In this guide
Costa Rica wedding photography collections begin at $3,500. The Wedding Day is $3,500, The Wedding Story is $5,500, and The Wedding Archive is $8,000. Elopements start at $2,200 and run to $6,000 depending on how much of the country you want to see. Travel anywhere in Costa Rica is included.
Current collection prices
Current wedding and elopement collections, so you can see where you land.
| Collection | Type | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait or engagement session | Session | $750 | A couple of hours in one place |
| Half-Day Elopement | Elopement | $2,200 | You already know the place you want |
| Signature Elopement | Elopement | $3,000 | One place. A whole day. Nothing rushed. |
| The Wedding Day | Wedding | $3,500 | The complete story of the wedding itself |
| Costa Rican Wanderlust | Elopement | $4,500 | Two places, one complete day |
| The Wedding Story | Wedding | $5,500 | Couples who want to remember more than the wedding day |
| The Grand Tour | Elopement | $6,000 | Two days, multiple landscapes |
| The Wedding Archive | Wedding | $8,000 | A wedding day, additional celebration, and agreed day-after experience with a physical memory box |
Wedding photography collections begin at $3,500.
The difference between an elopement and a wedding collection is not the budget. It is whether anyone else is there. Elopement collections are built around the two of you moving through Costa Rica. Wedding collections are built around a day with guests in it.
You will also see quotes below $2,000 elsewhere. Those exist. Further down I explain what is usually missing from them, and it is rarely the thing people assume.
What actually changes the price in Costa Rica
This is where Costa Rica stops behaving like anywhere else.
Where your venue is
Guanacaste and La Fortuna are not the same job. A beach ceremony in Tamarindo is a short drive from a lot of infrastructure. A wedding in the mountains above Monteverde, or down the coast toward Uvita, can mean four to six hours of driving, a 4×4, and arriving the day before because driving those roads after a twelve hour wedding day is not safe.
I include travel anywhere in Costa Rica in my collections. Not everyone does. When you compare quotes, ask specifically whether domestic travel and the night before are included, because that is where a low number often quietly grows.
Green season versus dry season
December through April is the busy stretch. Dates go earlier and photographers hold firmer on price. May through November is quieter, and there is more room to talk.
Green season does not mean a ruined wedding. It usually means an afternoon shower, better light, and a much emptier waterfall. It is one of the easiest ways to spend less without giving anything up.
How much of the day you want kept
Most pricing conversations get framed as hours. I do not think that is the useful question. The useful question is how much of the story you want preserved. A three hour elopement and a three day celebration are different amounts of story, not just different amounts of clock.
The 13% IVA
Costa Rica charges 13% value added tax, and many venues add a 10% service charge on top. Plenty of quotes you receive from local vendors will not show it. Ask whether a number is before or after tax before you compare two of them.
My collections
I build collections around how much of the story you want kept, not how many hours are on the invoice.
Elopements
Elopement collections come down to one question: how much of Costa Rica do you want to see on the day you get married?
- Half-Day Elopement, $2,200. A simpler, more focused way to elope. Best if you already know the place you want.
- Signature Elopement, $3,000. One place. A whole day. Nothing rushed.
- Costa Rican Wanderlust, $4,500. Two places, one complete day.
- The Grand Tour, $6,000. Two days, multiple landscapes. An elopement that becomes a journey.
Full details on the elopement packages page.
Weddings
The Wedding Day ($3,500) includes full wedding-day coverage with Christopher, digital + 35mm photography, 400+ photographs, an approximately 2-minute Motion Portrait, and fine art prints. The Wedding Story ($5,500) adds one 3-hour event, two photographers / cinematographers, Polaroids, 500+ photographs, a Documentary Wedding Film of 3 to 5 minutes with natural sound and one roll of Super 8, a choice of complete ceremony or speeches film, and a curated print folio. The Wedding Archive ($8,000) includes the full wedding day, one additional celebration and one agreed day-after experience with flexible activity-based duration, two photographers / cinematographers plus a documentary assistant, medium-format couple portraits, Polaroids, 700+ photographs, a Wedding Documentary Archive of 7 to 9 minutes with two Super 8 rolls, complete ceremony and speeches films, voluntary guest audio and agreed keepsakes, an heirloom album and a physical Wedding Memory Box. Every collection includes a 72-hour preview, private gallery, printing rights, lifetime gallery backup and Costa Rica travel.
Portrait and engagement sessions are $750.
Travel anywhere in Costa Rica is included in every collection. There are no surprise domestic travel fees.
You can see exactly what sits inside each wedding collection on the wedding photography packages page.
Things couples add
| Add on | Price |
|---|---|
| Additional Chapter (another gathering) | $800 for one additional event of up to 3 hours |
| Heirloom Album | From $1,000; included in The Wedding Archive |
| Social Story | $1,200 |
| Full Ceremony Film | $900 as an addition; choose this or speeches in The Wedding Story; both included in The Wedding Archive |
| Full Speeches Film | $900 as an addition; choose this or ceremony in The Wedding Story; both included in The Wedding Archive |
| Rush Delivery | From $800 |
Why some quotes are so much lower
A $1,500 quote and a $5,000 quote are rarely the same job with a different sticker on it.
What tends to be missing from the cheaper one:
- One camera body with no backup, and no second card recording your photos as they are taken
- No lighting, which matters more than people expect at a reception under the trees
- Domestic travel billed separately, or the night before billed separately
- Very little editing, so the gallery drifts in colour from beginning to end
- No liability insurance, which some venues will actually ask about
- No real backup of your files after delivery
None of that shows up in the sample gallery. It shows up when something goes wrong.
The single most useful question to ask any photographer, at any price, is what happens if a camera fails during your ceremony. The answer tells you almost everything.
How photography fits your overall budget
Start with the experience you want preserved. The Wedding Day is $3,500, The Wedding Story is $5,500, and The Wedding Archive is $8,000. Each includes photography, its own film experience, fine art prints, and travel throughout Costa Rica.
If you want the full picture of what a Costa Rica wedding costs, I keep a separate breakdown by venue type and guest count: How Much Does a Wedding in Costa Rica Cost?
Frequently asked questions
How much does a wedding photographer cost in Costa Rica? Prices vary across the market. My wedding photography collections begin at $3,500, with The Wedding Story at $5,500 and The Wedding Archive at $8,000.
Is travel within Costa Rica extra? In my collections, no. Travel anywhere in the country is included. Ask other photographers directly, because it is often quoted separately.
Do photographers charge more in high season? Usually. December through April is peak. Green season, May through November, is generally easier on both price and availability.
Is video included? Yes. The Wedding Day includes an approximately 2-minute Motion Portrait. The Wedding Story includes a Documentary Wedding Film of 3 to 5 minutes with natural sound and one roll of Super 8, plus your choice of complete ceremony or speeches film. The Wedding Archive includes a Wedding Documentary Archive of 7 to 9 minutes with two rolls of Super 8 and both complete ceremony and speeches films.
How far ahead should I book? For a dry season Saturday, twelve to eighteen months is normal. Green season dates often stay open much later.
Does the price include tax? Ask every vendor this. Costa Rica adds 13% IVA, and many venues add a 10% service charge, and neither always appears on the first quote you see.
Final note
If you are trying to work out what makes sense for your wedding, I would rather have a conversation than send you a price sheet. Tell me where you are getting married, roughly how many people are coming, and what you actually want to remember, and I will tell you honestly what fits.
