Bruce and Dana had a beautiful Buddhist ceremony at the Zen House in San Jose. Dana has had a long time relationship with Costa Rica, so it wasn't too difficult of a decision to get married in the country she has come to love so much. 

Bruce and Dana's wedding was my first Buddhist wedding and I really loved the ceremony and what was said and conveyed during it. Dana's mother is the founder of the Zen House and conducted the ceremony.

I just love the photo above and love the story behind it even more. Bruce and Dana were showed with dried rose petals on their exit from the ceremony, but they weren't just any rose petals. These rose petals were from many bouquets that Dana's father had given to her mother throughout the years of their marriage. I just thought it was
such a special idea and gift from Dana's parents to use them.

The getting ready and the reception both took place at the Bougainvillea Hotel. I cannot say enough about this beautiful venue. It is like a garden oasis in the middle of the big city. The flowers are abundant and gardens seem to be never ending. 

After Dana had her hair and makeup done at the hotel we all made our way over to Casa de Zen for her to put her dress on.

Bruce also made his preparations at the ​Casa de Zen.

The ceremony space was beautiful and cozy. Once it was full of friends and family you could really feel the love and support that everyone had for the ​couple.

After the ceremony the group headed back to the Bougainvillea Hotel. It has been raining on and off all day so we were very lucky to get some photos in the gardens in between showers. Dana looked stunning. I don't know that she truly understood just how beautiful she looked, I hope these photos will remind her.

The reception was held in a private dinner room at the hotel. A delicious vegetarian dinner was served and speeches were made. After dinner Dana and Bruce passed out packaged pieces of cake to all their guests, a Costa Rican wedding tradition. 

After all of the guests left and the evening was coming to an end the couple and I went about the hotel for a few night shots.

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Hotel Bougainvillea
Ceremony Venue: Zen House
Hair & Makeup: Leonardo Medina

Kieya and Freddie traveled to Manuel Antonio to renew their vows with family and friends after being married for 10 years. Both the bride and groom are in the Army, and when they originally married it was just the two of them. What better a way to celebrate 10 years of love than by having the wedding they never got to have, and being able to have their 3 beautiful daughters there as well!

It was the rainy season but the couple was determined to get married on the beach, even if it was down-pouring. Freddie said they traveled all the way to Costa Rica to get married on the beach and a little rain wasn't going to stop them. One of the things that I love about the rainy season is that I get to take beautiful photos like the one above. 


I started the day with Kieya and Freddie getting ready. They had rented the beautiful 5-story villa Punto de Vista for all of their family to stay at for the week. I will say that Punto de Vista is one of my favorite wedding venues, I just feel like it was built for entertaining and events.

The ceremony was held on Manuel Antonio Beach. It was overcast and drizzling but the guests were all good sports and didn't mind getting a little wet. 

I just love this photograph of "Mommy and Daddy" kissing, so sweet!

The reception was held on the rooftop at Punto de Vista. The rooftop has beautiful sweeping views of the ocean and national park. The tables looked beautiful with blush floral arrangements and gold accents. Going through all of the photos from the evening I noticed something really special. In every photo of Kieya or Freddy with one of their daughters there was always a huge smile on either of their faces. 

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Punto de Vista
Wedding Planner: Weddings Costa Rica
Caterer: Chef Desiree 
Cake: Mariposa Pastry
Florist: Stylos y Flores
DJ: A-Class Productions

Kerrin and Kevin traveled with 9 of their closest friends to the tropical beach of Manuel Antonio to join in marriage. It was the middle of the rainy season and the night before their wedding torrential downpours took over the area. Luckily on their wedding day the weather cleared up just enough for everyone to enjoy the beauty of the beach and surrounding nature.

I started with Kerrin getting ready. Both Kerrin and Kevin are makeup artists, so it was no surprise that Kerrin did her own makeup. Since she didn't have someone else doing it we opted to focus more on bridal portraits than the prepping photos. Casa Anjali was a beautiful venue for portraits. 

The ceremony took place on the main beach in Manuel Antonio. Kerrin and Kevin's friends made a semi-circle around the couple. It was such a loving moment as their friends truly were creating a loving and safe place for the couple to be themselves.

While their guests enjoyed drinks and playing around in the water, we walked down to the very end of the beach to take advantage of the beautiful exposed rock.

The reception dinner was held back at the house. I only stayed for the very beginning of it which was perfect since it was such a small group. Karen from Tropical Occasions had created a beautiful tablescape for the wedding dinner.

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Casa Anjali
Wedding Planner: Tropical Occasions
Wedding designer: Aimee Monihan
Officiant: Marcelo Galli
Flowers: Stylos y Flores
Caterer: Chef Desiree
Cake: Mariposa Pastry

In my previous blog post from Sandy and Rommel's wedding I mentioned that the speech during the ceremony was my favorite that I had ever heard. Sandy, being the sweetheart she is, emailed me a copy of the ceremony. Reading it again for the second time really allowed to to sink in, it was like YES! This is right, this is what marriage is about. Brought tears to my eyes.

The ceremony was pieced together and rephrased by Sandy and Rommel's friend DJ Chef Rev Kev. I just wanted to share it for everyone to read. If you are married or not I think we can all relate to these words in one way or another.






Today is a celebration.

A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship, of family, and of two people who are in it for forever.

You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kind of weird, right?

You're standing here, looking fancy, holding flowers, and being stared at by your family and friends. So why do we do it?

The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation, and society.

We have thousands of important moments that happen throughout our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge it’s special status by sharing it with others.

Why this moment?

Because despite all of our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier — our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we're doing right.

That's why you both are standing here.

That's why everyone is here to stand behind you in a showing of love and support, now and for the rest of your lives. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we're reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity

All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others long. Some are yet unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all of our stories that are sad or disappointing — and others that are exciting and full of adventure.

And that brings us to this moment.

This is a time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here, and a time to look ahead at all the moments that are still to come.

We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't “happily ever after”, love is the experience of writing your story.

It's not one moment — not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying "I love you" for the first time, moving in together, starting a family together.

It’s mostly a million little ones that come in between the big moments. Falling asleep next to one another, making dinner together, spending holidays with your families, binge-watching shows on Netflix, getting a big hug when you get home from work, and seeing your family grow and change every day.

These everyday moments fuse together into one big experience.

Even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love — it's meant to be felt, not described.

Trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes.

We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways, love can look different from one person to the next — we all know it when we see it. And we all see it here today.

You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes every day brighter.

You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep.

You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises: you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, "Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be a part of."

You’ve both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep within the earth. Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace, molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished.

Something beautiful was made from raw elements. Love is like that.

It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It’s the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.

As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You’ve created something invaluable, and just as I know you’ll protect these rings, I’m confident you’ll protect the commitments you make to one other today.

-Rings and personal vows were exchanged -

Closing:

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.

May you want one another, but not out of lack.

May you look for things to praise

May you often say, "I love you!" and take no notice of small faults.

May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.

May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.


 

Sandy and Rommel jetted down from Atlanta to Costa Rica to have the party of a lifetime. About 70 of their nearest and dearest joined them to celebrate the couple tying the knot. The wedding took place at Casa Amarillo, a beautiful villa located along the Pacific Coast and overlooking Dominical Beach. 

Sandy and her bridesmaids were getting ready in one of the rooms at the Villa. I started with them, Sandy and Rommel's sweet daughter was also joining in on the festivities. 

At some point while Sandy was getting ready I met up with Rommel on the other side of the house to get a few getting ready photos of him. 

Sandy and Rommel decided to do a first look, to get many of the photos taken before the ceremony so that they could have more time to spend with their friends and family after the wedding. 

The ceremony was held on a terrace just outside the main building. Sandy looked on from her room as guests made their way in. If you haven't caught on by now Sandy and Rommel like to have a good time and know how to party. I was expecting a lighthearted ceremony full of jokes, but was pleasantly surprised and heard one of the most heartfelt and touching ceremonies ever. I wish I remembered what their friend said about marriage because it really was just perfect.

After the ceremony the guests were invited to cocktail hour, and the cocktail hour lasted all night. Instead of doing a traditional dinner Sandy and Rommel had passed h'orderves all night long. Pictured below are just a few from the night. I loved the idea because people could walk around and talk and everyone got to taste a big variety of food,

We caught the sunset from the pool for a few more portraits, but quickly returned to the party.

Sandy and Rommel did not have your ordinary wedding cake. They kicked it up a notch and had a tequila shot tower instead, complete with monogrammed name topper and all. 

As if the tequila shot wedding cake was not enough, Sandy surprised Rommel with a cigar roller!

Sandy spent a good portion of her evening with us, the staff and vendors from the wedding. It was so sweet of her to insist that we all took a photo together. I hardly ever get to be in any photos.

No surprise that this party ended in the pool, in fact I believe guests were instructed to bring their swimsuits. 

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Casa Amarillo
Wedding Planner: Weddings Costa Rica
Hair and Makeup: Hair by Monica
Caterer: Cafe Lago
Cake: Mariposa Pastry
Flowers: Stylos y Flores
DJ: A-class DJ
Rentals: Eventos Boadicea
Cigar Roller: Norma Torrez
Bartender: David Villegas

I have come to the conclusion that I LOVE Canadians! Growing up in the US, especially in a bordering state to Canada, I always heard lots of jokes or negative comments about Canadians. I am not sure why, but for some reason the United States has some ongoing belief that we are better than Canada. Well I am here to set the record straight, Canadians are just about the nicest people you will ever meet!

Travis and Chansone are just a stunningly beautiful couple, there is no denying it. I really don't want to write too much because I think the photos will do a better job of describing what a beautiful day it was. 

After spending some time with the guys I headed over to the ladies. They were getting ready and having a great time. 

The short and sweet ceremony was held on the beach in front of the resort.

After the ceremony and some group photos the whole group headed to a cocktail hour. The ceremony was held a little earlier in the day so the bride and groom were also able to join in on the cocktail hour.

After the cocktail hour the three of us made our way back to the beach, taking photos along the way. There wasn't much of a sunset that evening but the photos still came out great!

The group enjoyed a dinner and then the party really started! First dances, speeches, bouquet tossing and cake cutting were all apart of this celebration. 

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Riu Palace

Lizzy and Blaine were determined to get married on the beach and mother nature would not stop them from doing so. While getting ready it had drizzled, poured and everything in between. By the time the ceremony started it was lightly misting, but luckily the couple was prepared with a tent to shelter their guests. I am so glad they stuck it out and had their ceremony by the water, it was beautiful.

Blaine was getting ready and hanging out with some of the guys from the group at Villa Vista Azul. The guys always have it so easy, as their getting ready consists of about 15 minutes of preparations.   

After spending some time with the guys I headed over to Lizzy and her girls. I just loved her dress. As much as I love a simple beach wedding gown, the big elegant ones really melt my heart. Lizzy's garter was made with scrap fabric from her wedding dress, I thought that was such a great idea.

The ceremony was held on the beach in an area known as Playitas. The arch was beautifully made of drift wood and decorated with tropical flowers. 

Because of the rain we decided to do a last minute first look just before the ceremony started, to ensure that we were able to get some rain-free portraits of the bride and groom.

The ceremony was officiated by a close friend of Lizzy and Blaine's. It was already getting dark by the time the ceremony started, and quite dark by the time it ended. 

An intimate reception was held back at the villa. Speeches were given and the cake was cut. Lizzy and Blaine probably had the best cake cutting face smash that I have ever seen.

Photography: Yours Truly
Wedding Planner: Fourninteen Weddings
Venue: Villa Vista Azul
Hair/Makeup: Hair by Monica
Caterer: Chef Desiree
Cake: Mariposa Pastry
Flowers: Costa Brava Flowers
Rentals: Costa Mesa
Bartender: Bartender Costa Rica