Now Accepting July 2017 Bookings for Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Ontatio

We are SO STOKED To be announcing our return to ‪#‎PegCity‬ SUMMER 2017! We love any chance we have to return to our hometown. We’ll be taking a week early August to photograph a wedding in the Okanagan Valley, BC. But aside from that, we’ll be celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday celebration, and taking in the comforts that home has to offer for July 2017!

If you, or others, are planning a wedding or engagement photos in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or Western Ontario for July/August 2017, please feel free to contact us for our rates. We are exceptionally mindful of pricing while travelling. So don’t be shy, friends! Message us and start a conversation sooner rather than later so we can make your dream wedding a reality!

More information: https://www.jasminandmatt.com/july2017/

Summer Recap – A Month in Winnipeg was the Perfect Amount of Time Back Home

It’s hard to believe that the summer has already come and gone, although the weather doesn’t help much when you live in a tropical paradise and “every day is summer”. Obviously, this statement isn’t quite the truth, as temperatures do still fluctuate even in warmer, South of Canada climates. The fluctuations are obviously not so extreme, and there’s still no need to have entirely different wardrobes for the changing seasons, no mittens and scarves and parkas either. But, there is still definitely cooler temperatures here in the winter months (December-March). This is unlike the summer heat that has us melting while trying to conserve our electric bill with minimal air conditioning usage, plus an inability to cool the office and kitchen space on the opposite side of the condo as the split air conditioning units are located in the two bedrooms, but I digress. At night, temperatures can still dip down to 16c with a high of only 26c at the peak of the day in January, which is fairly different than July & August where it’s more like a low of 28c at night and a high of 38c during the day. There’s still variation in those temperatures, my friends. Just not -40c winter extremes to feels like +40c with the humidex summer extremes. I was born and raised in Winnipeg, and have spent a total of 6 years of my life (at two very different times in my life) in Montreal. So, when I tell you I know nearly everything there is to know about extreme temperature variations in one set place, I truly mean it. *Please note: this blog post will be sprinkled with teaser photos from our August weddings (Svetlana & Dmytro at Azul Fives Resort and Jenna & Dennis in Kinosota, Manitoba) to help navigate your eyes away from text at times*

 

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This long-winded, silly rant-like one-sided conversation I just had is a conversation that came up several times throughout our month long living arrangements in Winnipeg, Manitoba this summer. We were fortunate enough to travel home to photograph a wedding in rural Manitoba, and since we have our belongings, and essentially still, our lives in Winnipeg, it seemed only fitting to jump on the opportunity to spend as much time visiting with friends and family as we possibly could. There were ups, there were downs, and overall, the month back home went by far faster than I thought it would, or even could for that matter. I really thought 4+ weeks would be long enough that time would actually have a chance to stand still for a bit. But no, it just went as fast as ever. What we anticipated to be infinite time spent with those near and dear to our hearts, wound up (as always) becoming mere hours penciled in on a handmade paper calendar of events for the month. This was truly the only way to properly track our whereabouts, hangouts, and the like. We could communicate via this vital piece of paper when we would be separate and thus discuss access to borrowed vehicles, where we had opportunities to double date or visit friends jointly, and making sure we wrote a list of people to contact and connect with, in hopes of trying to squeeze in as many familiar faces as humanly possible.

 

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And it was exhausting. Rewarding too, but very exhausting. We had some much needed R+R time sporadically throughout the trip, with road trips to my family farm, Matt’s family’s cottage, and the rural wedding we were hired to shoot in the first place (making this whole trip entirely possible). Actually, the drive to and from Kinosota, Manitoba was spectacular. It’s easy to forget the simple pleasures in life sometimes, especially when you’re away from them for an extended period of time. Who knew I would miss driving a vehicle as much as I did? And who knew just how much we missed road trips with flat open prairie fields for kilometers, and those prairie sky clouds and endless horizon, and that unforgiving, relentless urge to be in the process of drinking a Tim Hortons coffee the entire road trip? We couldn’t have asked for a nicer and more exciting reward to photographing a stunning and beautiful Manitoba wedding than to have a month with friends we’ve missed dearly, family we’ve missed more, and common places and reinvented spaces that we had a chance to explore?

 

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In a nutshell, we ate plenty of delicious food, engaged in lovely conversations with all of our favourite people in the world (and those we missed, we obviously regret!). We took some “me” time together, but separate, at Jellyfish Float Spa for a 90 minute relaxation float (our first time and boy was it fun for me!). I treated my parents to a night’s dining experience at Chew, which is certainly a delicious place to grab food. We had a few outings with my brother, Justin and his partner Christine, with everyone enjoying Ethiopian food for the first time at Massawa Restaurant. And more importantly, enjoying a true tapas evening out with the two of them at Enoteca, which had mushrooms that were on another level, and have certainly ruined mushrooms for me in everyday day-to-day living. We were treated to a Chinese food feast at North Garden Restaurant in the city’s South end of town.  We brunched over sandwiches at The Yellow Deli, owned and operated by Common Sense in St Boniface. We took ourselves to brunch on some of the best burritos either of us have ever consumed (seriously, every time, they are the best) at Burrito Del Rio in the heart of the city’s eccentric hangout known as Osborne Village. We treated ourselves to a fancy lunch at Fusion Grill, despite the unfortunate torrential downpour happening all over the city as we paid our bill and were ready to head out. We had a laid back breakfast with Matt’s parents at Perkins Family Restaurant, while I made a second visit there for coffee and breakfast with a previous Winnipeg Humane Society co-worker friend of mine, Judy. We were fortunate to make two stops in at Peasant Cookery twice while home, once for their infamous Buck-a-Shuck oyster night (seriously, $1 per oyster all night?!) as well as to try their entry for Le Burger Week taking place in cities across Canada the first week of September. There were others that we did not even get a chance to check out, as we were often too busy with plans for delicious dinners at other peoples’ places, or just out and about grabbing small things here and there.

 

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And that was our month long stay back home! Lots of visits and lots of food. And it was glorious. As always, it’s great to be getting back into a routine and normal life down South, but I’m already starting to feel my heart strings being twanged just a wee bit to come back again, and soon. In the meantime, it’s back to photo editing and updating the site, while organizing business-related things and the new place that we moved to back at the beginning of July. And now, for the last of our teaser photos, and keep your eyes out for these weddings, and others, going up on the site in the months to come!

 

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Making Friends, Saying Goodbyes, and Teasers!

We are pleased to say that work has been coming in steady, and we’ve been busy busy busy, to say the least. The months seem to fly by, and sometimes it’s hard to even catch a spare breath. That being said, we are having an absolute blast with it all. There have been new friendships formed with couples we have had the pleasure to photograph, and there has been some sad goodbyes with friends living in the Mayan Riviera for the winter months, who have since moved back home. This also means no more dogsitting for one of the couples, which was also a nice change of pace, and a refreshing change, mainly because their girl was such a sweetheart. Just look at those eyes!

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We knew the time was coming, but that still didn’t make it any easier. We are sad to say that Jeremy and Brittany have moved back to their home, in Edmonton, followed by Jenn and Glen who have since moved back to Vancouver with their incredible viszla Scarlett (Check out this great list of famous dogs). But, that also means we have excuses to travel to various provinces in Canada to reacquaint ourselves with old friends. We are fortunate to have plenty of friends in Winnipeg and Montreal, having lived in both cities for numerous years during our adulthood, so it’s nice to have a sprinkling of friends in the Western portion of Canada.

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Making friends here can sometimes be difficult, and I know that may sound a bit strange, but it’s true for a variety of reasons. A lot of people don’t move to Playa del Carmen and it’s surrounding areas as a permanent move, in that there are plenty of snowbirds (young and old) that come down to escape the winter months from up North, but head back when the temperatures start rising here, or more importantly, the humidity. There’s a reason the hotels and resorts offer lower prices during months like May & June, and September-November. January starts off with a bang, and stays fairly busy and congested for the first three months of the year. But it is hard not to notice the dwindling amount of tourists come the end of March and leading into April. That, followed closely by Snowbirds deciding to head back home to enjoy the tail end of Spring, the beauty of Summer, and the first half of their crisp Autumn months at their homes in the United States and Canada. So that means there’s a lot of transience going on in our part of the world. And that can make forging friendships difficult and trying, or at least ones where we are guaranteed to see them continuously throughout an entire year, difficult. But, that’s just part of relocating to an area you know is full of tourists, travelers, backpackers, snowbirds, expats, and the like. The plus side is making friends with all these transient individuals, and thus the possibility of establishing friendships worldwide. And that, to put it plain and simple, is pretty cool.

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And now, on a completely different note, we have posted the January weddings of 2015 that we photographed, with Krista & Dennis at Azul Sensatori, as well as Kyleigh & Cody at Grand Palladium Riviera Resorts. Furthermore, here’s some teasers from the February weddings, when we had the pleasure of photographing Melissa & Chris at Grand Palladium Riviera Resort, and Lisa & Tyson at Villa Luna y Sol

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Love Is In The Air

It’s that time of year that 1/3 of the population love, 1/3 of the population despise, and the remaining 1/3 just ignores completely. That’s right, Valentine’s Day is here! Or was here, rather! It’s Valentine’s night now, and today has been a day filled with tender moments and many a shared laugh with my significant other. So here’s hoping our past clients and lovers, and future couples are all able to say they’ve been able to enjoy the same. And if not today, than yesterday, or perhaps tomorrow. The day truly is irrelevant, and it’s taking the time to express your love for one another and really relish in those moments that matter most. And now, on to our fabulous Saturday.

We had a chance to sleep in a bit, of course with cats disturbing that by wandering about on our pillows and meowing for breakfast in our faces. The day started with delicious coffee and a walk to the corner store for eggs and milk, reminiscing about our past, and having all sorts of lovely nostalgic moments. Talking about how we met, how long we’ve known each other, and how much we have grown together as a couple, as a working partnership, and with ourselves. The sun was out, the day was young, and we haphazardly decided to get it started right with a bike ride for some random groceries, and some clothing shopping. We let ourselves take detours, and an alternative route, because why not really? The day was gorgeous and we were in good spirits, with no need to rush for anything. Just enjoying the day for what it was. At home, we decided to clean house a bit, minor tasks like floor mopping and laundry, followed by more work on photos from the recent weddings we photographed end of January.

We made our first attempt ever at making our own egg salad for sandwiches, as it is a favourite of both of ours, but somehow we have not made it ourselves in the 6 years we’ve known each other. Madness! So, swap the mayo with some fresh avocado, mashed with perfectly boiled eggs, finely chopped onion & celery, a tablespoon of mustard and sprinkled with salt, pepper and paprika and voilà! Our delicious dinner for two for Valentine’s day! And, to follow that all up, we are going to watch a movie and pinch some gourmet perogies à la potato/cheese/pesto! Yum! So, with that, we will at least post a few of the teasers from the first wedding we photographed January 21st, with Krista & Dennis at Azul Sensatori in Puerto Morelos.

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Another Year Passed, Another Happy Anniversary to Kara & Vince Hill

It’s hard to believe that yet another year has passed since Kara and Vince Hill’s destination wedding here in the Mayan Riviera. The wedding that started it all for us. The wedding that gave us a taste of what it truly is like being on the beach, photographing in the sand, and in the water. The wedding that was my first official visit to Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. My first time in Playa del Carmen. Our first time staying at Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya. It was an eye opening experience, and one that really had us taking a moment to think about our future, and what we wanted to do with ourselves. Granted, it wasn’t an immediate decision to pack up and move down, but definitely got the wheels turning in our minds. And wondering about the possibilities that could lie ahead, if we followed our hearts and our passions, rather than succumb to what was expected of a couple in their mid to late 20s living in Montreal. The expectation was to settle down ourselves, secure a job that would guarantee a steady paycheque, look into mortgages, owning a home, buying a car, etc.. but where’s the fun in that? My heart is always seeking out adventure. And there was no looking back after that first taste of salty crisp beach air, that unforgettable feeling of tiny broken shells, mixed with dried seaweed and sand, between my toes. There was no looking back after knowing what it’s like to wake up daily to the sunshine kissing my cheeks, and warming me to the core.

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So, cheers to Kara and Vince for the experience. And we are wishing them the warmest of Happy Anniversaries from down South. We had the pleasure of visiting them in their then-home of Gatineau, Quebec and taking some time to tour around Parliament Hill with them and their dog Charlie. It was a crisp and cool January, with plenty of dangerous icy patches that had to be cautiously avoided. But it was a splendid time nonetheless, photographing their anniversary in Canada. It’s wild to think that was already a year ago! Seriously, time has really just flown by. And now, here we are having relocated to the Riviera Maya, and meanwhile, Kara and Vince have since moved back home to Winnipeg too. Along with Charlie. Bigger, better job opportunities were on the horizon, and so they packed up and headed home. A visit was in order during our return to our hometown for Paula & Scott’s Wedding this past September, and it was great to talk about our individual experiences living in Quebec versus Manitoba, and about our own respective new journeys and paths in life.

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Turns out this year, for their anniversary, Kara and Vince opted to travel to Punta Cana to celebrate, and escape the snow and cold that Winnipeg winters have to offer for half the year. Having just returned from their trip a few days ago, we haven’t had the chance to really get many of the details of how everything went, BUT, looking through the photo album Kara has posted on Facebook makes it seem like they had a blast. We are very much looking forward to hearing more about the trip, perhaps through a Skype meeting, in the near future. Until then, though, we are sending our love and our well wishes to the gorgeous couple that first gave us that inkling to want to take the dive and move down South to 12 months of summer a year. Cheers to my lovely cousin, and her charming husband! May you have many more anniversary celebrations, and looking forward to one day being a part of one again!

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Cheers to a Wonderful Year Passed and an Exciting New Year Ahead! Best of 2014!

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I know that most everyone has done their reflection on the year that was 2014, and made their resolutions for the year ahead, but here at Jasmin & Matt Wedding Photography, we wanted to take some extra time to reflect. We didn’t want our “Best of 2014” to be lost in a sea of the same, among other New Year resolutions, and the discussion about whether or not it people will succeed or fail to meet them, which are often unrealistic goals in the first place. It also seemed fitting to time everything a bit more with our Ukrainian heritage background, feeling a bit more justified knowing that Orthodox New Year, according to the Julian calendar celebrates the New Year January 14th, 2015. So, with that, I would like to say Happy Malanka to all those celebrating the birth of a new year as of yesterday! It’s hard to believe that 2015 is already upon us, but we are eager, we are excited, and we are anxious to see what this new year has in store for us, on every account and at every level.

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And now, to take a look back at the past year on a personal level, which has been full of so much excitement, so much chaos, so many changes! It’s hard to imagine that just so much has happened in one year’s time. We went from working office jobs in Montreal, photographing the odd wedding or couple session on weekends in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to devoting our lives to weddings here in the beautiful Mayan Riviera. There were long long work days, many over time hours worked, to try to cushion our bank accounts so that moving to Playa del Carmen would not be too harsh for the first few months. We moved here in the summer. The summer months in the Yucatan Peninsula are something else. They are hot. They are humid. There is plenty of sun, and very little rain. The temperatures seemed to consistently be 36c, and with the added humidity, coming in anywhere between 44 to 48 degrees Celsius. Every day. Unrelenting. It was interesting. There were many a day spent melting in bed, wondering how groceries were going to be purchased in this heat. Wondering how we were going to cook food in this heat. Wondering how we were simply going to survive. They don’t call our home town Winterpeg for nothing. And having relocated from one frigid part of Canada, to another less constantly frigid but increasingly more snowy part of the country, with Montreal for the past four years (June 2010-2014), there’s been quite the adjustment period. I would certainly say we still plenty of adjusting to do, but we’ll see how that goes when the next summer season hits us here. We had a taste of intense humidity a couple weeks a year in Montreal, and now it’s a number of months instead. The plus side though, is that the climate doesn’t fluctuate here the way it does back home, and that means our bodies are constantly adjusting to no snow, no minus anything, no risk of frostbite or layers while waiting for a bus.

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We took some time to look back at the year from a professional business stand point, with the couples we have had the chance to work, and decided to narrow down the ones we were really happy with, the ones we felt were deserving of an additional nod towards, the ones we thought really captured a moment or could tell its own story. We were so happy to be a part of so many special days for so many special individuals this year, and can only look forward to doing the same again this year, and the year after that, and so on. We had the pleasure of photographing anniversaries, weddings (both straight and same-sex), a honeymoon, maternity, and preliminary wedding photos before a couple travelled overseas to China for their actual wedding and vow exchange with family. We were able to do work in the city we called home half of the year, Montreal. We were able to photograph a close friend’s wedding in our home town and home forever and always in our hearts, Winnipeg. And we have been photographing weddings in the place we now call home, Playa del Carmen and the surrounding Riviera Maya. It’s hard to believe that our lives have changed so much this year, but every step of the way we have poured our hearts and souls into everything we do. There are so many people in our lives, family, friends, acquaintances, that will often experience envy or jealousy over our situation, over what we are doing with our lives right now. And although those feelings are completely justified and make absolute sense, I do want to point out that it’s not always easy. Photographing a wedding day is a long day of work. Secluding ourselves indoors to work on writing for the site and photo editing for our clients when the sun is bright and begging to be enjoyed, isn’t easy but has to be done. When you live here, every day may seem like a holiday to others, but it most certainly is not for us. And that is the reality anywhere you decide to live. When you’re in British Columbia and close to the mountains, you likely aren’t skiing or snowboarding every day of the week. And it’s the same when you live by the ocean, or a beach. Sure, there’s the convenience of being close, which isn’t even an option back in Winnipeg, but it doesn’t mean you have the joy or pleasure of taking advantage of it every day. There will always be discipline involved with prioritizing what has to get done versus what you want to be doing some days.

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And that brings us to where we are now. Today. Here in the Riviera Maya. Here just North of Playa del Carmen. Here in the state of Quintana Roo. Here in the Yucatan Peninsula. Here in Mexico. And we wouldn’t change anything for the world. Of course, there have been plenty of smiles, laughs, sweat, tears, and everything in between, but it has been 100% worth it. Life will never be the same. This was a huge change for us to both be making each before turning 30, and we are so happy we took that leap, made that jump, and somehow still landed on our feet in the sand, by the water, in the sun, in a place we can, for now, call home.

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Busy is a Good Thing

When it comes to writing blog posts here, sometimes I wonder what is appropriate to write about, and what isn’t, and that feels all sorts of strange. I know I am writing this blog post on behalf of the company, and thus is should still be company related, or at least travel related, pertinent to both myself and Matt. But sometimes that feels weird. Sometimes I want to just write openly and honestly about my thoughts and feelings here, like a diary, like a personal blog may contain. Censoring myself, or holding back rather, sometimes leaves me feeling like I don’t really want to write anything at all. But then, my friend Nikita, posts a lovely blog post every now and again and brings back the urge and desire to just get something out there, something written. And I like that. I like that about her. And the way she ends up motivating me, from afar, considering she has been working and travelling through the Czech Republic and surrounding areas for….. the better part of 2014. Her stories, her emails, her words, motivate me to explore, and be happy with the adventure I’m currently on as well. Feel free to read some of her amazing blog posts.

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I think what’s most important here is that, even when things feel overwhelming, that I am not alone. That other people around me can be feeling a similar way, and it’s just that we don’t always talk about it. We don’t always blog about it. We don’t always let others in on the secrets, secrets of uncertainty, secrets of second-guessing, secrets of doubt…. We always keep up our façade of life is great. Life is grand. Especially when you’re doing something like “living the dream” and doing “something I could never do”. But it’s really not always sandy beaches and sunny skies. And no, I don’t just mean that sometimes it’s only 26c and overcast, I truly mean sometimes the sun is shining and all you want to do is go explore cenotes and ruins and the reality is, that’s not always possible. There is still work to be done. And there is still a need for relaxing. And sometimes you don’t necessarily want to go venture out in the sun and do those things. Sometimes money just isn’t there to fund such adventures. And I think it’s important to realize that, in the grand scheme of it all, that’s okay. We make it work to the best of our abilities, and that’s really all that I can expect of myself, and of us.

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We have been hard at work getting some perogies made for a few people who have requested some handmade delights. So, that has been an experimentation and challenge attempting to make them taste similar to how they would taste back home. In our past life in Winnipeg, we spent many a nights watching movies and pinching perogies for friends, family and co-workers interested in trying our traditional recipe of potato & cheese, as well as some of the gourmet ones we were offering, such as pesto, red pepper & provolone, Asiago & artichoke, and feta & spinach, to name a few. Since some ingredients are harder to come across here in Playa del Carmen, we are figuring out alternatives that still work as gourmet flavours. So far, so good, with a slight change to the feta accompaniment, with spinach being replaced by jalapeños, with Asiago cheese being replaced first with Bel Paese cheese but will likely be replaced with Parmesan at a later date, for more flavour. And then, of course, some other varieties that we’re still trying out. Here’s hoping our new friends like this interesting take on a traditional Ukrainian/Polish dish.

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And it should go without saying, that we have been busy preparing for a slew of upcoming weddings in first few months of the new year, as well as working hard on final touches for Susan and Mike’s wedding at Now Sapphire in November. We have been posting teasers here and there for the last month, which seems to be going over really well with the fans on Facebook and Twitter, but it also seems as good a time as any to be getting some of these teasers out for those of you who stumble upon our page from Google searches, or for the friends and family of ours who like to check in on our adventures in Mexico via the website rather than social media. So here’s a wee glimpse into some of the work we’ve posted so far, and anticipate the narrowed down final selection in the gallery early 2015. I’m sure between now and then, there should still be another blog post or two, sort of reliving the madness from the past 6 months of moving, and the 6 months leading up to the move. A lot seems to have happened this year, and when I start reflecting, I start feeling like I need more time to properly reflect. That seems like it would be better left revisited after we do our Christmas celebrating, and are just relaxing watching one of the many Christmas films we are downloading to enjoy through the Holidays, while we are away from family and friends from a distant past. So be warned, a reflective post will happen. And you have Nikita’s motivation to thank for that.

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Free Couple’s Session with Jasmin & Matt

To celebrate Matt’s upcoming 27th birthday (December 6th), as well as the upcoming Holiday season, we are offering a complimentary couple’s session! And thus, we are on the lookout for an adventurous, down-to-earth couple travelling to Playa del Carmen, and the surrounding areas that make up the Mayan Riviera, interested in the opportunity to have a photography session with us.

We are looking for a couple that is willing to get a little sandy and wet, a couple who isn’t afraid to spend the afternoon having fun frolicking in the water, strolling down the sand, and soaking up the sun while being the stars in some beautiful shots. These photos will be available to you once all edits are complete, as a souvenir of the spectacular time you had visiting Mexico so close to the Holidays.

If you fit this description, and are travelling to the Riviera Maya this December, please send us a message from our contact form or send us an email directly to [email protected] for further information.

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Shari & Catherine Teasers

Just a quick post to show some of the teasers from Shari & Catherine’s beautiful destination wedding at The Bluebay Grand Esmeralda.  We’re hard at work editing photos and we really hope to have everything up and posted within the next couple weeks. We’re also hard at work editing photos from Susan & Mike’s wedding at Now Sapphire. We’ll be posting teasers from that within the next week or so as well.

 

Cheers!

 

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Birthday Surprises & So Much More!

This may be news to some readers who don’t know me as well as friends and family, but mid-October means not only Thanksgiving (yes, us Canadians do it a little early, and a little differently, up North from our American neighbours), but also, my birthday! And this year, that meant a whopping 30 years old! Or is that 30 years young? Or am I at the neutral birthday zone of 30 years of age? I guess it’s whatever you make it right? Is the glass half full or half empty, you be the judge! And for further reading, Glass Half Empty, Half Full.
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So that’s what this week has consisted of! Celebrating Thanksgiving together with a bit of Mexican flare, drinking beers with lime wedges on the beach at sunset, enjoying hearing the waves crashing up on the shoreline, and watching clouds dance around the setting sun. Needless to say, it was a pretty relaxing, non-traditional Thanksgiving celebration, especially considering our main at home meal of the day was homemade beet borscht. This was followed by a random visit to city center to see some friends we had not seen since arriving back from each of our respective vacations, considering they were travelling to visit family just before we did. It was great to see some familiar faces, and catch up a bit, and spend the rest of the night wandering the darkened Sunday streets of Playa del Carmen, stopping for street Tamales and pizza at various points along the way. Matt and I are no strangers to doing things a bit differently, having been away from family for 4 years while in Montreal, and relying on Friendsgiving when not working the weekend, to properly give thanks for all we have. So this year, it was reduced to mostly just the two of us, but that comes with moving kilometers away from all the friends and family you know.
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And although my birthday, being the 15th of October, never seems to properly quite match up with that glorious Monday off holiday, it would seem I’m always a few days off, or a week. That’s just how things unfold. This year, for a refreshing change, having a birthday fall on a Wednesday, didn’t mean any days were scheduled off from work to be able to truly enjoy it in all its glory. I am fortunate to have a sweetheart for a partner, who wanted nothing more than to see me smile while ringing in my 30th year on Earth. The day was full of surprises, and for anyone that gets to know me, I *really* like surprises. Like, a whole lot. So needless to say, I was tickled pink not knowing what awaited me for the day. We woke up early, watched tv from the bed, drank some cinnamon yerba mate, had a nap and just lazed around for the better part of the morning. Before I knew it, it was time to start getting showered and packed for our adventure, knowing I was getting ready after surprise #1, so I needed my things with me.
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Then swoosh, out the door we went, walked to the edge of our street and hailed a cab. Taking taxis is fairly inexpensive in the Mayan Riviera, though public transportation is even cheaper, so that’s all relative. But it sure is nice taking a cab everywhere you want to go! And before you know it, we’re pulling up to a small building and a wonderfully sweet guy by the name of Diego, steps out to greet us and fill me in on the fact that Surprise #1 is a 2 hour massage. I have never had a massage before. Ever. Not one that is by a qualified massage therapist, and Matt thought it wise to finally change that aspect of my life. And it was glorious! It was everything one should expect and hope for with a massage. This was followed by a beer with our friends Carlos and Malin then out for Surprise #2, a fancy dinner at a cute place called El Muelle, where we split multiple appetizers and enjoyed entrées to ourselves, alongside a lovely bottle of wine. The evening there was topped off with a dessert brought out with a candle for my birthday and everything.
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Desserts didn’t stop there as we made our way to Ah Cacao for some Espresso shots poured over decadent dark chocolate chunks, before parting ways to continue on with touring around town, stopping in for drinks at one bar before winding up at our final dancing destination, Surprise #3 known as La Santanera. The bar was fun, surprisingly busier for a Wednesday night than I would have thought, which was great. We enjoyed sitting in fancy couches enjoying beers, as well as making our way to the dance floor on occasion to ring in my birthday in true Jasmin & Matt style, always getting in on the fun. And, when the night felt like it just couldn’t go on any further, a cab was waved down and away we went back home to wind down for the night. And what a night it was! What a day it was! So much so that I just wanted to share all those exciting little details with the rest of the world. So, there you have it. That has been our exciting week of celebrations.
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It should go without saying, that plenty more has happened over the last few weeks, as noted from the recent additions to our home in the photos above. There have been some pretty big purchases made for the condo, such as a brand new sofa/futon from WalMart. It is lime green and fluffy and comfy and looks awesome now that it has been assembled. Two bar stools have been added to our kitchen, which means eating dinner at the semi-island portion of the counter can now be a thing. Meals and coffee breaks can also be enjoyed up on the rooftop too, since a round patio table with 4 chairs has been delivered from The HomeDepot. All in all, we are thrilled to have the place slowly coming together. Purchased a 1000 piece puzzle to assemble and then glue and hang on the wall afterwards too. We tried our hands at making a pot of homemade vegetarian Beet Borscht twice. We worked on editing photos, and trying our hands at new lighting techniques. All in all, it has still been a relatively busy few weeks since returning home. Still always on our toes. Still never enough hours in the day.

On that note, here’s some more of the teasers that have steadily been piling up from Paula and Scott’s autumn wedding in Winnipeg. Edits are nearly complete so a full proper photo update is not fair away.
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Riviera Maya & Cancun Wedding Photography by Canadian Photographers Jasmin & Matt. We are Wedding Photographers based out of Playa del Carmen & working throughout the Yucatan Peninsula including Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos, Cozumel, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal & Tulum.

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