Weather Worries

If you're like most brides, watching the Weather Channel for your wedding day's forecast is as second nature as brushing your teeth. And if your wedding is in Costa Rica, you're likely to be very stressed by the updates that predict rain or clouds.My advice? Ignore the updates. Really. Just don't even look at them. Costa Rica has 13 microclimates and then countless micro-climates within those so trying to give accurate forecasts is impossible. And San Jose's weather is nothing like the weather in Tamarindo, or Manuel Antonio or Puerto Viejo or...you get the idea. Heck, even the weather within San Jose can be wildly different from one part of town to the other so one general forecast is going to be wildly inaccurate.Costa Rica has two seasons - the Dry Season (December - April) and the Green Season (May - November). During the Dry Season, there is usually no rain, especially up in the Guanacaste region which is the driest part of the country, so you really have very little concern if marrying in these months. During the Green Season, the days are usually hot and sunny, with short, intense showers moving in during the late afternoon or evening. September and October are the heaviest rain months but we have had weddings without any rain in these months (but do plan for rain). The Caribbean has a different weather pattern altogether, seeing rain anytime during the year and it's dry season in September and October.Speaking with my friend in Tamarindo about this, she told me about her friend in the US who is always DMing her with the 'current' weather according to the station he watches, which is always inevitably wrong.  She gets a chuckle out of it but it proves the point how difficult it is to pinpoint the weather here.I had a wedding in Tamarindo earlier this month and the bride was frantic the week before due to the forecast predicting showers. Sure enough, the skies were nothing but sunny and blue for her wedding week.  Another wedding we had saw rain all around the area except for the the beach where we had the ceremony, where it was sunny and beautiful. Bizarre? Yes but welcome to Costa Rica. So, dear bride, do yourself a favour and don't look at the weather forecast. Be smart and have 'Plan B' in place in case of rain (especially if your dates fall May - early December) as this will ensure there is nothing to panic about should the weather turn on you. Why worry about something you have absolutely no control over? It's wasted energy.  Instead, picture how you DO want the wedding experience to flow and chances are you will attract that gorgeous sunset - if nothing else, you'll have lowered your stress level .Photo by El Velo Photography