Dreamy Outdoor Wedding on a Perfect Caribbean Day

Hacienda Siesta Alegre Dreamy Outdoor Wedding

Michelé and Aaron met each other in New York City, where they quickly bonded over the love of Prince, where music obviously played a big part on their wedding day playlist.

Five years later, recently engaged, and while discussing wedding plans, they quickly thought about Puerto Rico as their wedding destination. Puerto Rico was an essential destination for the couple; it holds Michelé's family identity, and also became the first adventure together of M&A as a couple.

Bringing Meaning and Their Wedding Guests After Hurricane Maria

After Hurricane Maria, they also wanted their wedding to mean something: bringing their guests to discover our beautiful island, our warm people, and as a way to contribute to its recovery and economy. If you ask me, that's a great way of kicking off a new life stage.

Wedding Day at Hacienda Siesta Alegre

We had never met before, so apart from watching their wedding website and reading their questionnaire answers, I had no clue about their personalities. This might be nerve-racking for some, but I see it as a fun challenge: learning to connect and break the ice with people quickly is an excellent exercise, and it also helps if they're as cool and chill as Michelé and Aaron.

Michelé hadn't arrived yet, so I met with Aaron first. We did his getting ready out in a terrace because the day was too beautiful to stay in the suite. He had gifts for all his groomsmen, so we did that as well before doing groom & groomsmen portraits.

Then, I walked around the Hacienda Siesta Alegre doing decor images when Michelé arrived. I went downstairs into the bridal suite for her getting ready photos. I loved her bridal dress; instead of wearing a veil, she wore a cape on top of her dress, and she looked so gorgeous! Michelé and Aaron wanted to spend as much time with their guests after the ceremony, so we built a First Look session into their wedding timeline. It was perfect, emotional, dreamy, just like the rest of their wedding day. After a round of portraits around Hacienda Siesta Alegre, I went back to decor photos before the ceremony time was up.

Beautiful Outdoor Wedding Ceremony

Their ceremony was beautiful, happy, full of laughter, and emotional moments. Something I loved about Michelé and Aaron is that they didn't let their nerves to get in the way of enjoying and living in the moment during their wedding day.

In my experience, one of the most difficult challenges couples face during their wedding day is enjoying and being present. Far too often I see couples getting caught on little details or mishaps that, being honest, are natural in events of such magnitude. Try to make a pact with your partner to not let the little things get in the way of enjoying this day mindfully. You've put so much of yourselves into this day, you owe it to yourselves.

After the happy ceremony, we went into the Hacienda Siesta Alegre library lawn area for the family & group portraits, which happened rather quickly and effortlessly this time; it was great, because we were able to escape for a few minutes and do a second lap around the Hacienda for golden hour newlywed portraits before it was time for the reception.

Reception Under the Stars and Twinkling Lights

The reception started with the same cool and happy vibe the rest of the wedding. Afterward, there was a lot of dance music by the great Joel Big J, and eventually a bit of Latin music and the Jewish hora dance to honor both Michelé and Aaron's family roots.

It was a fantastic night beginning to end, and I'm so fortunate I was the one trusted for capturing such great memories. Hopefully, every day in Michelé and Aaron's married life is as epic as their first!

Cheers,

Cami

Puerto Rico Wedding Vendors for This Event

Wedding Venue: Hacienda Siesta Alegre
Photography: Camille Fontanez
Wedding Planner: Jeanette Centeno from Silversilke
Florist: Lorraine's Flowers
Wedding Cake: Gabriel Diaz Cake Designer
Ceremony Music: Adalberto Rosario
DJ: Joel Big J 
Make-up & Style: Caridad Vidro 
Officiant: AMR Wedding Officiant from I Do... Me Too

Bridal Dress: Panache Bridal - Los Angeles
Cigar Roller: El Chan Cigars

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