Abby + Gabie’s Welcome Party at Dreams Riviera Cancun
There’s something so special about the night before a wedding—but when the wedding is in Mexico, surrounded by the Caribbean, your favorite people, and an entire weekend ahead of you, it hits a little differently. Abby and Gabie kicked off their destination wedding weekend with a welcome party at Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, and it was the perfect beginning to everything that was still to come.
The Night Before the Wedding
One of my favorite things about destination weddings is that they’re so much more than just the wedding day. Everyone has traveled to the same place, schedules slow down a little, and you actually get time to be together. That’s exactly what Abby and Gabie’s welcome party felt like. It wasn’t about perfectly posed photos or following a timeline—it was everyone finally being in Mexico together, catching up, hugging people they hadn’t seen yet, grabbing drinks, laughing, and getting excited for the next day. As a photographer, these are the moments I LOVE documenting because they give so much more context to the story of a wedding weekend. The wedding day is obviously a huge piece of it, but the little moments before and after are often the ones that make the whole gallery feel like you were actually there.
A Destination Wedding Weekend in Riviera Maya
Dreams Riviera Cancun was such a beautiful backdrop for the weekend. The resort sits along the white-sand Caribbean coast in Puerto Morelos, between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, so basically everywhere you turn feels like it belongs in a destination wedding gallery.
But more than anything, I loved how relaxed the entire evening felt.
There’s something about being away from home that makes everyone settle in a little faster. No one had anywhere else they needed to be. They were just there to celebrate Abby and Gabie. And selfishly, I loved getting the chance to photograph everyone before the wedding day even started. By the time we got to the ceremony the next day, I already knew so many of the important faces, relationships, and personalities surrounding them—which makes documenting a wedding that much more meaningful.
Why I Love Photographing Welcome Parties
If you’re planning a destination wedding and debating whether you want your photographer there for the welcome party or rehearsal dinner, consider this my vote for YES. Not because you need another night of perfectly curated wedding photos. Honestly, the opposite. Welcome parties are usually where some of the most candid photos happen. People are relaxed. There’s less of a schedule. Your friends are being themselves. Your family is together. You actually have time to talk to everyone.
Those photos add an entirely different layer to your wedding gallery. Instead of only remembering what your wedding looked like, you get to remember what the whole weekend felt like.
And that’s always what I want my photos to do.
Abby + Gabie, thank you for bringing me all the way to Mexico to document this weekend with you. Getting to capture not just your wedding day, but the people, energy, laughter, and little moments surrounding it was so incredibly special.
And this was only night one. 🤍
Photographed by Megan Leigh Photography
Destination wedding photographer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan and available for weddings throughout Michigan, Mexico, and beyond.
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