Mar & Jason’s
Destination Wedding at Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua Guatemala
Some weddings feel inseparable from the place where they happen. Mar and Jason’s wedding was one of them.
Based in Fort Lauderdale, near Miami, with Mar originally from Honduras, they chose Antigua Guatemala simply because they love it here. And for their destination wedding, they chose one of Antigua’s most iconic venues: Casa Santo Domingo.
Their celebration felt elegant without being overly formal, fashion-forward without losing its warmth, and incredibly social from beginning to end. There were beautiful details, small Jewish traditions woven into the ceremony, quiet emotional moments, and eventually a dance floor that became anything but quiet.
It was exactly the kind of wedding I love photographing: beautiful, yes, but more importantly, completely alive.
A Destination Wedding Weekend in Antigua Guatemala
Mar and Jason’s celebration began before the wedding day itself, with a welcome party that gave everyone time to arrive, settle into Antigua and spend time together before the main celebration.
That is one of my favorite things about destination weddings. When your guests have traveled to another country to celebrate with you, the wedding becomes more than a few hours on a Saturday. You get an entire weekend of seeing your favorite people together.
By the wedding day, everyone already felt connected and ready to celebrate.
And Mar and Jason themselves brought such an easy energy to the weekend. Mar is outgoing, stylish and incredibly comfortable in front of the camera; Jason has a great sense of humor and was very obviously completely in love with her. They were calm, social and genuinely present throughout the day—which made photographing them especially fun.
Getting Ready at
Casa Santo Domingo
Mar spent the earlier part of the day getting ready before sharing a first look with her bridesmaids. Her gown was modern and fashion-forward, with a beautifully clean silhouette that felt completely at home against Santo Domingo’s historic architecture.
Jason wouldn't see her until she entered the ceremony.
And that decision gave us one of my favorite moments of the entire wedding.
An Emotional Ceremony with Jewish Traditions
The ceremony took place beneath the ceiba tree at Casa Santo Domingo, with the ceremony area covered and a chuppah incorporated into the setting.
A beautiful fountain sat at the center of the surrounding space, with Santo Domingo's gardens and historic architecture all around them.
Their ceremony incorporated several Jewish traditions without allowing the traditions to make the celebration feel overly formal. Guests wore kippahs, Mar and Jason stood beneath the chuppah, and there were small symbolic moments throughout the ceremony that felt personal to them.
Their bridesmaids and groomsmen were seated in specially designated areas beside the chuppah, giving them an almost front-row perspective of everything happening. Looking toward them throughout the ceremony, there were constantly people smiling, laughing and reacting.
But the moment I remember most happened at the altar.
Jason saw Mar.
Because they had chosen not to do a first look, this was genuinely the first time he saw her as a bride. He immediately became emotional and cried as she approached.
Later, there was another quiet moment when Mar and Jason were wrapped together beneath the fabric during the ceremony. They held each other, completely focused on one another while everything else seemed to disappear for a second.
And then came the breaking of the glass—which changed the energy completely. It was joyful, fun and immediately followed by celebration.
Everyone felt present.
And as a photographer, that's one of the best things you can be given.
Wedding Portraits Around
Casa Santo Domingo
After the ceremony, we spent approximately 40–45 minutes photographing Mar and Jason around Casa Santo Domingo.
This is one of the reasons I love photographing weddings here.
You can move from lush gardens to old stone walls, ruins, courtyards and architectural spaces without needing to leave the property. Every few minutes, the photographs can feel completely different.
Mar and Jason also made this part incredibly easy.
I gave them direction when it was helpful—where to stand, how to move, where the light was best—but they were already very comfortable with one another and genuinely enjoyed being photographed. They knew how to pose, but they also knew how to stop thinking about the camera.
That combination gave us both: more intentional, editorial portraits and photographs where they were simply walking, talking, looking at each other and enjoying the little bit of time they had alone.
Why I Love Photographing Weddings at Casa Santo Domingo
After photographing weddings at Casa Santo Domingo, one of the things I appreciate most about the venue is just how adaptable it is.
The entire property works almost like a blank canvas.
There is so much character already—the historic architecture, ruins, gardens, stone, fountains and beautiful natural light—but none of it forces a wedding into one particular aesthetic. Different florals, furniture, lighting and design choices can completely change how the property feels.
For photography, that variety is invaluable. Couples can have portraits that feel lush and romantic in the gardens and, minutes later, photographs surrounded by centuries-old stone and unmistakable Antigua architecture.
And then there is Centro de Convenciones.
It's a huge, flexible space that can be transformed dramatically depending on the vision for the wedding. Rather than competing with the design, the room gives planners and decorators the freedom to build something completely different inside it.
Mar and Jason's reception was a perfect example.
A Candlelit Reception at Centro de Convenciones
The reception space itself was particularly dark from a photography perspective, but the incredible amount of candlelight became part of what made it so beautiful. Instead of fighting the darkness, the room embraced it.
Tables glowed beneath the installations overhead. Candlelight reflected in the glassware. Greenery seemed to disappear into the ceiling before reappearing wherever the light caught it.
It felt intimate despite the scale of the room.
And that transformation is exactly what I mean when I describe Casa Santo Domingo as a blank canvas. The ceremony and reception happened on the same property, yet visually they belonged to two completely different worlds.
Walking into Mar and Jason's reception felt like entering a completely different wedding.
After the light, greenery and historic architecture of the ceremony and portraits, Centro de Convenciones became dark, warm and atmospheric.
Arysa Decor transformed the room with abundant suspended greenery, glowing installations, candlelight, soft white and blush florals, natural wood tables, bentwood chairs and lounge areas.
And Then Everyone Danced
After cocktails, dinner, champagne, speeches and the formal dances, the energy shifted again.
And from that point forward, everyone danced.
Hava Nagila brought Mar and Jason onto chairs above the crowd, surrounded by friends and family. There was so much energy in the room—people laughing, reaching toward them, dancing and completely throwing themselves into the celebration.
Later came Hora Loca, and subtle was officially over.
There was a miniature shot car making its way through the party, robots, confetti, CO₂ effects, lasers and costume accessories. Mar ended up wearing a white floral crown while Jason appeared in sunglasses and a dramatic black feather scarf.
It was chaotic in precisely the way a great wedding party should be.
And with roughly 100–150 guests filling the room, there was always something happening somewhere.
Those are the receptions where I stop thinking about creating perfect photographs and start chasing moments: someone screaming the lyrics to a song, friends collapsing into each other laughing, the couple disappearing into the crowd, a ridiculous accessory appearing from nowhere.
The photographs become less polished.
And more alive.
A Wedding That Felt Like Them
What stayed with me most about Mar and Jason's wedding wasn't one particular design element or photograph.
It was their energy.
They cared about how everything looked. They had style. They chose an incredible venue and created a beautiful celebration.
But once the wedding began, they actually lived it.
Jason cried when he saw Mar. They held each other during their ceremony. They laughed through portraits. They spent time with their people. And when it was time to party, they were right in the middle of it.
That's ultimately what I want wedding photographs to preserve.
Not only what everything looked like.
What it felt like to be there.
Planning a Destination Wedding at Casa Santo Domingo?
If you're considering getting married in Antigua Guatemala, Casa Santo Domingo is one of those venues that gives you an enormous amount to work with—from historic ruins and lush gardens to beautiful architecture and large-scale reception spaces that can be completely transformed.
And you don't have to know how to pose or plan your wedding around photographs to create an incredible gallery.
I'll help you find the light, guide you when direction makes a difference, and then get out of the way when the real moments are already happening.
Directed when it matters. Unscripted when it matters more.
If you're planning a destination wedding at Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala, or elsewhere in Guatemala, I'd love to hear what you're creating.
Vendor Team
Venue & Catering: Hotel Casa Santo Domingo
Wedding Planner: Save The Date
Floral Design: Arysa Decor
Hair & Makeup: Monica N. Boppel
Photography: Gabby García Photography
Video: Ultra Weddings
Wedding Content Creator: Behind The Bride
