One of the things that I loved best about Liza and Andy’s intimate wedding was the fact that they made such an enormous effort to include their family and friends in every part of the wedding.  From the special ceremony to honor Andy’s daughter, Avery, and symbolize the fact that the three of them were becoming a family, to all of the little details thanking their guests for their attendance, the whole day left me with a warm glow.  Add to that the fact that Liza and Andy were married at one of my favorite venues in Puerto Vallarta (the St. Regis Punta Mita) and we still went into Vallarta the next day to take some colorful portraits, and I simply adored the entire weekend.  Liza told me that it had always been a dream of hers to have a destination wedding, and they chose the St. Regis because they thought it would be a great place their friends and family to relax and enjoy their time away from home.

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 am so excited to post this wedding- I’ve been bursting ever since I got home from Punta Mita a few days ago.  First, Jeni and Benjamin were so absolutely wonderful to work with, and I loved their families to pieces.  Second, the wedding was at the St. Regis in Punta Mita, Mexico- a new(ish) resort- this was the St. Regis’ second wedding ever, and it was a truly phenomenal event.  Third, Jeni and Benjamin chose to do a True Romance shoot (one of my FAVORITE things to photograph), and we had a great time!

The wedding was truly spectacular- from the incredible event design to the unbelievable cake (which MATCHED the table runners- check it out below!) to the beautiful setting underneath the stars and hundreds of lanterns.  I loved the splashed of turquoise throughout the wedding, from the tables to the necklaces that the bridesmaids wore, this was a wedding that was pulled together so well.  And it was so much FUN!  Jeni and Benjamin’s friends and families hit the dance floor and stayed there all night (well, minus some trips to the tequila bar, which served five different types of tequila).

Here are some of my favorite photographs from this beautiful destination wedding:

Post by Michelle Turner, Maine Wedding Photographer and Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer
Tags: Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photographer, Puerto Vallarta Wedding Photography, Punta Mita Wedding Photography, Punta Mita Weddings, St. Regis Punta Mita Wedding