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Punta Uva Caribbean Beach Elopement | Cory & Chris
A Punta Uva Caribbean beach elopement was exactly what Cory and Chris wanted: something small, relaxed and different from the Pacific Coast version of Costa Rica that most destination couples see first.
There were only about ten people.
They got ready at Reloj de Arena and then simply walked to the beach for their ceremony. No complicated transportation. No large venue transition. Punta Uva was right there.
That simplicity suited them.
Cory and Chris are relaxed people, a little bohemian, and very obviously in love with each other. They weren’t interested in turning their wedding into a production. They wanted to get married somewhere that felt like them.
And Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast does feel like another side of the country.
Why choose Punta Uva for an elopement?
Punta Uva gives you something quite different from the beach towns of Guanacaste.
The jungle comes almost directly to the beach. There are palms, rocks, fishing boats and dense vegetation behind the sand. Puerto Viejo is nearby, but Punta Uva feels quieter and gives you more space for a small ceremony.
Cory and Chris specifically wanted that difference.
Their ceremony was directly on Punta Uva beach at around 4 p.m. Afterward, we didn’t need to rush somewhere else for photographs. We walked.
Some of my favorite photographs from the afternoon came from the spaces between the palm trees and the fishermen’s boats. The beach was fairly busy that day, so rather than trying to pretend nobody else existed, we kept moving until we found quieter pockets toward the end of the beach where the coastline meets the mountain.
That’s often how I approach an elopement here. The location gives you possibilities, but the exact photographs depend on what the beach is doing that particular afternoon.
Including, apparently, the local dogs.
We had street dogs appearing everywhere.
One joined the ceremony. Others wandered into the photographs afterward. Cory and Chris are dog lovers, so instead of trying to remove them from every frame, we ended up laughing about it most of the afternoon.
They became part of the story.
Is the Caribbean really different from Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast?
Yes, and not only visually.
After years photographing weddings as well as editorial and environmental assignments around Costa Rica, one of the biggest differences I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t apply Pacific Coast assumptions automatically to the Caribbean.
Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast does not have the same clearly defined dry and rainy seasons as the Pacific. Rain is possible throughout the year. However, there are two relatively drier periods around February–March and September–October. September and October are particularly interesting because they coincide with some of the wettest months on the Pacific side. Visit Costa Rica
That means I wouldn’t dismiss a Caribbean wedding simply because you’re considering September or October.
In fact, I would consider it.
March can also be excellent. Cory and Chris married on March 7, and we had a perfectly sunny day.
That doesn’t mean March 7 will always be sunny or September will always be dry. This is tropical Costa Rica, and the Caribbean is particularly capable of ignoring your weather app. A rain plan still matters.
My Costa Rica wedding weather guide is a starting point for comparing regions. For the other decisions before you arrive, read the Costa Rica elopement planning guide.
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But couples planning a Costa Rica wedding should understand that “rainy season” doesn’t mean exactly the same thing everywhere in the country.
What is the light like for wedding photography in Punta Uva?
This was another difference I noticed throughout Cory and Chris’s elopement.
On much of the Pacific coast, I’m accustomed to working with a very obvious relationship between the beach and the setting sun. Punta Uva doesn’t behave exactly like that.
We had strong orange color in the sky toward the end of the afternoon, but not hard direct sunlight falling across Cory and Chris. The ambient light on them remained remarkably soft.
That’s characteristic of what I’ve often found while working on the Caribbean side: direct sunlight can be harder to find, while the ambient light has a softer, almost slightly overcast quality.
The shape of Punta Uva Bay helped us work with that light rather than against it.
So although sunrise can absolutely be worth considering here, especially for an additional session the following morning, I wouldn’t build a Punta Uva elopement around the idea that you must photograph at sunrise.
Cory and Chris are proof of that.
Their ceremony began at 4 p.m., and we photographed through the end of the afternoon into sunset.
Planning a small elopement doesn’t mean there is nothing to plan
A ten-person wedding looks simple.
Behind that simplicity there are still decisions about weather, humidity, sand, beach traffic, privacy, ceremony position, transportation, photography and video.
My role in a full-day elopement isn’t only to arrive when the ceremony starts.
I help couples give the day a shape beforehand.
For Cory and Chris, that meant keeping everything geographically simple. Getting ready at Reloj de Arena, walking to Punta Uva, having the ceremony directly on the beach and then letting the photography become part of the walk afterward.
There was no reason to manufacture a complicated timeline.
That’s an important distinction.
Good elopement planning isn’t about adding more things. Sometimes it’s about removing everything you don’t need.
Photographing Cory & Chris in digital and Super 8
I photographed the day using a Canon 5D Mark III, while a Sony A7 III handled video. My lenses included 35mm, 50mm and 85mm primes along with a Sony 24–70mm GM.
We also photographed motion on Super 8.
Daniela joined me as my second shooter, while I handled both photography and video coverage.
There was no flash and no drone. Neither was necessary for the story we were telling.
For me, combining still photography, digital video and Super 8 isn’t about creating three separate versions of the wedding. They should work together.
The photographs hold individual moments. Video carries movement and sound. Super 8 introduces something less precise and more physical.
With Cory and Chris, that looseness made sense.
Their wedding wasn’t polished into perfection. Dogs walked into photographs. People were on the beach. We wandered between palm trees and fishing boats.
That’s what Punta Uva felt like that afternoon.
Is Punta Uva difficult for a destination wedding?
Not nearly as much as people sometimes imagine.
One misconception about Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast is that it is too remote or that you won’t find wedding vendors there.
Costa Rican wedding vendors travel throughout the country.
You also don’t necessarily need to rent a car. You can arrange transportation from San José to the Puerto Viejo area and then live much more locally once you’re there. Depending on where you stay, bicycles, walking and local transportation can cover much of what you need.
For Cory and Chris, once they were at Reloj de Arena, the important parts of their elopement were within walking distance.
There are also plenty of smaller hotels and accommodations throughout the Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva area rather than one enormous resort becoming the center of the entire wedding.
And if privacy matters, I’d choose Punta Uva over central Puerto Viejo for the ceremony itself.
What should you know before planning a Punta Uva elopement?
My first answer is very simple: yes, consider it.
The Caribbean has its own character that many people planning a Costa Rica destination wedding never really explore. You have jungle and beach together, Afro-Caribbean culture, excellent food and small communities where the pace feels very different from the larger resort areas of the Pacific.
For a Punta Uva elopement, I’d generally recommend staying around five days rather than arriving only for the wedding.
A 4 p.m. ceremony can work beautifully. If photography is especially important to you, you could also add a sunrise session the following morning and experience the beach in completely different light.
Keep your clothing light. Expect humidity and sand.
Have a rain backup, but decide beforehand how much rain actually bothers you. For some couples, the backup is shelter. For others, it’s accepting that if it rains, the rain becomes part of the photographs.
For a tiny elopement, a planner can still be extremely useful. If you want to keep things very simple, I can also help with the practical structure of the day and connect the pieces around the photography.
A different Costa Rica
I understand why so many couples begin their search with Guanacaste, Manuel Antonio or the Pacific Coast.
But that’s not the whole country.
Cory and Chris came to Punta Uva specifically because they wanted something different. About ten people, a beach ceremony, no elaborate transitions, a walk through palms and fishing boats afterward, and more dogs appearing in the photographs than any of us planned.
It suited them.
And that’s probably the strongest argument I can make for the Caribbean.
Don’t choose it because you think it’s a substitute for the Pacific when the Pacific is rainy.
Choose it because you actually want the Caribbean.
The weather pattern is different. The light is different. The food and culture are different. The relationship between jungle and beach is different.
It is another version of Costa Rica entirely.
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Planning a Punta Uva or Puerto Viejo elopement?
I photograph intimate weddings and elopements throughout Costa Rica, and I can help you work out the photography, timing and practical structure of the day before you arrive.
