When Rain Changes Everything: Ethan & Taylor’s Intimate Puerto Rico Elopement

The elopement…that almost never was.

Ethan and Taylor reached out to me through my website a few months ago with a very clear vision for their Puerto Rico elopement. They wanted to have a symbolic elopement at Aviones Beach in Loíza, Puerto Rico. They explained that they wanted to get legally married elsewhere, but come to the island to put on their wedding attire, take photographs together, share their vows, and experience something intimate and meaningful without having to plan a traditional wedding.

I thought it was a great idea.

I'm all in on elopements, especially when couples choose to focus on the experience rather than everything that can make a conventional wedding complicated. Ethan and Taylor told me they wanted something cozy, intimate, and secluded on the beach, and I thought they had picked the perfect location for their Puerto Rico elopement.

After talking everything through during a FaceTime meeting, we agreed on a date and terms and began looking forward to the big day.

Then the weather decided to have other plans.

A Puerto Rico Elopement Starts With a Monsoon

Ethan put on a smile in the face of adversity; there was nothing stopping him from marrying Taylor.

Fast-forward to elopement day.

One look out the window was all it took for me to become concerned.

I woke up to a monsoon.

The rain was coming down hard, and I immediately started monitoring the weather in Loíza. As a precaution, I took a screenshot of the weather app on my phone and sent it to Ethan and Taylor. They were understandably a little afraid that things might take a turn for the worse, but it was still early in the day.

We had hope.

As we got closer to kickoff time, I traveled to Old San Juan to pick up Bryan, the Swiss Army knife of my photo and video team. For this afternoon, I had requested his assistance with flash photography and whatever other task might arise. As usual, he was on board, hopped in, and headed out with me toward the couple's preferred location.

By the time we left Old San Juan, it was already coming down.

So we braced ourselves for the worst.

The entire drive to Aviones Beach was rainy. The wipers were constantly going, and as Bryan and I looked through the sunroof of my Volkswagen Atlas, all we could see were overcast skies opening up even more.

As the GPS informed us that we had arrived at the beach, Bryan and I looked at each other.

We both knew we'd have to be the bearers of bad news.

There was no way Ethan and Taylor were going to have an outdoor ceremony on that beach that day.

When Plan A Falls Apart

Albeit the circumstances, Taylor was always in great spirits.

I got on the phone and decided to call Ethan first since Taylor was probably still with Melina, the hair and makeup artist.

Ethan picked up, and I let him know that we had to resort to Plan B, whatever that was.

He told me they were scheduled to leave on Saturday, which meant we still had the following day, Friday, to play with and potentially try it again. Bryan looked at the weather app to see if the rain was expected to subside, and thankfully, it was supposed to.

As their photographer, I would have hated for them to have anything other than what they wanted, so I suggested we try again the following day.

Then, as fate would have it, Ethan called Taylor while we waited for their decision.

He called me back and said Taylor would much rather get it done that day, especially since she had already invested in professional hair and makeup.

And honestly, I understood.

When you've spent the time and money to get ready for one of the most important days of your life, the last thing you want is to put everything on hold because of a storm.

So I had to come up with another solution.

The only thing that occurred to me was to drive to their Airbnb, a room they were renting at Condado del Mar, not too far from me.

Bryan and I drove roughly twenty minutes to their lodging, parked, and immediately started looking around for a possible venue.

I won't lie.

It wasn't exactly the most photogenic location.

But the couple was adamant about sharing their vows and first kiss, and we were burning daylight quickly. I had no other option but to set up shop there and get to work.

The building's staff was more than understanding and empathetic with the situation. When I explained what was happening, they were incredibly kind and essentially gave me the keys to the castle.

That generosity made a huge difference.

Turning an Ordinary Space Into an Elopement Venue

One of the most wholesome moments of the entire afternoon at Condado del Mar.

I started walking around the premises while Melina was putting the finishing touches on Taylor.

Ethan shadowed me in case I needed to relay a few instructions.

We went toward the back of the building where they had a long and winding pathway that led to the pool and tennis courts. The only viable spot I saw was literally underneath a corridor, which was still taking in rain from the sides.

Not exactly the secluded beach elopement we had envisioned.

But at that point, the goal wasn't perfection.

The goal was to make something happen.

I grabbed a few portraits of Ethan alone as he threw on his wet jacket, which I later had to Photoshop, lol.

It wasn't the ideal start to an elopement, but we were powering through.

Since we were doing a first look, I asked Ethan to turn around and face the other way while I went to get Taylor, who was coming down the elevators.

That was when I met her in person for the first time.

I had to skip the pleasantries because I was in full work mode.

There simply wasn't time.

I snapped a few photographs of Taylor walking down the hallway that led toward Ethan in the back patio because I didn't get a chance to photograph her getting ready due to the time constraints.

As I got closer to Ethan, I saw Bryan rigging up a microphone and quickly yelled, "Turn around," as a friendly reminder so he wouldn't catch Taylor coming down the corridor.

I slid past Ethan to take a photograph of Taylor over his shoulder as a prequel to the first look while racking focus on both the bride and groom.

I had given Taylor instructions to tap Ethan on the shoulder, and he would turn around in the same direction he was tapped.

And it was such a wholesome turn of events.

Even with the torrential downpour, the cramped space, and the last-minute change of plans, I was determined to make things happen for them.

Exchanging Vows in the Rain

Ethan was on cloud nine exchanging heartfelt vows with the love of his life during his elopement in Puerto Rico.

Because Bryan had also rigged Taylor with the white microphone, they immediately went into their vows and exchanged some heartfelt words.

Bryan was actually able to capture the audio on my new DJI Osmo Pocket 4, which gave us another layer of storytelling that I wasn't originally expecting to have on this shoot.

He and I took turns orbiting around the couple during this climactic moment, both of us getting rained on in the process. The hallway wasn't necessarily wide enough for four people, so we were constantly maneuvering around one another while trying to stay out of the couple's way.

But that was the moment.

The beach was gone.

The perfect weather was gone.

The original plan was gone.

What remained were Ethan and Taylor, standing together, exchanging vows, and committing themselves to one another.

And that's really what an elopement is about.

Bringing the Photography Into the Lobby

Taylor looked stunning during her elopement wedding in Puerto Rico

Once they finished their vows, we grabbed our things and headed into the rainless lobby, which was the only other possible photogenic location in all of Condado del Mar.

Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of foot traffic, so I was essentially able to have the entire lobby to myself.

I'll be the first one to say it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing space.

Which is exactly why I was glad I'd brought my Godox AD200 Pro II flashes and some MagnetMod gels.

When the environment doesn't give you much to work with, you have to create the atmosphere yourself.

That's one of the reasons I love flash photography so much.

I started with Taylor and photographed standalone portraits of her. I placed the two strobes nearby: one as a key light and the other as a hair or rim light to separate her from the background and give the illusion that the lobby was bigger than it really was.

The lighting transformed the space.

Taylor later mentioned that she wanted to emulate a Kim Kardashian photograph from her wedding.

I nailed it.

Ethan followed suit, and I used the same approach to create a series of portraits for him.

Once I was happy with their individual portraits, we proceeded to get creative with the couple.

We had them face me.

Then each other.

Then we started painting with blue and orange gels for a kick of creativity.

And suddenly, what had started as a rainy day in a relatively ordinary condominium lobby had turned into an editorial-inspired portrait session.

The Importance of Having the Right Team

This is the kiss that sealed the deal for Ethan and Taylor.

Days like this are also a reminder that great photography is rarely the result of one person simply showing up with a camera.

Bryan was invaluable throughout this entire experience.

From assisting with flash photography to handling audio and helping me navigate the tight spaces during the ceremony, he was constantly adapting alongside me. Having someone I can trust to step in and handle whatever needs to be handled gives me the freedom to stay focused on the couple and the images we're creating.

When an elopement suddenly changes locations, schedules, expectations, and logistics, having someone dependable who can help keep everything moving is invaluable. Bryan is part of the support system that allows me to remain completely focused on Ethan and Taylor while the countless smaller details happening around the shoot are being handled.

He brings a level of reliability and support that I genuinely value.

A lot of what assistants do never makes it into the photographs and may not even be visible to the couple, but that doesn't make their contribution any less important.

Quite the opposite.

The smoother everything feels on the couple's end, the more likely it is that they can remain present in the moment instead of worrying about everything happening around them.

Bryan was an important part of making that possible.

What This Puerto Rico Elopement Taught Me

A ring exchange is an eternal promise two people hold dear.

All in all, it wasn't the elopement any of us were really after.

We wanted a secluded beach.

We got a monsoon.

We wanted an outdoor ceremony.

We ended up underneath a corridor.

We wanted dramatic coastal photographs.

We found ourselves in a condominium lobby.

But when you're hit with adversity, you have to be well-versed in every style of photography, especially when you're responsible for documenting the most romantic day of a couple's life.

That means being comfortable with natural light and artificial light.

It means understanding portraiture, editorial photography, documentary storytelling, flash photography, creative lighting, and environmental photography.

It means knowing how to work in a beautiful location, but also knowing how to create something beautiful in a location that isn't beautiful at all.

And perhaps most importantly, it means knowing how to adapt.

Couples who choose to elope in Puerto Rico often do so because they want something more intimate, personal, and experience-driven. But intimate doesn't mean immune to unexpected circumstances.

Rain happens.

Weather changes.

Locations become unavailable.

Plans fall apart.

The difference is what your photographer does when they do.

A great elopement photographer shouldn't simply document the plan.

They should be capable of adapting when there is no plan left.

That's what I had to do for Ethan and Taylor.

I had to look at a rainy afternoon, a location that was no longer usable, rapidly disappearing daylight, and a couple who still wanted to exchange vows that day and figure out how to make it work.

And we did.

Making Magic When Things Don't Go According to Plan

Channeling her inner Kim during her destination elopement in Puerto Rico

I'm happy I was able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and make magic happen.

Because sometimes the best photographs don't come from perfect circumstances.

Sometimes they come from adversity.

Sometimes they come from having to rethink everything.

Sometimes they come from saying, "Okay, this isn't going to work. What can we do instead?"

Ethan and Taylor trusted me to answer that question.

And even though their Puerto Rico elopement at Aviones Beach in Loíza ultimately turned into something completely different from what we'd originally envisioned, they still got what mattered most.

They got to put on their wedding attire.

They got to share their vows.

They got their first kiss.

And they got photographs that tell the story of how their day actually unfolded.

Not the perfect version.

The real version.

And as a Puerto Rico elopement photographer, that's something I take seriously.

My job isn't to control the weather.

It's to control what I can.

My job is to adapt, create, problem-solve, and make sure that when the day is over, my couples have something extraordinary to remember it by.

And sometimes, all it takes is a little creativity, a couple of flashes, a great team, and the willingness to make something out of absolutely nothing.