Destination weddings offer stunning scenery
and exotic atmosphere, providing the conditions
needed to enhance those fabulous memories. However,
since these types of weddings are often at resort
locations in foreign countries, they’re
subject to the unusual and the unexpected, creating
logistical and scheduling factors that can affect
your entire agenda, including the photography.
A few of our most traveled award-winners have
weighed in with their own experiences and advice
for ensuring a smooth and wonderful event.
POLITICAL
UNREST
It’s hard to imagine a more picture postcard-perfect
wedding location than Haiti. Few islands in
the Caribbean rival its beautiful beaches, mountains,
rain forests, rich culture…or political
upheaval. Even though the present government
is stable, two centuries of bloodshed over politics
and power should make you cautious about making
wedding arrangements there.
No
matter what idyllic wedding location you might
choose anywhere in the world, popular attitude
and local politics can shift. So when you plan
your destination wedding, WPJA member David
Murray of Kennebunkport, ME, suggests you scan
the news to make sure the country you choose
isn’t experiencing instability. The last
thing you need on your wedding day is to be
rescued from a political revolution.
“Having
worked as a photojournalist in Haiti, I know
things can change very quickly,” says
Murray, who has spent many years in the Caribbean
shooting for newspapers and now photographs
destination weddings there. “Google the
place you select and do your research. Obviously
if you are going to be married in Bermuda, it’s
not a problem, but in many foreign countries
it pays to talk with a concierge or other knowledgeable
person at your hotel before venturing off the
grounds of your resort into uncharted territory.”
Tod
O’Driscoll, a WPJA member from Phoenix,
AZ, says if he is going to photograph a wedding
in a country unfamiliar to him, he researches
it on the Internet and in travel books. “I
also speak with people who have extensive experience
traveling or working in those countries,”
he says. “This really helps me to be as
prepared as possible, and helps me deal with
logistical issues, like language, culture and
customs.”
O’Driscoll
and Murray agree that it’s also important
to have a contingency plan for any potential
disaster. That’s especially true if you
are planning on getting married during the Atlantic
hurricane season (June through November), but
it can be a lifesaver when a rainy day washes
out your outdoor ceremony. “I shot a destination
wedding in Kauai, Hawaii, last year,”
says O’Driscoll. “I had been planning
on getting some great portraits of the bride
and groom at the beach. Unfortunately, Kauai
had experienced about six weeks of rain so the
ocean was an ugly-looking brownish gray. Then
on the day of the wedding, it rained pretty
much nonstop the whole day. Fortunately, the
bride and groom knew that there was a very good
chance of rain so they had secured a church
to use for the ceremony.”
OMINOUS
CLOUDS
Peter Van de Maele, a WPJA wedding photojournalist
based in the Riviera Maya, Mexico, caught a
rainy moment at an outdoor beach ceremony on
Playa del Carmen. In his award-winning photo,
a lone, colorful umbrella held aloft by one
of the guests contrasted beautifully against
a threatening gray cloud, giving the picture
an ominous feeling. “It was raining and
the bride was freaking out as she was getting
ready,” says Van de Maele, because she
had no alternative place selected. When he got
to the beach for the ceremony, the rain had
stopped and the guests closed their umbrellas,
except one. That picture tells the story of
a nervous beginning to a ceremony that ultimately
stayed dry.
Murray advises Caribbean-bound brides and grooms
to be prepared for the tropical climate. “It’s
hot and it can be humid,” he says. “I
strongly suggest that couples wear comfortable
clothing. It’s also a good idea to give
yourself a couple of days to get acclimated
to the climate and the area. Get to know the
staff at the hotel and make sure they know you.
And stay a few extra days so you can really
enjoy it.”
A
couple Murray photographed at the Yucatan Peninsula
just south of Cancun definitely got into the
island spirit when they kicked off their shoes
after the ceremony. “I’m always
looking to shoot something different,”
says Murray about photographing the couple’s
feet. “As they walked down the stairs
toward me, I noticed the cool lights. I panned
their feet with my long lens and stayed in sync
with the camera as they took each step.”
The resulting image is a whimsical representation
of tropical wedding casualness.
Wedding photojournalists are charged with recording
the day’s events, of course, but they
also strive to visually represent a wedding’s
atmosphere. O’Driscoll captured the mood
during a reception held at the exclusive resort
of La Loma in Cuixmala, Mexico, on the Pacific
coast. Originally built as a familial compound
by the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith
and surrounded by the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere
Reserve, La Loma has a sophisticated elegance
in an all-natural environment. “The reception
was held on a thatched-roof patio overlooking
the ocean,” O’Driscoll remembers.
His warm, sunset photo beautifully represents
the peaceful, private affair.
KNOW
THE LAW
Even though the couple O’Driscoll photographed
was married at a resort, they still had to adhere
to Mexico’s marriage laws. “In Mexico
you must have two witnesses, and blood tests
for the couple are required,” says Elena
Lynch, supervisor of destination weddings with
The Wedding Experience, a Miami-based wedding
consulting company. Laws vary from country to
country, she says, so those couples that want
destination weddings should know the marriage
requirements well in advance to avoid last minute
scrambling.
Some
countries have laws against using photographers
and other professionals who aren’t locally
based. It’s not a problem in Mexico, Lynch
notes, and it isn’t typically a concern
in other Caribbean countries either. However,
she advises keeping your hired photographer’s
presence low-key, a tip David Murray also recommends.
“I skirted the issue once in Anguilla,”
he recalls. “When I arrived on the island
and was asked by an official the reason for
my visit, he hesitated when I told him I was
photographing a wedding. So I hastily added
that the bride and groom were friends of mine,
which made it OK with him. When I go to Mexico
to photograph a wedding, I take only two cameras
and try not to appear like anything other than
a tourist.”
LANGUAGE,
INSURANCE AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
It’s helpful if you know a little of the
language where you intend to marry, especially
in remote locations. That’s not a problem
for Peter Van de Maele, a native of Belgium
who speaks five languages and travels with an
assistant who speaks six. Van de Maele advises
that if you are unfamiliar with the country
or language, it’s a good idea to hire
a local wedding consultant. However, he recommends
working with an independent consultant rather
than a coordinator at the resort where you plan
to marry. “For resort wedding coordinators,
it’s just a job,” he says. “You
are just wedding number three or four on a single
day. But an independent professional wedding
coordinator can help create an exclusive, easy-going
wedding tailored to you.”
Van
de Maele and Lynch both advocate purchasing
traveler’s insurance. In fact, Lynch advises
couples to invest specifically in wedding insurance,
which typically covers such unforeseen events
as severe weather, illness or no-show vendors.
“Good
insurance is a must because strange things can
happen during special events,” says Van
de Maele. In Mexico his assistant nearly died
because of an incorrect diagnosis. “Our
insurance sent him to a Paris hospital and then
to Belgium. The total bill was $60,000! Medical
care can be critical, even in a beautiful, exotic
paradise.”
Taking
these kinds of precautions, whether purchasing
wedding insurance, or familiarizing yourself
with a country’s customs, laws and climate,
will increase your chances for a successful,
stress-free wedding, no matter where in the
world the ceremony takes place.
—by
Lorna Gentry for the Wedding Photojournalist
Association
