Jorge Weddings

Antigua, Guatemala

Vera & Ernesto

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo

A wedding story

Vera and Ernesto share their first dance beneath glowing woven lanterns and a bubble shower as guests circle the dance floor at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala.

How they met

Vera and Ernesto met young, in the kind of close-knit world where everyone shares overlapping circles. They built the relationship over years of small steps, with neither of them ever in a particular hurry to formalize it. By the time the engagement happened, both families had been holding their breath for a while. Vera and Ernesto had always known the wedding would be in Antigua, and as soon as they walked through Hotel Casa Santo Domingo with their planner, the venue conversation closed.

The day

The day held the kind of pace that Vera had asked for from the start: unhurried, elegant, and quiet around the edges. She got ready inside one of the hotel's restored rooms, with morning light coming through wooden shutters that have been there longer than any of us. Bea de La Roca and the Addy Florales team had finished installing florals across the courtyards by the time we arrived, and the property smelled like fresh greenery and warm stone.

The ceremony was held in one of the open patios, with guests seated around an altar framed by white florals against the bare stone. The vows were quiet, the readings were short, and the recessional moved without effort into the cocktail hour in an adjacent cloister. Dinner was served inside one of the restored vaults, lit by candlelight, with long tables set for the kind of dinner that ends in toasts an hour past schedule. After dinner, the dance floor opened in another part of the hotel and the night ran late.

At the venue

Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is a former colonial monastery, and the venue carries that lineage in every wall. The cobblestone courtyards open onto views of Volcán de Agua framed through stone arches, and the candle-lit vaults give the reception an interior weight that no modern venue can fake. We worked the property in chapters, moving between courtyards and vaults as the day softened into night.

Photographer's note

Vera and Ernesto trusted the venue, the planner, and the floral team to do their work, and that trust always shows in the photographs. This is one of those weddings I still pull up when couples ask what a Casa Santo Domingo day can look like.

Creative team

  • Wedding Planner·Muckay
  • Florist·Addy Florales (Bea de La Roca)
  • Venue·Hotel Casa Santo Domingo
Bride holds her white orchid and amaranth bouquet by Addy Florales while the groom leans in against a string-light wall at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Black-and-white portrait of the couple framed by a stone window at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala.
Wedding dress hanging in a candle-lit vaulted brick chamber at Casa Santo Domingo — destination wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Bridesmaid adjusts the bride's hair beside a colonial stone fountain in Antigua Guatemala.
Bride and bridesmaid laugh by a fern-framed stone fountain at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Tender moment between the bride and a bridesmaid at the colonial fountain courtyard — wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Bridal portrait beneath tropical ferns along a stone garden path at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala.
Bride walking through a fern-lined garden corridor at the colonial monastery, Antigua Guatemala.
Groom buttons his white tuxedo jacket against a stone wall — elegant wedding portrait in Antigua Guatemala.
First-look moment as the bride approaches the groom across the cobblestones with Volcán de Agua looming behind colonial ruins.
Couple from behind beside a tiled stone fountain wall at the colonial monastery in Antigua Guatemala.
Groom smiles as he sees the bride from behind during their first look at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride and groom share a soft forehead kiss in front of an ivy-flecked stone wall in Antigua Guatemala.
Couple about to kiss in front of an old stone fountain wall during portraits at the colonial monastery.
Groom wipes away a tear during the first look as the bride steadies his arm at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala.
Bride gently holds the emotional groom's arm during their private first look at the colonial monastery.
Black-and-white frame of the groom moved to tears during the first look — wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Groom dabs his eyes as the bride faces him during their first look at Casa Santo Domingo.
Couple laugh and clasp hands after the first look reveal in the monastery courtyard, Antigua Guatemala.
Vertical portrait of the couple foreheads touching with pearled bridal updo against a stone wall at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride and groom kiss after their first look against the rough stone monastery wall in Antigua Guatemala.
Groom smiles widely as the bride faces him in front of colonial ruins at Casa Santo Domingo.
Groom twirls the bride beneath a brick arch ruin with stone fountain detail — destination wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Couple hold hands and laugh in front of a tall ruined window arch at the monastery in Antigua Guatemala.
Couple embrace and smile during portraits in front of an old monastery wall at Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride laughs in the groom's arms against stone ruins and greenery — elegant wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Intimate vertical portrait of the couple smiling forehead-to-forehead beside the stone fountain — Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride and groom hold each other close at a stone wall, her pearled updo lit warmly — colonial monastery, Antigua.
Profile portrait of the couple touching foreheads beside a fern wall at the colonial monastery.
Black-and-white close-up of the couple laughing inside a candle-lit corner at Casa Santo Domingo.
Black-and-white silhouette of the couple framed by a stone window inside Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Black-and-white wide portrait of the couple holding each other in a stone window opening — colonial monastery in Antigua.
Soft black-and-white embrace of the couple beside an open window — editorial wedding portrait in Antigua.
Ernesto waits at the altar in a white tuxedo as candles burn behind him during their wedding ceremony in Antigua Guatemala.
Groom wipes away tears at the altar as he watches the bride walk down the aisle at Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride walks down the aisle on her father's arm beneath the canopy as guests film and applaud — destination wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Bride and groom share a laugh in the pew during their wedding ceremony as parents look on at Casa Santo Domingo.
Couple laughing together during a light moment of the wedding ceremony with family in the background.
Bride smiles at her partner during their vows inside the colonial monastery church in Antigua Guatemala.
Couple holds hands before the gilded baroque altar during their wedding ceremony at Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride and groom face the celebrant with cathedral veil flowing during their ceremony in Antigua Guatemala.
Couple exchange vows at the microphone in the candle-lit monastery church at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Wide back view of the couple at the baroque altar with the bride's lace cathedral veil trailing across the tile floor.
Bride and groom pose at the foot of the gilded altar with the lace-edged cathedral veil sweeping behind them.
Reception tablescape with hanging garden of greenery, candles and blush florals by Addy Florales at the colonial monastery.
Bride and groom smile cheek-to-cheek before the candle-lit baroque retablo holding her cascading bouquet by Addy Florales.
Newlyweds smile mid-aisle as guests cheer and applaud during the recessional at Casa Santo Domingo.
Couple kiss mid-aisle under draped fabric and chandeliers as guests photograph the moment in Antigua Guatemala.
Bride and groom embrace foreheads under string lights in a candle-lit vault at the reception.
Couple share a quiet moment beneath the stone wall and copper pendant lights of the reception room.
Vera and Ernesto kiss on the parquet dance floor beneath a hanging carnation ceiling and woven lanterns at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Wide reception shot of the couple kissing under a suspended carnation ceiling by Addy Florales and woven lanterns.
Newlywed portrait inside the candle-lit reception with bouquet held forward at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Couple beneath the floral arch dance area framed by lit candles and cane chairs at the colonial monastery reception.
Bride beams over the groom's shoulder under a wooden pergola dressed in greenery and florals by Addy Florales.
Bride and groom toast aperitivos at the reception bar beside a tall floral arrangement at Casa Santo Domingo.
Candle-lit reception table 27 with taper candles and a low arrangement of pink florals and rosemary.
Suspended ceiling installation of red carnations and woven lanterns over the dance floor — by Addy Florales.
Bride and groom pose in front of an ornate stone fountain niche during portraits at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Solo bridal portrait with cathedral veil cascading on stone floor in front of a baroque carved niche.
Back portrait of the bride with cathedral veil unfurled across brick floor by an old stone fountain at the monastery.
Full-length newlywed portrait by the ornate stone niche with cathedral veil sweeping behind the bride.
Couple's first dance circled by guests filming on phones beneath the carnation ceiling — destination wedding in Antigua Guatemala.
Bride and groom cut a three-tier semi-naked cake with sugar magnolias and amaranth during the reception.
Black-and-white frame of the couple laughing as they pour the champagne tower together at the reception.
Couple pour the bubbling champagne tower together against an exposed stone wall at Hotel Casa Santo Domingo.
Bride sips from the top coupe of the champagne tower while the groom keeps pouring at the candle-lit bar.
Newlyweds in sneakers dance with cocktails amid streaking light trails during a wild reception moment in Antigua Guatemala.