Secrets Akumal Wedding Photographer | Janae & Andy | Riviera Maya 2025
If you are searching for a Secrets Akumal wedding photographer, this is the post you have been looking for.
Janae and Andy chose one of the most photogenic wedding venues in the entire Riviera Maya — and they chose to celebrate with thirteen people, a single long table in a garden, and no dance floor. Just dinner, speeches, the people who matter most, and a wedding day that moved at the pace of something deeply intentional.
Six hours of coverage. Every frame earned.
Getting ready — a quiet morning before everything
Janae started her morning at 9:30 AM in her hotel room at Secrets Akumal — hair and makeup by Sara Tamargo, one of the strongest beauty vendors working in this area of the Riviera Maya. Andy prepared separately from noon onward, the two of them building toward the same moment from different sides of the resort.
One detail from this wedding that shaped the entire day: Janae's parents were not in attendance. A wedding of thirteen people, in a venue that rewards intimacy, with the full emotional weight of that absence carried quietly and with grace. Our job on days like this is to notice everything — and we did.
Ceremony at The Arch — Secrets Akumal
The Arch at Secrets Akumal is one of the signature ceremony locations in the Riviera Maya. It frames the couple directly against the Caribbean, with the turquoise water of Akumal Bay behind them and the open sky above — a combination that makes every ceremony photograph beautifully regardless of season or time of day.
At 4 PM on November 9, 2025, Janae and Andy stood at The Arch with eleven guests gathered around them. No wedding party. No readings. Just their own vows, their officiant, and Andy's brother stepping in at the right moment to pass the rings — a quiet gesture we made sure the camera found.
The ceremony was non-religious, unhurried, and completely their own. November light in Akumal is exceptional — clear skies, warm tones, and a sunset that falls around 5:30 PM, which means a 4 PM ceremony ends exactly as golden hour begins. The timing was perfect.
The drone captured the full group aerial shot after the ceremony — thirteen people on the beach at The Arch, the Akumal coastline stretching out behind them.
Jungle portraits at Secrets Akumal — the frames couples fly to Mexico for
This is where Secrets Akumal separates itself from nearly every other wedding venue in the Riviera Maya.
Janae had shared a Pinterest board before the wedding with a very specific vision: jungle-feel portraits, surrounded by greenery, organic and layered and not staged. It is a request we have heard before, and Secrets Akumal is one of the few properties in Mexico where we can actually deliver it without manufacturing anything. The vegetation is real. The canopy is real. The light that filters through it at the right hour is something that cannot be replicated at a beach resort.
After the ceremony, with the light still warm and the property moving into the quieter hours of early evening, we took Janae and Andy through the paths and garden spaces of Secrets Akumal for a couple session that gave them exactly what they had envisioned — and then some. Lush greenery, dappled light, the kind of intimate portraits that feel like they belong in a film rather than a wedding album.
Then the beach. Then the coastline. Then Yalku Garden as the evening settled in.
Cocktail hour and private dinner at Yalku Garden
Yalku Garden at Secrets Akumal is one of the most underrated intimate reception spaces in the Riviera Maya. Surrounded by tropical vegetation, open to the evening air, and scaled for small gatherings in a way that makes a table of thirteen feel like a celebration rather than a footnote — it is the kind of space that destination wedding couples dream about when they close their eyes and imagine what they actually want.
The cocktail hour ran from 5 to 6 PM, Janae and Andy joining their guests after the couple session as the last of the golden light settled over the garden. Then the reception — one long table, thirteen seats, and a dinner that moved through toasts and speeches and the particular warmth that only happens when a guest list is small enough that everyone in the room genuinely knows each other.
No dance floor. No DJ. No bouquet toss. Just the people they chose, the place they chose, and a wedding day that looked exactly like them.
Coverage ended with the speeches. Everything after belonged entirely to them.
What to know if you are planning a wedding at Secrets Akumal
Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya is an adults-only property in the luxury tier of Riviera Maya resorts, positioned just south of Playa del Carmen near the town of Akumal — one of the most naturally beautiful stretches of coastline in Mexico. The property is smaller and more intimate than the larger all-inclusive resorts further north, which makes it particularly well-suited for micro-weddings, elopements, and intimate celebrations under thirty guests.
Outside vendor fees apply at Secrets Akumal, as they do across most luxury properties in the Riviera Maya. For photographers who know the property and the coordination team — we have worked directly with the Secrets Akumal wedding team on multiple occasions — the vendor process is manageable and the result is worth every step of navigating it.
A note on timing for couples planning from the United States or Canada: November is one of the strongest months for photography at this property. Sargassum is minimal, the post-rainy-season light is extraordinary, and the crowds are lighter than peak season. If you are considering a November destination wedding at Secrets Akumal, the conditions will work in your favor.
For couples who want jungle portraits specifically — the kind Janae had pinned and we delivered — Secrets Akumal is one of the only luxury venues in the Riviera Maya where the natural environment genuinely supports that vision without requiring you to leave the property.
Wedding details
📍 Venue: Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya — Akumal, Mexico
📅 Date: November 9, 2025
💒 Ceremony: The Arch at Secrets Akumal, 4:00 PM
🍹 Cocktail Hour: Yalku Garden, 5:00–6:00 PM
🍽 Reception: Yalku Garden, 6:00 PM
👥 Guests: 13
🎞 Coverage: 6 hours — Photo + Video + Drone + Live Stream
📸 Wedding Photographer & Filmmaker: Luis Tovilla — @luistovillaphoto
💄 Hair & Makeup: @saratamargo.makeupandhair
📋 Coordinator: Sarahi Alvarado — Secrets Akumal
Planning a wedding at Secrets Akumal? Let's talk.
We are one of the most experienced destination wedding photographers working at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya — with multiple weddings documented at this property across different seasons, ceremony locations, and coverage styles. If you are planning a wedding here and want photography and film that makes full use of everything this venue offers, we would love to be part of your day.
Whether you are planning an intimate elopement, a micro-wedding, or a larger celebration at Secrets Akumal, we know this property and we know how to make it look its best.
