7 Reasons Why Choosing Costa Rica As Your Wedding Destination
Costa Rica has become a very popular choice for destination weddings. With its stunning beaches, tropical rain forests, mystical cloud forests, green and dramatic mountains, magical sunsets and rich nature and wildlife— there’s no doubt why couples from all over the world choose Costa Rica as their wedding destination. Add the wide selection of five-star resorts, private villas, eco-lodges and boutique hotels and you will understand that this place has something to offer to everyone!
The following seven reasons why you should choose Costa Rica as your wedding destination, might just make the decision easier!
1. It can save you money
We would say that having a symbolic wedding ceremony in Costa Rica can save you money since you won’t have to get a lawyer who legally officiates your marriage. Usually a non-legal officiant performs a symbolic ceremony for less than a few hundred dollars. Some wedding couples even let a close friend get an online officiant certification and have the friend marry them – it saves you money and makes the wedding experience more personal!
We believe that wedding venues usually are slightly less expensive in Costa Rica than in the States (where most of our wedding couples come from). You can most likely get a unique and amazing Costa Rican wedding location with breathtaking views cheaper than a similar high-class venue back home. Maybe you wouldn’t even consider such an exclusive wedding location in your own town?
One more thing you save money on? Since it’s a destination wedding, you are already combining your wedding with the honeymoon so you don’t need to pay for extra airfares and accommodation in order to get to your honeymoon spot!
2. Getting married in the low season can save you more money
The Costa Rican low season or green season lasts approximately from May till beginning of November. Having a wedding during that time will likely cost you less because venue prices are usually lower during that time. Also; venues, photographers & videographers, caterers, rentals, etc. won’t be as booked up as during the high season or throughout the dry months. Even airfares usually drop. Getting married in the off season can definitely save you money!
3. Abundant venue options with stunning scenery
Costa Rica's destination wedding industry is booming. As mentioned, the country has a wide selection of different wedding accommodations and ceremonial receptions; five-star resorts, spectacular private villas, eco-lodges and boutique hotels – you name it! Not just the different types of lodgings and venues make this country one of the top wedding destinations, Costa Rica is incredibly diverse and it's possible to get married in almost any setting and with each and every backdrop you dream of – whether it’s overlooking a stunning exotic beach, at the base of a waterfall, in the middle of a tropical jungle, high up on a mountain top or with a magnificent volcano in the background. This small country has something for every couple!
Costa Rica is not only a beautiful country with perfect awe-inspiring backdrops, it’s also an ecological diverse land in terms of unique flora and fauna, with countless exotic species of flowers not found anywhere else in the world. Think of how amazingly beautiful your bride bouquet would be if you got married in this country!
4. Happiest place on earth with amazing sunsets and peaceful ambiance - it’s “Pura Vida”
Each and every wedding is special, but we truly think that a Costa Rican Wedding is more than just special; it’s unique. We believe that a Costa Rican wedding always will be full of colors, happiness and peacefulness! This is what we would call “pura vida”!
The peaceful vibe might have something to do with the fact that the country doesn’t have any army, which we believe gives you a sense of serenity and calm during your wedding and your stay.
The happiness - who wouldn’t feel happy marrying the love of your life? And envision if you could tie the knot in one of the happiest countries in the world! Yes, that’s right, Costa Rica is proved to be one of the happiest places on earth!
We think of Costa Rica and we think of colors. The flowers tend to look brighter here, the nature seems greener, the sunsets appear to be more purple and pinker (we truly think that Costa Rica has some of the most stunning sunsets in the world!); everything seems to be more intense and colorful in this little country.
5. It will be simple yet elegant
Costa Rica is an ideal place for a simple, nevertheless elegant wedding. You don’t really have to worry about decorations; with the ocean or mountains as your background, and beautiful nature surrounding your ceremony, who needs any other decor to brighten up the location? The gifts from nature could definitely also be used to decorate the wedding dinner tables – simplicity and beauty.
A beach ceremony is the perfect place for a minimalist wedding. The ceremony won’t last very long, so it’s not even essential to put out fancy seats for your guests. Folding chairs on the sand right before the wedding is so easy too! With the sound of the waves crashing in the background and the sand under your toes, a beach wedding will be such an unforgettable experience as well!
6. It’s the land of Eco-adventures
Getting married on the beach is the ultimate romantic experience for many couples. Costa Rica differ itself from many other wedding beach destinations since it’s not just a romantic, quiet honey moon spot, it’s also the land of Eco-adventures! You will most likely get romance and adventure on your wedding and honeymoon if you decide to get married in Costa Rica. And just imagine capturing your trash the dress video; horseback riding in the ocean, when riding off into the sunset. Or for the more adventurous bride – picture yourself trashing the dress while you catch that epic Pacific Ocean wave on a surfboard or jumping off a catamaran!
7. It will be more intimate
Getting married abroad will have the disadvantage, or we would like to say advantage, that not everyone you should invite will be able to make it. That way you can keep the guest list smaller and make the wedding experience more intimate. Having a Costa Rican wedding will probably make it easier for you to trim your guest list and cut out former colleagues and old high school friends you hardly talk to anymore (without having have to feel bad about it). By inviting only your closest family and friends, you are making sure that every person can participate in activities and you may be able to enjoy a couple of days with your guests before the wedding.
Photography credit: Sylvia Guardia
Videography: Destination Wedding Stories