Liz and Eric tied the knot at a destination wedding in Costa Rica.
With the help of veteran wedding planners, Tropical Occasions, this destination wedding in Costa Rica was the perfect celebration come to life of what the couple had envisioned. Liz shared her experience planning from afar with us:
Eric and I knew we wanted to do a destination wedding as we are from different states, and loved the idea of our guests being able to make our wedding into a relaxing vacation. We also liked the idea of having a property with houses, villas and condos as compared to one large hotel. At the suggestion of our awesome planners Tropical Occasions, they introduced us to and we fell in love with Hacienda Pinilla. It had this feel, we were after and had described to our planners. It as well had the more private beaches and rugged beauty of the area we were truly wanting.
The proximity to Tamarindo also gave guests options to explore local restaurants, shopping and nightlife. Since we knew we wanted to have several events for our guests, it also gave us options to utilize different spaces on the property that each had a unique feel.
My mom hand painted our guest book, which was a portrait of us from one of our engagement photos. She also sewed my veil.
We surprised my parents by having their wedding verse read at our wedding, by the same person who read it at their wedding. It was a very emotional and sentimental moment to honor them and their marriage.
We wanted to have the natural beauty of the ocean, palm trees, and colors of the sunset be the focal point.
I love the simplicity of lots of candlelight with fresh greens and whites. It had a very whimsical, natural feel with up-lighting in the palm trees, chandeliers with overflowing greenery, and a handmade natural wood lounge area for guests to enjoy.
Designing the event was so much fun and easy. Our planners asked us a list of questions, had me pin some pictures on Pinterest and then supplied me with beautiful design ideas I would have never come up with.
When we started going over budget they created a way for us to repurpose our centerpieces as the ceremony design and were just so incredibly creative in how to stretch the budget and make it drop dead gorgeous.
Eric’s 91-year-old grandmother made the trip, which was so special to us. We also loved having both sides of our families and friends get to spend more than just one night together, as they got to know each other through the welcome party, rehearsal dinner, excursions, and just hanging out by the pool together.
We also had our exit on a golf cart which was really fun.
Too see more from this big day, check out their wedding video by Costa Rica Cinematography:
Congratulations to the newlyweds!
Destination Wedding Photographer: Madison Baltodano Photography
Thanks to the Wedding Vendors of This Destination Wedding in Costa Rica: Wedding Planning + Design: Tropical Occasions, Cake: Victoria Zoch, Lighting: Cabo Luna, Rentals: Los Primos, Rentals: Artesanos, Flowers: Stylos y Flores, Hair + Makeup: Hair and Makeup by Fernando, Catering: Seasons Tamarindo, Video: Costa Rica Cinematography, DJ: Costa Rica Wedding DJ