Tom Root Photography

 

Lauren and Greg’s gorgeous wedding gave me the opportunity to see Miami for the first time and I left definitely hoping to return again soon.  A lot of the preconceptions I had turned out to be pretty true – ridiculous cars, top-notch people watching, and perfect Florida spring weather.  Lauren and Greg made me feel incredibly welcome and I can’t thank them enough for inviting me to be a part of their wedding as well as for an incredibly fun weekend!

 

Preparations began at daybreak for the ceremony to take place in the Villa’s incredible gardens.  The ceremony and reception to follow were filled with Mariachis, guests both elegant and highly fashionable, authentic Mexican cuisine (punctuated by a mouth-watering mole sauce), cigars made by hand right in front of you, and of course tons of fun…

 

 

 

 

The day before the wedding was a busy one!  Separate incredible lunches for the ladies and gentlemen, rehearsal for the wedding, and the rehearsal dinner in the evening…  Everything was beyond amazing.  I’m hoping the photos can speak for themselves.

Be good to your family because someday they might take you to Mexico.  Being able to work a camera also helped in my case.

Maria is the youngest of the the three Ponce “kids,” and also my first cousin.  Growing up, Maria and her brothers were always the COOLEST people in the world to us.  Maria took my sisters and I trick-or-treating in Wilmette every year where she would beat bullies off of us with our heavy bags of candy.  Anthony introduced me to Sega Genesis, many “in” hairstyles, and a new level of Lego building I’d never known was possible.  Dan was always with attractive lady friends and was obviously on his way to becoming the next Beethoven or Chopin on the piano.

I was blessed to be able to spend four days in San Miguel with the Ponces, Maria’s now in-laws the Berres, and a beyond great supporting group of family and friends.  On my freshly-produced website here, I’ll attempt to share some of my experiences with you.

 

In the past I’ve been fortunate to visit Mexico a handful of times but only to beach resort-type places.  One of the things that excited me most about traveling to San Miguel de Allende was that it is perched in the hills of inland Mexico, two hours from the nearest airport by van.  So… not your typical tourist destination.

 

I arrived at our “villa” around 2:00pm and found it deserted so set out in search of some almuerzo and to explore this amazing place.  I luckily ran into the “soon-to-be-weds” just down the block!  They pointed me in the direction of the main square and I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring.