirt and black trousers.
Luciana had been so kind as to lend me a hand sewn sky blue skirt and embroidered white vest with the traditional Mopan stitch around the neck. She had also very thoughtfully lent me the veil she had held at her wedding to Reyes 23 years ago and that Reyes mother had worn at her own wedding another 20 years previous to that. It was bright turquoise with bright coloured silks at each end. I was proud to wear the outfit and hear Luciana and Fernanda giggle as Alex and I sneaked a kiss during the ceremony
The ceremony was a traditional catholic ceremony and as we said our I do’s for the 12th time we looked into each others eyes and listened to the water splash behind us.
I’m here to tell you how unbelievably amazing Mexico is for a destination wedding!
The Mexican Riviera shimmers lazily in the Caribbean Sea, its powder fine white sands and turquoise waters transport you to another world all together. The sheer beauty of the place is astounding and that’s before we mention the Maya ruins, the jungle and forest all around and the magical cenotes. All of this and fantastic weather, great service and fantastic people to boot and you know you are onto a winner! We had the help of the superstar wedding planner, Maria Tripaldi from weddings in Playa who helped us plan our ancient Mayan ceremony. She introduced us to the Shamen and arranged the perfect beach location and of course introduced us to some of the best Tequila to come out of Mexcio! With all of this arranged we met our fantastic photographer Dean of Dean Sanderson weddings who has just moved from Canada to live in this beautiful, laid back country. His work is beautiful, elegant and an absolute work of art. His balance and symmetry skill is that of a mathematic genius and he is most importantly…fun to be with!
We are always very nervous before every wedding and this one was no exception to the rule. The Maya ceremony is a very spiritual ritual and is practised very seriously as a sign of respect for the Mayan Gods.
On the beach we saw the Shamen, Miguel and Christian, in all of their traditional Mayan dress ready for our Nahautl. Beads on their ankles, huge feather headdresses and animal skins draped across their chests. A mat lay in front of them on the beach and they were lighting the copal. The mat held their offerings and bamboo poles with ribbons floating in the breeze marked the site of the wedding. We approached nervously with our offerings and my bouquet and were individually blessed. Christian played the drums and conch while Miguel blessed us by passing the smoke from the copal, produced by burning coal and sacred incense, over our bodies with a feather wand. It was a very cleansing experience, I felt all of my anxieties and nerves wash away, the heat and the smoke drifted over me and I felt completely at peace. Alex was next to be blessed and the tension in his shoulders vanished and he looked relaxed and ready for the ceremony. Christian had asked if we would like to hear the ceremony in English so we could feel more involved than had the ceremony been completely in Mayan as we anticipated. We had asked for him to explain the ceremony to us and then to complete it in Mayan with the calling of the Gods to witness the ceremony.
We have an incredibly fun post for you today and think it might even encourage you to get out and about for some merriment on this sleepy Saturday morning. Luis from Lounge Fotografia sent me a vibrant, colouful and down right deadly trash the dress shoot earlier this week and I’ve had to wait for our “Local Inspiration” day to show it to you. Lounge Fotografia are based in Infesta, near Porto in Portugal and we are so thrilled to be showing you Claudia and Hugos photosession as it is not one that is hugely popluar outside of the States. Oh and it is our first Trash the Dress at FAB! Be warned, this is not for the faint of heart and we certainly hope you like roller coaster rides!
Meet Claudia and Hugo who were married in a very small and romantic church in Cedofeita – Porto only a few weeks earlier.
Natalie {Bayside Bride}: This is absolutely stunning Marta! Oh my goodness! We love Shelby and ...
Abby Grace: These images are GORGEOUS. Marta's crazy talented- no wonder this coup...
LeiLani @ Elle Golden Photography: Love this blog, so thank you so much for featuring Dana + Tyler's wedd...
One and Only Paris Photography: Merci! We are excited to see our photos on your blog. I retrace the be...
flyawaybride: Doesn't she just Leah, I love this shoot!...