Shooting My Cousin’s Wedding: From Photographer to Guest

My cousin Eric and his fiancé Jana had been to Costa Rica the year before to visit, and I also see them every summer at our family reunion in New England so I was naturally super excited to photograph their wedding.

As I was also going as a guest, we decided that after the cake cutting I would officially put the camera down.  Therefore, I decided to photograph the wedding with my good friend the world renowned Marius Dragan from Romania, who would shoot all day, and keep shooting after I became an official guest.  It was a great team up and we got some excellent photos from the day.

Marius started with the guys playing golf in the morning, while I photographed the girls going to the spa for their hair and makeup.  Later we headed back to the hotel for the finishing touches.  Eric and Jana had decided to read their vows in private before the wedding ceremony, so we found a nice spot in the garden, where they could share a moment of just the two of them during the busy day.

The ceremony was held at the Pergola at Tortuga Hotel.  This was a beautiful wood structure right on the white sand beach.  The ceremony was super emotional for everyone involved.  Finally, we had some time to take some family photos, then the portrait session with just Jana and Eric before the spectacular sunset.