Ashlena and Weston :: Punta Cana Wedding Photographer

It's hard to believe that our trip to Punta Cana to photograph Ashlena and Weston's wedding has already came and gone. I have so many incredible memories from our trip to the Dominican Republic; looking through all of these photos and seeing all of the happy faces just makes me wish we could go back and do it all over again.

Believe it or not, the first time we met Ashlena and Weston was at the airport about 5 AM as we all boarded the plane from Houston to Miami. We weren't expecting to be on the same flight as we had made our own travel arrangements. The 6 AM flight must have been one of the first ones out that day, because at the American Airlines check in kiosks at 4:30 AM, there was a line waiting for the machines and the counter to open. I looked around at the other people waiting as I played on my phone and tried to keep my eyes open. After we finally got checked in, we walked to the gate and sat down to wait for our flight.

I was about dozed off when Luke elbowed me and said, "I think those people are Weston's parents." Huh? Apparently Mr. Eavesdropper Luke thought he had overheard these nearby people (who happened to be in line behind us at the kiosk earlier) say something about Weston. A few minutes later, we'd made the connection and realized that almost the entire wedding party was on our flight. The last people to arrive were the bride and groom themselves, Ashlena and Weston.

The first thing I said to Luke is, "Wow, these are beautiful people." I mean, I knew Ashlena and Weston were a good looking couple because I was their Facebook friend, but meeting them in real life and seeing how kindly they hugged their friends when they saw them that morning, how they immediately treated Luke and I like we were family, and how they sat on the ground playing with and entertaining the little flower girl... these are special people.

After several days of being treated like part of the family, the wedding day rolled around. We all watched the weather all day... wouldn't you know, it was pouring in Punta Cana. Nonetheless, this was a day worth celebrating: the day that Weston and Ashlena were getting married!

Each room in the Hard Rock resort has a different song lyric on the mirror behind the headboard.

What a gorgeous bride!

Despite the rain showers, there was a break in the weather and Ashlena did a first-look with her dad. Aaron got a little teary-eyed seeing his beautiful daughter in her wedding gown.

That's Luke driving the golf cart that is keeping everyone dry!

The rain stopped for a moment, and the ceremony was upon us.

Weston's dad officiated the ceremony... how cool is that?!

Favorite!

After dark, we all headed over to the reception... where the party got started!

Ashlena and Weston... where can we even begin? Thank you so much for inviting us on this spectacular adventure with your incredible friends and families! I still remember how excited we were when we first heard from you. At that point, all we knew was that this was a destination wedding in Punta Cana. Now we now what wonderful people you are. Now we know what amazing hearts you have. Now we know that yours will be a wedding we will never forget.

Friends, family, and well wishers: view more of Ashlena and Weston's wedding day images and sign their guestbook.