Jeff and I had the pleasure of traveling down to The Barcelo Palace Resort in the Mayan Riviera Mexico to capture Anna & Darrens wedding. Wow what an awesome time! The resort is stunning and the weather was so warm and sunny. It was so nice to get away from the winter here in Calgary and photograph in such a beautiful place! They had their closest friends and famly with them to celebrate and celebrate they did! LOL I think the biggest surprise of the night is when the DJ set off fireworks inside the banquet room. They were hitting the ceiling and made the room smokey which in my opinion made for very cool dance photos. I had such a hard time choosing so few photos to blog. Keep checking back for a slideshow! Enjoy your sneak peek..
I love the candid moment of the girls laughing at the guys as they try to out do each others karate kick.
The look on Darren’s mom’s face is priceless! She was so cute and so excited.
About these two cuties!!!
How they met: we were introduced to each other through a mutual friend at the Whiskey… haha
Perfect date: Romantic Dinner
What attracted her to him: His chiselled jaw… hahah (inside joke)
What attracted him to her: Her nice teeth
Engagement story: Darren and I started looking at diamonds and engagement rings in July 2008. Following that July day, I started asking “any luck in finding a diamond”? (I always thought I wouldn’t want to know when he’d found one because the element of surprise would be more romantic… but I couldn’t help myself and from that day on kept asking him about “the diamond”) I asked that for the last time when we went to Mexico in November 2008; Darren had found a diamond and was getting the ring made but because he is a terrible liar, he did not like me “pestering” him about it; he basically told me that if I asked him one more time, he would just give me the money to buy my own ring… I got the message!
Two l-o-n-g months of not asking about “the diamond” went by and we were on our way to Vegas to escape the cold winter weather. After the plane reached altitude, Darren told me he was going to grab drinks from the flight attendants and went to the back of the plane. Little did I know, he was making arrangements for the perfect time to propose to me. An hour and a half in to the flight, the head flight attendant calls me up over the intercom to the front of the plane to play a “game”. (I didn’t think this was unusual because Westjet is known to do things offbeat). The flight attendant told everyone that the game was to humiliate me so I was feeling quite flustered. When I got to the front of the plane, he made me turn around to face the other passengers and then introduced me and asked me if I had a best friend and whom he/she was. I replied “my best friend is Darren”, the flight attendant asked if Darren was on the flight to which I replied “yes”. He called Darren up to the front of the plane and introduced him and said to everyone “Darren has something to share with everyone”. He handed the intercom to Darren who then professed his love to me “Anna, the last 4 years have been incredible and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you… will you marry me?” Darren got down on one knee and opened the box. At this point I was crying pretty hard. Everything seemed so surreal… through teary eyes and a weepy voice, I replied “yes”. He got up, kissed and hugged me and put the ring on my finger… only it didn’t fit!! He gave me this look like all that work and the ring doesn’t fit. I guess the jeweler had made my ring a ¼ size too small. The flight attendant saw that I was struggling to get the ring on over my knuckle and suggested I twist it on… so I did, only to have my finger turn purple!
Luckily we were able to get the ring sized the next day so I could wear it for the rest of the trip.
Where are you got married: Barcelo Maya Palace Hotel, Mayan Riviera, Mexico
Why did you choose this location: We LOVE the beach and a destination wedding only seemed fitting
What’s your Wedding theme: Beach
Her best moment: when she was walking towards the gazebo
His best moment: not getting angry with the wedding coordinator for forgetting to setup for the ceremony until 10:45am when our ceremony started at 11am
Best surprise: the fireworks the DJ setup during our first dance
How would you describe your day: Perfect
Vendors
Resort: Barcelo Maya Palace website: http://www.mayapalacerivieramaya.com/
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Kismet Clothing & Jewellery (no website)
Guys clothes: Banana Republic website: www.bananarepublic.ca
Gown: The Bridal Centre Ltd. website: www.bridalcentre.com
Cake: Barcelo Maya Palace website: http://www.mayapalacerivieramaya.com/
Ceremony location/resort: Barcelo Maya Palace website: http://www.mayapalacerivieramaya.com/
Favours: May dad brought the fans back from China
Flowers: Barcelo Maya Palace website: http://www.mayapalacerivieramaya.com/
Hair: Barcelo Maya Palace Spa website: http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en-GB/Hotels/Mexico/MayanRiviera/MayaPalace/Spa.htm
Invitations: Expressions Invitations and Paper Artistry website: http://www.expressioninvites.com/Home.html
Makeup: One of my Bridesmaids (Jasmine) did my makeup
Reception location: Barcelo Maya Palace Spa website: http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en-GB/Hotels/Mexico/MayanRiviera/MayaPalace/Spa.htm
Wedding planners: Claudia Vazquez Garcia email: weddings2@barcelomaya.com
(To bad we were booked on your wedding date) We wish you all the love and happiness on your wedding day and forever..keep enjoying all your adventures together 
