Can you get married at the La Fortuna Waterfall in Costa Rica?

Yes. Ceremonies are held on the wooden viewing deck at the base of the falls, with the water directly behind the couple. It is a small space, which is why it suits micro-weddings and elopements rather than large guest lists. Cassandra and Alex married there with a party of under 30 and held their reception afterwards at The Majestic Lodge in El Castillo, about 25 minutes away.

How many guests can you have at a La Fortuna Waterfall wedding?

Keep it small. The deck at the base of the falls holds a micro-wedding comfortably — under 30 people — and every one of those guests has to walk roughly 500 concrete steps down into the canyon and the same 500 back up. A large guest list, anyone with mobility limits and small children are all reasons to hold the ceremony somewhere else and use the waterfall for photographs instead.

Where do you hold the reception after a waterfall ceremony in La Fortuna?

Somewhere your group is already sleeping, because the drive back from the falls happens in formalwear. Cassandra and Alex used The Majestic Lodge in El Castillo — the wedding party got ready there in the morning, drove to the waterfall for the ceremony, and came back to long tables on the covered deck for dinner. Renting the whole property means the reception, the beds and the morning after are all at one address.

What happens if it rains at a Costa Rica waterfall wedding?

You carry umbrellas and carry on. It rained on Cassandra and Alex's ceremony and the wedding party held clear umbrellas through the vows, which is now what the photographs look like. La Fortuna is rainforest and rain is possible in any month, usually in the afternoon. The practical plan is a covered reception space so the evening is never at risk, and an acceptance that an outdoor ceremony may be wet.

How far is the La Fortuna Waterfall from The Majestic Lodge?

About 25 minutes by road from El Castillo, around the south-eastern side of Arenal Volcano. That is close enough to run a ceremony at the falls and a reception at the lodge on the same afternoon without the day becoming a convoy.

Weddings at The Majestic Lodge

A Waterfall Wedding in La Fortuna: Cassandra & Alex

Vows at the foot of the La Fortuna Waterfall, in the rain, under clear umbrellas — then back up the canyon to long tables on the deck at the lodge. A micro-wedding of under thirty people, and a good template for anyone thinking about doing the same thing.

Cassandra and Alex exchanging vows on the deck at the base of the La Fortuna Waterfall, Costa Rica, wedding party holding clear umbrellas in the rain — The ceremony at the base of the falls. It rained, so everyone held clear umbrellas — and that is the photograph they got. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

Credits. Every photograph on this page was taken by Jonathan Yonkers of Captured With Love, and the wedding was planned and coordinated by Mil Besos, who have published the full gallery on their own site. Both are shared here with permission. We host the wedding; they are the reason it looks like this.

Getting ready at the lodge

The morning happened at the lodge. The dress hung in a doorway of Costa Rican hardwood, the bridesmaid boxes came out on the dining table, and the rooms filled up with the particular chaos of a wedding party that is all staying under one roof.

That is the practical case for a whole-property rental on a wedding day, and it has nothing to do with luxury. Nobody drives anywhere. Nobody is late because their hotel is twenty minutes on the other side of town. The photographer works in one building instead of three.

Bridal details at The Majestic Lodge — the wedding dress hanging in a hardwood doorway, a bridesmaid gift box, orchids and jewellery laid out on a wooden table — Getting ready at the lodge — the dress, the bridesmaid boxes, and purple orchids cut that morning. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

Down into the canyon

The ceremony was at the La Fortuna Waterfall, roughly 25 minutes from the lodge around the volcano. What nobody tells you about a waterfall wedding is the staircase: it is about 500 concrete steps down into the canyon, and the same 500 back up afterwards.

Everyone does it — in dresses, in suits, carrying flowers. It takes most people 10 to 15 minutes down and 20 to 30 coming back. It is also precisely why this works as a micro-wedding and not a large one. Thirty able-bodied guests can do that walk. A hundred guests, or a grandmother, or a toddler, cannot.

The wedding party making their way down to the La Fortuna Waterfall for the ceremony in Costa Rica — The walk down. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

The vows, and the rain

There was no music at the ceremony. The couple's own note on it, via their planner, was that the soundtrack was "only the sound of the waterfall and nature at its finest" — which, standing under a 200-foot ribbon of water, is less of a romantic flourish than a description of the acoustics.

And it rained. This is La Fortuna, in rainforest, so rain is possible in any month and usually arrives in the afternoon. The wedding party carried clear umbrellas through the vows and nobody moved. If you are planning an outdoor ceremony here, that is the honest version of the contingency plan: you do not dodge the rain, you decide in advance that it is allowed to happen.

Cassandra and Alex during their wedding ceremony at the La Fortuna Waterfall in Arenal, Costa Rica — The ceremony. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

Wedding portraits of Cassandra and Alex at the La Fortuna Waterfall, Costa Rica — Portraits at the falls afterwards. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

Back to the lodge for dinner

The reception ran on the covered deck. Long wooden tables, deep blue runners, birds of paradise and purple orchids down the centre, votives between them, and the rainforest going dark on three sides.

Two details worth stealing. The first dance was Youforia by Mac Miller. And instead of a cake there were mini desserts — macarons, mini chilenas, and shots of mango and passion fruit cheesecake — which for a group of thirty standing around a deck works considerably better than something that has to be cut, plated and handed out.

Wedding reception tables on the covered deck at The Majestic Lodge, La Fortuna — blue runners, birds of paradise and purple orchids on long wooden tables — The reception on the deck at the lodge. *Photo: Jonathan Yonkers, Captured With Love.*

What this kind of wedding actually takes

If Cassandra and Alex's day appeals to you, the shape of it is more repeatable than it looks:

Keep the guest list under thirty. The deck at the base of the falls is small, and the staircase does the rest of the filtering for you.
Split the ceremony and the reception. The waterfall gives you the ceremony and the photographs. It cannot give you dinner for thirty, a dance floor or anywhere to sleep.
Put the reception where everyone is already staying. The drive back from the falls happens in formalwear, in the dark, possibly wet. Arriving at the building your guests are sleeping in is worth more on the night than any other decision.
Have a roof over the reception. Not over the ceremony — you can gamble there — but the evening should never be at risk.
Book the property, not rooms. One group on site means the morning, the photographs, the dinner and the following breakfast all happen without anyone else in the background.

Hosting yours here

The Majestic Lodge takes up to 50 for a wedding, with the wedding party sleeping on site across 10 en-suite bedrooms. Ceremonies are usually held on the covered deck — the waterfall is an option when the guest list is small enough to make the walk.

Weddings at the lodge Ask about your date

Photography: Jonathan Yonkers — Captured With Love.
Planning and coordination: Mil Besos, Costa Rica.
Venue: ceremony at the La Fortuna Waterfall, reception at The Majestic Lodge, El Castillo.

Images reproduced with permission. Please credit Jonathan Yonkers and Mil Besos if you share them.