Real Wedding – Alex & Kevin at Zephyr Palace

Alex and Kevin chose one of the most spectacular places in the country (if not the world) to marry – Zephyr Palace at Villa Caletas. High atop a mountain, overlooking the rainforest and Pacific Ocean, it is home to lush gardens, infinity pools and architecture that harkens back to another time. Simply magical!

What an amazing view!!

White hydrangeas, orchids and roses create a gorgeous, lush bouquet.

Alex was such a fun, relaxed bride!

Kevin was oh so dapper in his tan suit, accented by a turquoise tie and pocket square. Tan is always a great color for the guys at a beach wedding.

The terrace at Zephyr is so stunning, it doesn’t need much to make it even more spectacular. Here, we incorporated clear chairs, white rose petals and draping topped with white florals against the jaw-dropping view.

Taking cues from Alex’s bouquet, we used hydrangeas, roses, orchids and lisianthus in the altar decor.

Alex and her parents moments before she made her grand entrance. Such an exciting moment for a bride and her family!

 

Zephyr Palace has fabulous photo spots throughout, like this river rock wall with the artfully placed terracotta urns and lush greenery.

Unexpected touches are what make a wedding personal and memorable. Here, we created custom boxes with each guest’s name and table number, filled with gourmet chocolate truffles. Wedding favor and escort cards in one little package – smart!

Alex and Kevin’s reception featured a colour palette of white, gold and turquoise. Glass cylinders, in various sizes, held bunches of roses, orchids and long stemmed calas to create a contemporary and elegant table setting. Napkins brought just the right touch of colour to the setting.

Strings of twinkle lights in the ceiling and uplighting on the fountains in the passageway created a dramatic atmosphere to the room.

Is there anything more romantic that dinner by candlelight?

 

Did I mention the dancing? Soon as the first dance was done, this group got down, got funky and got back up all over again. Too much fun!!

What a cute cake they opted for! Cut flowers in fondant added a cheery touch to the top layer while the lower layer had classic scrolls. And yes, it tasted as delicious as it looked!

Congratulations to Alex and Kevin! Thank you so much for entrusting your celebration to the team at Weddings Costa Rica. Many years of happiness in Club Wed!

Real Wedding – Neha & Bo at Zephyr Palace, Costa Rica

Imagine the wedding of a professional baseball player and a producer for Oprah. Amazing, right? Well, daydream no more as here is the gorgeousness that was Bo and Neha’s celebration of love and laughter. Enjoy!   A rehearsal dinner on the the lawn of the Los Suenos Marriott kicked off the festivities. We went for bright, tropical colours and flowers in bamboo vases.     Dinner was held under an open-aired tent, as we were in December and transitioning from Rainy to Dry season. Luck was with us as the day and night was perfectly gorgeous.       Neha’s bouquet of white hydrangeas, orchids and lisianthus was so romantic and soft, providing a neutral palette for her stunning red and gold jewels.   Letterpressed invitations are always an elegant touch. And I love how the yellow pops against the grey!     Neha was truly a princess on her wedding day – how beautiful!     Zephryr Palace’s stunning poolside terrace was the setting for the ceremony. The bright yellow rose petals added a pop of colour against the grey sky. A little rain fell but nothing could dampen anyone’s spirits!   Weddings in the tropics are hot, so having fans for guests is always a great idea. Making them play double-duty as a uber-helpful program is pure genius.   Neha and Bo tagged their wedding as BoHa  so we played on the theme by having the signature cocktail be a Boho Mojo.   The wedding ceremony was a fusion of Eastern and Western wedding traditions.   The entrance-way at Zephyr Palace is a majestic spot for photos. Luckily, the rains stopped for cocktail and photo hour!   Light grey linen tablecloths provided a neutral backdrop for the bright yellow napkins and florals in white, orange and yellow.                 Keeping with the global travellers theme, the seating cards were small luggage tags tacked on a reproduction of a 16th Century map.   Bindi are the little jewels Indian ladies attach onto their foreheads. Our Bindi Bar was a huge hit with guests who got their Bollywood on.   Photos of relatives, some dearly departed, were placed at the guest book table as a way to include and honour them. Guests wrote their best wishes on reproductions of old Costa Rican postcards, another aspect of the traveller theme woven into the wedding.   Fireworks! Everyone was amazed by the pyrotechnics.What a couple, what a celebration – a home run for sure! Felicidades to Neha and Bo for many more wonderful travels and celebrations to come.

Many thanks to A Brit & A Blonde for the photos!

Real Wedding- Jen and Dan, Zephyr Palace

Nothing says tropical wedding like cheery colours of purple, fuchsia, yellow and orange, all of which were in abundance at Jen and Dan’s sunkissed wedding at Zephyr Palace!

Love how the yellow lillies, orange roses and touch of pink roses pop against the bridesmaids’ fuchsia dresses!

Check out Jen’s gorgeous bouquet, chockfull of light pink roses, vanda orchids in purple and yellow, yellow lillies and a touch of purple mums.

Clear Chiavari chairs were adorned with orange roses and lillies, orange fans while the aisle was outlined in orange rose petals for a pop of colour.

Colourfual boutonniere of yellow and purple orchids.

Zephyr Palace’s terrace was tented, since November is still transitioning from the Rainy to Dry season and we didn’t want to take any chances! Still an incredible location for a ceremony with a stunning view!

Jen and Dan love to travel so they wove this theme into their table names and seating cards, which featured a huge world map and photos of them on their worldwide adventures.

Tables were dressed with sheer gold organze overlays, glass chargers with custom round menus underneath and napkins with a touch of bling.

Jen looking lovely in her beautiful dress.

Real orchids, matching Dan’s boutonniere, trailed down the sides of the cake.

Adding uplighting with LEDs around the room makes a huge difference in the ambiance.

Felicidades to Jen and Dan! Many years of happiness to you both! Huge thanks to El Velo for the great photos.

Real Wedding-Christie and Dan, Zephyr Palace, Villa Caletas

Christie and Dan are two of the funnest people I’ve every met. Really. F.U. N.  Every Skype call was a non-stop laff-a-thon and the wedding was no different. No stuffy pretenses here – these two love Life and each other and wanted their wedding to be a non-stop party. And boy, did they rock Zephyr Palace!

Loved the handtied bouquet with white cala lillies, orange roses, green hydrangeas, orange cockscomb and dendrobium green orchids!

Dan’s khaki suit had a pop of color from his boutonniere, featuring dendrobium orchids and thin bamboo.

Who’s that girl officiating? None other than your’s truly! When the lawyer was caught in traffic due to an accident, I stepped in to keep the day running on schedule. Being ordained is part of my emergency kit, though I’ve never actually had to use it.

Love, sweet love!

These bridesmaids know how to keep their cool.

Each table featured a slightly different floral arrangement, using tulips, hydrangeas, roses, dendrobium orchids and some other exotics that I’d never seen before (our florist is amazing and her family owns a number of flower farms with unique species).

Dan owns a fresh seafood distribution company so we went with a decidedly ‘fishy’ theme. Each table was named after a different fish and the seating cards were the shape of each table’s fish, hung on a real fishing hook.

Tables were clad in sheer aqua overlays, which shimmered in the candlelight. Antique gold chargers and frames gave a rich tone. Each napkin featured a real fishing lure, another nod to Dan’s passion for the ocean and the couple’s playfulness. And did we mention the Siamese Fighting Fish that were in the vases? Another ‘cool’ element!

And no wedding is complete without a couple of friends dressed like Dumb & Dumber…

Wedding tip = place your bouquets in vases to dress up a table at the ceremony!

We strung rows of Christmas lights throughout the ceiling and had professional lighting to change the mood of the room. Gorgeous!!!

Congratulations to Christie and Dan once more! It was one of the funnest weddings EVER!!!!

Huge thanks to Dan Power for his wonderful photography.

Sneek Peak – Zephyr Palace with Lights

Now, this is not a professional photo, as I took it on my iPhone (and there is a reason why I’m a wedding planner, NOT a wedding photographer) but I wanted to share how something as simple as those little Christmas lights can totally transform a space. Rows upon rows of little white lights suspended with fishing line give an ethereal look to an already incredible space. Great lighting can add oodles of decor ‘punch’ and great bang for your buck.

Are you incorporating some interesting lighting in your celebration?