Costa Rica Destination Wedding Brides

MoreChocolatePlease

Hello! I've been a lurker on the boards for years but now that I'm officially planning my wedding I thought I'd say finally Hi. We're planning a destination wedding in Costa Rica next spring. It's a location that is very special to my fiancee and I. My late grandmother was from there and I actually wear her 1920s engagement ring!  We've always wanted a beachy DW, still have a few family members left there and it all just seemed to fit. Planning has been a bit more stressful then I anticipated but I'm hoping it will all work out in the end.

 I was curious if there were any active Costa Rica DW brides on the board?

Congratulations to all of you and I look forward to hearing about each of your weddings!

Meg&Austin

Not a Costa Rica bride but wantes to say Welcome!! I looked into costa rica, absolutely beautiful there, but went with the Dominican instead!

Do you have a big group going with or is it just a family thing?

TerriHugg

Congrats and welcome. I'm not a costa Rica bride, but I did want to get married in Costa Rica. 

My fiance and I were looking into it and had thought about getting married at the Riu in Guanacaste. 

However, It was a 5-7 hour flight from NJ and we had people who were afraid of flying in our group. Plus that resort was about 1.5 away from the resort so we decided against it. 

We ended up getting married in the Bahamas and it was fab, but a part of me still wishes we went with Costa Rica or Barbados. So please continue to tell me about your Costa Rica weddings plans so I can live vicariously through you. 

Julyet06

A former bride (Erin) was married in Costa...sort of an off the beaten path area but very beautiful.  I stay in touch with her and can see if she is still able to sign in and give a few pointers.

MoreChocolatePlease

Thanks guys! We are inviting everyone we would love to have there, but know a lot of people won't be able to make the trip. We know for sure our immediate family will be there plus a few close friends and a few family members that live in CR. We will see how the turnout is. This has been difficult to estimate. Our venue - Reserva Conchal - and budget can of course accommodate everyone if by some miracle they could come but we are setting our expectations low. How many people did everyone invite and how many came?

My mother keeps bringing up the point that she thought I would have wanted a big wedding "with everyone there" which is difficult to hear. I'm confident we're making the right decision for us (we want something intimate and to have a vacation with our nearest and dearest) but how did the rest of you destination brides deal with family members not understanding your decision? At any point did you regret having a DW?

Thank you so much Julyet06 - I would love to hear about Erin's experience there.  It is our first time and we will honeymoon there afterwards so I am picking everyone's brain for recommendations.

Thank you so much!

Meg&Austin

We invited probably 30 and had 20. I didn't invite my whole extended family because I wanted a noce personal experience! The only problem I had with family was my grandma saying she was sad they couldn't be there. Which yes was sad but it didn't really seem that important to me when a ceremony lasts like 20min to a half hour than it is over. Therefore I wanted it the way I wanted. Selfish, maybe but I would NEVER trade my wedding day for anyway else than what we did!

MoreChocolatePlease

Thanks - makes me feel better! I guess I just need to focus on what's important to us and not get sucked into everyone else's wants. I'm sure you have all experienced unhappy family members or friends to some extend.

Erinkathleen84

Hello! I was married in costa and am absolutely in love with that place and highly recommend a dw there! It is a lot different than most other dw's because it is off the beaten path and not as "resort like". Which is what we wanted but it's not for everyone. Our location was very remote but we just made sure to give guests all the information so they were super prepared and knew what to expect. However, there are parts that are much more developed if you want more accessible and resort like. The country itself is pretty easy to get to but if you are going anywhere more than an hour from the airports expect extreme road conditions. I had the most amazing wedding in the world and my guests still talk about it. Let me know if you have any specific questions I have spent a lot of time in central America.

ERowe2014

Hello, quick question, what documents did you need in order to get your marriage certificate? Did you have to go to the embassy? If so, how long were you there?

Thanks for information! Trying to coordinate all this!

DTWYQG

We are looking into Costa Rica but nothing it set in stone yet. We are hoping for some sort of Eco Lodge. Any resort/lodges in mind yet?