"Sooo... What is the best month to get married in Costa Rica?" - This is THE question we hear from couples planning a destination wedding.
Our answer is rarely just a month. After photographing weddings throughout Guanacaste for more than 20 years, we think the better question is: How do you want Costa Rica to look and feel like when you get married?
January Costa Rica and July Costa Rica can look remarkably different. We will guide you month by month, and share photos of each season.
December through March: the classic Guanacaste wedding season
There is a reason this is our busiest wedding season in Guanacaste. December through March brings some of our most reliable dry weather, making outdoor ceremonies, beach celebrations and full wedding weekends much easier to plan. This is a great time for weddings throughout Peninsula Papagayo, Playa Conchal, Tamarindo, Hacienda Pinilla and the surrounding coast. Sunny days are common, evenings are beautiful, and you can plan around the outdoors with much more confidence.
There is one thing we always tell couples, though: dry season really does look dry.
As the season progresses, Guanacaste changes from green to beautiful warm, golden tones. The views become more earthy, the landscape feels that you are in another world, and the sunsets during these months can get very spectacular. We just love photographing them! If you are imagining intensely green mountains and lush tropical vegetation, this may not be the Costa Rica you have in mind. Buuuut... If your priority is an outdoor wedding with the best chance of sunshine, December through March would be at the top of our list.
Our recommendation: Book early. This is high season in Guanacaste, not only for weddings but for travel in general, so the best venues, planners, photographers, accommodations, and vendors can book well in advance. Once those are secured, take advantage of the season: plan the sunset ceremony, the outdoor reception, and the wedding weekend that brought everyone to Costa Rica in the first place.
MAY AND JUNE: WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGES
May is when Guanacaste begins to transform. After months and months of dry season, the first rains arrive, the trees fill in, and the mountains start to turn green again very fast, and now we are looking at the GREEN Costa Rica. We love this time of year visually because you begin to see that lush, tropical Costa Rica many couples imagine. But May also marks the beginning of the Pacific rainy season, with rainfall becoming more frequent into June. That doesn't mean it rains all day, but the weather becomes less predictable. This is when having a Plan B you actually love becomes important: a covered ceremony location and an alternative reception setup you would be genuinely happy to use.
Our recommendation: If you love the greener look of Guanacaste, May can be a beautiful time to consider. Choose a venue with covered spaces and keep enough flexibility in your timeline to take advantage of the beautiful light when it appears.
JULY AND AUGUST DESERVE MORE ATTENTION
July and August are months we think couples often overlook. Guanacaste is beautifully green, and we can also experience our famous "Veranillo de San Juan", a period during the rainy season when rainfall decreases and we get stretches of sunnier, drier weather. Does that mean we can promise sunshine? Absolutely not. This is still Costa Rica during rainy season, and no photographer, planner, or resort can guarantee the weather. Important to say, we wouldn't automatically eliminate these months either. The landscape is lush, the colors are incredible, and with the right venue and an open mind, July and August can be a beautiful surprise.
Our recommendation: Keep your plans flexible and have a rain backup, but don't be afraid of these months simply because they fall within green season. If having a lush, green Costa Rica in your photographs matters to you, July and August are absolutely worth considering.
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER REQUIRE A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY
September and October are the rainiest months on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, and if an outdoor ceremony, beach portraits, and beautiful natural light are important to you, these are not the months we would normally recommend. In fact, we photograph very few weddings during this time. For smaller weddings and elopements especially, it might work because you can find venues that can accommodate to smaller groups. But for big weddings... we would definitely consider another time of year. When so much of the experience depends on being outdoors, the weather can simply be too unpredictable. If September or October is the only time that works, consider a morning wedding. We all dream of that Costa Rica sunset, but during these months afternoons tend to bring a greater chance of rain.
Our recommendation: If this is the time of the year you want to marry, choose a property with beautiful covered spaces and a backup plan you genuinely like. We would avoid a venue where the entire wedding depends on an uncovered lawn or beach.
NOVEMBER IS ITS OWN CATEGORY
We have to admit, November and December might be our favorite months for weddings in Guanacaste. It marks the transition into high season, but the landscape is still beautifully green from months of rain. The intense dry-season heat hasn't fully arrived, the stronger winds we often see later in the season haven't picked up yet, and everything still feels lush and tropical. There is still some weather uncertainty. Some years the rains finish earlier than others, so November isn't a month when we would promise completely dry days. When everything lines up, it gives you such a beautiful combination: green landscapes, softer temperatures and the beginning of our wedding season.
Our recommendation: If you dream of a lush, green Costa Rica wedding but don't necessarily want to marry in the heart of rainy season, put November high on your list. We certainly do.
SO WHEN WOULD WE SUGGEST?
If your priority is maximizing the chance of dry weather, we would look closely at December through March.
If lush green landscapes matter enormously to you, we'd consider the green or transitional months and build the wedding accordingly.
If you're considering September or October, we wouldn't reject the idea automatically, but we would suggest looking for a venue based partly on its rain backup. We would definitely consider other months besides these dates.
And regardless of the month, we would like to add - never plan a Costa Rica wedding as though weather cannot change. Costa Rica is tropical. That's part of what makes it beautiful. The smartest weddings work around that, rather than fighting it.
