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My daughter is planning to get married in CR this summer. Her fiance is CR and she is American. We checked our a couple of hotels but would really like to hear from some people who have either done this or know someone who has. We want it to be beautiful with no screw-ups. Our budget is between 25,000 and 50,000 dollars.
We do not believe it will cost nearly that much but that is how much we have budgeted since she was a baby. His family is educated well but seem to be fairly typical CR-mother is a teacher, father had to retire due to health issues.
I do not believe they have much money but the groom really contributes little except for the after rehearsal dinner and honeymoon. Again, I do not know the customs in CR and don’t want to offend anyone, especially not his family by throwing money around.
So, I am at a loss as to how to make this beautiful and unforgettable without offending anyone.
Of course the final decisions are my daughters and her fiance but I want to find out as much as I can about how this is done in CR and also sort of follow Emily Post in terms of American Traditions. Many thanks for any help or advice.
You might want to Google La Mansion in Manuel Antonio. I’ve stayed at Hotel Parador on several occasions which is right next to La Mansion and I know the area well. La Mansion appears to be much more “romantic” and might be a good fit. A number of celebrities (including I believe Elizabeth Taylor) have stayed there. If you Google it when the homepage opens up there is a link to “weddings”. Perhaps that might be of interest to you.
Costa Rica is a pretty big wedding destination …
It might be worthwhile paying someone to take all the headaches off your hands …
I Googled “costa rica wedding planners” and there are quite a few very experienced group which should be able to help you…
Scott
Costa Rica being primarily Catholic MAY create some hurdles. At least in the US the Catholic Church is fairly picky over who gets married in the Church. It can takes years to get the paperwork processed for the divorced and non-Catholic. Its actually easier if you are a heathen. . . A Catholic may marry any one they want but doing so in a Church with a Priest is a whole different matter. On the other hand there ARE other churches in CR.
Just something to look into.
Congratulations on your daughter’s upcoming nuptials. I would however like to weigh in on your concerns about “throwing money around”. I think those concerns are very well-founded.
$25,000 – $50,000 is probably a drop in the bucket for an American wedding…I know the costs can be insane. BUT that amount of money here in Costa Rica is literally ten times the amount of money that most Costa Ricans make in an entire year. We live in a typical Costa Rican puebla and see on a daily basis the very modest lives of our neighbors….even those with a higher education. So the “little bit” that the groom’s family is responsible for financially may be above their reach even though you believe those costs to be modest.
Here, most weddings take place in the local church and then the reception is held in a social salon or the home. Also, a destination wedding could certainly prohibit many of the groom’s friends and family from attending…again because of cost. I applaud your sensitivity towards your daughter’s new family…..they will be around a lot longer than her wedding!!
[quote=”alewis”]My daughter is planning to get married in CR this summer. Her fiance is CR and she is American. We checked our a couple of hotels but would really like to hear from some people who have either done this or know someone who has. We want it to be beautiful with no screw-ups. Our budget is between 25,000 and 50,000 dollars. . . . (remainder deleted to save space)
I think you raise a very important question. I am an American, and not in Costa Rica, but I have an idea that might be helpful.
Maybe it would be helpful if your daughter visited and/or talked to her future in-laws, or future mother-in-law, about what type of wedding they and their friends would enjoy.
I got married the day I graduated from college, in a town far from my parents’ community, as your daughter is doing. Because my father had already been retired, I was careful with expenses–dress made by local seamstress, punch and cookies reception, small local church, music provided by family, father-in-law officiating. My mother-in-law was involved in helping with this.
Years later, after my mother died, I found in her papers a note my mother-in-law wrote during our engagement, praising me and saying how good she felt about me as a future wife for her son because of the modest arrangements I made and because the likelihood that I would not be all about material things. When we divorced after 12 years, my in-laws wrote to me saying that they loved me and I was still family, and still regularly invited me to visit and stay in their home. I could not have had a better wedding.
Pura vida!
I would advise you to keep the wedding low key but with good taste…
On the other hand, we did attend a beautiful wedding at [url=http://www.hotelcasaturire.com/en/weddings-and-social-activities.php]Casa Turire[/url] some years ago. In fact it is one of the weddings shown on the revolving photos display. I have been to more weddings that have been more in the line of what [b]sueandchris[/b] mention, and enjoyed them just as much.
Considerations must be made on traveling time and accommodations that may also be required.The following are two posts I made when *Lotus was planning his wedding here in Costa Rica. Maybe you’ll find them tempting . . .
“I keep getting spam offering on-line/no-study degrees. Maybe I should see if any of them offers one in theology, Lotus. We could split the cost. My religious orientation is much like your own, so I’d be comfortable to work up something Zen/Buddhist, Norse pagan, animist, Rastafarian, or whatever you’d like. We could even do the deed on the beach somewhere, if you wish. Of course, you’d have to put us up for a few days, just to get acclimated. And I’d need some time to grow dreadlocks, if you’re into that sort of thing.
(and later . . .)
“Lotus, if you are even willing to consider ME to officiate at a religious ceremony, the answer to which of us is crazier must, must be abundantly apparent. The possibilities, however, are intriguing . . . I’m sure we could find a traditionally painted Costa Rican oxcart and team of oxen to pull it. A ginned watermelon is a given. The symbolism of doing it a dawn is obvious. Maybe Scott or another Forum member could put us onto somebody who could provide an ostrich. And (am I belaboring the obvious?) total nudity is a foregone conclusion. Oh! and a sack race . . . And, if you like, I could do the ceremony in my faux cleft palate Boston accent. ”
====
Failing that, you might Google “Hotel Xandari Costa Rica”. They took very good care of some friends when their daughter was married a year or so ago.
P.S. I can bring this off for a lot less than $25k and promise you an event you won’t forget.
[quote=”alewis”]My daughter is planning to get married in CR this summer. Her fiance is CR and she is American. We checked our a couple of hotels but would really like to hear from some people who have either done this or know someone who has. We want it to be beautiful with no screw-ups. Our budget is between 25,000 and 50,000 dollars.
We do not believe it will cost nearly that much but that is how much we have budgeted since she was a baby. His family is educated well but seem to be fairly typical CR-mother is a teacher, father had to retire due to health issues.
I do not believe they have much money but the groom really contributes little except for the after rehearsal dinner and honeymoon. Again, I do not know the customs in CR and don’t want to offend anyone, especially not his family by throwing money around.
So, I am at a loss as to how to make this beautiful and unforgettable without offending anyone.
Of course the final decisions are my daughters and her fiance but I want to find out as much as I can about how this is done in CR and also sort of follow Emily Post in terms of American Traditions. Many thanks for any help or advice.[/quote]
Try Villa Caletas in Jaco. Just make sure they stay in the old cabinas with their own pool. My wife and I stayed there when we got married here 12 years ago and it was sweet!
A poster mentioned Xandari, which is now Alma del Pacifico run by Rock Resorts. And it’s right on the beach. Very nice.
[quote=”agarcia”]A poster mentioned Xandari, which is now Alma del Pacifico run by Rock Resorts. And it’s right on the beach. Very nice.[/quote]
Actually, the Hotel Xandari I was referring to is in Alajuea. Here’s their website: http://www.xandari.com/
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”agarcia”]A poster mentioned Xandari, which is now Alma del Pacifico run by Rock Resorts. And it’s right on the beach. Very nice.[/quote]
Actually, the Hotel Xandari I was referring to is in Alajuea. Here’s their website: http://www.xandari.com/%5B/quote%5D
Funny David. We actually wound up getting married at Xandari on the Pacific, it was beautiful. We have stayed at the resorts before and Sheryl and his wife are wonderful. I was sad to see that they sold it, hope they maintain the high standards and wonderful staff. All that came were absolutely blown away by the natural beauty of the location, it silenced all those who were “afraid” to come to Costa Rica, it was life changing for many.
We did find an amazing woman who officiated that suited our desires perfectly, think “new age”. She is also an attorney and Tica! The hotel offers help with wedding planning,but we used a wonderful woman named Belle Richardson, “Ring my belle” was the name of her company, seems she left Jaco and is now running a restaurant in Samara.
The hotel and restaurant is so amazing that it was actually quite inexpensive to have a wonderful wedding. Belle decorated the outdoor Palapa with a mind blowing amount of flowers and Orchids. That along with the delicious food and great candle lit lighting was all we needed. Belle did a great job. We were married at sunset on the beach. Some guests stayed at Xandari others in some local little hotels next door that run about $35-$40 a night, kind of bare bones, but beautiful setting. Xandari was just about empty and they were really cool about letting all our guests hang with us at the pool etc…
We also considered Villas Caletas, but wanted our guets to be on the beach. We did take everyone there for a stunning sunset drink. We also hired a few vans from Kevins Transfers(highly recommend) and took everyone to Manuel Antonio.
We had a pre wedding dinner at a local restaurant just North on the Costanera for an authentic, delicious meal. Blew everyone away, especially the price.
I’ll see if I can post some pictures.
Congratulations to the whole family on the upcoming wedding! I happen to be a wedding planner out in Nosara and can tell you that you can spend a lot or a little – depending upon where you would like to have the wedding. Rather than go into the legal issues of having a wedding here in Costa Rica, I invite you to contact me offline – no obligation – and I would be happy to tell you what is necessary.
Costa Rica is an amazing place for a destination wedding and should incorporate the interests of the couple. If he is Costa Rican, there are traditions the couple may want to follow, and the weddings in the city tend to be more formal than the weddings at the beach. Just depends what you would like!
Our webpage is [i][b]deleted in accordance with this Forum’s “No Commercial Promotions” policy.[/b][/i]
[quote=”alewis”]My daughter is planning to get married in CR this summer. Her fiance is CR and she is American. We checked our a couple of hotels but would really like to hear from some people who have either done this or know someone who has. We want it to be beautiful with no screw-ups. Our budget is between 25,000 and 50,000 dollars.
We do not believe it will cost nearly that much but that is how much we have budgeted since she was a baby. His family is educated well but seem to be fairly typical CR-mother is a teacher, father had to retire due to health issues.
I do not believe they have much money but the groom really contributes little except for the after rehearsal dinner and honeymoon. Again, I do not know the customs in CR and don’t want to offend anyone, especially not his family by throwing money around.
So, I am at a loss as to how to make this beautiful and unforgettable without offending anyone.
Of course the final decisions are my daughters and her fiance but I want to find out as much as I can about how this is done in CR and also sort of follow Emily Post in terms of American Traditions. Many thanks for any help or advice.[/quote]
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