Category: Dreams

Anra & Ryan's Pretty in Pink Wedding at Dreams las Mareas

5/19/2016

Anra and Ryan traveled from Canada to the all inclusive resort Dreams las Mareas to have a beautiful destination wedding. Family and friends gathered on the shores of Playa Jobo as the couple said their vows to one another. Pretty pink and coral hues were found throughout the wedding theme.

Ryan and his friends were getting ready and hanging out in their room before the wedding day. Suspenders and bow ties made this wedding as chic as could be.

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Anra and her long time friends and sister were all getting ready at the resort spa. Anra's mermaid style dress was beautiful, and her classy up-do completed the look.

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The ceremony was held on the beach known as arboleda, a tree lined area just in front of the resort. Guests were gifted sunglasses customized with the couple's name and wedding date. I love how Ryan couldn't take his eyes off of his beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle.

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After the ceremony and family photos we headed to the beach with the bridal party for a few photos. Lucky for us the tide was low and the beautiful bed of rocks at the end of the beach were exposed. The bride and groom made their way there for some romantic newlywed portraits.

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The reception was held at seaside terrace, an open air rooftop event space. The beautiful sunset colors lingered long enough to get some great shots of the bride and groom at their table. Speeches were given and games were played, but Anra's nephew really got the party going with his super high energy dance moves,

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Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas

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Stacy + Mark's Costa Rican Wedding at Dreams Las Mareas

3/5/2016

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Dreams Las Mareas was the location of choice by this sweet couple. Mark and his wife to be traveled from Wisconsin to marry one another with their toes in the sand at Playa El Jobo. With a little one on the way the two couldn't have been more excited to be saying their vows to one another in front of their family and friends.

I started the day with Stacy who was getting her hair and makeup done at the Spa. Stacy has this bright smile that just lights up the room.

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After being pampered at the spa Stacy headed back to her room to get dressed.

The wedding ceremony was held on the beach in front of the resort known as Arboleda. Arboleda means tree grove in Spanish, so it gets its name from all of the small trees scattered along the beach. I loved all of the signs that Stacy and Mark brought with them for the wedding.

After the ceremony we walked along the beach for photos. The sun was blazing hot so we tried to alternate between sun and shade to avoid getting too hot.

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The intimate reception was held on a rooftop deck with views of the setting sun. The evening was very relaxed as everyone joined in on group conversations. One thing I noticed about Mark is how extremely generous and appreciative he is. He was very thankful to everyone who was involved with making the wedding possible, and even passed out hand written thank you notes to some the guests, telling them what it meant to have them there.

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams Las Mareas

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Shannon +Scott's Big Celebration at Dreams las Mareas

3/3/2016

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Shannon and Scott had a big wedding. It was big because there were a lot of people. It was also big because it was a big party. And they put on a firework show. A BIG, AMAZING firework show.

Shannon and Scott are from Pennsylvania and escaped the cold to marry one another on the shores of Costa Rica. They choose Dreams Las Mareas as their venue, an all inclusive resort located at the most Northern tip of the country.

Scott and all the guys were hanging out and getting ready altogether. Grooms in general are normally never very thrilled to have their photo taken, but Scott was a good sport!

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Next I headed over to Shannon and her ladies. Shannon works for Scunci, the hair accessory company. I was not the least bit surprised when I saw her long beautiful hair, just perfect for testing out new products with.

Shannon gave her guests each a gift bag, and thoughtfully gave me one as well. Inside were all sorts of treats, but my favorite was a pack of braided hair ties. It is extremely hard to find a good hair tie in Costa Rica, and the ones she gave me have been awesome.

Shannon wrapped a piece of lace from her mothers wedding dress around her bouquet. I love to see personal touches like this at weddings.

One of Shannon's favorite things is stripes. She knew she had found the perfect wedding dress when she found one that incorporated that exact pattern.

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The ceremony was held at the beach where a violinist serenaded guests while they were waiting.

After the ceremony we took photos on the beach with the bridal party and guests. Afterwards just the newlyweds and I walked all the way down to the exposed rocks, taking photos along the way.

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While were taking photos cocktail hour was being held at Seaside terrace. Shannon and Scott were able to join in for the tail end of the cocktail hour. From there everyone enjoyed a fantastic fireworks show. Costa Rica does not mess around when it comes to fireworks, they know how to do them right!

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The reception was held on a grassy area under string lights. It was a beautiful setup. Shannon and Scott had a great group of people with them, who knew how to think on their feet. At one point during the first dances the electricity went out and the music stopped, but the crowd of people just kept on singing the song for the dance to continue on.

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Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas

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Julie + Jeff's Trash the Dress Session

8/26/2015

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I can just imagine the shriek coming out of Julie at this exact moment as the cool ocean waters of Guanacaste crash over her and her beautiful wedding dress. It takes some guts to do a trash the dress session, but I think it is totally worth it and so much fun!

The trash the dress session also provided us some time to get additional portraits around the grounds of the property, without the stress and time pressure during the wedding day.

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Julie + Jeff Get Hitched at Dreams las Mareas

8/25/2015

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Julie and Jeff traveled from Indiana to the warm coast of Costa Rica to celebrate their marriage with family and friends. One of the things that I loved most about this wedding was the way that Julie and Jeff included Jeff's son in every way possible. It can sometimes be a difficult balance when children are involved in a marriage, as the wedding day is supposed to be all about the couple and especially the bride. But Julie so graciously included him in every aspect, it was such a wonderful thing to witness.

I started the day with Julie and her long-time girlfriends. They were getting ready at the Renova Spa.

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The ceremony took place on Playa Jobo, the beach right in front of the resort. Family and friends were patiently awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom.

In almost every wedding here you can get a great photo of the couple laughing when putting the rings on. The reason being is because everyone's fingers tend to swell a bit in the Costa Rican heat, and so getting the ring on can be a bit of a challenge.

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The reception was held outdoors on a terrace overlooking the sunset.

After the reception and of course the name change on Facebook Julie and Jeff headed to the resorts disco to end the night with a bang!

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas
Flowers and decor: Ideas Producciones

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Krys + Kayla's Passionate Wedding at Dreams las Mareas

8/9/2015

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Kayla and Krys had a fantastic wedding full of emotion, excitement and dancing! The couple came to Costa Rica from NYC where they are both dance instructors. So it was no big surprise when they broke out in choreographed dance during the reception to entertain each other and their guests.

I started my day with Krys and his group of guys. Kayla crafted a very simple yet thoughtful gift for her husband to be, a set a cuff links with photos of his grandmother, so that she could be with him on this special day. I hadn't even met Kayla in person at this point but I already could get an idea of the kind of person she is, a truly caring and loving woman.

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Krys also had some thoughtful gifts of his own for his wife to be, including a scrape book with photos and personalized messages from family and friends.

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The couple did a blind prayer before the wedding ceremony. I could feel the excitement in the room as the two held hands while not being able to see one another.

The ceremony was held on the beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I loved the shell lined aisle, such a delicate detail.

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After the ceremony we took a step closer to the beach for some family photos and some fun bridal party photos.

You can just tell this couple dances by the dip photo below, so beautiful!

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After the sunset we still had a little bit of time before the reception started so I took the couple to one of the bars at the resort and got some beautiful indoor portraits.

The reception was held in one of the ballrooms at Dreams. Kayla and Krys started the party off right with fun choreographed first dances. The energy stayed high throughout the entire evening!

Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas
Hair Stylist: Patri
Videographer: PF Weddings

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Mike + Ida's Trash the Dress Session

8/2/2015

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Ida and Mike trashed the dress the morning after their wedding day. Ida wore a second dress as her wedding dress was just to gorgeous to get all sandy. Mike decided to go for a more casual look as well.

One thing I wanted to say about Ida, that I forgot to put in the wedding day write-up, is just how excited she was. She was so sweet and bubbly and just EXCITED! She was excited to get married to the man she loved, but even more excited that all of their friends and family were there together to enjoy each others company and enjoy Costa Rica. She made it so easy for everyone to have a good time because her excitement was contagious.

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Mike & Ida's Beautiful Wedding at Dreams las Mareas

7/29/2015

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Ida and Mike traveled from New York to get married and celebrate with their family and friends. I love when I get couples from New York as we immediately have something in common. Mike is a police officer and Ida a teacher and they are both just as sweet as can be.

I started the day with the men getting ready. They were cracking jokes and kept Mike smiling the whole time. It made my job easy.

Next I made my way to Ida and her girls. Ida's dress was just gorgeous! She said that she saw it on a wedding blog and instantly fell in love with it. She had to hunt down the designer to find a trunk show near her, but it was all worth it.

The ceremony was held on a grassy terrace just in front of the main building at Dreams. The weather was not looking very promising and it actually started to sprinkle just before Ida made her entrance. But luckily the sprinkle was the worst of it and the rain held off until later in the evening.

After the ceremony and family photos we made our way down to the beach, making a few stops along the way.

The newlyweds were cheered on as we made our way past the party pool.

We headed back to the cocktail hour a bit early because it started to sprinkle again. I made it just in time to get a few shots of the cocktail hour and band that was playing.

The reception was held in the ballroom. I love the favors that Ida and Mike got for their guests, they are called Pura Vida Bracelets and are made in Costa Rica.

Photographer: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas
Dress: Dori by Hayley Paige
Favors: Pura Vida Bracelets
Invitations: AprilTwentyFive

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Diana + Frank Tie the Knot at Dreams las Mareas

7/21/2015

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Diana and Frank traveled from Washington state to be married on the Pacific waters of tropical Costa Rica. They came at the beginning of the rainy season, but since the wedding was held in Guanacaste, the dryer region of the country, there was no rain. The couple was lucky and even had a beautiful sunset, which is rather rare during the rainy season.

I started with the ladies getting ready. They were in the bridal suite at the Spa of the resort. Diana speaks perfect Spanish so communication was not an issue at all with the hair stylist and makeup artist which was really nice. I just love the Kate Spade "knot" bracelet that Diana bought for all of her bridesmaids!

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The ceremony was held under the trees on Playa Jobo, just outside the resort.

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The reception was held in one of the ballrooms at Dreams la Mareas. Diana brought many of the details with her from the states, including the beautiful centerpieces.

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Photography: Yours Truly
Venue: Dreams las Mareas
DJ: Kika Productions
Videography: Garcia Bros
Flowers: Angel Accents

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Ashlee +Ryan's Wedding at Dreams Las Mareas

6/1/2015

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Ashlee and Ryan traveled with family and friends from Michigan to enjoy the tropics of Costa Rica. They stayed at the all inclusive resort Dreams Las Mareas and had a beautiful ceremony on the beach.