Bethany and Mike’s dream wedding in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

The more Bethany and Mike searched for their perfect Arizona wedding venue, the more frustrated they became.  When they finally found the place they wanted only to later learn that it was going bankrupt, they said, “screw it, we’re going to Mexico”!

So while choosing Playa Del Carmen, Mexico as the location for their destination wedding came to fruition as a result of frustration… it ended up being just the kind of place they were looking for all along!

When most people think Mexico, they don’t think trendy restaurants or a worldwide hub for all the coolest people around… but that’s exactly what Playa Del Carmen is!

And since Bethany wanted something more on the modern side, this proved to be the perfect place!

Bethany and Mike got married at the Blue Cacao Beach Club (right on the beach of course!)…

…and had their reception at the bar/restaurant area they have there that overlooks the ocean.

This place was SOOO Bethany!  The perfectly placed lights around the pool, the paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and the waterfall wall (as I call it) to lay the backdrop for the room…

…it all looked so much like the way Bethany had described her dream wedding to me.

Part of her dream was to have her dad perform the ceremony, and that was another piece that came true!

Scottie and I had the pleasure of hanging out with Bethany’s parents for a bit before the wedding and we had to fight off the tears that came as her dad and her mom (who didn’t hide the tears) described their love for Mike and their happiness about Bethany’s choice to marry him.

We’re used to hearing couples gush about how much they love one another, but it was a rare gift to get to hear it from the parent’s side as well!

Knowing that this was an event that was not only uniting 2 people but also bringing an entire family closer together, made us even more excited that we had the privilege of capturing these memories for them.

Our thoughts on this were confirmed when Bethany’s brother’s speech included a piece about how Mike has had a great influence on his life already.  (By the way, how could anyone not love Mike?  It seemed like every room we entered while everyone was getting ready for the ceremony, was adorned with flower arrangements Mike had gifted people with on his wedding day!).

(This is one of the best family photos we’ve ever taken and the coolness of it had very little to do with us!).

I think it’s safe to say that all the guests loved the whole wedding experience almost as much as Bethany and Mike and their families did!

(This is everyone!  Like our Facebook page to tag yourself in some of the photos!).

A girl in a thong walking behind the alter just as the wedding began, and a guy in a speedo running behind us while the ceremony was going are both wedding memories that none of their fun loving guests are soon to forget!

(Speedo man came back around after the ceremony ended, just in time to get this photo… I’m a little disappointed that the yellow racing stripes on the side of the speedo aren’t showing in this picture).

(We did get some pictures of the bridesmaids without speedo man as well!).Bethany and Mike know their group of friends well, so they made sure everything was set up to allow their guests to relax and dance the night away at the reception!

Ever heard the term “dancing machine”?

Well that can be applied to basically every person at their reception.  We got some freaking cool dancing pictures, despite the difficulty we had holding our cameras still while we were laughing so hard at some of these stellar moves!

We were positive that it was going to be one of these moves that was going to take someone into the pool and we were so bummed when we found out that it happened after we had already left!  Oh well, I’m sure everyone took a mental picture of that one (click).

This party had it all.

A beautiful setting, great food and drinks, fantastic decorations, family and friends hanging out together, dancing machines, and a very happy newly married couple… it doesn’t get any better than that!

Thank you Bethany and Mike for inviting us to this incredibly moment in your lives.

We are so happy we got to be a part of it!

We absolutely loved everything and we are beyond excited to watch you guys build your new life together.  Congratulations!

Click to see the rest of the photos from Bethany and Mike’s big day!

P.S. If you’ve never seen Bethany swimming in a wedding dress before, then make sure you keep an eye out for the photos from her Unique Session that will be coming soon!