Photo ideas for RPDC brides

[NateBroshot]

Hey guys! So something I've done at my last two Royal Playa del Carmen weddings has been to take couples on a mini-trash the dress after the ceremony.  By mini-trash the dress I mean take the couples off-site : )

 

I think this is a great idea for a couple reasons and I imagine there might be some local to Playa photographers that do this as well.  

 

Here's why I think this is an awesome idea.  Yes, the RPDC is a great place to have a wedding, but there are a couple of drawbacks about the site from a photographers standpoint.  

 

1)  The RPDC is crowded.  Unless you're getting married in the gazebo odds are gawking tourists and hotel goers will get as close as they possibly can to your ceremony with their cameras and cell phones out.  The beach is also crowded and narrow, lots of half-dressed people and again, gawkers, not a lot of room to work and a lot of distractions.

 

2)  The sun sets behind the RPDC.  Matt from Del Sol touched on it in this post and it's photographic draw backs.  If you're shooting on site in the late day at the RPDC, you can't use any of that awesome light that is so important if you are a natural light photographer or working with one.

 

Within a five minute taxi ride of the RPDC are a variety of more Mexican looking neighborhoods, brightly colored buildings, hand painted coca cola signs, and sweet looking doorways.  Just a couple minutes north of the RPDC there is also an isolated stretch of beach, with virtually no tourists and no buildings blocking that late day light.  

 

A mini-Trash-the-dress is awesome and I highly suggest this to any bride getting married at the RPDC.  And of course a few photo examples below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kerrimark2010]

I think going off-site was one of the best decisions we made for our photography (besides hiring Nate, of course!).  Our pictures turned out truly unique, and we will always remember the experience of walking through Playa del Carmen looking for creative places to get good photos.  Case in point:  my husband and I were walking around with Nate when my husband spotted this beautiful purple tree that looked like it was growing out of the side of a building.  He pointed it out to Nate, we took some photos, and now whenever he looks at those photos (like the one above), my husband reminds me that that was "his" tree.  :-)  My only regret is that we didn't do a morning after trash the dress...

[kerrimark2010]

One more thing - the Royal is crowded.  We had a ton of people checking out our 3pm wedding.  It was nice to get away from that (and all of our guests) and enjoy a few more serene settings..