When the cold temps hit Canada, these two Mexico wedding photographers flew south! Or rather, we drove south… to the warm Baja California Peninsula!
Snowbird Mexico Wedding Photographers
We had just wrapped up an awesome wedding in Jasper, and had a trip planned to visit some US national parks. A couple days later, our heater broke. With the government shutdown still in full-swing and a broken heater while sleeping in our below-freezing van, we ditched our original plan and said heck yeah to adventure! We decided to head to Baja like true snowbird Mexico wedding photographers!
Check out our travel schedule! We’re always looking to add more destinations
First Stop: The Pacific Ocean
We beelined it down through the continental USA and crossed into Baja California through San Diego. Already the weather was warm and we were stopping at a San Diego Target to buy shorts. We got out of the Tijuana traffic mayhem we headed towards Ensenada, Mexico. Outsider of Tijuana’s city limits, we were treated with lush rolling green hills overlooking sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. As Liam drove our campervan (a DIY-converted Ford Transit), I couldn’t help envisioning destination elopement locations for Mexico wedding photographers. Baja California was already surprising us.
From Wine Country to Cacti Forests
The landscape slowly changed from lush green hills with some of Mexico's best wineries to desert-lined coasts as we drove south from Ensenada to Baja California Sur. Cacti began to spring up, and not just what we're used to back home in the semi-arid deserts of Kamloops, British Columbia. Massive, towering cacti dotting the dry desert hills. We camped for the night in a cacti forest, a true dream elopement location for Mexico wedding photographers. The sun set early in Baja California, but the sky stayed pink long after. We scrambled on boulders and had fun capturing photos of this unique landscape. The cacti made our big van look tiny!
This cacti forest in Baja California will forever hold a place in our hearts. Not a soul around, and all the space to explore for every adventure couple. This is by far one of the best places to elope in Mexico. We'd love to share this elopement location with you for a truly unique Mexico wedding photographers experience.
Travelling with a Dog in Mexico
We often get asked how we travelled with our dog from Canada to Mexico. It was actually quite easy to cross international borders in North America with him! We visited his vet in Canada within ten days of crossing the Mexico border to get an official international health certificate and to make sure his vaccines were up to date. Our vet gave us an official copy of his rabies vaccination certificate, as well as his castration certificate. By having these documents with us, we were able to travel to Mexico from Canada with our dog easily! Camping in Mexico with a dog while travelling in your camper or RV is also easy. Most campgrounds and beaches are dog-friendly; we had zero problems finding places to sleep each night with our dog Theo.
Whale Watching in Baja California Sur
February is peak whale watching season in Baja California. If you want your Mexico wedding photographers to capture these animals in your photos, February is the time to go! We watched whales breach in the lagoons around Guerrero Negro. Although that was exciting, watching dolphins swim right outside our van one early morning in the middle of nowhere was by far a highlight of the trip!
The Sea of Cortez: A Dream for Mexico Wedding Photographers
Rolling hills, crashing Pacific ocean waves, and giant forests of cacti had made up most of the landscape so far. When we reached the eastern side of Mexico's Baja Peninsula, we were greeted with turquoise waters. The water in the Sea of Cortez was like a bath. Warm, clear, and calm. We had so much fun camping on beaches and napping under the shade of palapas. A great winter break for Mexico wedding photographers! We were even able to get our dog Theo to swim in the ocean too!
Orange Orchards and Coastlines
After lots of beach time we stayed at an orange orchard in Mulege. We drank our weight in fresh-pressed orange juice made from oranges picked right off the tree! From there, we drove back up the eastern coastline of the peninsula towards San Felipe. The highway had been damaged by a hurricane a few years ago, which certainly made for some interesting off-roading in our two-wheel drive! Luckily, though, we have tons of navigation experience on dirt roads and were able to get past any rough sections. We spent our last night in San Felipe, where we watched the sun come up over the Cortez Sea for an unforgettable sunrise.
The Trip of a Lifetime in Baja California
Overall, we drove over 6000km to Baja California and back again in our little campervan. We spent two weeks exploring Baja, eating fish tacos, sleeping amongst giant cacti, waking up to wild dolphins, hanging out on beaches, and drinking Pacifico at sunset. Mexico is a beautiful country and we cannot wait to go back again. If you dream of eloping in Mexico for your destination wedding, count us in. Bring your adventure gear and we'll show you some of our favourite destinations for Mexico wedding photographers.
Film & Forest are two Canadian destination wedding photographers capturing love stories in Mexico, USA, and beyond. We travel across North America to photograph adventurous couples in the best Mexico destination wedding locations.
Learn more about Film & Forest Photography and our Mexico wedding photographer services.
