Wedding venues in Costa Rica20 places to compare.

From our experience photographing at Pangas, there are two trees used for wedding ceremonies, and both make beautiful settings. When the reception and dance floor are being set up around one tree, the ceremony is usually held at the other. We recommend choosing the ceremony spot alongside the reception layout, rather than from a photograph of the backdrop alone.

Before booking: Ask which areas your event reserves, where dinner moves if it rains, and how the ceremony, tables and dance floor fit your actual guest count. A restaurant reservation and a private wedding event are different arrangements.

Pangas official website · See Kristen and Michael’s Pangas wedding.

Sueño del Mar is in the Tamarindo area, but its beachfront setting is specifically Playa Langosta. Its gardens, hacienda character and shoreline offer a different feel from a large resort. Jennifer and Todd’s wedding shows how the celebration can move from seaside vows into an evening with the people closest to you.

Before booking: Confirm the accommodation arrangement, event exclusivity, reception layout and covered alternative. Ask about the route to the sand at your planned ceremony time; a beautiful shoreline is not the same as a step-free ceremony space.

Sueño del Mar official website · Jennifer and Todd’s wedding photographs.

At a villa, the shared spaces can become part of your story: getting ready, family time and quiet moments between events. Casa Puros Dieces offers an elevated view rather than a ceremony automatically taking place on the sand. Decide whether you want to celebrate at the house or use it as accommodation for a wedding elsewhere.

Before booking: Obtain written event approval from the manager. Confirm event attendance separately from sleeping capacity, along with catering access, transport, rain arrangements and music restrictions. Do not assume a vacation rental includes permission to host a wedding.

Casa Puros Dieces property listing.

The property is now JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, All-Inclusive, and it is open and operating. Availability for your wedding date, event space or package is for the resort to confirm.

Before booking: Request current event-space photographs, available wedding dates, layouts and a written proposal directly from the resort. Use our historical photographs for visual context, not as proof of the resort’s current spaces or present-day service.

Current Marriott resort information · Nicole and Cameron’s historical Dreams Las Mareas wedding story. This is a different property from JW Marriott Guanacaste in Hacienda Pinilla.

Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort and the Clubhouse at Prieta Beach are not interchangeable venue names. Andaz offers its own wedding spaces; Prieta is a separate club setting within the peninsula. Booking accommodation at one property does not by itself establish wedding access to another.

Before booking: Have your proposal name the exact ceremony and reception spaces, the responsible operator, guest access and transfers. For photographs, compare the view from the ceremony position and the covered backup, not just the resort’s signature beach image.

Andaz official website · Peninsula Papagayo club information.

Elizabeth and Kyle’s wedding is a useful example from our archive: their ceremony paired an elevated setting with the coast in the background. That is a different photographic experience from standing directly on a beach. Look at the whole sequence of a wedding, including the reception, before choosing a space from one scenic photograph.

Before booking: Compare the specific ceremony and dinner locations, transfers between them and the rain alternative. Ask to see a layout for your guest count with the dance floor included.

Four Seasons wedding information · Elizabeth and Kyle’s Four Seasons wedding.

El Chante belongs in the private-villa comparison, not in a list of interchangeable hotel packages. Start with how your group will use the house, then determine whether the current rental agreement allows the celebration you have in mind.

Before booking: Separate overnight guests from event guests. Ask the property manager about outside vendors, deliveries, music, parking and a covered dinner layout. From a photography perspective, check usable getting-ready space as carefully as the view.

Current El Chante property listing.

Las Catalinas is a destination, not one venue with one capacity. Santarena’s spaces, the town’s plazas and Casa Chameleon require separate consideration. For example, a guest limit published for one plaza is not a seated-dinner or covered-backup capacity for every Las Catalinas space.

Before booking: Name the exact plaza or hotel space in the proposal. Check walking routes, steps and transfer needs rather than assuming a pedestrian town is fully accessible. Compare the light in the streets with your ceremony and dinner schedule.

Official Plaza Danta details · Santarena wedding information · Our Las Catalinas wedding guide · Julianna and Ty’s Las Catalinas gallery.

Hacienda Pinilla is not a single wedding venue. A private house, a beach-club arrangement and JW Marriott Guanacaste are different bookings. The choice affects where guests stay, who manages the event and how everyone moves between the ceremony and dinner.

Before booking: Ask which spaces are actually included, whether a ceremony and reception require separate reservations, and how guest and vendor access works. If your celebration uses more than one location, protect time for transfers and portraits.

Hacienda Pinilla official website. JW Marriott Guanacaste here should not be confused with JW Marriott Costa Elena at Playa El Jobo.

A waterfall is a location to investigate, not an automatically bookable private wedding venue. The photographs show the appeal of the setting, but they cannot establish current event permissions, privacy or a guest limit.

Before committing: Confirm the permitted activity, access arrangements and current conditions with the operator. Discuss the walking route, footwear, changing arrangements and a backup location. Do not build a ceremony around a promise that other visitors will be absent.

Costa Rica tourism board’s Llanos del Cortés listing.

Reserva Conchal is the wider community; a wedding at The Westin is a particular resort arrangement. A private rental inside the area is another arrangement again. Brooke and Gericke’s Westin wedding provides a real example to explore alongside a current venue proposal.

Before booking: Confirm the exact resort or property, ceremony space, dinner location, room requirements and outside-vendor terms. For photography, consider the getting-ready rooms and route to portraits as well as the beach.

Reserva Conchal official website · Brooke and Gericke’s Westin wedding.

Bodhi Tree Yoga Resort is a Nosara option to investigate. Hacienda Barrigona is a separate coastal retreat outside Nosara, not another name for a venue in town. Compare exact property locations rather than treating the whole area as one walkable wedding base.

Before booking: Map accommodation, ceremony and reception locations with the people arranging your transport. Ask about the route for your month and vehicle, as well as the venue’s event approval. A relaxed wedding week still benefits from a clear wedding-day travel plan.

Bodhi Tree official website · Hacienda Barrigona official website.

Finca Austria currently presents itself as a wedding and retreat venue. Instead of assuming every villa and gathering space is included, ask which parts of the property form your booking. The useful comparison is the event layout and guest experience, not simply the total number of beds.

Before booking: Confirm the covered plan, catering arrangements and transfer route. For portraits, decide whether you want to stay with the scenery at the property or schedule a separate beach outing; the second choice needs time in the day.

Finca Austria official website.

Santa Teresa offers different types of properties; it does not have a single wedding capacity. Banana Beach appears in this guide’s existing venue references, but any current event arrangement should be confirmed with the venue through a trusted contact.

Before booking: Choose the exact property and work through the arrival plan before inviting guests. Do not assume that every route from San José requires a ferry, or that accommodation nearby on a map means an easy wedding-day walk. Check transfers, ceremony access, weather backup and where dinner will take place.

Photo priority: Leave space for portraits within the event’s actual route, instead of planning several beach stops that pull you away from your guests.

The property’s official information identifies a roof deck and ballroom among its event spaces. That gives you concrete alternatives to compare, rather than assuming the same layout works for every part of the day. Ask which villa, spaces and services your proposal includes.

Before booking: Confirm seated capacity for dinner with the dance floor, the covered ceremony option and how guests move between levels and event areas. For photography, look at the indoor or covered setting with the same care as the panoramic view.

Villa Punto de Vista official website.

Costa Verde’s wedding information includes its wedding deck and other celebration settings. An elevated deck and a beach ceremony create different experiences: compare the actual guest route, viewpoint and reception plan rather than treating them as the same booking.

Before booking: Ask which location is reserved for each part of the day and what changes in rain. Check steps, transport and the route between accommodation, ceremony and dinner, especially if any guests need step-free access.

Costa Verde’s official wedding information.

Be precise when someone says “Manuel Antonio beach.” A hotel event space, a beach outside the national park and a location inside the park are not interchangeable. Past photographs do not establish permission for a new event.

Before committing: Have the planner or location operator identify the exact site, permitted setup, access and contingency plan. Think about guest seating, shade, footwear and where everyone goes after the ceremony. A nearby hotel or villa may make a more practical event base even when portraits take place by the water.

Explore our Costa Rica elopement photography approach.

Nayara Gardens, The Springs, Los Lagos and Amor Arenal are separate properties. Ask each about the specific event you want; a room with a volcano view is not confirmation of a bookable ceremony space. Cloud cover can also change the view, so choose a setting you love even when the summit is hidden.

Before booking: Compare covered spaces, accommodation locations, guest access and transfers. Tina and Duke’s Arenal wedding is one real-wedding reference. The “Lush and Secret” imagery included in this archive is styled inspiration, not a client wedding or proof of a standard package.

Nayara Gardens · The Springs · Los Lagos · Amor Arenal · Tina and Duke’s Arenal wedding · Lush and Secret styled elopement.

The operator describes approximately 530 steps on the route to the waterfall. That is an important planning consideration for clothing, equipment and every person joining you. It should not be presented as an effortless or universally accessible wedding venue.

Before committing: Ask the operator about current hours, ceremony and photography permissions, visitor access and conditions. There is no promised crowd-free time in this guide. Plan a different location if the descent and return climb do not suit your group.

La Fortuna Waterfall operator information · See our La Fortuna waterfall elopement story.

La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Peace Lodge offer wedding services through their own coordinator. This is a different location from La Fortuna Waterfall. Kelli and Chris’s elopement is a useful visual reference from our work here.

Before booking: Confirm the specific ceremony site, accommodation, guest arrangements and what the package actually includes. Ask about walking distances, steps and covered alternatives for your chosen locations; a nature-park wedding still needs a practical plan for getting ready and dinner.

Official La Paz and Peace Lodge wedding information · Kelli and Chris’s La Paz elopement.