Went to Our First Costa Rican Wedding

And, it was pretty neat.

Remember this couple?  These are our Tico friends Luis and Mercedes .They have been a big part of our life and also any event we have had, and are wonderful people. Luis is the contractor who saved everyone's butt when the infamous Pedro skipped off with all of our money.

Mercedes has been an absolute blessing for us. She speaks excellent English and helps us all the time with translating for us with many different people, including Luis when we have discussions regarding construction topics. In addition to this, she bakes some of the best pastries and cakes you will ever taste.

Well, this couple have been together for quite awhile, and finally decided to tie the knot. The date for the event was Saturday - May 26, 2012. One important thing to note is that this day is also the birthday of Luis. I think he liked the idea of an annual double celebration.

One thing that I want you to remember is that this is a typical Costa Rican wedding, and I sure wish I would have known about it years earlier. This is because I found you can have a great time, enjoy tremendous food and the marriage still takes place at a fraction of the price of what you would pay in the US. Just another great learning experience for us, and gaining more and more respect for the people of Costa Rica.

The wedding was scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM - This was according to the invitation Mercedes gave us. Being highly disciplined people from the US, we usually try to make it a point to arrive on time. However, we forgot that in the spirit of true Tico Tradition, the timing of this wedding was based on "Tico Time". The people of Costa Rica do not like to get excited and rush to things. This is probably why these people were recently voted being the "Happiest People on the Face of  the Earth" for two years in a row now. When we got there around 1:00 PM, we were about the only ones there and the crowd did not really start arriving until around 1:30 PM. This is the way the way the area looked about that time.

The wedding took place at a real nice secluded special event facility owned by the brother of Luis. The driveway to the reception building had to be at least 1/4 -1/2 mile long. It was in a beautiful secluded area surrounded by mountains and streams. The building was open and inviting and had all the facilities you would need for a very large party.





While we were sitting and waiting for the festivities to begin, Mercedes' oldest daughter brought around some munchies to chew on. Before we knew it, this really cute girl we didn't know decided to join us and  grab a little snack and drink for herself. She didn't say much, but Stef knew what she wanted and did not hesitate to accommodate her. This kid was a real sweetheart, and we really enjoyed her company.







Now, about 1:45 PM Luis and Mercedes pull up. Mercedes comes up to us and said that now she is still single, but getting married about 2:00 PM. Well, it took a little for that to happen :-)

Now we are starting to get a good crowd.

And, the bride-to- be who is not getting the least bit nervous

Now, it is time for the wedding - 2:35 PM

Luis and the two girls walk up first and await the bride to be

Here comes Mercedes lead down the aisle by her very proud Mother, and she has every right to be proud of her.

Now, the rest of the wedding party.

AND NOW - THE VOWS (CLICK THE ARROW)

It is now time for me to admit a big mistake - Would you believe that the video above took up all the room on the camera memory card - this meant that I couldn't take any more pictures of the festivities. However, I think that you will agree that I covered the most important parts of today's event. A couple of other things that I would like to say are:

• When the food was served, there were no waiters to perform this task - Our food was served to us by the Bride and Groom and family - I have never seen that in any other wedding I have attended, and think it was really a nice thing of them to do.
• As I said before, this was our first Costa Rican wedding that we attended. I can say one thing "It was simple / heartwarming / with a lot of friendly people who all had a great time. This proved to me that a lot of money spent really does not guarantee the same good time.

Thank you Luis and Mercedes for inviting us!!!