Hair Dos and Don'ts

Having a wedding in the tropics requires a bit of forethought on how you're going to wear your hair for the big day. Keep in mind that you are going to be dealing with hot and humid conditions, which will cause your hair to do some things it may not normally do in your home climate. 

If you have fairly straight hair, don't try to force it into curls. Due to the humidity here, straight hair tends to fall pretty quickly. 

If you have wavy or curly hair, pack a good conditioner and frizz tamer as you're going to need it! As a curly-head myself, I can attest to the frizz power of the beach. Be warned...

I find the best options are either a soft updo or a 'half up/half down' option.  Either of these works beautifully for a beach wedding, keeping you cool and not worrying about how your hair is reacting to the climate.

Another recommendation is to have a trial run a day or two beforehand with the hairdresser you'll be using for the wedding day.  Ask your wedding planner to set up an appointment and this way, you can take your time to work out exactly how you want your hair and you'll have no worries when it comes to the big day. 

And as a photo says a thousand words, it's helpful if you bring along a picture or two of what you have in mind as most of the hairdressers here speak little English.

Photos courtesy of Dan Power Photography

Costa Rica - Affordable and Warm!

Came across this article in Forbes, about affordable places to escape the cold. And Central America (including Costa Rica) is right up there. Here's an excerpt:

Central America and the Caribbean deliver a major cost-saving advantage, according to Tim Leffel, author of The World's Cheapest Destinations: 21 Countries Where Your Money Is Worth a Fortune.

"If you're coming from the U.S., you don't have to pay very much to get there, and there's less jet lag, so you can really hit the ground running," he says.

Here are five more reasons why Costa Rica is at the top of the list for a destination wedding in Central America:

1. Goods and services for weddings are a fraction of the cost in North America. For example, a three-course plated wedding dinner at a 4-star boutique hotel runs only $42, including the tax and tip! Compare that to hotels in the USA and Canada charging $150 a plate! 

2. The only country in the Western Hemisphere without an army, it is safe and stable. 

3. Healthcare is universal, there are world-class hospitals (which are amazingly affordable) and the water is potable, so no worries of Montezuma's Revenge.

4.  Ticos (as Costa Ricans are called) are a happy lot who genuinely love visitors. They are proud of their country and eager to share it with the rest of the world. A warm, authentic welcome is guaranteed.

5. Thanks to a law prohibiting any structure from being built within 50 metres of the high-tide mark, the beaches are not a concrete jungle as found in Mazatlan or Hawaii. Standing on the beach in Manuel Antonio, for example, all you see are palm trees and sand. Beautiful and the perfect setting for a beach ceremony.

Photos courtesy of Lifetime Digital

Real Wedding - Lyn & Erwin!

A big 'felicidades' to Lyn and Erwin on their marriage December 6 in beautiful Tamarindo!

It was a perfect day, with blue skies and a gorgeous sunset. Over 40 folks made the trek down from New York to celebrate with the happy couple. The ceremony featured a full Catholic mass on Langosta Beach and then dinner and dancing by the pool at Villas Cala Luna.



What a great love story - their moms were best friends since the 1970s so the kids literally grew up together. Lyn was Erwin's first official crush as a kid but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that they realized they were really perfect for each other. During their slide show, there were tons of photos of them together over the years on family outings. How amazing will it be for their kids to see those old family photos!

And who doesn't love a cute ring bearer? What a sweetie!

Purple is Lyn's favorite color so we featured it in the flowers, linens, ink on the menus, in varying shades with silver to add a bit of bling to the overall effect. Orchids were the flower of choice, given their colors as well as hardiness and that Costa Rica is a major exporter of them.

Finishing off the party was the wild drumming and hip-shaking dancing of 'carnival' or 'comparse'. Think of it as a touch of Rio in Costa Rica. No one was immune to the infectious rhythm (even the priest was shakin' things up with the befeathered dancers). Good times :)

Many years of happiness to you both, Lyn and Erwin, and thank you so much for allowing us the honor to be a part of your wonderful day!

Photos courtesy of Richard May Photography

New Flights to Costa Rica on JetBlue!

Discount airline, JetBlue Airways, announced that it is now offering daily flights from Orlando, Florida to San Jose, Costa Rica beginning March 26. Buy your tickets before December 23 and you could pay only $99 per way - regular fares begin at $139 per way. Flights depart Orlando at 10:40 AM, arriving in San Jose at 11:53 AM.

Starfish Thank You Gifts

Here is a cute idea to tie in a starfish theme to your thank you gifts.

At Adjoa's wedding, she gave a beautiful starfish bottle topper from Weddingstar. This story was printed and included with each one...

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide. The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Birds of Paradise Seating Cards

More from the wedding of Adjoa and Jorge, where Birds of Paradise took decor centre stage. For the seating cards, we placed each card in the 'beak' of the flower. The flowers were then placed in vases, guests found their names and then took the flower to the table with them. Definitely a big hit, as people had fun looking for their names amongst the flowers.

Beautiful, different and functional. Who said seating cards had to be boring?

Photos courtesy of Lifetime Digital

Adjoa & Jorge - A Wedding in (Birds of) Paradise

Great time was had by all at Adjoa & Jorge's wedding at the Tamarindo Diria last week. Wow, do those folks know how to shake a tailfeather!! Mix folks from Ghana and Portugal together and you get a non-stop rockin' time!

Taking inspiration from their wedding invitations, we went with an orange and navy blue color scheme with starfish as the accent.

The result for the reception was a plethora of graceful Birds of Paradise (the bride's favorite and also a perfect match for the color scheme). We anchored the tables with an orange runner, then played up the blue with the frames, blue tinted water for the flowers and orange napkins (with a single dendrobium orchid bud). Rattan chargers, mahogany Chiavari chairs and scattered starfish finished the look. Simple yet elegant.


As wedding favors, Adjoa and Jorge chose handmade coffee mugs, made in the artisan town of Santa Ana, filled with Costa Rican coffee and a change purse made from traditional Kente cloth (the beautiful fabric worn as part of tradition dress in Ghana).

It was a wonderful wedding and we're so honored to have been a part of it. Felicidades, Adjoa and Jorge! Many years of happiness!

Photos courtesy of Lifetime Digital

Congratulations Theresa & Vincent!

A big 'felicidades' to the lovely Theresa and her husband Vincent on their wedding November 15! Despite the bride battling a horrific virus and a sudden shower (good thing we always have a back up tent!), it was a beautiful celebration of love. Over 40 friends and family flew down to the Paradisus Playa Conchal for the festivities, which saw a lovely ceremony on the beach and then a delicious dinner with dancing at the incredible Mar y Sol Restaurant in Flamingo Beach (one of the best eateries in the country).

Theresa had tons of carefully thought-out details. I just LOVE these cymbidium orchids in glass vases which were hung from bamboo poles as aisle markers. Gorgeous!

The ceremony space was marked by a lovely bamboo canopy. ,

Wedding colors were pink and blue with a touch of brown as an accent. Lots of orchids everywhere!


And how much fun are these gals having?! Love how the pink 'pops' against the blue of their dresses.

A huge thanks to El Velo Photography for their great shots!

And the happy couple had a wonderful honeymoon at the Arenal volcano and took time to send a wonderful note thanking planner Randy Gritz, her assistants and all the vendors (to quote Theresa "AMAZING - you really brought the term 'Pura Vida' to life for us" ).

Welcome to Club Wed, Theresa and Vincent, and our very best wishes to you both! Thanks soooooo much for letting Weddings Costa Rica be part of your amazing day :)

Meet The Bride - Emmaline

Happy Monday!

Today we are launching a new aspect of the blog where we showcase the brides marrying in beautiful Costa Rica!

Name
Emmaline Viray

Wedding Location
Cala Luna, Tamarindo

What do you do?
Registered Nurse

Why did you choose Costa Rica for your wedding?
Erwin and I wanted a destination wedding. We reviewed different places on line and wanted a location that neither of us have visited.

My perfect day is...
Not too sunny, just enough clouds that there is a gentle wind on a sun touched sky. Cool enough to wear a light wrap, but warm enough to wear a sun dress.

Thing you are most looking forward to at the wedding
I look forwad to looking into Erwin's eyes as we start our life together.

Thing you are most looking forward to at the honeymoon
Well :) I can't say that in public. I am looking forward to starting my life with my soul mate.

Tip for fellow destination brides
If you have a mother and mother-in -law like mine, expect to have plenty of celebrations prior to the wedding. Any excuse they have, such as engagment party bridal shower, wedding shower, post wedding party, they will take advantage since about 3/4 of your guests will not be able to make it to the destination wedding. Be prepared to be exhausted!!! But it is worth every exhausting moment.


All the best to Lyn and Erwin on their wedding December 6!

Top 5 Dates To Avoid

All dates are not created equal for your wedding and there are some that are definitely to be avoided. Here is my list of the Top 5 Dates to Avoid for your destination wedding in Costa Rica:

1. Christmas - Everyone is on vacation, including the vendors. The hotels are running at full capacity, they have minimum stay policies and room prices are at a peak. Add in all the Costa Ricans heading to the beach for the week and you have busy busy beaches.

2. New Year's Eve - see above. Plus, the hotels are all running their own New Year's parties (which you have to pay for as part of your room stay) so the last thing they can deal with is a wedding reception. And the beaches are full with partiers (do you really want a boombox and drunk soccer players a few feet from your ceremony?). Thinking of renting a villa? All the caterers are booked with parties. Ditto musicians and DJs. Would you want to work New Year's Eve? Didn't think so and neither do the vendors so they will charge a premium.

3. Easter Week - this holiday is bigger than Christmas in Latin America and the entire country seemingly shuts down the entire week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and heads to the beach. Hotels are running at full capacity (and higher prices), beaches are packed and everything is shut tight Thursday and Good Friday (not even the busses are running). Plus alcohol sales are suspended for those two days. Avoid this week at all costs.

4. Valentine's Day - just as it is in North America, this is a huge day for florists. The weeks leading up to February 14 see flower prices at a premium as growers time the blooms for the big day. The day itself is a marathon for flower shops. Throw a wedding into the mix and you've got the florist in a tailspin. Flower prices are three times higher and selection is limited.

5. Mother's Day (August 15) - bigger than Valentine's Day. Latinos have a major reverence for mom and this is a major holiday. And the flower shops are crazy (see above).

Mini Ox Carts

Coffee put Costa Rica on the map, long before eco-tourism or canopy tours. Getting the beans from the plantations high in the mountains to the coastal ports was a hairy journey, through jungles, along steep hills and muddy dirt paths. And the mode of transport? Wooden carts pulled by two trained oxen. Even to this day, farmers throughout the country use ox-carts daily and there are various festivals throughout the year honoring these beasts of burden and their drivers.

The carts are handpainted in Sarchi, an artisan town in the Central Valley just outside of San Jose, using designs that have become as integral to Tico culture as gallo pinto and salsa Lizano. Everything from bridges to benches have been painted to mimic the oxcarts and if you have a chance to pass through Sarchi, it's definitely worth the visit to watch the painters at their craft.

What better memento from a wedding in Costa Rica than a miniature version of these brightly painted carts? Each one is handmade and painted with the same attention to detail as their full-grown counterparts. Fill them with a small bag of coffee and you have a very unique and very Tico guest gift! Prices start at $13 each.

Cake Consideration

Having your wedding in a tropical open-aired venue places unique demands on the wedding cake (who knew they could be so demanding). Very few locations in Costa Rica have an air-conditioned reception space so your cake must be able to stand up to hours of being in the heat and humidity. The other thing to keep in mind is that there is only a handful of cake makers in the country who can create the ethereal works of art one sees in the bridal magazines. Which means the cakes have to be able to travel from San Jose to your wedding location (which can be anywhere from a 40 minute flight to a 4.5 hour drive) and arrive intact.

All this travel, heat and humidity means your cake needs to be durable and melt-proof. That means no buttercream icing ,unless you are somewhere like Villa Caletas and you want the simple cake with some live flowers (like the photo).

No, you'll be looking at having your cake wrapped in fondant and Australian paste icing, giving that smooth, elegant look.

The other thing to keep in mind is the travel - a cake with three or more layers needs to be assembled on the spot so the cake maker will have to travel to your reception location to set it up, which means you will be charged for her transportation and set up time.

A cake symbolizes the sweet life you'll share as husband and wife and is often a showstopping element to your reception decor. With the talented artists available in Costa Rica, your can have your cake and eat it too (deliciously!).


Photos courtesy of Lifetime Digital

Documents for Legal Weddings

Recent changes were announced regarding paperwork required to register a legal marriage in Costa Rica. Now, a clean scan or color photocopy of the bride and groom's passports must be included with the paperwork submitted to the civil registry by the attending Costa Rican attorney. So that means no more faxed copies!

Best idea is to do a computer scan and email it to the lawyer.

Location - Los Suenos Marriott Part 2

Continuing with the Marriott, many of our wedding receptions are in their spacious ballroom. While a wedding in a ballroom seems like a big 'why bother coming to Costa Rica', it does have the added advantage of air-conditioning (very very very few venues have AC here) and of not having to shut down the music at 10 PM, so you can party into the wee hours if you want.

It's a nice space and I love to play with the chandeliers running the length of the room - swagging fabric, hanging flowers. And of course, lighting can totally transform the look over the course of the night. Highly recommend it!

Photos by Richard May

Location - Los Suenos Marriott

One of the most difficult aspects of planning a destination wedding is knowing what the location looks like. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words. Today, we're featuring the beautiful Marriott Los Suenos Resort just outside of Jaco (less than a two-hour drive from San Jose). Featuring a marina, 18-hole golf course, restaurants, condos and the Marriott Hotel, it is a fabulous spot for a wedding. Honestly, the beach isn't the prettiest but the rest of the grounds (those gardens!!) make up for it.

Above  are some shots from a wedding we did out in the garden this past February to give you an idea how beautiful it is (photos courtesy Dan Power Photography).

Ceremony Decor - Palm Canopy

Beach weddings have a fairly wide range of decor possibilities for your ceremony (as well as some constraints). Usually, I like to think the 'less is more' approach works best, as it's pretty hard to improve on the beauty of Mother Nature. Take this photo for example.

We were at the lovely beach at Tulemar in Manuel Antonio. Wedding colors were pink and brown so we had alternating bows on the chairs. I HIGHLY recommend that you have chair covers if you're renting the plastic or folding chairs as they are pretty cheesy looking otherwise. If you're going with the bamboo folding chairs, they are gorgeous on their own. And don't overlook the impact of chairs on your overall design - there are more chairs than anything else at a wedding ceremony or reception. Strength in numbers and all that. If you have great looking chairs, you can cut back on other areas of decor and no one will notice.

This wedding wanted something fairly simple yet elegant. We went with a canopy covered in palm leaves, its leg bases wrapped in manos de tigre (a type of leaf). Lots of rose petals for the aisle and under the canopy to give a punch of color (as it was a grey day, this was super important). Aisle markers were large vases with water and floating orchids and pillar candles with sand. As you can see, the result was simple elegance. Beautiful!

Sylvia Weinstock!!

Wow! Just met Sylvia Weinstock at Engage 08, the fabulous symposium for wedding professionals. What an amazing, funny, talented woman! Fun fun fun.

And she would LOVE to come to Costa Rica so here's a shout out to brides - if you want the most amazing wedding cake in the world, let's talk as Sylvia has cake and will travel.

Marvelous Mariachis

Although mariachis are a Mexican tradition, they've become part of Costa Rican culture and de rigeur at any Tico wedding (did you know that mariachis originally only played at weddings which is why their names are derived from the word for marriage?). They are a fun addition to any wedding and a nice way to include a bit of the local culture. 

I find that mariachis work best as part of the cocktail hour as the photo session is taking place or as an 'energy pick up' mid-way through the reception. And 20 - 30 minutes is more than sufficient - just enough to get the excitement and flavor but short enough so you don't 'lose' the crowd (since there really is a limit to how much mariachi music one can handle, I think). Like the old showbiz maxim, always leave 'em wanting more ;)

Photo courtesy of Dan Power Photography

Guest Gifts - Coffee!

Having your wedding in the land of coffee, it's natural to give the gift of java to your guests as part of a welcome bag or as a thank you gift at the wedding. But what if you want to dress up the coffee a bit? 

These wonderful little bags feature the work of a renowned Costa Rican artist, Lil Mena. There are two different designs to choose from - one of  a coffee picking couple and the other of a typical village in the coffee mountains. Each bag holds a vacuum sealed bag of premium ground coffee (enough for a pot). And if you wish, they can be personalized with your wedding date and names.

Prices start at $5 each for the bag with coffee. Sweet!

All-Inclusive Resorts for Weddings

We receive a number of requests from brides who want to hold their wedding at an all-inclusive resort. While the resort may seem like the easiest and most cost-effective route to take, here are a few things to consider...

Firstly, we have only a handful of all-inclusives in Costa Rica and they are not the huge mega-resorts like you may find in Mexico. They are the Paradisus Playa Conchal (4 star), Allegro Grand Papagayo (3 star), Allegro Papagayo (2 star), Barcelo Langosta and Tambor (both 2 star).

Meals are pretty much just the buffet and the one sit-down restaurant that you have to pre-reserve and only if you're booked in at the hotel for a minimum of three nights. At the Conchal, you have more restaurants to choose from but you have to line up each morning to make a reservation for that evening unless you have upgraded to Royal Service status.

The hotels will not make dinner reservations for a large group, so any plans you may have of all 'just heading to the restaurant for dinner' instead of having a private reception won't fly. And having a private reception is going to cost extra,usually around $35 per person or so (the same price for a wedding meal at other hotels or restaurants). No savings there.

As for the wedding itself, the hotels offer their own wedding packages which they want clients to purchase. Allegro Papagayo now has a new rule that couple's MUST purchase the hotel's packages, even if they want to work with an independent wedding planner. So much for having choice.

When you sit down and start doing the math, paying for the resort's packaged wedding really doesn't save any money over working with an independent planner - plus you are severely limited in what options you have (they are packages, afterall). 

The other thing we've run into over the years is brides becoming frustrated with the lack of response from the hotel's planner. While the planner is trying her (or his) best, they are not trained wedding planners and usually are working in their second language, which makes things a bit more challenging for them. They are also juggling all of the other events going on at the resort as well. One person is in charge of all the weddings (around 20 a month), corporate meetings, golf tournaments, incentive travel group dinners - these poor people barely have time to wolf down a spot of lunch. Not surprisingly, they don't have time to answer detailed emails or return emails in a timely fashion. It's a tough job, with very long hours and burnout rates are high (the Paradisus had four different people go through the planner's position in one year alone).

If you're a bride who just wants a simple packaged wedding and isn't concerned with followup, then a resort wedding may be just the ticket. 

But if you're a bride who wants a personalized affair and service, then you may want to consider hosting your wedding at a 'regular', non-inclusive hotel.

Real Wedding Blogged

A number of our weddings have been featured on other blogs and I'm going to recap them over the upcoming weeks as they may prove to be inspirational for your own upcoming nuptials.

This wedding was a beautiful one at the Tamarindo Diria last April and is featured on Brenda's Wedding Blog. A perfect day with lots of sunshine. We constructed an amazing bamboo canopy with swathed fuchsia fabric, chains of orchids and hydrangea balls. The entire color scheme was based on a dress the bride had worn to her engagement party - black and white damask with a fuchsia belt. The result? Stunning! 

 

Timing is Everything

Photo by Dan Power Photography

When should you have your ceremony so you can take those gorgeous sunset shots afterwards?

My suggestion is to aim for a 4:30 PM start time, as you don't want to start too early, since the sun is going to be too intense and bright for photos. But you also don't want to start too late so you're in a rush. Remember that people have a tendency to slip into 'Tico Time' once they get here so weddings tend to begin a few minutes late (and honestly, it's usually the bride who is late so make note, ladies, to leave yourself PLENTY of time to get ready). 

It's dark by 6 PM (give or take 15 minutes, depending on the time of year) and the lighting doesn't soften enough for great photos until 5:15 PM. Starting at 4:30 PM gives you enough 'wiggle room' for a later start, a relaxed ceremony (most ceremonies clock in at 20 minutes tops and you really don't want anything longer) and time to kiss-kiss-hug-hug before starting the photo session in earnest.

If you have a very large wedding or long ceremony, you may even want to consider putting 4 PM as your start time, just to give you more 'breathing space'. I think it's always best to err on the side of caution, since you can always chill out waiting for the best light but if you're running late, the sun waits for no one. And no one wants to be rushed on their wedding day...

Bienvenidos!

Welcome to our first posting of 'Weddings Costa Rica - The Blog'.  This is the spot for all things related to having a destination wedding in beautiful Costa Rica. We'll be sharing tips, advice and ramblings (we'll try to keep those to a minimum but no promises) from weddings we've planned/are planning. And if you have any questions, just let us know as we're here to help! Pura vida!

So what's going on 9 degrees from the equator right now? A whole lotta rain, my friends. Yup, we're in the heaviest part of the 'Green Season' (the Tourism Board's term for the scarier sounding 'Rainy Season'). Saw a bit of sun today but pretty much a day of fog and rain. Bring on the Dry Season before I'm completely water logged and my closet is overtaken by mold. 

Sharing a photo of a beautiful sunset wedding we did, just to keep the faith that we'll be dry once more...

Photo courtesy of Lifetime Digital