Living in Canada, I welcome spending an entire week in the middle of January in 25 degree weather. It didn’t take much convincing on Alexx and Jason’s part to get us on board with the idea of taking off to sun-soaked days by the beach and west-coast light. Their wedding was a stark contrast to our last encounter, a low-key hike in Banff Alberta in the dead of winter.
I first met Jason back when photographing Tara and Devin’s beautiful wedding at Madsen’s Gardens. That wedding provided me with a great introduction to the tight-knit group that is more family than friends. Although I came from Toronto to shoot the wedding, it was the furthest thing from a destination wedding experience.
These two are cool. Like, spitting hip-hop lyrics on the dance floor flawlessly without skipping a beat kind of cool , so I wasn’t surprised when they told me they were having their wedding on the rooftop of a private Beach Club, away from the chaos of the resorts and cruise ships in the distant view.
Since we were in Cabo, we were a stone’s throw away from beautiful desert landscapes, we caught the sunset and golden light at just the right time and took full advantage of the beauty that inspired them to have their wedding here in the first place. The palm trees, cacti, stunning rolling mountain landscape, dripping light; everything went entirely hand in hand with Alexx and Jason’s vintage bohemian desert paradise look. A timeless aesthetic that was a dream for me to experience and capture simultaneously. The sunset painted the sky various hues or red, pink, purple and yellow, adding a heightened and almost romanticized emotional experience pulled out from every feel good set in the 80’s. It was like an editorial scene from Vice City in ’85 and it sucked me in.
The only thing to trump the beauty of the landscape was the great candid moments between the group throughout the day. The sort of candid emotion that only really comes out when people are comfortable and at ease because they are surrounded by their closest friends and loved ones. The people who have been there through thick and thin and shared in those special moments in your life with you. From best friends making surprise appearances on the wedding day, to the emotional vows exchanged on the rooftop overlooking the infinite ocean, there were plenty of moments that incited tears of happiness and laughter.
That all being said, for being such a sentimental bunch, they sure party hard. The dance floor was slammed up until the very last second until they were asked (had to) leave. If not, I don’t doubt for a second that the party would’ve lasted for nearly another 12 hours. Instead, we opted for a house after-party followed by drinks and good conversation along the beach.
It’s always particularly special photographing a wedding that has layers of personal connections… and it doesn’t hurt when it’s in such a beautiful place like Cabo San Lucas, Baja California.
I came back with a tan and an abundance of memories that I’ll never forget.
Song(s) of the day
1) Drake - God’s Plan
2) Len - Steal My Sunshine (only because it played on the radio while I was there and it’s sooo bad it’s kinda good)
