 |
| La Mariposa Hotel witnessed
an amazingly beautiful event in August, when
a Hindu-Spanish couple got married on its grounds. |
| Courtesy La Mariposa Hotel |
 |
| Wedding guests at the Tabacon
Resort can eat dinner in the glow of the fiery,
orange lava seeping out of the Arenal volcano. |
| Courtesy Tabacon Hot Springs
Resort |
Why is it that more and more American couples that
are getting married decide to do so on a Costa Rican
beach or mountaintop? Many people consider Costa
Rica a paradise. This fact, along with the amazingly
diversified and secluded natural setting of this
nation, makes it an attractive wedding and honeymoon
destination.
Costa Rican marriage laws are similar to those in
the US, and one must show proof of legal age. Were
a previous marriage to have existed, legal termination
must be demonstrated. The main thing for couples to
be vigilant about is the validity of their passports,
for it’s important that they be valid a six-month
period after the wedding date. If these conditions
are met couples will be recognized as legally married,
not only in the US, but also in most Western jurisdictions.
When Steve and Rhonda Solomon from Louisiana got engaged
last February, of primary concern was the enormous
hassle that staging a wedding can provide. “I
never wanted a big wedding in church, with hundreds
of people and all the pressures,” said Rhonda.
“It was just never my dream.” Because her
fiancé shared the same sentiments, he began
to research alternative wedding ideas on the Internet.
The first places he came up with were Hawaii,
Jamaica, Mexico and Bahamas. However, each of these
destinations had something that in particular that
was not quite right. Hawaii was overly expensive
and too far away. The other three countries offered
all-inclusive resorts with no personality. Rhonda
and Steven, who share a passion for experiencing
new things, sometimes pushing the limits of adventure,
were not satisfied until they came across a particular
web site: www.bestofcostarica.com.
“We didn’t want just the beach, we wanted
more, something adventurous to share between ourselves,
like whitewater rafting, canopy tours, horseback
riding, etc.,” they explained.
Not only did the Best of Costa Rica company offer
the Solomon’s the adventure they were looking
for, but also the nation was easily accessible. By
way of Continental Airlines they reached this Central
American paradise within four hours. The price was
very reasonable, too. In fact the only thing Rhonda
and Steven had to worry about was what to pack!
The couple, along with eight other family members,
arrived in San José on Saturday. They stayed
at the Marriott Costa Rica hotel for one night before
moving to the Hotel Punta Islita, where the wedding
took place, just before sunset, on Tuesday afternoon.
“They had set up a kind of a canopy for us, and
beautiful flowers were placed on the ground to indicate
the path I would walk on,” said Rhonda. “It
was so amazing – Laura, the wedding coordinator,
had organized the band and, to our surprise, a bonfire.”
After the twenty-minute service, which was in English,
everyone was served dinner on the beach. Later, the
group went up to the bar in Hotel Punta Islita. According
to Rhonda everything exceeded the couple’s expectations.
“Not everyone we knew was convinced about us
holding an alternative style wedding but, in the end,
everyone was extremely happy. And it was mainly because
we had time to spend together, and it was all very
intimate.”
Excluding airfares and family members’ costs,
Rhonda and Steven’s wedding package cost $4,700.
This price included everything from the marriage license,
flowers, the photographer, to the band. “It was
all so easy,” said Steve. “By doing it this
way we actually managed to spend a lot of time with
our family members, making it a real family thing.”
The couple says that they hope to come back to Costa
Rica for their anniversary.
The Tabacon Resort, also famous for weddings and honeymoons,
played host to another American honeymoon couple,
Mark and Cindy Gibbs from Colorado. “With our
hectic professional lives, finding the time to relax
does not come naturally to us,” says Mark. “We
found that Tabacon provided us with exactly the relaxing
atmosphere we needed to wind down.”
“I think the most memorable part of our trip
was when we took the hotel shuttle to the nearest
steak restaurant – which consisted of a glorified
hut and some plastic tables and chairs,” Cindy
said. “We ate steaks and drank local beer while
watching the lava seep out of Arenal volcano. It was
spectacular, not to mention the entire meal cost less
than twenty dollars.”
“The volcano was fascinating. On a recommendation
from the resort, we signed up for a sunset hike, which
gives you a closer look at Arenal,” Cindy said.
“Hiking through the dense forest, our guide pointed
out spider monkeys, howler monkeys, and a handful
of tropical birds.”
“After a few days, we were ready to hit the beach
for some surf lessons,” said Mark. “We drove
to Tamarindo, rented some boards, and hung out on
the beach for the rest of our stay. We had a great
time.”
For those in search of even greater luxury, Cala Luna
Hotel in Tamarindo offers not only surfing, but also
a stunningly beautiful beach setting and private villas
with pools. An American couple, who married there
in November this year, had only two guests –
the parents of the groom. “Afterwards, we all
had a very intimate dinner at the villa, and the food
was delicious,” said the couple. “How we
found this place... we saw the brochure of this architectural
masterpiece, and it just fitted our taste.”
Another very popular destination for weddings is La
Mariposa, the butterfly hotel at Manuel Antonio. This
small hotel probably has one of the fines views of
the Pacific Ocean in the entire world. It is a small,
intimate and beautifully built hotel, with an open-air
restaurant overlooking the ocean and its beautiful
sunsets. The most basic wedding packages at La Mariposa
begin at $300. According to Larry Sanchez, general
manager of La Mariposa, a “full-blown wedding
with every detail, loads of food and one hundred guests”
can cost up to $30,000.
In August Sanchez organized a Hindu-Spanish wedding.
It was one of the most fascinating events Sanchez
had ever staged. One hundred and fifty guests from
Spain and India, and almost everywhere in between,
contributed to the feelings of happiness. One of the
guests told Sanchez that they wished that they could
travel back in time and hold their wedding at La Mariposa.
“My feeling on weddings is that we are very lucky
to have such a special location for couples to come
and remember forever their day in Paradise,”
said Sanchez.
Whether you want to marry on the beach, in the mountains,
in front of a volcano, in the jungle or rainforest,
or in the most luxurious hotel, Costa Rica has it
all. The international hotel chains organize weddings,
too, but why not move outside San José and
let one of the tour operators organize a wedding for
you? |
