courtney dellafiora blog :: international wedding photographer » destination wedding

Angie + Toby :: Elopement

courtney — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:58:08 +0000

I am sharing something so special and sweet today. Angie and Toby invited me to join them in Negril, Jamaica for their romantic elopement. It was just them two. They wanted it to be something special and extremely intimate between the two of them only. I am still amazed that they gave me the honor to be the other person there to witness it and document it. As I learned more about them, I came to adore them deeply. There were so many emotional moments that even caught me off guard a little, as tears welled up in my eyes. I even feel them coming now as I reminisce and type this story out. Angie and Toby have both suffered deep heartbreak before they met each other. Toby was in a devastating car accident several years before, that left him paralyzed and with severe brain injury. But he fought and never gave up to get his strength back and now he is completely healed and back to his healthy self. AMAZING. Years before they met Angie was engaged to another man who fell ill with cancer. Her world was completely shattered, but she cared for him up until his very last breath. After this tragedy she believed she would never find love again. God knew better… he had bigger plans for them both. After they both suffered, God healed their hearts and brought them to each other. They are so in love and so grateful for every moment they’ve been given. They both know how precious life is and that makes them appreciate God and each other so deeply.

I just love their stories. It’s truly inspiring and proof that no matter what dark nightmare you may be facing or have faced, God is still there holding his arms out with his unfailing love and joy. He will pick you up and piece you back together again. I know this personally from my own devastating heartbreak in the past. Which is why I can relate so much to Toby and Angie.

Their day was so amazing and special in every way. It was such a joy to be a part of it.

Toby sent me this sweet email after their wedding:
“I need nothing only wanted to convey my appreciation for how you saw my wife and I’s moment in life. It is truly a gift you have and share with your clients. Thank you for capturing the happiness that we have and feel for one another. It was what I wanted and more. Just to see her happiness and here her reactions when looking and talking about our wedding will be something I will cherish for the rest of my wife and I’s life together. Our happiness is the most important part of hers and my relationship with each other. Again thank you. Regards, Toby”

Angie and Toby: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for including me on this. I will never forget it. It was such an honor.

Angie had me deliver a hand written note to T0by as he finished his vows. It was so sweet how he started crying. It’s so obvious how much these two love each other.

Even though they didn’t have any guests, they still did a First Look with each other which I just LOVED.

Before the ceremony we took some time to walk around for a few portraits.

Ceremony time:

Angie and Toby invited me to be their witness on their marriage license. Wow, such an honor.

Their first dance as husband and wife.

After an intimate dinner, they set off lanterns into the beautiful starlit sky. It was an amazing moment.

Courtney + Christopher :: Trash the Dress (Aruba)

courtney — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:00:44 +0000

The next morning after Courtney and Chris’ wedding, we shot their Trash the Dress photos. This is always something really fun to do especially if you’re doing a destination wedding. I absolutely LOVE the photos I got. Aruba provided a beautiful backdrop and I mean HELLO HOTNESS with this couple!! Enjoy!

See their wedding images here.

Love love love a million times over.

Courtney + Christopher :: Wedding (Aruba)

courtney — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:21:45 +0000

It was an absolute joy and honor to be a part of Courtney and Chris’ wedding in Aruba. I had never been to this tiny island before and was so excited to see it!! Aruba has the prettiest aqua blue water I have ever seen. It was amazingly beautiful. I love small, intimate weddings so much. There is truly something so so special about having just your family and bestest of friends with you. The memories from the day are something the couple will never ever forget as long as they live. These two doctors found each other at medical school several years ago and the rest is pretty much history. ; ) (Love it when doctors fall in love, so cute!) They were both so kind to Deirdre and I in the entire wedding planning process, up until the day of the wedding. We truly enjoyed getting to know them and sharing in their wedded bliss. Hope you enjoy a few of my favorites from their memorable day.

Courtney and Christopher – thank you so much for inviting us to be a part of your wedding. I hope you love and cherish not only the photos, but each other… forever. xo

So I thought their invitations were truly SUCH a great idea for a destination wedding… a boarding pass!! Genius.

LOVED her mermaid dress.

Since they were having a sunset ceremony, they opted to do a First Look beforehand which I always love love love.

After spending some time doing some portraits, it was time for the big moment!

Loved the simplicity of the ceremony location.

Love.

As the ceremony ended, they had all of their guests join them at the beach to throw stones into the Caribbean as they each made a wish.

Love this photo… everyone who flew in and attended their wedding. Their friends and family came from all over. Chris’ parent’s are even from Trinidad which is why they chose to have their wedding in Aruba as a meeting place. So cool.

One of my favorites from the day:

First dance:

The couple laughing as their friends gave toasts.

The evening ended with everyone dancing the Aruban night away and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Coming up next: Courtney and Christopher’s Trash the Dress shoot!

Lyndsey + Travis :: Trash the Dress (lover’s cove, cabo)

courtney — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:32:24 +0000

You ready for a story? Here goes…I’m going to do my best to give you a visual of the most adventurous shoot I have ever gone on. : ) The day after Lyndsey and Travis’ wedding in Cabo, we headed out BRIGHT AND EARLY… like 5:30am… to the very famous Lover’s Cove to shoot their Trash the Dress shoot. To get to this exotic location, you must take a boat. Well, the problem was… that early on a Sunday morning it was impossible to find a water taxi to get us there. Apparently these taxi drivers like to sleep in a little on Sunday? HOW DARE THEM!! Our predicament was we were crunched for timing as I like to shoot at a very particular time in order to get the best lighting. So we started to get a little worried we wouldn’t make it to the spot in time. After doing lots of persuading in Spanish (on my part) with a local at the boat marina, he managed to talk a local fisherman to take us out to Lover’s Cove on his fishing boat. Whew! So Lyndsey, Travis, Deirdre and I hopped in this tiny (and smelly) fishing boat… wedding dress on and equipment in hands. That was the easy part. The boat ride was about 5 minutes away from the marina. As we arrived, we realized how incredibly difficult it was going to be to get out of this tiny boat without getting completely washed away. The tide was pretty rough and as you may already know, the bottom of a fishing boat is shaped sort of like a canoe, not flat on the bottom (like a water taxi is!!), which makes it rock back and forth a LOT. The other tricky thing, is these the two Mexican fisherman that drove us out there were elderly and having a very hard time pulling the boat into shore. Travis hopped out the boat to help him try to pull it in, but even with two men, the tide was SO strong… needless to say it was pretty scary. As soon as a wave pushed the boat in, Lynds, D and I all jumped out as quick as we could… trying not to ruin the equipment. It was interesting to say the least, but we managed to make it. The fisherman yelled to me in Spanish that they would be back to pick us up in an hour. So we had to hurry.

The thing about Lover’s Cove is you have to be dropped off on one side of it because the other side where the arch is at, is even ROUGHER with the tide. And I mean, like killer waves. Boats cannot even go on that side. So as soon as we were dropped off, we had to trek it to the other side with all of our stuff. As we got closer to the arch we began to lose sand area to walk on next to the cliffs, so we would have to wait until a wave would recede into the Pacific and then TAKE OFF RUNNING LIKE YOU WERE RUNNING FROM AN AX MURDERER before the water would come back up. And you think I’m exaggerating… um no. We were DETERMINED to get to that arch!!!! Especially Lyndsey, you should have seen her… she had that dress in arms and was running like a madwoman across the sand to the other side. Haha LOVED IT. Such an adventurous bride. : ) SO…. we finally made it the arch… out of breath, and about to pass out… but we made it!!!! At this point I knew I only had a very short window to get some amazing shots, not only because of lighting… but I knew our boat would be back before we knew it and we did NOT want to get stranded. So we quickly starting shooting and I got some of my favorite shots ever. This location was just breathtaking. There was not a single soul there besides us (and a few sea lions!!) It was truly surreal. Have you ever seen the movie The Black Stallion? I was obsessed with that movie as a child. When I was at this location, it made me think of that movie and the part where the little boy is stranded on the beach with the black stallion. It was just one of those moments I will never forget for as long as I live. Mind blowing, majestic, like a dream, marvelous, stunning are just a few of the words that come to mind when thinking of this beautiful place that God created. I feel incredibly blessed that I had the opportunity to be one of the few people on earth who got to see it. We were told for 7 years the tide is high and there is actually no beach to even be on. And then for one year after every 7 years, there is beach. We were lucky enough to have been able to visit it on that ONE YEAR!! Crazy amazing. Most people don’t have that opportunity. Innnncrreeeedddible. Truly.

As we finished taking a few photos on that side, Deirdre pointed out that we should probably make a mad dash back to the other side just in case the tide got higher, and we would get stuck on that side, with no where to go. YIKES. We grabbed our stuff and did the RUN-FOR-YOUR-LIFE dance again. We made it back to the other side safe, and again, out of breath. We spent a little longer capturing some more amazing shots and then saw our fisherman coming back for us. Heeerrreee we go again!!!! Needless to say, this time the waves were more rough than when we were dropped off and I knew getting back on this little boat was going to be even more difficult. As we stood on the beach watching them struggle to get the boat close enough, we all started to get a littttllllle nervous. The boat was rocking back and forth vigorously and at one point almost completely flipped over. As we watched these 2 fisherman fighting the waves, we all had our lives flashing before our eyes. “Is THIS how my life is going to end!?!” I waited for a “calm” moment and we all made a dash for it and hopped in the boat as fast we could all while holding equipment above our heads and trying not to trip and drown. SCA-RY. As we all got in the boat, the waves continued to crash near the shore while the boat was going BACK AND FORTH… and at one point it almost flipped over. There is no doubt we were all screaming at the top of our lungs and I am pretty sure Deirdre and I were using words our mothers would not approve of. It was THAT SCARY. All I could think was, “this boat is about to flip over, hit us on the head, knock us out… and we are done for.” But it didn’t and we got back out to the ocean, where it was much calmer. All of us were wet, smelled like fish and extremely shaken up. BUT HEY, WE GOT THE SHOTS AND MADE IT OUT ALIVE!!! WOOHOOO!!!!! Then the fisherman begins to tell me in Spanish, “now hey, since you speak Spanish… if the police ask, you’re my sister. Because I am not licensed to take people out.” BAHAHAHAHAA. Perfect way to end this insane adventure… worrying about getting arrested in Mexico. Nice.

Even though it got seriously scary, it was so worth it. We all got to witness one of the most beautiful places ever and take some incredible photos that ALL FOUR of us will cherish and remember forever. I am so glad all 4 of us possess a spirit of adventure, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to make any of this come true.

Thanks Travis and Lyndsey for just being simply put, RAD. Many hugs and kisses to you both!

And just to give you an idea of what Lover’s Cove NORMALLY looks like 7 out of 8 years, here is a photo I grabbed off of Google. See, no land.

Lyndsey + Travis :: Wedding (Cabo San Lucas)

courtney — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:00:34 +0000

Destination weddings are so much fun. Not only is it fun to be able to go and shoot somewhere unique and different than the norm, but destination weddings are so so so intimate. And I looooove that. Travis and Lyndsey invited me to be a part of their beautiful wedding in Cabo, Mexico about a year ago and I have been itching to shoot it ever since. This was my first time to Cabo and I had always heard amazing things about it. (It’s where our very own Courtney Davis was married!) It definitely did not disappoint. Cabo was different than the other beachy locations I have been to in that it’s in a very dry climate. It only rains like 5 days a year, so the weather is not humid AT ALL and it feels AMAZING, like always in the 70s. AWESOME. It reminded me of California weather… ya know, just perfection. Siiiigh. I loved it. Cabo is definitely a beautiful place to visit or have a wedding – I highly recommend it.

Now that I am done praising Cabo, let’s get to the good stuff. It is ALWAYS such an enormous honor when any of my clients hire me to shoot their wedding, but add in the blessing of being flown to another location for a wedding… well, that just blows my mind. Sometimes I really do have to pinch myself and make sure I am not dreaming. I have said it a thousand times, but I feel SO TREMENDOUSLY blessed to have the best clients in the world. I refuse to ever take any of them for granted. They each bring so much joy into my life to be able to do what I absolutely love and am so passionate about. It was so amazing to be a part of this incredible wedding between Lyndsey and Travis and I really hope you enjoy looking through a glimpse of their day. By the way, you can see their engagement photos here.

Lynds and Travis – words could never express how grateful I am to have been able to be a part of this amazing and beautiful adventure of yours. Thank you. xoxo

The wedding was held at the BEAUTIFUL Cabo Del Sol with event planning by Karla Casillas. I seriously absolutely LOVED this venue and it’s location. Perfection.

Travis and Lyndsey opted to do a “First Look”. Even though a destination wedding is more laid back, it’s still the best idea to do a First Look to have that intimate moment together and also to be able to take care of all the formal group portraits ahead of time.

This may be the cutest brother & sister I have ever seen.

Here comes the bride!

Perfection.

Two priceless moments: 1. The minister realizing he called Lyndsey “Courtney” during the ceremony. OMG! 2. Their first kiss as husband and wife!

Married!

A photo of everyone who made the trip for Lyndsey and Travis to witness their memorable day.

An emotional moment between Travis, Lynds and Travis’ sister. See, a couple of days before everyone left for Cabo, Travis’ mother broke her leg. : ( She along with his stepfather were not able to go to Cabo for the wedding because of possible blood clotting from flying. SO AWFUL!!! Could you imagine your parents not being able to attend your wedding? I felt so much for them. : (

I pretty much LOVE every single one of the following set of photos with Lyndsey and Travis.

Deirdre got this beautiful shot! Love.

First dance!

Father/Daughter dance along with Grandmother/Son dance. (Travis’ grandmother stepped in for his mom.)

Then Travis’ sister took a moment to dance with him. So sweet!

Then after all the tears had been shed, toasts had been made and dinner had been served… it was time to PARTY!

DO THE BERNIE MAC. Hahahaha! That dance CRACKS ME UP.

I will end this post with a sneak peek of their Trash the Dress shoot, coming tomorrow!!!! You’ll get to hear all about our dangerous adventure getting to this location!

Lindsey + Nick :: Wedding (Houmas House Plantation)

courtney — Sat, 14 May 2011 23:33:12 +0000

When Lindsey and Nick contacted me all the way from New Jersey to let me know they were planning their destination wedding to Louisiana, I was just thrilled!!! I have several couples who live in other states that come to Louisiana to marry, but it’s usually because they have family here or some connection to this state. Not Lindsey and Nick. They didn’t know anyone here but were drawn to our beautiful Southern Plantations and since Lindsey is from Florida they thought Louisiana would be the perfect spot for their closest friends and family to gather and celebrate their big moment. I loved this. They flew in for their engagement shoot this past fall (which you can see here! <– some of my favorite pictures!) and after getting to know them I just could not wait to shoot their wedding!! They chose one of my ABSOLUTE favorite locations in the south… Houmas House Plantation. The day was amazing and I LOVE how the photos turned out. I will let them tell you the story of this beautiful wedding between two beautiful people.

Thank you Lindsey and Nick … I know how important photos are to both of you, so this was SUCH an honor. I only hope I did your memories justice. Thank you for everything!!!! I hope to see you again!! xoxo

The beautiful bride preparing to see her groom!!

There are SEVERAL things I love about Houmas House… but one of my favorites is how much they cater to the groom and his groomsmen. Not many venues (if any) do that. Houmas House has this adorable little bar called the Turtle Bar which is air conditioned and perfect for the guys to hang out while the girls get ready. MAN BONDING TIME YA KNOW.

Nick and Lindsey are very wise people and opted to do a First Look before the ceremony. VERY WISE. ; ) BEST DECISION EVER. Deirdre captured this angle as Lindsey made her way to see Nick. I always LOVE this moment because you can just feel the anticipation in the air. I’m getting antsy just writing this!!

SIIIIIIIGH…. I just love the First Look. You just can’t get this intimacy any other time of the day. This is your only chance to have a private moment together. Well, I mean, I am there but don’t worry… I always work my magic NINJA DISAPPEARING skills and you won’t even see me there. No really…. try me.

Seriously, SIIIIIIIIGH. I love couples that are truly in looooovveeee.

After taking some time to snap photos of the beautiful couple, we did some bridal party photos so we would have more time after the ceremony to enjoy the festivities.

James Bond much?

Beautiful ladies.

Lindsey and Nick’s wedding was held Easter weekend and while I was walking around the grounds I made a new friend, the EASTER BUNNY!!!!! He was so cute and hopped right up to me and told me he wanted his photo taken. Yep.

Okay, so again… not only does Houmas House have that super cool bar for the guys… they also have a POOL ROOM for them!!! While they are waiting for the big moment, they will always entertain themselves with a few games and I just think that is super rad.

And now ladies and gentlemen, for the big moment…

BEAUTIFUL Lindsey waiting for her father to walk her down the aisle. Thanks to Deirdre for capturing this lovely shot.

One of my favorite local harpists, Ashley Toman, was there to show us her beautiful talent and set the mood for the ceremony.

Married!!! YAY LOVE THIS MOMENT!!!

And this one… pure candidness… and LOVE.

After a few celebratory hugs and kisses… we shot a few family photos.

And then took some time to shoot a few more photos as the sun began to set. LOVE this one:

Cocktail Hour:

After toasting it was time to par-tay! And party they did. : )

Up north the tossing of the garter isn’t quite as common, so I thought it was extremely funny how excited the guys were to catch it.

Deirdre captured this really sweet moment between the happy couple and I love it.

The End of a beautiful day!! But the beginning of a beautiful marriage. Congrats Nick and Lindsey!!!

Marissa + Mike :: Trash The Dress (Jamaica)

courtney — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:39:02 +0000

Another thing I love about being a part of destination weddings… is we generally get the opportunity to do a “trash the dress” or “day after” shoot with the happy couple. If you saw my post from yesterday, you have already seen Marissa and Mike’s wedding day in Jamaica. And now I want to share with you some of their images from their TTD shoot!! A shoot like this is super fun because it allows us to take our time and get even more relaxed and fun photos. And you can’t go wrong with a location like Negril Jamaica!!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARISSA!!! I didn’t plan it for these to be blogged on your birthday but I am so glad it worked out that way!!! Hope you have an amazing birthday. You deserve it!!

And thank you Jamaica for being as always, beautiful and welcoming.

Love this one Deirdre captured:

A little friend came to play.

Love.

Marissa + Mike :: Wedding (Negril, Jamaica)

courtney — Tue, 10 May 2011 20:32:11 +0000

Sometimes I really have to pinch myself. Am I really this blessed?! Do I really have SUCH amazing clients?! REALLY!?! I honestly cannot believe it sometimes. I feel SOOOOO blessed every.single.day of my life. I have said it before and I will say it again and again…. I LOVE each and every one of my clients. They all treat me like a princess and I could never possibly thank them enough. When Marissa contacted me over a year ago to book her wedding in Jamaica, I was once again, HONORED. It’s amazing enough when someone wants to hire me for their wedding period, but when someone from a completely different state than I (Marissa & Mike live in Ohio!), want to fly me in for their exotic island wedding in Jamaica… there are just no words to describe how much that means. This is the THIRD time I’ve had the opportunity to shoot a wedding in Jamaica and every time it’s just as exciting as the last. It was a little different this time with Mike and Marissa, because I had the opportunity to fly to Ohio this past fall to shoot their engagement photos so I had the chance to meet them before the wedding which was so wonderful. (see their engagement photos here) After getting to know them a little better, I fell in love with these two!!! They are not only true in love with one another and treat each other with such respect… but they treat everyone else just as great, including me! I was completely thrilled to be a part of documenting their story and honestly, felt like part of the family instantly.

One of my favorite things about destination weddings, no matter where they take place, is how incredibly intimate they are. The amount of people that attend a destination wedding is anywhere between 20-75 people and it’s always such a different feel than a normal wedding. I absolutely adore how close everyone is to each other and I truly feel completely at home every time. Marissa and Mike, along with their friends and family, were no exception of this as they completely welcomed Deirdre and I with open arms and we will forever be grateful for that along with all of the amazing memories I will never forget!!

Marissa and Mike… I could never thank you enough even if I tried. You have been completely WONDERFUL to me in EVERY SINGLE WAY from day ONE. I will never forget your kindness and generosity for as long as I live!!! And PS. thanks again for those AMAZING wine glasses. I still cherish them SOOOOOO MUCH!! XOXO

Stay tuned in the next day or 2 for their TRASH THE DRESS SHOOT!! : )

After preparing for the big day… Marissa headed to meet Mike for their FIRST LOOK. (my favorite!!!)

Love this shot Deirdre got… pure bliss.

SHOWTIME!

The Jamaican ceremony was intimate and memorable.

YAY MARRIED!!!

Mike’s signature move: forehead kiss!!! And I could not possibly love that too much!!!

Everyone who joined Marissa and Mike for their wedding celebration in Jamaica. Their closest friends and family.

I LOVE JAPANESE LANTERNS. LOVE.

FIRST DANCE!! Spotted: forehead kiss!

The girls completely match the beautiful sunset!!

Have I mentioned that I love Japanese lanterns? They just set such a romantic atmosphere.

After a delicious sit down dinner… it was time to PAR-TAY, Jamaica style!!!! (with Red Strip beer in hand and all!) Spotted: forehead kiss!!!!

Another one of my favorite things about this night is that it was a full moon outside… and we already know my obsession with that!!!

Spotted: forehead kiss!!!

It was truly a day and night to remember FOREVER. xo

Allison + Jonathan :: Wedding (Playa Del Carmen)

courtney — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:23:32 +0000

This past August we had the opportunity to photograph Jonathan and Allison’s wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. One of my absolute favorite things about destination weddings is how intimate and relaxed they are. It’s like one big family getting together and sharing a beautiful moment with the people they love. Another thing I love… I always immediately feel like one of the family – from the day we arrive to the day we leave. Allison and Jonathan were no exception of this. They were completely hospitable and caring of our needs from the moment we got to the resort. We had a complete and total blast with them and all of their friends and family. It was my first time to go to Mexico and I definitely fell in love. The people, the weather and the romantic feel in the air was enough to win my heart over. I look forward to visiting again as soon as possible!

Allison and Jonathan, thank you so much for being so wonderful in every way. I will always and forever cherish being a part of your wedding and festivities. I hope to see you again soon!! xoxo

The chapel on the resort at El Dorado Royale was so flippin’ cute. I loved it.

Love this shot Deirdre captured of Allison with her father right before she walked down the aisle.

Married!!

One of the perks of having a smaller intimate wedding is that you can get a photo with all of your guests!!

Such a lovely couple.

The Mexican light was HEAVENLY.

Love this:

Deirdre captured the next 2 shots and I LOVE them.

As the night went on, LOTS of fun was had under the Mexican sky.

Stay tuned for their Trash the Dress shoot coming up next!!