The Cape. Cabo, Mexico Wedding Story
The Cape Hotel is a magical spot that doesn’t seem quite possible.
To sit on the rocks at the south end of the beach and look south over the ocean while the sunsets is a wild experience simply because there is no single landmass between those rocks and Antartica. It literally feels like you’re on the edge of the world. It’s so odd to realize that I’ve written about that feeling before from a wedding in Montauk, NY last year when I realized I was looking directly at Europe and just couldn’t see it. So what makes the Cape such a destination? Well if you ask the surfers down on the beach braving the wildly treacherous swim out between two giant rocks and a tiny channel just to get to a place where they can paddle into the waves I’m sure it’s the ocean, maybe the beach, perhaps the tacos up the street at some undoubtedly incredible food truck somewhere. If you asked most of the guests wearing Rolexes sipping margaritas at the swim up bar they might say the view, the food, or the exclusivity of it all but I feel like I got a bit of a fresh perspective on why the Cape is incredible. About 30 minutes from the Cabo airport, past dozens of hotels and shops and restaurants you kind of suddenly just come to the end of it all - the Cape, and there at the end amidst delicious food, beautiful rooms, incredible architecture and absolutely breath taking sunsets is, well, the end. We saw three weddings while we were there, each similar, each so different. The first felt stiff. As we sat upstairs at the rooftop bar having a nightcap at the bar while the reception roared on the other side of the roof we peeked in to see everybody on the dance floor but not really dancing. Odd. Stiff. The last one we got to peek at the set up. Two giant open archways with white flowers, church pews for seating, and what looked like maybe 30-40 guests and then there was the one in the middle.
The best wedding that The Cape Hotel has ever seen.
Or at least the best one we’ve seen there. Peyton And Forrest. 120 people poured in from all over the country. Two absolutely remarkable families. Her parents and brothers, his mom and sisters. 9 bridesmaids, 7 groomsmen and in the middle of the hustle and noise and beauty of it all… two smiling photographers. Jared and I popped into Mexico on Thursday around lunch time just a few short flights from Arkansas for us to get there. By the time we landed our friends Amanda and Madi from Amanda Reed Weddings had already landed and gotten a lay of the land but we wouldn’t see our bride and groom until the next day. That hug was so special though. I had the coolest opportunity to bond a bit with Peyton And Forrest at our engagement session in downtown Rogers months and months ago. A quick round of tequila at Yeyo’s and a wander around the little back roads with Delicia, Peyton’s mom hanging out the whole time was all I needed to firmly fall for these two. She’s this tiny little knockout of spunk and sass and style. A giant smile in a tiny body. An Ole Miss Cheerleader filled with the absolute best compliments and kind words and a way of never taking a bad photo. He is kind of chiseled out of stone. This square jawed, perfectly groomed, charming dude with a quiet voice and an absolutely enormous presence and a laugh that bubbles up slow and takes over his entire body when it really takes over. I knew in Rogers this would be the easiest wedding I had ever shot but I had no idea…
This would be one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever shot.
The views from the villa on the east side of the resort are unbelievable. Peyton sat getting her makeup done over looking the pool, the rest of the resort, and the ocean just filling the room up with the sounds of crashing waves, sporatic cheers from the bar below, and “P’s wedding play list” coming from the speaker. 9 gorgeous, smiling, happy bridesmaids wandering around sipping champagne and sitting on the couch and chairs outside just soaking up the Cabo sunshine. From the penthouse in the middle of the hotel at the top floor the guys ate, chatted, hung out and gave Forrest a few minutes to finish up writing his vows. These brief but important moments would lay the setting for the pace of the day. Hurry up, wait, hurry, calm down, we’re late, we’re early, hurry up, wait. Cabo time is a real thing and if there’s one universal truth about Mexico weddings and really destination weddings in general it’s this :
Destination weddings are never really on time.
The great thing is that we didn’t aim for on time. We knew that we’d have to play catch up here and there and we built the schedule knowing we were being ambitious. A first look with the bridesmaids, the father of the bride, her brothers, and then the groom? All in different locations? 9 bridesmaids, 7 groomsmen, 2 good sized families, a sunset that goes from 100-0 in about 8 minutes, and a whole absolutely inspired rooftop design filled with hand rolled cigars, a killer band, bistro lights, floating candles, tequila shots, and over 100 smiling guests? This was an all hands on deck situation. Hurry up. Wait. The wedding parties were amazing. A group of laughing playful fun bridesmaids went from sipping bubbles in the villa to smiling in the front of the hotel to wandering across the beach in minutes. A laughing chill group of groomsmen cheered Stag bourbon razzing each other and looking both perfectly candid and still perfectly dapper in camera in the blink of an eye. A beautiful bride saw a stud of a groom from the top and bottom of a staircase that is the centerpiece of the whole hotel and met right in the middle and in what seemed like no time these two were at the front of the aisle with nothing but Pacific Ocean and sunset in the horizon, loud music and margaritas in their near future, and again.
Two smiling, creative, excited Wedding Photographers just soaking up the entire experience.
The highlight of the entire day was sunset. Sure we had to sneak in behind another wedding party who wouldn’t quite take our hints. Sure the drone clips are a little grainy as the sun went down during our hike up there because we were about 5 minutes behind schedule from family photos. Sure the sky turned purple, pink, orange, yellow, and teal right in front of our eyes making the photos we were taking all but take themselves. By the time we even entered the reception I know for sure.
We had already taken a few of the best photos we’ve ever shot together.
The rest was going to be - easy? Ya, I’ll say it. Easy. This band, this planner, this vision, these guests, these families, these cocktails. The goal was simple, raise up our lighting, put fresh memory cards in the cameras and then…hold on for dear life for the blur. A few hours later on tired legs the band made the last call announcement. As we started to pack it all up I think we knew what we really had just pulled off. It wasn’t a wedding that would have been hard to photograph, but we knew there was a million miles between taking good pics of this wedding and what we had just done. These two people, their people, and all the other people had become… our people. These photos weren’t their memories of their stories, they were our memories, our stories. We lived it, creatively, humbly, filled with excitement and purpose and joy and what came from it all.
Well - you’ve seen the photos. An enormous thank you to :
Peyton + Forrest for giving us the chance to simply be in your presence on this special day let alone hold the cameras.
Jared for being creative, inspired, reliable, and encouraging throughout this entire trip.
The Cape Hotel for giving us endless places, views, and opportunities to photograph this day and an amazing staff that made us feel right at home.
Amanda Reed and Madi for bringing the easiest vendor friendship from Arkansas to Mexico and making this wild day feel so familiar and beautiful.
Delicia + Mark for trusting us with your daughter’s biggest day and capturing so many memories.
Lisa for giving us full access to your son and the blessing of seeing your vulnerable, beautiful relationship with him.
Amy and David and Hayden and Madison, and Tina, and Jill a few other families faces in the crowd that made it known that we were right where we needed to be.
