What I Wore in Costa Rica
All photos are by the lovely Carmelisse
I had the incredible opportunity to visit beautiful Costa Rica twice in the last three months, for a wedding I had been planning + designing for 11 months, and finally the big day was last month! I sometimes have to pinch myself thinking of all of the wonderful opportunities I am given each year, and how my business continues to grow, develop + expand. Destination weddings have always been something I dreamed of doing, and the fact that I started doing them just one year after starting my business (my first destination wedding was for Monica + Bradley in Oahu!!), is just mindblowing to me. I try to never take what I have accomplished + the opportunities that I have been given for granted, and I practice gratitude daily.
I had the amazing experience this past year of planning + designing the wedding of Jules Hunt (wellness blogger over at Om and the City - highly recommend checking her out for wellness tips, productivity hacks, and advice on how to live a life of “healthy hustle” - she’s the best, and such a girlboss whom I really admire!). She + her now husband Andrew opted for luxury yoga + wellness retreat, Kinkara in Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica for their wedding venue, and fun fact - this wedding was Kinkara’s first! Jules + Andrew live in Austin, so we did all of our planning remotely, but decided to visit the venue in December for a walk-through + planning meeting, and to meet each other in person, and in February, we went back for the big day itself! The icing on the cake was that Kyle came with me for the wedding! He DJ’ed both the rehearsal dinner + the wedding day itself, and it was so much fun traveling + working together.
I’ll talk more about the wedding later (Spoiler Alert: it’s going to be featured as one of The Knot’s Most Influential Weddings of 2020, eek!) but this post is dedicated to all things fashion + style.
Costa Rica has my favorite type of weather: rainforest weather. It’s warm + humid, and a random bout of rain followed by the most gorgeous rainbow is not uncommon there. When packing for the trips, I was inspired to pack a lot of color (uncommon for me), flowy fabrics, white (common for me, ha!), and also more fun + funky prints + textures. The country’s motto is “Pura Vida”, or “Pure Life”, and I feel my Costa Rica wardrobe speaks to that well.
All of these outfits work so well for my brides who are planning a destination wedding in a tropical, warm place - a weekend that’s filled with lots of travel, sightseeing, shopping, festivities + celebration. Read on for what I wore in Costa Rica - I hope you find some ideas you like that you can use when building your own wedding wardrobe for your destination wedding!
WHITE WITH DENIM You know your girl is obsessed with a white + denim combo. There’s something about the simplicity of it that looks so chic + feels so clean. Effortless + easy is my MO these days, so I enjoyed throwing a lot of separates into my suitcase on this trip that felt easy to throw on + comfortable to wear in the humid weather, while still looking fashion-forward + not plain. Either of these options are great travel outfits for my brides who want something easy + cute, yet chic as they travel from a flight to maybe a long car ride, and finally their wedding venue!
YELLOW CORDUROY + BLUE FLORAL
These pieces are some of my favorite pieces in my closet, and they are two of the very few that aren’t black or white! Pairing them together isn’t something I would normally do at home, but it screamed “Costa Rica” to me. The yellow corduroy pants offsets the silky blouse, and I liked the way the colors complemented each other. This outfit just looks cheery + tropical to me! I wore it to breakfast at Kinkara my first day in Costa Rica, and recommend something fun like this to brides who are planning a sight-seeing day or day of shopping.
TRIPED SUMMER DRESS
One of my favorite prints is stripes, and although I normally go for traditional black + white, the summer dress called my name from the back of my closet when packing for this trip. I like how easy this dress feels to throw on when it’s hot outside + how lightweight the material is. The easy silhouette makes this dress appropriate for a little daytime shopping or lunch, while the little keyhole with tie in front makes it sexy + dressy enough for a date night out in the evening. I wore this dress out to lunch on our last day in Costa Rica.
LONG FLOWY DRESS
I felt so pretty + feminine in this dress! I frolicked around barefoot getting shots in this, and I felt like a tropical queen, happy + free. A dress like this is perfect for my brides who are having a destination wedding in a tropical place. It works for something in the evening like your welcome party, and even something in the afternoon, like your day-after brunch.
Favorite Costa Rica Accessories
Straw Hat Rattan Fan Big, Colorful Earrings Big Sunnies Gold Sunglasses Chain