Their Wedding Day: Hotel Capitan Suizo, Costa Rica Destination Wedding
Can we take a minute (or several) to talk about Thiana & Brendan’s Costa Rica destination wedding!? It’s not everyday that your bff marries the love of her life in paradise. And certainly not every day that you get the privilege of photographing such an incredibly special day. Putting together this blog post made me so emotional, reliving all the laughs, tears, and memorable moments of this day. Thiana and Brendan tied the knot at Hotel Capitan Suizo in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica. After having to postpone their wedding from June 2020 to 2021 due to covid, it felt extra sweet to FINALLY be in Costa Rica celebrating these two!
Thiana and Brendan are one of those couples that compliment each other so perfectly, and fit together so well. To put it simply, Thiana & Brendan were made for each other. Hearing the vows they wrote to each other, and celebrating their love alongside an intimate group of family and friends was incredibly special. I loved how they put so much care into making their wedding celebration so them. To start off the wedding morning, Brendan surfed with him groomsmen (Thiana & Brendan’s cousin & nephews). Brendan is passionate about surfing and taught the boys a lot about it. How cool is it that they spent some time catching waves in the morning before getting ready! Brendan’s brother Sean has always been close with both Brendan & Thiana, so it was fitting to have him officiate their beachside ceremony!
The GORGEOUS veil Thiana wore was actually her sister’s veil, that her mom added new lace appliques onto, making it a one of a kind special heirloom detail. I thought it was so sweet and meaningful that Thiana & Brendan made their wedding bands from the gold of Thiana’s dad’s bracelet, which was made from the gold of his dad’s wedding band.
There were so many unique and thoughtful details throughout the day, and I can’t wait to share some of my many favorite images from their Costa Rica destination wedding, but first I want to share a little about Thiana & Brendan’s love story! 🙂
Their Love Story
When I asked Thiana & Brendan to share with me one thing they love about each other, Thiana said, “His big heart and endless patience. His love for me and his family is one hundred percent truly unconditional. Without anything in return.” Brendan said, “Thiana’s the most one-of-a-kind, wears her heart on her sleeve-kinda person I know.”
The Proposal
After 12 years of dating, Brendan proposed to Thiana in the most perfect, thoughtful way! Thiana told me all the details, “This past 1/27 was our 12 year anniversary – in celebration Brendan and I decided to take off of work and spend the day together. The night leading up to the day Brendan said he had something special planned. Being the nosey self I am, I drilled him for clues on what we would be up to on our big day! He eventually caved and explained that he finally made an appointment to have our tintypes taken (we had attempted to do it for the past two anniversaries but the photographer was never free). I was deliriously happy at this revelation that later I realized this happy daze blinded me to the true events that were about to unfold!”
“Finally the morning of our anniversary came and Brendan was so cool and casual that the day just fell into place without me noticing it was very strategically planned. Somehow he made everything sound as if it was my idea. First stop was brunch which led to a matinee down the road. It was all very reminiscent of when we were teenagers and how we would spend our dates.”
“We got tickets to see Aquaman grabbed some popcorn and settled in. As the credits were rolling we stayed in our seats which is a tradition of ours because I love to dissect the movies or wait for the additional secret clips – especially after a superhero movie. Laying there we sat watching and discussing the movie the additional “last scene” came and went and I began to lean down grabbing my things to finally leave. The theater was very dark at this point because the credits were finished and weren’t lighting up the theater. As I was bent collecting my things I first felt a light come back onto the screen. I than heard a very familiar song – our song (Hey There Delilah).”
“Making sure I was hearing correctly I looked up to find my face plastered on the big screen. To say I was shocked and confused was an understatement. But than the picture changed – and kept changing. A slide show of the past twelve years began playing on a movie screen right in front of my very own eye as if it was movie of our own. I knew then what it was all leading up too. I looked over at him speechless and just started crying. He gave me a big smile and we sat back just watching our past selves go by. His slide show felt like it lasted longer than the movie before it. I cried and laughed and remembered moments that I hadn’t thought of in forever.”
“As our song came to an end so did our slide show. The very last picture was of a special note we once wrote each other and beside it was text asking if I would marry him. He climbed down from the theater seat got on one knee and asked those very special words that everyone waits for. With even more tears and a huge smile I said yes! He put the most gorgeous ring on my finger and it was cloud nine from there! I left the theater telling anyone I came a cross that I just got engaged! We asked the theater attendant to take a photograph of us. I was all smiles and all excitement!”
“We spent the next few hours facetiming all our loved ones to tell them the good news! We made our way to our photoshoot at the tintype studio which was still a part of the surprise! He knew we would be taking those pictures so we could always remember the day we got engaged.”
To the Newlyweds
Thiana and Brendan, thank you so much for having me photograph this epic celebration of your love! It was so beyond special to me to be the one to capture these sweet memories for you. It will forever be one of my favorite days. I love you both beyond words and your friendship means the world to me. Cheers to finally getting to celebrate with family and friends! And cheers to kicking off married life with the most beautiful wedding! Pura vida! xoxo
The Vendor Team | Costa Rica Destination Wedding
2nd Photographer – Ryan Hardin
Venue – Capitan Suizo
DJ – Music by Matos
Rentals – Eventos Artesanos
Florist – Floris Ocasiones
Planner – Nosaras Magica Weddings
HMUA – Nadia
Cake – Victoria Zoch
Invitation Suite – Summit & Sage
Dress Designer – Savannah Miller
Dress Boutique – Belle Atelier
Rings – Vale Jewelry
Can’t get enough of these two and their Costa Rica destination wedding?! I know, me either. Check out their Bradley Beach engagement session here!
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