Tamarindo, Costa Rica Wedding Locations

[galia2013]

Hi!!!

My fiance loves Costa Rica so we have decided to get married there (june 2013, no date yet!!!) I am still on the fence as to where but it will definitely be in the Tamarindo area... I am torn between the Langosta Beach Club and probably Nibbana (they just renovated it and looks cool... more like our style than a hotel or something like that)... I was interested in hiring Four Winds but then I am not sure... why did you not like them???

I don't want to handle my wedding myself but I don't know who to hire as planner. I want to go with a smaller planner and not the big ones...

Any thoughts???

thanks!!!

galia

[galia2013]

Hi!!!

My fiance loves Costa Rica so we have decided to get married there (june 2013, no date yet!!!) I am still on the fence as to where but it will definitely be in the Tamarindo area... I am torn between the Langosta Beach Club and probably Nibbana (they just renovated it and looks cool... more like our style than a hotel or something like that)... I was interested in hiring Four Winds but then I am not sure... why did you not like them???

I don't want to handle my wedding myself but I don't know who to hire as planner. I want to go with a smaller planner and not the big ones...

Any thoughts???

thanks!!!

galia

[chofita 2012]

Hi, I am planning a wedding in Tamarindo area in November 2013. I am thinking of staying at Barcelo and holding the wedding at the Langosta Beach Club. We are still torn on whether or not we need a wedding planner... although it seems like it would help, but from the planners I have contacted, it seems like it would take a chunk of my budget.  Do any of you have any suggestions of good planners and any thoughts of either the hotel or the venue?? If you guys know of any good vendors in the area, let me know!

[FutureMrsHudson]

I know this post is from awhile ago but we went to Playa Tamarindo in November 2011 and stayed at Hotel Capitan Suizo which had beautiful grounds but the rooms weren't anything too special. Everyone there was fantastic though & we saw a couple get married on the beach there and they seemed to have a great experience having their wedding there. Anyways, we ate at Nibbana once and it was great, awesome food, awesome location, and amazing staff. They were so friendly to us and even took us back in the kitchen to meet the chefs. I bet it would be fabulous for a wedding reception. Another recommendation I have is Dragonfly Bar & Grill. They had absolutely delicious food and a beautiful restaurant. http://www.dragonflybarandgrill.com/index.html While we were there a couple was actually having a wedding reception and it was beautifully decorated and they looked like they were having an amazing time. I believe you can get the whole restaurant but the area these people were in was off to the side a little bit so it wasn't right in the middle of everything. Just wanted to share my experiences.

 

-Keri

[galia2013]

Hi

I went with Barbara at Four Nineteen Weddings. She is awesome. Super nice, lots of experience (plus she is actually Costa Rican) and her prices are very reasonable... I have never been to the Barcelo, but I have not heard good things about weddings there... Maybe you can stay there and have the wedding some where else?

We actually ended up moving our wedding up a bit and got married at a house in Playa Grande, which was great but our wedding was small, just 30 guests...

Hope that helps. And good luck!

Galia

[coco85]

I'm the "original poster" so I just wanted to share a quick update...we are just over 4 weeks away from our travel day and 5 weeks from our wedding day! We are having 45 guests and most of them are staying with us at the Barcelo. Like I said, I've stayed there before and enjoyed so we are looking forward to that. We are having a beach wedding at the Cala Luna beach followed by the reception at Seasons Restaurant. We decided against having the wedding at Barcelo because we didn't like their packages; my aunt actually saw a wedding there once and said it was nothing special. 

We hired Kristina from Perennial Weddings and I'm glad we did. She's kept everything together/organized and for the wedding day, we don't have to lift a finger. I know a wedding planner can take a chunk out of your budget but do you really want to have to worry about decorating or center pieces or all that other crap on the day before/day after your wedding?

[Remmi]

Costa Rica is a beautiful location to celebrate your wedding here. The beach view at Costa Rica is marvelous. You can also celebrate your wedding in at a cruise. malibu wedding locations

[Remmi]

Costa Rica is a beautiful location to celebrate your wedding here. The beach view at Costa Rica is marvelous. You can also celebrate your wedding in at a cruise. malibu wedding locations

[coco85]

Original poster again! Here are my reviews for the wedding!

 

Barcelo Langosta Beach

We picked the Barcelo because I had been there before and knew what to expect, and we wanted to be in/near Tamarindo and wanted all-inclusive and this is the only resort close to Tamarindo with all inclusive. It was really great for our group which ended up at 41 staying at the Barcelo (and 4 staying elsewhere). Everyone could find something to eat at all times (including my mother in law who has celiac disease and can't eat gluten), the staff were super friendly, and you can't beat that beach. The beach was really great for surfing too so my husband and friends could hit the waves without having to go far. The walk to Tamarindo on the road was about 15-20 mins. 

The other big reason for picking Barcelo was price. We wanted it to affordable for people to come to our wedding. Overall, we're very happy with Barcelo for our group. 

Tip for you...ask to NOT be in the 4000 block and ask that your room has a full sized closet. 4000 is closest to the disco/entertainment area so it was noisy at night. In our room (on the 4th floor) our closet was the area under the stairs for the room above us so it wasn't full length and I ended up keeping my wedding dress in the groomsmen's room. Our room was also so tiny we ended up getting ready in one of the bridesmaid's room (9000 block I think). 

 

Ceremony Site

I'm not sure it even has a proper name but it's a beach area by Cala Luna and there's a pathway from the road (to Tamarindo to Barcelo) that's like walking through the jungle. All our guests walked through the jungle to get to this amazing beach location and there are some amazing pictures of my girls walking down and of me and my parents. It wasn't private but no one interfered with our wedding (apparently some people watched from a distance but I never noticed them). 

 

Reception Site

We chose Seasons by Shlomy totally site unseen/food untasted and it was the best risk of the entire event. Seasons is at a small hotel in town but off the beach. There was a pool area with lounge chairs around it, the outdoor dining area was the dance floor which they put a couple of cool couches around for people to relax in during cocktail hour, and we dined "inside" (but it felt like outside with the windows/walls/doors pushed open). It felt beach rustic - wooden tables, wooden chairs, lots of Christmas lights, greens around the pool. It was stunning and all decorated by my wedding planner (see below). I still get a swoony feeling when I think about this location as it was exactly what I wanted. 

The food was amazing!! There were hors d'oeuvres served by the lovely staff and then we went for a family style meal with platters of food brought to each table and people could pick and choose. Everything was amazing and everyone loved/raved about the food. The drinks were also amazing and looked pretty too. 

I really wanted to go back and eat there after the wedding but my husband said it would "ruin the magic". We agreed to go there again when we go back to Tamarindo and I know some of our guests tried to return a few days later but the restaurant was closed. 

 

Photographer

We went with Bidrop Photography http://www.bidrop.com/. I don't think his website does him justice. We love all of our photos and the colours are so vibrant. He caught a lot of little moments and we had so much fun looking back at all our pictures. We had a few pictures 3 weeks after the wedding and all of them with 3.5 months. 

 

Wedding Planner

We decided on Barcelo Langosta Beach as the accommodation but didn't want the wedding there. We went with Kristina from Perennial Weddings and LOVE her. I wish I had known how awesome she was and how great the day was going to be so I could relaxed while planning (I'm in BC, Canada). She helped with everything - picking a location, reception venue, picking a photographer, she did the flowers (I was so vague about these but she nailed it), getting the cake organized (I never talked to "the cake lady" and it turned out wonderful), the DJ, the officiant, and helped organized a group activity on a catamaran. 

She was great on the day of.  I didn't have to worry about paying any of the vendors, she was there to organized the processional and "herd" my guests in the right direction. When we started planning I asked my husband if I could have a wedding planner and he asked if she would make me less crazy on the day of and I said yes. I was so relaxed on the day of and I think it's because of her. 

 

If anyone has any other questions, let me know! I understand the stress of planning from afar and would love to help anyway I can!