Wedding Update: Touring our Costa Rica Wedding Venue + Planning Low Waste
Hi Friends! Comin’ in hot with our second wedding update.
It’s the two month countdown…
I can’t believe the #AcreeWeddingRetreat is in less than two months (49 days to be exact, but who’s counting?). This past weekend we visited Kinkára, our eco-retreat wedding destination located in Costa Rica to finalize logistics, taste the menu, and shoot some epic pre-wedding photos. We also brought along our planner Danielle of Leilani Weddings and our photographer Carmelisse, which was the best decision we could have made. It was wonderful getting to bond with these gals prior to our big weekend, while also allowing them to get acquainted with the setup at Kinkára. Any worries I once had has now been answered for, and I am feeling clear, excited, and READY n’ raring to go!
Thinking, planning, and executing mindfully
In case you missed our first video announcing our venue, check it out here. I share why we chose Kinkára and how it represents Andrew and I as a couple. Planning mindfully and more sustainably has been at the forefront of our minds (and our vendors’ minds) since the get-go. Obviously, there is flying involved, but that would have been the case no matter the location. We have friends and family sprawling all over the country from New York to San Francisco to many states in between. Rather than doing a larger Austin wedding, we opted to turn this into a retreat experience lasting over the course of 4-6 days and only bringing our nearest and dearest (approximately 40 people). Many of our guests are even extending their trip and turning this into a full-on vacation!
Choosing what felt RIGHT over what was “easy”
I’m so grateful we went with our gut, despite the challenges, the uncertainty, and the moments that made we want to crawl into a hole and not come out. This process has been very emotional for me, and I’ve learned I reeeally don’t enjoy this planning process. I just want to show up for the party (another reason you should hire a planner if possible)! And you know what, that’s okay! Wedding planning isn’t everyone’s forté.
There were times I doubted our choice, times when I said out of frustration,“we should have just had it in Austin”, and times I wanted to just call it off and elope. Sure, all of that would have been a lot easier. But, if anything, returning to Costa Rica this past weekend reignited the fire and reminded me WHY we fell in love with this destination. After running through everything, we feel SO darn excited for our guests to experience the one-of-a-kind magic of Kinkára.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now! Peep the full vlog from our recent trip + please subscribe if you’d like to stay in the loop with my videos! I’ve also been keeping track of all our decisions we’ve made for a more sustainable + low waste wedding that I’ll share that in an upcoming blog post.
Also, be sure to check out our planner Danielle (@leilaniweddings) and our photographer Carmelisse (@carmelisse.love). I highly recommend these talented ladies.
Love + Hugs,
Jules
