Ricardo and Karen’s intimate wedding at Terra Convention Center in Guaynabo was beautiful! You all know how excited I was for this day. This last month Alex and I have been prepping for their wedding on another level. There were many firsts on Ricardo and Karen’s wedding day. The biggest first: Not only was it Alex and I’s first wedding shooting as a husband and wife team, but it was also Alex’s first wedding ever. Another reason why Ricardo and Karen have a special place in our heart. (Check out their engagement session to learn more about Ricardo and Karen)

Prepping for the Wedding Day

Preparing for their big day included more than getting a new camera for Alex, memory cards for both of us and finally investing in getting camera bags. (Here is what my camera bag use to be) Prepping also included: quizzes, POP quizzes and practice sessions for Alex. Yes, I said “pop quizzes.” I’d randomly ask him questions while driving like, “What’s our priority with our settings???” he’d say, “Aperture.” I’d say, “Correct, and why is it priority??” and so on just to make sure he knew it forward and backward. I’m sure I drove him a little crazy but look at my baby now! I had full confidence that he could get the shots we needed on the wedding day. I am very proud to call him my husband and second shooter.

The night before the wedding felt like the night before the first day of school. I had everything ready. My batteries charged, camera bag packed, snacks prepped and my outfit laid out. When I first started photographing weddings I always worried about the weather, the time of day or the timeline. Not on Ricardo and Karen’s wedding day. We woke up early and ready for the day!

The Wedding Day

I arrived at Karen’s house at 9:30am. I walk in, a burst of energy, say hi and ask her, “Como te sientes?? You’re getting married!” She giggles and says, “realmente estoy tranquila, super tranquila.” She really was the most chill bride. She also mentioned how ready she was for the first look to see Ricardo. My heart melted when she said that.

Not everyone want’s a first look, which I understand, however I’m not sure everyone knows all the benefits that come with doing a first look. When Karen said that she was ready to see Ricardo, I knew she understood one of the biggest benefits. Having a first look gives you a chance to have a moment alone with your best friend on the biggest day of your lives. When you don’t have a first look, there really isn’t a time during the day to have a moment alone together. Every thing is time sensitive and your focus is on whatever is next. (Ceremony, family pictures, bridal party pictures, husband and wife pictures, cocktail hour, dances etc.) Having a first look also allows you both to really soak in the moment of seeing each other. When you wait to see each other walking down the aisle, you literally only have a few seconds to see each other, get emotional and then snap out of the moment because the ceremony started. I’m so happy they decided to do a first look and their photos came out beautiful!

Karen picked the first look location on a deck with beautiful clear blue water. I loved it, but I admit that I was a little worried about accidentally falling in the water. Only because I move around a lot while taking pictures. I’m always taking steps backward. Thankfully everyone had my back. Every time I took a step backward someone would tell me, “Cuidado!” and if I got too close to the edge everyone would gasp. It was fun and everything went well, no accidents!

The Wedding itself was beautiful and intimate, maybe about 70 guests. I gotta give a shout out to Ricardo and Karen’s Zoom techies. They had a very detailed and organized setup, ready to go so everyone present and online could enjoy the ceremony. The reception did not disappoint, it felt so good to dance on a dance floor. You have to scroll down to see a couple of the photos of the mother and son dance. Ricardo and Vilmarie broke it down! Defiantly a fun memory of the night.

One last sweet memory of the day were the gifts Ricardo and Karen gave their guests. They handed everyone, including Alex and I, a box with our names on it. Inside was a framed sketch of the guest. Ricardo is a Graphic Designer and Photography Artist. He himself made their invitations, menus, table names and pictures of each guest invited. Alex and I have our picture frame in our office and we love it so much!

Alex and I really loved every detail of this wedding day. It was beautiful and I hope you all can feel as though you were there knowing some of these stories while looking at their gallery.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Pietri!!! Big love for you both!

Vendors

Venue, Linens, Catering: Terra Convention Center

Invitations: Fotomixto

DJ: Javier Pietri

Hair & Makeup: Mereline

Decor: Jeyrelis BalloonsPR

Photographer: Ivana Rizik Photography