On the beaches in the DR you often see couples getting married. We’ve had friends choose destination weddings like the ones you see here. While this can be a romantic, low stress way to get married, there is also the possibility of a few problems when setting up a wedding from a distance. These tips might help you make sure your Dominican Republic destination wedding goes perfectly.

In order to avoid the stressful experience of infamous wedding scheduling, issues with dresses, cakes, decorations, bands and music, bridesmaid’s gifts, and the human element of everyone involved in each of those, many engaged couples decide to consider the option of a tranquil destination wedding as an alternative. After looking at the information available and realizing that a beach wedding costs thousands less than a traditional church wedding, many decide that this is the way to go, and start to look at specific places to have it.

Where to Go

The Dominican Republic has recently been luring couples with its romantic beaches, relaxing atmosphere, and affordable prices. Like other destination wedding locations, DR allows the wedding, reception, and honeymoon to be booked all together in one inexpensive and stress free package. This saves money, and leaves everyone free to sit back and enjoy the experience.

There are quite a few towns that lend themselves to weddings, with two of the most convenient being Puerto Plata, La Romana and Punta Cana, since they are both nice areas and close to international airports.

  • La Romana – Dreams La Romana Destination Wedding Location
  • Puerto Plata – Lifestyles Resort Destination Wedding Location

    Puerto Plata is located in the Northern region of the island, (what we northerners refer to as the “Cibao”), close to the Gregorio Luperón International Airport. Many of the resorts along the same beachside strip of highway as the airport specialize in wedding packages and include airport pickup of the bridal party and guests, which assures that no one will get lost or overcharged. The Gran Ventana Beach Resort and the Casa Colonial Beach and Spa Resort are both well known to do lovely weddings with groups of 190 people or less.

  • Punta Cana – Dreams Palm Beach Destination Wedding Location

    Punta Cana sits on the extreme opposite side of the island near the Punta Cana International Airport. Here almost all of the resorts offer pickup for guests who come into the airport, and they are famous for their quality, atmosphere, and beauty. Barceló Hotels and Resorts, Barvaro Princess All Suites Resort, and dreams Palm beach Punta Cana Resort are all larger resorts that are able to handle large weddings with ease.
  • Jarabacoa River Club Resort Destination Wedding Location

    Looking for a tropical wedding location that isn’t on the beach? The Jarabacoa River Club Resort may be what you are looking for. Jarabacoa is at an altitude of about 525 feet and so is a bit cooler and less humid than other wedding locations in the DR. This location gives you a beautiful view of a mountain valley with a river flowing below on a lush tropical hillside.

The Dominican Republic is not the only tropical wedding destination. Mexico, Hawaii, Nassau, and Puerto Rico, also offer great beach wedding packages. So, feel free to check them out too.

Traveling and Planning Tips

Just like many projects, it is best to start out with a list of things to take along for the wedding and honeymoon, and then go over it several times to make sure nothing is lacking. Add the following to the list:

Make sure of all the availability details of the resort, minister, location, and anything else of importance, before setting the wedding date and mailing out all of the invitations.

Before leaving, all final fittings on the wedding dress, and bridesmaids’ dresses and the men’s tuxedos should be done, to avoid any alteration issues once everyone arrives. Closely related to the dresses are the accessories. Make sure to have all of them before flying, including extra stockings, and other little things that could get ruined. Those sorts of things are difficult to find in foreign countries, and having them will avoid stress.

When booking the resort beach wedding package, it is important to ask enough questions to get all the details, so everyone know exactly what to expect. Talking to the minister beforehand is a good idea, just he or she is clear on how the ceremony should take place.

Diana, a professional wedding planner at destination wedding planning added this concluding advice, “Once the bride and groom have made sure of the arraignments, they should take a day before the wedding to relax, so that they will be able to enjoy their Caribbean wedding experience that they will cherish forever.”

That sums it all up neatly. The point is to enjoy the experience, and these pointers and advice are meant to do just that.