We’ve spent a considerable amount of time poring over these images from Ruffled Vendor Raw Shoots‘ of Charlie and Gabi’s Costa Rican botanical garden wedding with a boho chic spirit and ode to the outdoors. Not only are these lovebirds cute as can be, the setting at Else Kientzler is otherworldly. Surrounded over 2000 tropical plants across 17+ acres, they shared the sweetest ceremony with baskets of glittery biodegradable confetti at the ready! There’s a bit of disco flair to their indie style, and we are more than delighted with this marriage! Pun intended 😉 If you love yourself some jungle paradise wedding settings, metallic bridal accessories, fishtail braids, acorn bedecked cakes or surprise concerts from a groom to his bride, then this Costa Rican botanical garden wedding is a must-see. Vamos!
If you were to describe your wedding day in three words what would they be?
Our wedding day was surreal, all the planning, which we did for a year and a half, summarized in a few hours. Those we love the most accompany us, with a pizza party and instrumental music at golden hour.
What is your favorite memory or moment from your wedding day?
Charlie: Seeing Gabi walking down the aisle and seeing all our closest family and friends gathered to celebrate and support us.
Gabi: Charlie’s surprise concert! He sang and played guitar with his friends and it was truly unexpected.
Why did you choose your wedding venue? What was special about it?
Easy! We both love nature and in general any outdoor activity. Definitely our wedding would be surrounded not only by those we love the most, but by a lot of nature too, a botanical garden definitely seemed right!
How did you choose the style and decoration?
“Gabi has that skill in design and good taste, she also does it in our house” – says Charlie. We are a couple that planned the entire celebration, we did most of the decorations with the help of friends and family, which was a great way to involve them in the process and also helped our budget. Definitely not sure what style our wedding was exactly, we wanted a lot of nature, pampa grass, DIY rugs, nature and simplicity, the venue and its nature did the hard work.
Were there any mishaps on the day that you look back and laugh at now?
So many! But there was one that felt the biggest above all, Charlie’s father picked up a few decorative pots for the pampa grass and forgot the biggest/prettiest ones, we thought this would ruin all our decorations and there was no time to go back for them, however once everything was set up we realized they didn’t made that much of a difference and now it is funny to look back and realize those little things don’t really matter.
Was there a certain moment during the ceremony you want to keep close forever?
Listening to each other’s vows, the love and commitment first in words and now through our actions everyday.
If you are willing to share, what was your favorite line from your vows to each other?
Not a specific line but seeing how words become actions and reaffirm love is what really gives them meaning.
If you could pick a song to match the feels of your wedding day what would it be?
Here Comes the Sun, it has the perfect mood to match that day and it played after officially becoming husband and wife.
See Also
What do you love most about your photos?
How real they feel, they captured the essence of the moment, of the people and the environment. It was all so natural that the photos truly take us back to that day whenever we look at them. Rob and Lori’s work really made printed memories of our wedding through their amazing work.
Advice to other couples?
The wedding day goes faster than you can even imagine, enjoy the process, expect the unexpected and overall love each other for the rest of your lives!
Mentally, we are here today. Was it not one of the sweetest stories you’ve ever read? Raw Shoots totally knocked it out of the park… but that’s never a surprise! See more of our faves from this Costa Rican photography team, Rob and Lori, in this luxe rainforest villa wedding inspo and this free-spirited beach elopement next.
Wedding Vendors:
Photography: Raw Shoots
Hair and Makeup: Ama Caliva Mua
Wedding Dress: Aire Barcelona
Bridal Hair Accessories: Madre Perla
Bride’s Ring: Ariana Castillo
Groom’s ring: Ring + Grove Co
Venue: Else Kientzler Botanical Garden
Music band: Naaman Munoz and Fernando Munoz
Cake: Flor Mejia Casasola Pasteleria
Food Truck Pizza: Il Volpino
