They were both thirteen when they met at Precious Blood’s youth summer camp. Saul was a mature 15 years old when he decided to take Maribel on their first date, which happened to be on her 15th birthday. One month and five days later, on his birthday, he officially asked her to be his girlfriend. She tried to play ‘hard to get’ by telling him that she will give him an answer the next day. He wasn’t having it and demanded an immediate answer. So, she said, “Okay, fine!”. Fifteen years, many adventures and two gorgeous babies later, I had the privilege to document their wedding at the Grand Princess Resorts in the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
There is something special that happens when I photograph couples, families and babies. When I took off my sibling hat and put on my photographer hat to photograph my own family it became incredibly more special to me. Having the opportunity to capture my brother’s love for his new wife is something that I have come to appreciate while behind the camera. Without the camera, I see my little…or rather, younger brother as someone who I feel an instinctive need to protect as I do with everyone that I love. When I picked up my camera to document his wedding, his identity changed. He became a strong, independent man. A man who loves his wife and his two sons. Someone who can just as easily, if not better, be able to protect himself and his family with no help from me. No longer the little brother I have always pictured him to be. Nor the little brother who would lick an entire box of cookies so that he wouldn’t have to share with his three siblings. If you know anything about us, you would know that having anything artificially flavored or processed in our home was not the common commodity. You did what you had to do in order to get just a little bit more. Little did he know that his cooties didn’t keep my sweet tooth from enjoying a few. What, TMI? Come on, we were kids!
I digress.
Saul…Maribel, I find it difficult to find words that define the love and appreciation that I have for you two. I hope that within these images you will be able to see it from my perspective.
Con muchos abrazos y besos de parte de tu hemana mayor,
~ Chubby
Maribel’s mother, Alicia, made her beautiful dress.
No need for high-healed shoes on the beach!
Maribel’s Matron of Honor helps her get dressed while my favorite little girl looks on.
Maribel, you are stunning!!
Little did we know that Hurricane Alex was to blame for all this rain.
Rain, schmain; Hurricane schmurricane! No worries here.
The rain stopped just in time!
The Grand Princess Riviera Resort did a beautiful job with the setup for the nuptials.
Really? Who gets heckled during their first kiss? I guess a kiss on the cheek isn’t really appropriate.
The heckling worked!
Overcast skies are my favorite to shoot under.
So much fun.
Beautiful couple.
The rain came back, but we didn’t go away.
Maribel’s mom also made the brides maid’s dresses. She is incredibly talented. These ladies wore them well!
My brother is one good lookin’ dude!
RAWR.
Check back soon for a slideshow.
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by V Hinojosa
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