We left Paula and Patrick kissing under the arch in yesterday’s post.. but I feel I need to rewind the story just a bit…you see, Paula’s dream was to be married on the beach with her toes in the sand. But it was monsoon season in Costa Rica, so every afternoon, for several hours, the clouds would roll in and the rain would start to fall. While scouting for a location on the beach for their ceremony, Paula had to choose a back up location near the Hilton Papagayo Resort Spa Bar …just in case.
Of course, as expected, it started raining early in the afternoon and the wedding set up had to be moved from the beach to the back up location. But about 15 minutes before the ceremony was to begin, the clouds parted and the rain stopped. And the decision was made to move the chairs and the arch back to the favored spot. Sam, the groom, the groom’s friends, the officiant, and everyone else standing around grabbed what they could and headed back to the beach, just in time for the ceremony to begin. Paula, escorted by her father and brother, made her way down the grassy steps to the man of her dreams.. to have the wedding of her dreams…toes in the sand.
And I’m not exaggerating when I say that as Paula and Patrick finished their first kiss as man and wife.. the rain started up again. But there was one final ceremonious act that involved all the guests sharing their wedding wishes on a shell and tossing it to the sea. So that is where we pick up with photos.. everyone running around the small grove of trees on the beach to the shore to toss in their shells and set their wish free. It was a mad dash…
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And this is where Sam captured one of my all time favorite photos to date!
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The reception was held under the thatch gazebo next to the spa… and the Hilton did such a beautiful job setting up simple details for the dinner table. Paula even brought all the shell shaped chocolates for her wedding cake.
As the delicious dinner wrapped up, we found ourselves facing the most amazing sunset!
the first dance….
Paula wanted a trash the dress session the following morning. In case you’ve never heard of trashing the dress, its a more relaxed portrait session after the wedding for the bride and groom. Not all the trash the dress sessions require actually trashing the dress, but in Paula’s case, she wanted in that water! But we didn’t start there.. we cruised all over the resort looking for awesome light shade.. it was a hot, sticky morning.
Paula had the most amazing cathedral veil I’d ever seen and I wanted nothing more for the wind to pick up that veil.. but the wind never came. We had to fake it. Paula even got tangled up in it!
We wrapped up our session with Patrick’s son and headed back to the beach where Paula and Patrick were married. Time for the first family portrait!
Oh this little guy was a cutie!!
Paula wasn’t joking about wanting to get in the water, but jumping in the pool was sort of a last minute idea… I absolutely love this couple!! Any couple willing to be this playful with their wedding photos are my kind of peeps! Did I just say peeps? ….ugh. I better wrap this up before I embarrass myself some more.
Paula and Patrick.. we wish you lifetime of happiness and hot, sticky fun in the sun and surf days! Love you, guys!!
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