Guanacaste Destination Wedding

When you have friends and family spread out across the country and nothing sets your heart beating faster than travel, a destination wedding seems like a natural step. Maegan and Kevin chose Costa Rica as their location of choice, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! This elegant wedding had a few handmade touches that made it so personal, like the milkglass vases dipped in paint that went along with a subtle colorblock theme matching the groom + groomsmen’s ties. Katherine Stinnett Photography came along to capture all the gorgeousness:

From the bride, Maegan: We had always had our heart set on having a destination wedding; we love traveling. We have family and friends spread all over the country, from California to Boston. So knowing we’d be asking our loved ones to travel no matter where we chose to get married, we thought it would be best to make a vacation out of it for everyone. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience to be on vacation with 45 of your closest family and friends! The best part of the destination wedding is that it keeps it so intimate, and you are guaranteed to be surrounded by those who love you the most and genuinely want nothing more than to celebrate your wedding. So hard to choose one favorite part but I think we definitely have to give our favorite moment of the day to dancing in the pool with all our guests – so much better than a regular dance floor.

Our style is simple and modern. We knew we wanted the feel to be elegant but relaxed so that our guests could fully enjoy the moment and the gorgeous surroundings. As the bride I struggled with loving so many different beautiful ideas, but Tropical Occasions was able to get to know us and create a wedding style that showed our personalities perfectly.

It was simple, sparkly, and absolutely beautiful – a kind of “beach glam”. Our colors were mint green, coral pinks, and tons of gold! I did several DIY projects and would’ve loved to do more, but had to keep the suit cases to a a manageable number. I’m most proud of the color block skinny ties I handmade from the grooms and all the groomsmen. They were inspired by one I fell in love with that was $100 a piece, and I made all 7 of these for $60!. We also DIY’d our luggage tag save-the-dates, the sparkly gold “BAR” letters, hand painted most of the vases for the flowers, tissue paper garland that was hung beneath our wedding guestbook poster, pompom toothpicks, “his” and “hers” personalized drink signs, glitter party straw flags, and the “M&K” cake topper letters.

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Consider a destination wedding – a week long celebration with your closest friends and family is a once in a lifetime experience! If you can afford one, hire an event planner. It is more than worth the money. I had not one stress or worry throughout the entire planning process, even though we were planning a wedding in a totally different country. Our wedding day especially was completely stress free and we could just enjoy every second and not worry about a single detail, thanks to our planners. Tropical Occasions was out of this world. Start the DIY projects early! I did regret trying to sew 7 ties in the 3 days before we left for Costa Rica – I’m a procrastinator. Lastly, spend the money on an amazing videographer. It is so worth it to have that memory to relive forever. When you’re in the moment, you try your best to take it all in. But you’re so overwhelmed with emotion and excitement, it’s impossible to absorb it all. Oh yea – don’t stress about the weather!

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Music:
Bridal Party Processional: “Crazy Love,” Van Morrison
Bridal Processional: “Angel,” Jack Johnson
First Dance: “Feel My Love,” Adele
Stepfather/Daughter Dance: “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” Elton John
Father/Daughter Dance: “Days Like These,” Van Morrison

Wedding Location: Playa Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica / Photographer: Katherine Stinnett Photography / Venue: Reserva Conchal / Event Planner: Tropical Occasions / Wedding Dress: Mary’s Design at Mary’s Designer Bridal Boutique in Annapolis, MD / Bride’s Necklace: Michael Kors / Bride’s Bracelet: J. Crew / Bride’s Earrings: iloniti / Bridal Party Bracelets and Earrings: Luxa Jewelry / Groom’s Shirt: Express / Groom’s Pants: Perry Ellis / Groom and Groomsmen Ties: handmade by the bride / Wedding Cake: Victoria Zoch / DJ: Stephen Denton / Guitarist for Ceremony/Cocktail Hour: Oscar Kopper / Wedding Invitations: adoridesigns / Videographer: Jonathan Yonkers