Ashley and Shak | Costa Rica Intimate Wedding
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Savannah Chandler Photography | Costa Rica Elopement Photographer
If there’s one thing that most people in my life know about little old me, it’s that I love to travel. Is it a place on Earth? Odds are I’d like to go there. Is it a place with lush jungles, stunning coastlines, monkeys that hang out on your porch, and has an intimate wedding venue overlooking the national park? Count me in.
Ashley and Shak originally were looking to come to Colorado for their engagement session back in 2023, and asked if I’d also be interested in heading to Costa Rica for their elopement at Villa Punto De Vista. Yes, yes I would. Story for another blog, we ended up photographing their engagement session in Yosemite national park in California – and thus I met Ashley and Shak in two amazing places and never here in Colorado.
Traveling internationally for weddings is an art – one that over the past 15 years of photographing I’ve tried to nail down as close to perfection as possible. We had almost 30 hours of travel delays (yes… THIRTY), and this is why making sure your photographer knows to build in plenty of extra time when traveling is crucial. We had a nice little stop in Nicaragua on our way – ask me about our insane travel day the next time we see each other 😱
The morning of Ashley and Shak’s wedding, I headed down the little dirt road to meet them at their stunning wedding venue that doubled as a massive house for them and all their guests to stay. Every year, this group of long time friends get together and take a vacation. While planning their Costa Rica trip, everyone was told to bring nice clothes to head to a nice dinner. What their friends weren’t told was that – SUPRISE – it was actually Ashley and Shak’s wedding (after 11 years). Most of the guests had mentioned they suspected, but were still shocked once they arrived to their guest rooms to find their surprise wedding invitations.
The ladies got ready in the master, overlooking Manuel Antonio national park. Bay windows gave some of the most spectacular views out onto the Pacific coast. Down a few floors, Shak and the gentlemen got ready in the “man cave”, complete with a pool table, whiskey, and their own balcony looking into the jungle. Every time someone would look out a window, there were monkeys jumping around or sloths hanging out in the trees.
Seeing that their wedding day was already in the non-traditional arena, Ashley and Shak decided to have a pre-ceremony cocktail hour to visit with all their guests. I’ve had a few weddings this year where cocktails were had prior to the ceremony, and it’s been such a wonderful experience. I highly recommend building in some extra time to spend with your loved ones on your intimate wedding day. This time also served as a way to honor one of their friends who suddenly passed prior to the wedding.
Following their ceremony that overlooked the white sandy beaches of Manuel Antonio, we headed down to the closest shoreline for some couples photos. One of their friends, David, decided to jog behind the car and meet us down at the beach – which echoed Ashley and Shak’s engagement photos where their friend Vu came along.
I had done some digging into the climate of Costa Rica, particularly in the month of May, in an attempt to prepare for the wedding. I’d even photographed a (400 person) wedding in Belize a few years prior. The heat and humidity this close to the equator are definitely a guest at all weddings in Costa Rica. Sunset on the beach was the perfect time of day – the heat was starting to subside, the light was STUNNING, and we ended up with no rain coming down on us.
One of the things that was important to Ashley and Shak was making the day personal and intimate. They made lego renditions of each person in attendance – and customized each one to match the personality and appearance of said person. Needless to say, these were a HIT with their guests.
To cap off the evening, the dance party started off strong with a full size cutout of Usher making an appearance. Usher danced with everyone, and even crowd surfed multiple times 😂.
Thanks again for inviting me to celebrate your amazing wedding day with you, Ashley and Shak. I have the most wonderful memories of our time together (in both California and Costa Rica).
Cheers-
To those who made it this far down, here’s a photo of my family and myself in Costa Rica 🥰. We found it to be incredibly family friendly to all those looking for an elopement location to include children – or for a family vacation.
