After meeting Stacey & Pietro last September for their first part of their engagement session, I fell in love with their personalities; quirky, fun, and non-traditional, they were not interested in most formalities of a wedding. So when I walked in to a beautiful, luxurious wedding, I was stunned.

Groom's Getting Ready Photos at Olive Boutique Hotel

They had an amazing day planned for their wedding, so they hired my complete day services. Five hours before their wedding ceremony, I arrived to Pietro's suite in the Olive Boutique Hotel in Condado. Full of groomsmen, champagne and custom-made italian tuxes, I was so overwhelmed with coolness, I dropped and broke one of my cameras in the first wedding of the season. Thank God for backups.

Lots of getting ready photos, a few champagne toasts and portraits later, I crossed the street towards the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, where the rest of the event would be taking place. At Stacey's suite, a small group of happy, gorgeous bridesmaids were almost ready, so I took pictures of the details before they put them on. I loved the tropical palmtree robes they all were wearing, very fitting for a Puerto Rico wedding. Stacey put on her beautiful gown, accompanied by minimal jewelry, made her look trés chic.

First Look Session and Wedding Photos at Condado Vanderbilt Hotel

Bouquet in hand and wearing her gorgeous smile, we walked down to a hallway were Pietro was waiting for her for the First Look session. Stacey and Pete wanted to enjoy cocktail time with their guests, so after the first look we walked around the hotel area doing their bride and groom portraits, followed by the wedding party portraits.

The wedding party members were all wearing black, which made them look super cool (and which is awesome because a black dress is super practical for re-wearing later). Since we still had like 2 hours until Ceremony time, we did a LOT of variations on wedding party photos and a lot of fun shots; then we took a lunch break.

The Ceremony at the West Veranda was very emotional and heartfelt. I especially enjoyed the looks S & P shared during the rituals, there was some unspoken complicity that could be seen from an airplane. After the I do's, kisses, and marriage license signatures, we moved onto the cocktail time where we did some family photos before moving on to the reception decor pictures.

The wedding Reception was held at the Golden Room, and was decorated tastefully with a palette of white, gold and blush accents. My favorite part was the place holders: each one was a different cover of The New Yorker magazine.

After the toasts, first dances, and a fabulous 5-course dinner, we danced the night away to a fantastic party by the amazing Joel (AKA DJ Big J). We ended the party with one of my favorite sparkler exits. So complicated to do, but so worth it.

I'm lucky with the weddings I get to witness and capture, and Stacey & Pietro's was a perfect example of why I love my job and my clients. Here's to a never-ending romance! Cheers!

XO,

Cami