October 15, 2024

Daniel & Sonya ~ Wedding at Santa Clara and Pensativo, Antigua

This wedding at Santa Clara and Pensativo in Antigua goes down for the ages. Whenever we do interviews or get inquiries from new clients, we are often asked “what’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened during a wedding photographed?” You’d never guess it, but one of our favorite wedding stories came from this seemingly-perfect, ideal wedding day.

Sonya & Daniel’s impeccably-styled wedding was pulled together by a fantastic team of vendors from Guatemala and from abroad. Brogen Jessup pulled together the inspiration and overall design of this destination wedding, Carolina Mendez executed every detail without a hitch, and our lovely friend Bea at Addy Florales created the accents and floral details that made this wedding unlike any other.

But the unexpected story that came from this wedding day was something out of everyone’s control, even the bride. I’ll let Sonya explain what happened in her own words:

“Antigua has the most beautifully colored walls of any town you’ll see. There was one wall in particular that I fell in love with and saved to show my photographers. On the morning of our wedding, we had 30 minutes for portraits until the ceremony, so we snuck out without anyone noticing and caught two tuk-tuks to my beloved wall. Mishka–our photographer–was in the first tuk-tuk, and Daniel and I were in the second tuk-tuk following her. As we drove down the road with all the bystanders waving to us, I felt a tug on my dress. We came to a screeching halt, and I jumped out to see what happened. My wedding gown was wrapped so badly in the wheel of the tuk-tuk that we couldn’t even get it out. The driver had to drive forward so we could pull it out. Once we got it free, we saw that it was ripped from my calves down! I was in shock. Mishka jumped into action and reminded me that it didn’t matter. What mattered the most was our love and that we were getting married.”

You read that correctly, Sonya’s stunning Lian Rokman wedding dress had a giant, gaping hole ripped right down the middle of the train. Keep in mind, this happened 15 minutes before the ceremony. With no time to delay, my beloved Mishka jumped into action and put her wedding therapist hat on. She had Daniel & Sonya take a deep breath, look each other deeply in the eyes, and reflect on what really mattered at the end of the day. Does Sonya still look like a supermodel? Yes. Was this still going to be the best and most important day of their lives? Yes. Are they going to finish their wedding celebration surrounded by their loved ones in newly-marital bliss? Absolutely. What is more important, this dress or their upcoming vows of eternal love and partnership? I think you know the answer.

On the tuk-tuk ride back to Santa Clara, Mishka called Carolina, who swiftly located a sewing kit across the street from the venue (shout out to the awesome folks at Como Como!) They sewed the dress back together and finished by cutting off the torn pieces from the train. In a way, this moment felt weirdly ceremonial. Sonya admitted later that this was one of her favorite moments of her wedding day. It’s a moment that humbled her, made her laugh and made her day especially memorable. You can spend hours trying to pull-off a perfect celebration, design every last detail and consider all of the unexpected crises, but what’s most important is that you finish the day married to the person you love the most.

One of my favorite photos from this wedding day is the moment that Daniel cuts the last straggling bits of Sonya’s train as she looks down at him smiling. I think this moment gave every other moment of this day a certain sweetness, something to savor and enjoy. The tears fell easier, the laughter was contagious and the celebration seemed to never end.

I know we will forever be grateful for capturing this moment, living every single wild emotion that it brought, remembering these two with their astounding joy and humility. We hope you enjoy the photos and check out all of the marvelous vendors listed below.

This wedding was featured on Junebug Weddings, you can check it on the following link, Opulent & Fashion-Forward Antigua Wedding. You can also check out Sonya & Daniel’s Engagement Session on Lake Atitlan.