Months before their Carnival Cruise trip, Brian stumbled upon me on Google while doing some research for his Caribbean vow renewal with his lovely wife, Christina. They had been married for 10 years now, and they wanted to celebrate with a romantic cruise vacation and update their promises to each other. After a short e-mail exchange, they were ready to book their vow renewal packages, and so we started dreaming this day together!

A Caribbean Vow Renewal on a Beach in Puerto Rico

Like Brian and Christina, most of my clients aren't locals in Puerto Rico, so I like to think of myself as their local sidekick. Just as I do with my Full Elopement clients, besides planning their photography, I assisted them with their wedding vendor and location research. Their wishlist was simple: they didn't want to walk long distances in the heat and wanted their Caribbean vow renewal on a quiet beach.

I helped them find a fantastic officiant, transportation arrangements between our locations, and finally, the perfect quiet beach location in Old San Juan, minutes away from the busy cruise ship docks.

#RickyRenuncia

Their elopement date was set for July 25th, 2019. Two weeks after the islandwide protests that eventually led to the resignation of the Governor. This had us on constant communication, and a bit stressed out. Most of the congregations were happening in Old San Juan, causing several cruise ships to skip their Puerto Rico stop altogether. Elopements and vow renewals, as opposed to bigger weddings, are highly flexible.

I was confident we would be able to perform the vow renewal, as long as Brian and Christina could make it here. Puerto Rico would have no shortage of beautiful beaches, even if it called for a longer drive. Luckily for everyone, Ricky announced his resignation the midnight on the 24th. So we were spared of all the drama for a mere 12 hours, and all the backup plans I had already laid out weren't necessary. Phew!

Vow Renewal Ceremony and Photos

Christina and Brian docked in Old San Juan around 3pm. At around 5pm, they took a 5-minute cab to meet the officiant and me, and had a beautiful, romantic beach ceremony, just for the two of them. After finishing this moving part, where they surrendered their souls to each other again, we had a few minutes of happiness and celebration. We then started their anniversary portrait session on the beach. There are many beautiful locations for photos in Old San Juan, so we quickly called an uber and moved around several other of my favorite spots for pictures.

We ended the portraits near Paseo La Princesa, where we called an uber to take the lovebirds to their next part of the day: a restaurant dinner date in Condado. I bid them farewell with the biggest smile: I'm the luckiest photographer in the world, working in the most beautiful Island, with the best clients.

xo,

Cami