Around 11 p.m. at Apollina and Brad’s wedding reception at Hacienda Cerritos, a guest sauntered over and asked me if it was normal for people to take their clothes off at weddings.
I laughed and said, “Well, it’s normal for Mexico weddings.
At 11:30 someone else came over and said “I bet you’ve never seen so many people take their shirts off at a wedding.” About 30 minutes later yet another person, trying to be heard over the loud DJ music, yelled into my ear, “Is this the wildest wedding you’ve ever seen?”
At weddings in Mexico, people just go crazy. That’s one of the many reasons we love shooting there. Something about being in another country, the warm tropical environment, the perpetually flowing tequila. And when you add in two lively and charismatic people like Apollina and Brad, and 40 of their friends and family, you’re going to get a good party. Instead of going into all the things I loved about this wedding, below are some random, memorable moments that made this wedding so wonderful and hilarious:
– “You can’t see my feet right now, but they are awesome.” – Apollina to Ben, while dancing waist-deep in the hot tub in her wedding dress.
– Fog machines and colored laser lights all night long.
– Ben massaging Grandma Bonnie’s feet in the hot tub at the end of the night.
– The day after the wedding, Brad talking about the hole in his pants. Apollina’s response: “I think that was from my heel.”
– Joining the family the next night for a game of “Mafia” around the dining room table.
Thank you Apollina and Brad for taking us to paradise with you. This is the beginning of a very long friendship!
UPDATE: Apollina and Brad now live outside Austin, Texas and have a beautiful family and home in the hill country. See more HERE.