Weddings Costa Rica Reviews
Reviews
4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
94% recommend it
Awards
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![Lindsay]()
James S. Sent on 01/15/2020Larissa + team are the best!
Larissa is a GEM and I am so glad I found her. She knows the right vendors, obviously speaks the language, and made the rehearsal and wedding days so fluid and easy. Highly recommend!!Weddings Costa Rica's reply:
Thank you SO MUCH Lindsay!! Your wedding was beautiful and so much fun!! Thank you again for letting me be part of such a love-filled celebration and here's to many happy years to come!! -
Sierra Sent on 10/11/2019
Weddings Costa Rica is amazing!
Larissa & Weddings Costa Rica made our dream wedding come true. Working with Larissa was an absolute dream- she was so accommodating, responsive, and a huge help. Planning a destination wedding from another country could be so stressful- we were lucky our planning was stress free because of Larissa and her team. The wedding was absolutely perfect- Larissa truly made my vision come to life. I couldn't believe walking down the aisle and into the reception every detail I wanted was done and it was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend Larissa & Weddings Costa Rica to anyone that is getting married in Costa Rica!!Weddings Costa Rica's reply:
Oh Sierra!! This makes my heart so happy -THANK YOU! Working with you was so much fun. It was a real treat to create that lush, natural look for your decor. Great party, great people and a great experience! Many happy years to you and Dan! Thanks so much again :) -
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User2615612 Sent on 05/20/2016Weddings Costa Rica/ Larissa is great especially if you don't speak Spanish and planning a wedding in CR. She can help and hire vendors under her umbrella so that you don't have to be liable for them. She's easily accessible by skype or email. My experience has been great and will highly recommend her!Weddings Costa Rica's reply:
Thank you so much and very happy we made your day a great one! -
User2614780 Sent on 05/19/2016If Costa Rica is your ideal Wedding destination, Larissa and her team can make it happen! They stayed within our budget and put it all together in our short time frame. It was painless for me and I was able to trust their expertise. I am so thankful!Weddings Costa Rica's reply:
We are so thankful for your lovely review and that it was a great experience for you! Mil gracias :)
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![Megan]()
Megan Sent on 05/22/2019Got the job done but did not feel like a priority.
I dont even know where to start... Larissa from Weddings Costa Rica was responsive, friendly and helpful up until she got paid. I had to be the one to frequently contact her to ask questions or get through the planning process. Responses were quick but became very short and snippy as time went on. All I wanted was communication from her every once and a while but I got the feeling that if I never emailed her I would have never heard from her.
Larissa has her go-to vendors she uses and became almost argumentative when we ended up choosing a different DJ than she recommended.
Her planner fee was $2500 but we definitly got the sense that she was making profit off of everything we rented or purchased. Additional items like for example.. A small set of string lights would be $400 because they needed to be imported from the United States. Imported?? Costa rica doesnt have string lights?
Larissa did not coordinate well with the hotel to set up a time to review the event space before the wedding, so we had to meet with her on the other side of the hotel to guess how we wanted things set up. It left the final set up of the dance floor squished in a corner and hard for everyone to see.
I wanted this process to be very easy going and thats why we hired a planner but nothing stressed/angered me more during the process than Larissa. If I could go back in time I would have NEVER used her and put the planner fee towards a longer honeymoon.Weddings Costa Rica's reply:
Thank you for your feedback, Megan. I am so very disappointed that you felt that you were not a priority as that was certainly not the case on our end and never our intention. And, honestly, it comes as a surprise that you were not happy throughout the process and feel so vehemently towards me and my services as I had no idea whatsoever. This is the first negative review we've received on WW (all the rest have been 5 Star and glowing) and also the first in our 16 years of business. We've always strived to give excellent customer service so it pains me that you felt you didn't receive it.
To answer your concerns:
I have go-to vendors because, after 16 years and 600 weddings, I've learned first-hand who is reliable and who isn't. As I explained to you when you told me found your own DJ and violinist, it's different to DJ for a wedding than it is a club. I've had negative experiences in the past with unknown vendors clients have found and it impacts how the day runs. My stance was never combative - things can be 'lost in translation' with email and I believe this is the case here. I was simply giving you some things to think about when it comes to a wedding DJ as it seemed this DJ didn't specialize in weddings.
My fears were realized, unfortunately, as the violinist and DJ duo rushed in 15 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start (despite me speaking with them that morning and them letting me know they had been in town since the night before and that they'd be there no later than 3 PM). They showed up without an extension cord for the violinist's speaker and the DJ had no lights (how does a DJ not bring lights?). We had to rush around last minute to accommodate them. On top of this, the violinist then helped himself to the food for the guests and beers and wine from the bar all night (after being told vendors can have soft drinks). All of this was quite stressful and created tension between the hotel, myself and the duo - the very reason why I want to work with my "go-to" team as I know that they will be on time, fully prepared and professional throughout.
I am not making more money off of the vendors (not sure why you would feel that way). If you remember, I was making suggestions on how to save money (ie switching to round tables from the hotel, using the hotel's chairs instead of paying for the chairs to come in from the rentals in San Jose). If I was making money off of the rentals, why would I be suggesting to not use them? I was trying to help save you money as the budget was a concern, especially since the wedding went from the original guest list of 20 to 34 people.
A wedding is only as good as the various people coming together to make it happen (florists, rentals, cake maker, musicians, DJ, food) and we have one chance to make it as perfect as possible. I've had negative experiences 9 times out of 10 with unknown vendors hired by the clients and there are certain vendors I will not consider working with due to them not meeting my standards in prior occasions (ie drinking whilst working, showing up late, not being prepared, equipment/products/services below par). This is why I want to work with my team - I know I don't have to worry about them and that they will bring their A+ game.
As I explained about the cost of the lights when you asked, that is standard pricing here for a room that size. The bulk of the cost is the manpower, as it takes a team of two men upwards of 4 hours to install and then take them down (they have to string fishing lines and then hang the lights since no tacking or nails allowed in the walls or ceiling). And yes, the lights are imported as are other electrical items since Costa Rica is a small country and we do not have factories that produce those items. There are cheaper lights here imported from China but the lighting people bring a higher quality of lights in from the USA (which are unavailable here).
Re: the hotel had a wedding in the same space the day before your wedding, so it wasn't possible to do a walkthrough. I had sent the timeline to the hotel two weeks beforehand (with the rehearsal time noted) but nothing was said to me about the conflict. I do not know the hotel's event schedule since I don't work there. If you recall, you wrote me about the other wedding the morning of the rehearsal at almost 10 AM and that was the first I heard about it. I was still in San Jose (a three or more hour drive, depending on traffic) and had been planning to meet you at 4 PM so it was impossible for me to meet earlier.
We had discussed how you'd wanted the room set up and we did so, working with the space and where best to set up the DJ. With only 4 guest tables (and a sweetheart) there was a fair amount of space to dance. My apologies if it wasn't as you'd anticipated.
Payment was sent on March 13 (3 weeks before the wedding). Since that date, we had, at minimum, 47 emails between us so I'm baffled as to why you felt that communication stopped.
In January and early February, I had two large, 3-day events so there was a lag in answering emails but once I was done, I was able to answer promptly and ask you follow up questions.
Looking back on our correspondence, the tone was no different, just some of the emails were simply asking or answering a question without embellishment or I was on my cell phone. There was definitely no "snippy" tone on my end intended.
We'd given you a much lower rate than our regular fees, as the wedding was going to be around 20 people and the groom was local. We worked with you on options to help give the look you wanted with an eye to keep the budget down. Thanks to my long-standing relationship with the hotel, you saved almost $2000 in fees. They charge $100 per vendor to direct clients and other planners - that alone saved $700 for you plus $150 in fees for table and linen rentals they waived plus a lower site fee. They also gave you 3 nights of free accommodation in a suite (rack rate over $2200), even though you didn't have a room block, because our clients get preferential treatment. Working with me saved you money with the hotel as well as the many suggestions I made throughout the planning process for decor, food, drink, etc.
Megan, the wedding day went off beautifully (even the weather cooperated), you were beautiful, everyone had a lovely time and many of your guests complimented me on the event so this all comes as a shock to me. I am so very sad to hear that you didn't enjoy working with me as I truly had no idea throughout all the months we planned your lovely wedding.
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