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).