Crystal + Steve, Costa Rica

Crystal and Steve wed on a warm day in Costa Rica. Everything about their wedding was a dream – they had their closest friends, their amazing families and the most beautiful setting. Crystal and Steve wanted to ensure that their friends and family had the best party of all time, and that they did. The two danced the night away, ate heart shaped pizzas for a late night snack, and jumped in the ocean in all of their clothes to wrap up the night! It was truly a perfect day, and we would go back in heartbeat to recreate it!

Their sweet wedding was recently featured on Destination I Do. Read more from the feature below, and make sure to check out the full article!

“Crystal’s favorite place to be is at the beach, so when she and her husband Steve were engaged, they knew the question to ask wasn’t could they or would they – the question was “which one?” The two became one in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. “We didn’t want a cookie-cutter destination wedding,” the bride said. “Costa Rica was a nice blend of nature and privacy, but also affordable for everyone.”

Although a destination wedding meant limiting their guest list, friends and family were supportive and – knowing the couple – expected a destination wedding. With the bride’s guests coming in from Florida and the groom’s guests traveling from Texas, two potential hiccups they solved together were the 2 hours and 30 minutes of travel between the airport and resort and their friends not getting to know one another.

Crystal and Steve were able to cover everyone’s airport-to-hotel travel expenses by renting buses stocked with beer and food to transport their guests in groups. “By the time the groups arrived at the resort, people were already making friends,” the newlyweds said.

Not every part of the wedding planning went over easily. The bride and groom had to compromise on their date: “The only issue we had was that Costa Rica’s rainy season is during the summer, which is when we wanted to get married,” Crystal said. “We just changed our date to the spring and were good to go!”

“The level of luxury we were able to experience for the price, the culture, the memories and having our two groups of friends truly bond over four days was incredible,” the newlyweds said. For such a unique location and wedding, they were overjoyed to have the four days to match versus what they would have had if they had gone the traditional route.

“Try not to sweat the details,” the bride advised. “Unexpected things will definitely come up, but just enjoy everything because the day goes by so fast.”