A never-ending love at Nekaui <3

Aug 10
4 min read

Riley & Sean, February 20th 2026

Nekaui, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

We first met Riley and Sean in August 2024 and instantly felt like we would be friends. Both were born in Las Vegas and now live together in Colorado. We loved that their happy-go-lucky personalities reflect those places, as well as their clear love of one another and goal to make their wedding totally unforgettable. With their fun sense of humour, we knew that planning together would be enjoyable. For us, the perfect couple <3.

Riley and Sean’s welcome party was at Brukas, a location we chose for its hard-to-beat view of Santa Teresa’s golden sunset hour - and it really didn’t disappoint. The night was full of warm greetings, beach photos, sunset gazing, heartfelt family speeches and, of course, incredible food and drinks. It truly set the tone for what was to come the following wedding day. Luckily we had White Diamond Photography to capture all the beautiful moments expertly.

Nekaui was the venue for the wedding day, nestled right in the heart of Santa Teresa yet perfectly secluded from the bustly roadsides and beach bars. Surrounded by tropical palms and native gardens, it’s a real paradise that leads right onto the beachfront of one of the world’s most stunning beaches.

The sky was clear blue on the morning of 20^th February. With perfect waves rolling in from the horizon, birds chirping and monkeys howling, it was time for all our planned preparation to click into gear.

In the morning, Costa Mesa unloaded a countless number of stylish tables and chairs, as Nekaui’s famous Chepe readied the garden and raked the golden sand. Soon after, Stylos y Flores unpacked all their flowers and décor, with the rest of the team already hanging up the string lights and lanterns from the swaying palms.

Riley took a beautiful moment of reflection alone as she finished reading her vows, before being joined by her closest family and girls. For hair and make-up, they were in the best hands, thanks to Nadia Cambronero and her excellent team. Sean and his boys, on the other hand, took on the amazing rolling surf Santa Teresa has to offer, before drying off and getting into dress mode.

White Diamond Photography arrived on the scene to make witness of all the laughter, tears and emotion of the wedding morning. The mothers and all the bridesmaids stood on tip toes on the deck of Nekaui to catch a glimpse of the first look between Riley and Sean, who were deep in the flora of the beachfront jungle.

Meanwhile, the stage was set with the Bliss Team, Costa Mesa and Style y Flores working hard to make sure every detail looked immaculate. As the guests arrived, they marvelled at the wedding location while sipping a cold refreshing coconut, then took their seats on the beach for the ceremony that was about to start.

Standing on the glistening Santa Teresa sand, Sean looked on with his mother by his side. Serenaded by the La La Land tune ‘Engagement Party’ played by the incredibly talented Tico Stars, the officiator, bridesmaids and groomsmen began the procession. As Sean and his mother followed to the song ‘City of Stars’, his friends and family cheered as they walked all the way to a beautifully designed arched altar full of white Roses, Cala Lilies and Gingers.

The crowd then turned their attention to the incoming arrival of Riley and her father as the musicians started playing ‘Mia & Sebastian’s Theme’. Perfectly dressed in white, Riley’s long veil flowed behind her in the sand as she made her way through the crowd to be with her number one person. Their friend Jesse did an excellent job officiating, before they exchanged their heartfelt vows. To the sounds of cheering, they were pronounced husband and wife. Petals fell from the sky as they took their first walk together to ‘Sunday Morning’ by Maroon Five.

Everyone was in a celebration mood as cocktail hour began. Drinks flowed from the amazing Drift Bar, while Chef James Kelly and his team sent out delicious mini lobster rolls and tuna tostadas. Tico Stars were playing in full flow as everyone gathered on the beach for pictures with the bride and groom while the sunset drew nearer. Dipping below the deep blue sea, the sun left the sky a multitude of rainbow colours, creating an incredibly special, picture perfect background.

As the Bliss team lit the candles, the guests looked on the surfboard seating chart to find their seats for the evening. After the bride and groom made their grand entrance to the dinner reception, they took their first dance to the Teskey Brothers ‘Forever You and Me’. With the string lights and lanterns lighting up the night sky, the food service began. Chef James Kelly and his team served up some excellent family style dishes for the guests to feast upon, including tamarind-braised short ribs, miso glazed chicken thighs and achiote & red snapper, to name a few.

DJ Mason was in town and once all the plates had been cleared, he was ready to amp up the party atmosphere. In typical Mason style, it didn’t take long before the dancefloor was full and the bride and groom were surrounded by a ring of their family and friends singing out the words to ‘Come On Eileen’ and ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’. The party naturally ended up in the pool with a big cheers when each guest jumped in, the perfect ending to the perfect night.

We would like to thank all of our incredibly hard working vendors and Nekaui for their efforts to make this wedding day so memorable for Riley and Sean, as well as Lisa, Rick, Dawn and Gregg, who gave such a lot to make the day extra special for their son and daughter.

Riley and Sean, we thank you personally for putting your faith into our team and we know that we will be seeing you again in Santa Teresa very soon, but this time as friends.