Destination: Costa Rica

I recently returned from my bridal shower and bachelorette weekend in Costa Rica. While I was ridiculously spoiled and loved by five fantastic women, I am pretty sure my engagement was merely the motivator to get six busy women together to celebrate two decades of friendship. Rebecca and I have been friends since our freshman year in college. The other five of us worked as waitresses at the same greasy spoon restaurant during college.  My life is so much better because I know and love these amazing women. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Costa Rica. It's easy to see why this country would be a wonderful location for a destination wedding for the adventurous couple planning an intimate wedding. If delicious food and natural beauty appeal to you, I recommend you add Costa Rica to your short list of locations to consider.

On our first night, we were welcomed by a private chef who prepared and served us a lovely and decadent five course dinner.

We took a ride on a catamaran. The boat brought us up close with dolphins and allowed us to swim and snorkel with the fish.

We rented a beautiful house with a private infinity pool and amazing ocean views. The concierge service provided with our accommodations made the planning easier by helping us navigate the language, logistics and steep dirt roads. Thanks to Manuel and Paradise Breezes for welcoming us so warmly and providing the perfect home base for our festivities.

We discovered a waterfall in the rainforest which led us to an amazing hotel in the jungle. Oxygen Jungle Villas rests at 9000 feet.  The views are absolutely breathtaking and it's decor is elegant and polished, which is uncommon in the region of the country we were in. We did not have a bad meal in Costa Rica, and while most of the restaurants would be categorized as hole-in-the-walls, Oxygen's appetizers were scrumptious and plated beautifully.

 Our last day was documented by professional photographer Paul Gerace.  Thanks to Paul (and Ceasar, of course)  for creating photos I'll cherish forever.

My heart is filled with gratitude thanks to my dear friends. I appreciate all their efforts that went into making this the most amazing trip!  While the rainforest and waterfalls were wonderful, it was the long overdue quality time and conversations I am most grateful for. I'll cherish the memories and laughter always. I also appreciate the husbands and loved ones who made it easy for my friends to leave their kids, get away, relax and enjoy this wonderful vacation.

If you're planning a destination wedding and interested in more information about Costa Rica, please get in touch.

xo,
Tammy



Photo Credit:  Gerace Images

#100HappyDays

What makes you happy?

I accepted the internet's challenge of documenting 100 consecutive days of being happy. As I continue to acclimate to life in the Boston area, being engaged and making our house into a home, I feel like I'll be grateful for some record of this special time in my life.  I started the project using facebook but just switched it over to instagram in attempt to gain some familiarity with this "new-ish" to me social media platform. If you're curious as to what makes me happy for the next 98 days, you can follow me here: http://instagram.com/tammygolson.  If you're interested in joining me, I'd love to see what makes you happy as well. Her is the link to the #100happydays project.

Today thoughts of this infinity pool in Costa Rica are making me very happy. I'm a lucky lady, it looks like my first bridal shower has the fitting location of a rainforest in Costa Rica with some of my dearest friends from my college days. What a perfect antidote to this brutal winter many of us have been subjected to.

Hope you're finding fun ways to stay warm.

xo,
Tammy

New York City Spa

While it's great to have a team to delegate work and responsibilities to, I am also almost as happy to have fantastic colleagues to share good opportunities with as well. Everyone envisions wedding planning to be glamorous and while I assure people they must love it or the 15 hour Saturday's on your feet would be torture there are certainly some fun fringe benefits to being in the industry. I was recently invited to a check out a spa and sadly wasn't available to accept, but I am so thrilled Talia was able to enjoy this experience on my behalf and that we can pass along this goodness to you. 

Talia's first hand account of her visit is here:

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"Thank you to The Setai Club and Spa Wall Street for so generously inviting us to check out your beautiful venue and sample the spa services. It was such a treat and a beyond perfect way to escape this cold NYC winter!

With a flexible floor plan and seemingly never-ending maze of elegant, dimly lit spaces and treatment areas, this luxurious spa offers infinite options for customizing events and gatherings – from bridal showers and bachelor/bachelorette parties to product launches and photo shoots.

While there, I couldn’t help but imagine gathering my own best friends for an evening getaway of relaxation, champagne and good company. We will certainly be back!"

We hope you're surviving this cold and finding fun ways to stay warm this winter.
xo,
Tammy

The Bachelorette

It's no surprise to those who know me that I may get sucked into The Bachelor and The Bachelorette more seasons that I care to admit, it's a slippery slope. This season The Bachelorette holds special significance. One of the remaining bachelors was the best man at a wedding I coordinated last fall. Remember this wedding at The Yale Club. I was very impressed with Ames, he was polished, extremely well spoken, very handsome and delivered a first rate toast to the happy couple. Tune in to ABC on Mondays and join me in cheering Ames on to finding love. To quote the bride, "May the Best Man win!"

Photograph courtesy of Lina Jang Photography.

Bachelorette Party Alternatives

As women focus on their careers, wait to get married or find their mates later in life, the bachelorette party has evolved. Brides-to-be look forward to spending quality time with their closest female friends, in a memorable way. There are many creative and unique alternatives to the traditional bar hopping, stripper centric consumption of cocktails. Which one would suit your bride-to-be best?

Stiletto Spy School
Thirsty for adventure? Step out of you comfort zone.
Pushing limits, breaking boundaries and learning real life skills and lessons that apply from the boardroom to the bedroom.
This unique women’s only “Training Missions” in NY and Las Vegas offers training with experts in of such confidence-boosters as military hand to hand combat training, poker lessons with a world-champion teacher, racing cars and speedboats, martini mixology, dancing the tango, precision firearms training, perfect wine pairings, and so much more.

Pole Dancing
Love your body and learn how to use it! Here's to a night of high heels, amazing music and dancing.

Winery Tour
Organize a great day tour of local wineries. Many include tastings, tours, picnic lunch and live music.

Dashing Divas
Few women would refuse a spa like day. Dashing Divas is a high energy, hot pick, hip house of services. It’s not a formal spa experience, but it’s not your average nail salon either.

Professional Photo Shoot
Hire a professional photographer to follow the ladies around for a day, afternoon or evening. Map out picturesque locations, encourage wardrobe changes and capture the bride and her dearest friends.

Trapeze School
Trapeze School New York produces distinctive parties and events in a year-round tent. Flying trapeze plus a variety of other fun, unique activities will ensure an experience your group will never forget.

Sparty
Create a custom spa experiences on-location.

The Culinary Loft
Break away from a traditional dinner party and bring your guests to an elegant and educational dining experience that everyone will rave about. The Culinary Loft Cooking Class Dinner Parties are arranged so that everyone feels pampered and spoiled and yet they can all learn how to be geniuses in the kitchen! Our Cooking Class Dinner Parties are charming and collaborative, and your guests get to share in the creation. Guided by professional Chefs, friends and family members will think this is heaven! Guests don aprons during our hands-on cooking class, as they are artfully guided through the preparation of a delicious 3-course meal by one of our noted professional chef instructors. After the chef arranges the mise en place, your guests break out into small groups to prepare the different courses.

Weekend Away
If it’s a hometown wedding that guests don’t have to travel to or if the ladies live in difference cities, planning a weekend away might be a smart and fun option to celebrate your bride to be. Vegas, South Beach, New York City?

How did you or would you like to send off or salute your singlehood?