Mexico Anniversary Photos || Destination Wedding Photographer

Mexico Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photographer | Oaxaca Wedding Photos

Alejandro & Maru’s anniversary photos in Mexico were full of color, love, and laughter. And trying to avoid being run over by cars rushing by while I got the shots.

Mexico Wedding Photographer – Quinta Real Oaxaca

Where better to do an anniversary wedding photoshoot than in the colorful cities all across Mexico? Locals Alejandro and Maru have been married for several decades and have 3 beautiful kids, but wanted anniversary photos to commemorate an important date. So, I took shots of them around their gorgeous hotel, out on the streets, and to colorful hidden alleyways full of murals and designs.

These two live in a city in northern Mexico, but wanted to explore the city of Oaxaca. As a destination wedding photographer who frequently photographs in Mexico (and not just in Tulum, or Puerta Vallarta, or Cabo), I was excited to catch this stress-free photoshoot.

I’d scouted out some of my favorite spots around Oaxaca a few days before, and took them to see all around the city.

If you know my quirky, colorful, non-traditional style, then you know I LOVE color! I’m not a loud nor showy person, but for my photos and my couples, the more color, the better. [This is probably why I enjoyed living in India and adore being an Indian wedding photographer/Pakistani wedding photographer—there’s nothing better than an explosion of fun and color vs somber, muted tones that just aren’t my style.]

So, the streets and murals of Oaxaca City (Oaxaca de Juarez is the full name, and it’s pronounced “wuh-HA-kuh”) were perfect for their photoshoot—especially since their home city in northern Mexico is rather industrial. Shooting wedding photos in Mexico means understanding street photography. Not only are you literally photographing in or on the street, but it’s all about incorporating the spirit of how alive this country is.

We started with photos at the Quinta Real Oaxaca, a gorgeous luxury hotel squeezed onto a normal-looking street. The Quinta Real Oaxaca has a combination of old-world charm, with Mexican colors on the 2^nd floor, old-world European stone features, an old Mexican-style atrium for weddings and events, and a pool surrounded by Mediterranean-style rooms.

Tell me you didn’t think this was Italy or France on a warm summer day!

Whether your wedding is around ruins, on the beach, deep in the rainforest, or around a colorful city like Oaxaca, exploring and getting images that really make you FEEL you are in that location is the goal. Okay, and being adorable and still in love after so many years together like this.

Can you just feel the color exploding from this country?!

Time for a lesson from your friendly traveling photographer (I’ve lived in and/or traveled to over 50 countries, and I mean it when I say 95% of people travel the same: As a tourist who doesn’t get the real picture.):

As a former television location scout-turned-destination wedding photographer and Mexico wedding photographer, I’m used to scouting locations to find the perfect backdrops and settings for my clients. I hate when people host beautiful weddings in character-devoid banquet halls or mass hotels, because didn’t you travel so your photos would, well, look like that place?

So if you head to Mexico for your wedding, please, please spend time getting to know the people, the place, the architecture, the food, and the culture. Walk on side streets. Try to speak the local language—even a few words. Try a food you don’t know. And if you get married somewhere like Mexico, save a day for your wedding adventure session, and do photos on the street, exploring the local area! Hire the right destination wedding photographer who will understand how to really travel and capture authentic images. Don’t be that person who never leaves the resort.

Okay, I’m done with the chastising. Sorry (not really).

For Alejandro and Maru, it was fun for them to have ME show them around their own country, because they didn’t know Oaxaca very well. We went to markets, on the street, past the main cathedral, down side alleyways, and even through traffic to get shots like this.

I had such a good time with them, and can’t wait for our next photoshoot, whether it’s in Mexico or elsewhere! We’re now friends who keep in touch, so don’t be surprised if you see a new batch of photos pop up here at some point in the future. ~

Mexico Wedding Photographer | Oaxaca Wedding Photographer | Tulum Wedding Photographer