Melissa + Tom: Married!

This trip was full of firsts for me.
First time zip-lining. First time rappelling. First time snorkeling with sea turtles. First time jumping in a cenote…and bruising my tailbone (don’t ask.)
First time shooting a trash the dress, and obviously, first time shooting a destination wedding.

And it. was. amazing.

I went to university with Melissa + Tom, and after spending a week with them in Mexico, I wish we had hung out more. Those two are amazing together. And how shocked was I when Melissa talked about Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter characters?! Impressed.

Mel + Tom also met in University. As fate would have it, they were both late to their first ever University exam. Both stuck on the same bus in a traffic jam, Tom sat nervously, while Melissa made a call to the school and sorted things out. She turned to Tom, introduced herself and filled him in on the details.

After their chance encounter, Tom was in denial that a gorgeous girl would even go out of her way to talk to him, so they rarely talked. He was even in denial after they got talking again, and Melissa braved the elements to attend Tom’s Cyclocross races to cheer HIM on.

He eventually asked her out on a date. On Valentine’s Day. As…wait for it…FRIENDS.

Luckily Tom finally clued in.

Joining me on this amazing adventure-filled week at the Azul Sensatori is my pal and roomie Iffat, who also played the role as second photographer and ROCKED it (considering she had never shot a wedding before!)

I loved every single detail they put into this wedding. They designed their own website, created their own e-vites, kept their friends and family informed about their week away with an itinerary and created luggage tags for EVERYONE (definitely helpful when looking for luggage at the airport… or when the groom’s luggage was put onto the wrong bus, but then returned THANKFULLY!)

Melissa makes amazing little hand felted creatures. (Side note: I need to own her Yoda + Ewok. As well as her CHUBBY penguin Gus.) She also has a Facebook fan page for all this cuteness! Her lucky flower girl got one as a gift!

I’m glad these two opted for a first look. Because it’s ALL kinds of amazing.

We had a bit of time to get some portraits in before the ceremony.

Mel + Tom’s ceremony was on the sky deck of the resort…and of course it was the windiest day of the week! Intense. But still gorgeous.

You just gotta have a jumping shot on the beach.

Melissa made all the girl’s barefoot sandals.

Multi-purpose decorations = awesome! Do Melissa’s centerpieces look familiar? That’s because she used them during the ceremony for the chairs!

HECK ya there was a piñata!!

Each place setting had a maraca. In order to get the bride and groom to kiss, you had to SHAKE what your mama gave ya! Or…maraca in this case.

I apologize if this offends Scott (the best man, Tom’s brother) but I nicknamed him Hot Scott. Yes, I admit it. BEST. SPEECH. EVAR. Freakin’ hilarious! Why the get-up? Well, Tom is a hard-core cyclist. Why the apple sticker? Tom is a graphic designer / lover of Apple products. Why are you asking questions?? It’s just awesome and a half and everyone was laughing. I’m in love with Tom’s reaction too.

First dance. Surprise fireworks. I got the side, while Iffat captured the amazing one with the dip and fireworks in the background. Right?!

Seriously? Amazing.

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