Costa Rica 2013 LOTS of questions!

[bevansbride]

Hey everyone, 

 

I am so new to all of this and I don't even know where to start. My fiance and I have finally nailed down the country to get married in... Costa Rica! And we know we want it in 2013. That's a long time away but don't you book for 2013 in 2012? We want to have an idea of where we want to host the wedding before 2012 because we want the invites to go out a year early (we don't want to do Save-The-Dates just early invitations). I am looking for a resort that will host everyone all inclusive but with the option of having a rainforest wedding. I was thinking some resort that is by a forest and will set the wedding up there instead of the beach? This is my dream by I don't know if it is a reality. 

 

When do you book a wedding? I heard Jan 1 2012 the dates will open for 2013? Correct? 

 

Hotels work with you on colours, flower type, music, reception and all that right? You don't just get a "general" wedding that they put together and you show up? I really have no idea how this all works... Also, what is a typical budget for a destination wedding? 

 

Thanks in advance for all the info! You ladies are great 

 

[JayKay]

First of all, Welcome!!

 

We booked our Jan 2012 wedding in December of 2010.  I would book as soon as possible to ensure you get the date you want.  That being said, some resorts don't allow bookings that far in advance but it doesnt hurt to ask.  And keep in mind that flight schedules could change as well (happened to us) and that might make you have to change your wedding date, but at least if you have a date secured in advance they easily accomodate the change in date (usually only a day or two).

 

First thing we did once we know what country we wanted to get married in was to research a lot of resorts.  We always had questions for certain resorts that I would sent to the wedding planners of the resort.  Sometimes just based on their answers, we were able to eliminate them as they couldnt provide us with the wedding we wanted.  So if getting married in the rainforest is what yuo want, ask the question, they will either say yes we can or no we cant.  That might help you narrow down any resorts.

 

I think the best thing for you to do would be to find the threads on costa rica and research some of the specific resorts.  Also, ask each resort what they can provide in terms of colors, music, cake, the ceremony ect.  Some are more flexible then others.

 

As to budget, everyone has a different budget.  Some peoples budgets are from 4K all the way to 30K.  It really all depends on each person. 

 

Originally Posted by bevansbride 

Hey everyone, 

 

I am so new to all of this and I don't even know where to start. My fiance and I have finally nailed down the country to get married in... Costa Rica! And we know we want it in 2013. That's a long time away but don't you book for 2013 in 2012? We want to have an idea of where we want to host the wedding before 2012 because we want the invites to go out a year early (we don't want to do Save-The-Dates just early invitations). I am looking for a resort that will host everyone all inclusive but with the option of having a rainforest wedding. I was thinking some resort that is by a forest and will set the wedding up there instead of the beach? This is my dream by I don't know if it is a reality. 

 

When do you book a wedding? I heard Jan 1 2012 the dates will open for 2013? Correct? 

 

Hotels work with you on colours, flower type, music, reception and all that right? You don't just get a "general" wedding that they put together and you show up? I really have no idea how this all works... Also, what is a typical budget for a destination wedding? 

 

Thanks in advance for all the info! You ladies are great 

 

 

[where2wed2012]

We planned everything within a year and spent less than 20k for it all - airfare, wedding officiant, rentals, ceremony music drinks and apps at Karahe, rings, dress, live band for reception, planner, gorgeous flowers, amazing venue, luxurious villa, welcome BBQ, and day-after brunch - for 72 guests.  We used Sylvia (Costa Rica Paradise Wedding) and she was well worth her reasonable fee.   She is super sweet and helped us get great deals for Costa Verde's Event Center.  We had a per consumption bar - it was open to guests but instead of really expensive open bar rates, we only paid for what everyone drank.  The venue was amazing and didn't feel too big for our size.  The food was really good, we weren't sure what to expect and thought it might even be bad, but we were pleasantly surprise.  Brad and his band Los Mojitos did the music for the reception and everyone was dancing - the music appealed to all age groups, which was especially nice.  We stayed at Casa Paraiso in La Reserva with our wedding party.  The villa is amazing and the concierge (Dallas) is so helpful and friendly!  Syliva helped coordinate everything with ease and we couldn't have been happier. The flowers and table settings were amazing.  El Velo, our photographers, did a great job.  I would say a planner made everything so much easier; we still followed up with some things on our own, but having Sylvia helped so much.  At the very least would have her for day-of coordination b/c I can't imagine everything coming together without her!!! we didn't do all-inclusive because we wanted a personal touch and we don't usually travel that way, so we did spend some extra time visiting our guest in all their different hotels.  There are definitely some pluses to having everyone in one place, but the luxuriousness of a villa really can't be beat!  We loved Manuel Antonio for its lush setting, but have heard great things about the Guanacaste region too.  I visited the Caribbean side about ten years ago and loved Cahuita but it was a really small town then and (unless it's changed a lot), I think Manuel Antonio was the perfect setting.  We went rafting and ziplining too - would highly recommend rafting and planning group trips that your guests are welcome to join in on.  Good luck with everything.  Costa Rica is an amazing place and think we'd only have had about half as many people joining us if we'd chosen "just another" island.