Large Gathering

It was a complete joy to be part of Meghan & Tom’s wedding celebrations. They truly are a couple that embodies how effortless love can be.

Meghan & Tom had been guests at another of OCRW’s weddings and gave us a call as soon as they became engaged. To us, it’s the ultimate compliment to be hired AFTER they’ve seen what we can do!

The super talented Jeremie Barlow captured this event beautifully. So beautifully that Destination Weddings & Honeymoons decided to include this event in this month’s Beach focused issue.

Meghan & Toms’ friends and family were right on board with taking over Jaco for this wedding weekend, filled with surfing, ziplining, and plenty of Imperial while lounging poolside at the oceanfront condo property, Bahia Encantada.

We had an absolutely gorgeous day for set-up.  The guys enjoyed the pool while the girls drank mimosas and got beautiful! Meghan is a hair stylist as are some of her closest friends, so a couple of the bridesmaids took care of the ladies styling for the day. They even found time to give me a lesson on the sock-bun which held my hair nicely throughout the day and night, and I still use that trick frequently! Thanks ladies!

The color scheme was green, pink, and soft brown brought together with bamboo effects in the canopy, runner on the table, chairs and bar (Meghan even put bamboo coasters in the welcome bags!) and the wedding party’s attire. Love the guys shirts in this wedding! Meghan did a great job pairing the brighter pink on the girls with the softer hue on the guys.

Signature drinks of Sangria and Mojitos emphasized the color palette, as did green cocktail tables with under-lighting that lit up as the sky darkened.

The couple stole off for a few quiet moments while guests enjoyed cocktails & hors d’ouevres. There are way too many gorgeous images from this bit of time that we couldn’t decide which to share but here are a couple…

Flowers consisted of plenty of native plants to Costa Rica, ginger, hydrangea, dendrobium orchids, and beautiful phalaenopsis orchids. The bride’s bouquet was white and pale green hydrangea with white phalaenopsis orchids.

Meghan’s earrings were stunning, I am sure you’ve noticed them in other photos already but here’s a well deserved close-up:

The guys wore starfish as their boutonniere’s, a token from the bride’s sister’s wedding.  Placecards were made by the bride’s mother, and included the starfish as well.

In lieu of a traditional guestbook, guests were asked to sign a board made of native Costa Rican wood crafted by a local artisan and engraved with their wedding date.  This piece now hangs in the couples home.  As March can be a windy time of year on the Pacific Coast (though we lucked out with gorgeously calm weather) this couple elected to frame their menus instead of using paper menus at each place setting. They then re-used those frames for their wedding photos in their home and also in gifting photos to family. Nice touch!

Dinner was privately catered and served Family Style to encourage interaction and in keeping with the couples laid-back style. One long table accommodated all of the guests and resulted in a dramatic effect with globe lanterns hanging above.

The cake was a two tier vanilla cake with strawberry filling, and decorated with green dendrobium orchids. Though fondant holds up better in Costa Rica’s tropical climate, Tom & Meghan preferred buttercream frosting which was easily arranged by keeping the cake in cool storage until closer to when the cake would be cut.

We could dedicate an entire post to the party that ensued. Multiple bottle dances occurred and I’m not sure there was a guy left with his shirt on by the end of the night! We couldn’t be happier for this couple and are so thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of their day. Congratulations you two!!

Many thanks to Jeremie Barlow for the lovely photos, Cristina Coronas at ArtFlower for the gorgeous flowers, Chelsea Brandau for the delicious cake, Los Mojitos for the sweet ceremony music (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was beautifully done!), and Joshua Wilson for keeping the party going!