A boat ride.
A beach wedding.
Avanti Kunamneni and Anthony Lang married at Playa Mujeres, near Cancún, Mexico, on February 12, 2016. Before the wedding on the beach, the weekend began with a boat ride, cocktails with friends, and a welcome dinner on an island.
There were sunsets and fire performers, a first look, a little fun on the pier, and family traditions by the ocean. Then dinner, fireworks, and a dance floor full of their people.
All aboard.
Avanti and Tony’s wedding weekend began the night before the ceremony, with a boat ride to a welcome dinner. Everyone came aboard for cocktails, time with friends, and a little adventure on the water.
A boat full of friends.
There was plenty to photograph before we even arrived. Friends catching up, drinks in hand, and the coastline slipping past us. The boat ride was part of the celebration.
Together on the water.
We made some photographs with their friends along the way. A destination wedding gives everyone a little more time together, and I like having pictures that remember that part of the weekend, too.
A little evening light.
The sky gave us a beautiful backdrop for a photograph of just the two of them. The welcome dinner was still ahead, but the evening already had plenty to remember.
The sky over the water.
I made a few scenic photographs as well. This sunset belongs in the story of the evening—the color in the sky, the water, and a sailboat near the shore.
A little of the place.
Traveling around, I kept looking for images that would bring back the setting. The turquoise water and the pier give this part of the wedding weekend a sense of place.
An island evening.
We arrived at an island for the welcome dinner. Before everyone settled in, I photographed the decor in front of the stage where the evening’s performances would take place.
Flowers and light.
Then I moved closer. The flowers, the candles, and the strings of light made a beautiful setting for dinner with their guests.
A little closer still.
A closer photograph of the table shows the little details that can disappear in an overall view. I wanted to remember the way it was all arranged before dinner began.
A seat for the evening.
This is the view from the back of the head table toward the stage. The tables and the performance area were all part of one evening together.
A detail from dinner.
I photographed the menu, too. A small detail, but one that helps remember the welcome dinner as it was planned for everyone.
Before the evening gets going.
A candid photograph of the DJ getting ready. I like including the people who help a celebration come to life, along with the room and all its details.
A different point of view.
I found a high point and photographed back into the reception, with the DJ in the foreground. From up there, you can see how the whole evening came together.
Looking back toward the water.
Turning toward the ocean, I photographed the docks and the boats we had arrived on. It gives the story a view beyond the dinner tables, back to the way everyone came together that night.
The table, full of people.
Once everyone was seated, the people became the story. A candid photograph of the table, with friends and family enjoying the evening together.
Fire and movement.
There were performances for all the guests after dinner. The fire performers brought movement and light to the night, and I stayed with them to make a series of photographs.
A moment in the performance.
I wanted a few individual moments from the show as well as the view with the guests. Here, the shape of the fire becomes part of the portrait.
The show continues.
Another moment from the performance. The dark background lets the fire and the performer hold the frame.
More from the evening.
The performances were such a memorable part of the welcome dinner that I wanted more than a single photograph to represent them. Each act gave us something different.
The evening in motion.
One last photograph from the show. From the boat ride and sunset to dinner and the performances, the weekend had already given everyone a full evening together.
Wedding morning.
The next day was the wedding: February 12, 2016. I started with the preparations, including a few small details from getting ready before Avanti and Tony saw each other.
The water beyond the room.
This was the view from their suite. Before the day moved outside, I wanted to make a photograph of what they could see from the room where the morning began.
A small part of the story.
A close photograph of the rings. These quiet details have their own place in the story, before the ceremony and everything that follows.
The finishing touches.
Avanti was putting on her jewelry when I made this photograph. A smile by the window, with the wedding day about to begin.
Ready to see her.
I made a few portraits of Tony before the first look. Here, the doorway frames him, with a little of the tropical setting around him.
One more of Tony.
Then a closer portrait. His light blue suit and pink tie carried some of the color of the day, even before we headed out toward the water.
Their first look.
Their first look gave them a little time together before the ceremony. After they saw each other, we walked around and made photographs along the water.
A little room for the place.
I like making an image that captures the overall feel of a place. Avanti and Tony are small in this frame, and that is part of what I like about it. It could hang in their home as a beautiful landscape with a subtle wedding story inside it.
A little fun on the pier.
Coming back down the pier, Tony started chasing the birds. It was funny, and it gave us a photograph full of movement. I love keeping these unplanned moments alongside the portraits.
A different kind of portrait.
A fun, creative photograph of the two of them. You can see Avanti reflected in Tony’s sunglasses as he looks at her.
Time for family.
We made many different family photographs. This is one with Avanti’s family, a little time set aside for the people closest to them before the ceremony.
Their people, together.
And a photograph with Tony’s family. I have included a few of the family portraits here as part of the larger story of everyone who came to celebrate with them.
Ready beside the ocean.
The ceremony was set on the beach at Playa Mujeres, near Cancún, Mexico. I photographed the flowers and the setting before it began, with the ocean just beyond.
A quartet beside the water.
There was a quartet right there on the beach. I wanted a photograph of the musicians in the place where they played, with the water behind them.
The whole scene.
This wider photograph shows the whole scene as Avanti walks in with her father. The palms, the beach, their guests, and the ocean all become part of that moment.
The words for the ceremony.
I made a photograph of the program during the ceremony. Another small piece of the day that belongs with the people and the setting.
A family tradition.
As part of a tradition from Avanti’s culture, people sprinkled rose petals over the couple. Several guests took part, and I kept photographing as the red petals fell around them.
Everyone taking part.
Another moment from the rose-petal tradition. I like seeing the hands reaching in and the different people sharing in it, with Avanti and Tony in the middle of everything.
Their vows by the water.
Then the ring exchange. The two of them beneath the flowers, with the ocean behind them and their family and friends nearby.
An evening entrance.
As the day moved into evening, I made this photograph at the reception entrance. The chandeliers and flowers gave us a completely different setting from the beach.
The evening, ready.
I photographed the room setup before the reception got going. An overall table view helps remember the light and all the details together.
A closer look inside.
A closer photograph of the flowers and leis. The white and bright pink stood out beautifully in the evening light.
A place for the guests.
This was part of the dining area for the guests. I stepped back to show how it sat beside the water, with the lights and candles carrying the evening out beyond the room.
Something sweet.
Their wedding cake, photographed before they cut it. I like making room for the cake in its setting, as well as the moments when the couple gets to enjoy it.
A little celebration of their own.
Then Avanti and Tony cut the cake. After the quieter detail photograph, this one brings the people and the laughter back into the frame.
Cake for two.
And, of course, feeding each other a little cake. A familiar wedding moment, made their own.
A beautiful end to dinner.
There was a great fireworks show. I photographed them from behind so the image could hold both things at once: the two of them watching together, and the fireworks filling the sky beyond.
Time to dance.
After the fireworks, the night went on with plenty of dancing. The colorful floor and everyone having fun made a very different picture from the quiet beach earlier in the day.
The people who made the weekend.
A fun final photograph with some of their closest friends. From a boat ride the night before to a wedding on the beach and a dance floor full of people, there was so much to remember. Later that year, we would be together again for their Minneapolis and Interlachen celebration.
Read their Interlachen Country Club celebration in Minnesota.