Dominican Republic wedding photographer | Altos de Chavón, La Romana | Day after session | Amy and John

Several days before Amy and John’s wedding, a few friends and I hired a local to take us exploring around the Dominican Republic. Chilling at an all-inclusive resort is great and all, but why stay in one place, when there’s a whole island out there, you know? One of the places we stopped at was Altos de Chavón, and the moment I saw it, I KNEW I had to return and do a shoot there. Remember now, we’re right smack in the middle of a Caribbean island. But round a corner in La Romana and we suddenly find ourselves in some medieval Mediterranean village transported out of time. It turns out that some rich tycoon decided to hire a former Hollywood set director to build this place … as a gift to his daughter for her 18th birthday! (What did YOUR parents give you for your 18th birthday??)

So the day after their wedding, 5 of us piled into the back seats of a cramped minivan for two hours while the driver sped over pot-hole-filled roads with the radio blasting some really bad techno music. And then once at the site, our driver had to argue with a few guards because uh … turns out we technically weren’t allowed to be there. Oops! We ended up sneaking around the place, furtively setting up shots hoping nobody notices and kicks us out. lol. But hey, my M.O. is “shoot first, apologize later.” It was great fun. =D

[ Check out the slideshow of this session! ]

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