For our first date we went to a restaurant in Atlanta called Dante’s Down the Hatch.  Essentially it is a fondue style restaurant with a pirate theme.  It sounds extremely campy, but it was actually quite nice and delicious.  I love pirates and I really love cheese, so I was pretty much in heaven.

Katy and Corey dated for about seven years.  During that time, they both moved from Atlanta back to New Orleans (both of their families are from New Orleans).  I asked them about the proposal and Katy said:

On May 13th, 2011 (Friday the 13th), Corey and I went to a great local New Orleans restaurant, Dick and Jenny’s.  While we were sitting at the table, enjoying some appetizers and wine, I was telling Corey about how I just got a raise at work.  I was so happy and Corey was just sitting there staring at the ground with sweat on his forehead.  I had no idea what was wrong with him and why he was not acting excited for me.  Then he took out the box and asked me to marry him.  I started crying and the champagne started flowing.

Katy’s mom told me that right after he proposed, Corey and Katy met up with Katy’s parents while they were out to dinner with Father Greg Plata, a close family friend.  They immediately asked Father Plata to fly down to Puerto Vallarta and marry them in one of the gorgeous Catholic churches down there.  It was an incredible ceremony, and the reception (held at the gorgeous Playa Fiesta Hotel) was nothing short of amazing.  We also had a fun Photo Booth!  Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

I asked Katy and Corey why they chose to have a destination wedding, and she told me:

Being from New Orleans, every wedding it filled with beautiful New Orleans traditions and activities surrounding the nuptials.  Corey and I dated for about seven years and throughout that time we attended some of the most beautiful, amazing New Orleans’ weddings you can imagine.  When it came time to plan our wedding, we felt that a change of destination could help give our wedding a little something special – we knew there was no way we could compete with some of our friends and their fantastic ceremonies and receptions.  We were able to bring some of our traditions and infuse them with Puerto Vallarta culture.  My favorite moment was when we Second Lined (a famous New Orleans dance) around the resort, but instead of dancing to a brass band, we danced to the mariachi band my mom surprised us with.

I asked Katy and Corey about their favorite part of the wedding day:

My favorite part of the whole day was listening to my dad’s speech at the sit-down dinner after the ceremony.  He cracks me up.  Corey’s favorite part of the wedding was the kiss.  He really laid one on me!

Yes, he did.  And I have a great shot of that kiss (which I’m going to let Katy and Corey decide who they want to share it with, haha). 

Post by Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer Michelle Turner.

Both Liza and Andy have really busy schedules, so their first date was on one of my favorite days of the year– July 4th!  I asked Liza how she and Andy got engaged, and she said:

On my birthday, Andy surprised me with a scrapbook he had made of all our dates we had been on, cards we had exchanged, quotes that I would typically say, vacations we had been on, etc.   The last few pages had pictures of both our families, and the last page said “I have loved creating all these memories with you and I have one more question for you…”, then he got down on his knee and proposed.  It was so sweet and thoughtful, and it was funny to find out after the fact that he couldn’t believe how time consuming and hard it was to make a scrapbook– it was such a guy thing to say!  It was very meaningful and he knew that it would be special for me!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

I asked Liza to tell me more about the part of the ceremony designed around Avery (Andy’s daughter), and Liza said:

It was something that I thought of to do so we could all be included in the ceremony.  There were 3 flower garlands to symbolize each one of us, and in the middle of the ceremony we all came together and tied our garlands together to symbolize the three of us becoming one, or a family.  Avery was not included in the planning, so it was a surprise that she learned about during the rehearsal. 

Liza had Mo Bowers from Fairy Godmother Bridal styling her throughout the entire weekend, and she simply looked fabulous!!  She got purchased her incredible cake topper from “Concarta” on Etsy,  and the “Eat, drink and be married” straws from Southern Fried Paper in Dallas.  Her dress dress was from Lasting Bridal Couture in Addison, Texas, and her shoes were from glass slipper.

I loved this wedding!  Congratulations, Liza and Andy!

Post by Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer Michelle Turner.

I’m so pleased to announce (albeit a bit belatedly) that Sarah and Stefan’s wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty!  I photographed their gorgeous Puerto Vallarta wedding last spring, and I enjoyed both their attention to detail and their very easy affection for one another.  You can see their Style Me Pretty feature by clicking here, or you can go to my original blog post about about their wedding by clicking here.  In the interim, here is a screen shot of their lovely featured wedding- congratulations Sarah and Stefan!  What a wonderful way to celebrate your first anniversary!

I’m also pleased to announce that Annabelle and Rachel’s gorgeous Vallarta wedding was featured on Zankyou Dutch weddings.  Annabelle and Rachel’s wedding was incredibly touching, and I loved working with both of them!  Their son also gave one of my favorite speeches ever (and I see a lot of speeches)– I don’t often tear up at a wedding, but this one had me sniffling behind the camera.  You can see the article by clicking here, and you can also see the screenshot below:

Congratulations, Annabelle and Rachel!

Post by Puerto Vallarta wedding photographer Michelle Turner.

Teresa and Guy were married at Martoca Beach Gardens in Bucerias, Mexico.  I have been in and out of this region for years, and I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the venues that are available.  So when Teresa told me that she was getting married at Martoca, which boasted a huge expanse of green lawn shaded by palm trees that went right up to the edge of the beach and the ocean beyond, I thought it sounded too good to be true.  But Martoca was an unbelievably pleasant surprise, allowing for a traditional outdoor, garden wedding with lush greenery and a beautiful ocean backdrop.   The wedding was coordinated and designed by Odette and her team at Martoca Weddings, and they did a wonderful job with the space!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

Congratulations, Teresa and Guy!  And many thanks to Eric, my second shooter for the wedding.

Post by Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer Michelle Turner.