Venue: Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Close your eyes and picture yourself on a long white-sandy beach with the sound of the ocean crashing against the shores.

Your bare feet dig down in the finest of sand grains, warming them up as you wiggle your toes. A trickle of the ocean glides over the sand and hits your feet as you walk and dig down into the sand with each step. That warm Caribbean breeze that you’ve waited so long to feel against your skin is refreshing with each gentle blow, and is a constant reminder of why you’ve come here—that island life that you only read and dream about is finally yours, and it feels great!

That’s pretty much how it was during my eight days in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. For my first time in the Caribbean Islands, I was asked to photograph a wedding celebration for a couple that had already officially tied the knot.

The bride and groom—living abroad from their respective families—wanted to celebrate their union with their closest family and friends, and they couldn’t have picked a more beautiful location.

I was tasked with creating some memorable photos that they can look at to instantly remind them of their destination wedding. With the bride and groom up for any challenge that I put them through, we had such a fun time as we raced along the beach taking advantage of that beautiful warm-coloured sunset.

With the previous two days being windy and rainy, we weren’t sure what to expect for the big day. As luck would have it though, the winds died down considerably, and there were no rain clouds to be seen anywhere!

Thank you to the bride and groom for your enthusiasm and love for adventure, and to each and every one of your family members for treating me like part of the family. I couldn’t have been happier to be with all of you celebrating on the special day.

Excursions

We also went on a couple of excursions, where we were able to spend some time outside of the resort. The dune buggy ride was so much fun getting covered with mud from head to toe, and the private catamaran was a blast as we headed out to swim with stingrays and sharks. What an experience both trips were!

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