Ben & Abby | Destination Wedding Photography at the Shangri-La Boracay

Where do I begin?! A month full of destination wedding photography and my heart is beyond happy. The last month has been an absolute whirlwind blur that has been years in the making and I am BEYOND jet-lagged, but am powering through it to share these photos with you. On October 1st, I shot a beautiful wedding in Great Exuma, the Bahamas, flew home on the 2nd, and on the 4th flew to the Philippines for Ben and Abby’s wedding. It was supposed to happen in 2020 (lol), but when it got postponed, our mutual friends set us up to have their engagement photos taken close to their original wedding date.

The day after I delivered their gallery, Ben e-mailed me and asked if I would be willing to travel to the Philippines to photograph their wedding in 2021. COVID again pushed it back, but Ben and Abby have been together since high school, so waiting til 2022 was no big deal and man, did it live up to and exceed every single expectation.

A destination wedding I couldn’t even dream of.

In an effort to not make this blog a mile long, click here to head to my IG and click on the “travel ii” stories tab to see how unreal our trip to the Shangri-La Boracay (pronounced bore-ach-eye) was. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed at, and the service was unlike anything I have ever experienced. I ate my body weight in fresh mangoes, took advantage of the spa and amenities daily, and was able to enjoy a few days of relaxation amidst my busiest time of the year. So, if you’re planning on getting married somewhere tropical during wedding season.. hire me.

Ben and Abby truly welcomed me into their lives for the week and I am so grateful I was able to be apart of it. They hosted a welcome party for their friends and some family members on a catamaran that cruised around the sea and made a pit stop at a place called Magic Island. There, we cliff jumped!! It was terrifying but incredible? I felt like my heart was going to explode before my first jump while simultaneously loving the thrill of it. Naturally, ended up being the only woman to jump from 10m (if you know me, you know its in my competitive nature lol.) We sailed throughout the Sulu Sea and To end the day, we jumped off the boat at sunset. It was wonderful. Below are a few photos from that day:

On to wedding day.

After all of that, how does it get better? Wedding day.

It was magical from start to finish. Every detail was thoughtful and curated, the ceremony location was beyond stunning, and don’t even get me started on our glow hour portraits on the beach.😮‍💨🤌🏼 I have photographed destination weddings throughout Europe, but never thought in my wildest dreams that I would photograph a wedding at a five star luxury resort in the Philippines. It was a gift I never knew I needed, and well worth the 14 (Chicago to Tokyo), 4 (Tokyo to Manila), and one hour (Manila to Caticlan) flights it took to get to Boracay.

While I have known Ben and Abby since high school, we didn’t actually get to know each other until they hired me for their wedding. I am beyond grateful for these clients who have become friends, and who trust me to play such an important role on their wedding day. As a result, I was able to create some of my favorite photos of the 2022 season.

Scroll to see some of my favorites from Ben and Abby’s day.

Vendors:

Venue/Food/Cake: Shangri-La Boracay

Florist: Florista Boracay

Planning and Coordination: Events by Amanda Tirol

Videography: Mayad Studios

HMUA: MakeUp Studio Boracay

Invites: Minted Weddings

Dress: Oleg Cassini

Bride’s Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Tux: BlkTux

Groom’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin

All photos © Arielle Gallione 2022

To inquire for your own destination wedding photography, click here.