At the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean is Punta Cana.
This region exhibits the best elements of the Caribbean, including clear turquoise waters and long stretches of pristine white sand beaches shaded by palm trees.
Punta Cana is one of the best corners of the world to have a unique, memorable, and elevated destination wedding.
While about 80% of couples we work with have their destination wedding in Mexico, the Dominican Republic offers stunning venues and wedding packages for your big day.
Our expert team of destination wedding travel advisors put together a list of 8 all-inclusive resorts to host your wedding celebration.
There are countless resorts to choose from, but we tried to narrow it down based on venues, wedding packages, wedding team, pricepoint, and overall guest experience.
Secrets Cap Cana is one of the best adults-only, AAA, Five-Diamond, Secrets resorts and only 10-15 minutes from the airport.
Their Preferred Club offers a true VIP experience and levels up your stay with exclusive lounges and upgraded offerings.
Secrets offers some of the most transparent Punta Cana destination wedding packages, with clear pricing and inclusions.
Best for: Couples who want romance and sophistication and enjoy a touch of pampering
Hard Rock Punta Cana brings Vegas to the Dominican Republic, featuring one of the most popular casinos on the island.
Hard Rock Punta Cana is a perfect option for both families and fun-loving couples.
If you’re planning a South Asian wedding, Hard Rock Punta Cana is an especially great wedding venue due to their wedding team’s expertise, food options, and wedding perks.
Best for: Couples with an appetite for fun who want the whole family along for the ride
Dreams Onyx is a family-friendly resort in Uvero Alto with around 800 rooms that also incorporates the Preferred Club VIP treatment for those who want to level-up their experience.
Guests of Dreams Onyx also get access to the neighboring Breathless Punta Cana Resort.
As with the Secrets wedding packages, Dreams also provides easy-to-understand packages with clear pricing.
Best for: Couples prioritizing elegance who want a family-friendly option
Breathless Punta Cana is an adults-only resort that balances high-energy excitement with island-style R&R.
Guests here also have full access to Dreams Onyx Resort next door, which means double the luxury.
Best for: Couples wanting a high-energy adults-only celebration
Nickelodeon Punta Cana gives the whole family a fun-filled and immersive adventure while soaking up the sun in the Caribbean.
If SpongeBob SquarePants is high on your RSVP list, this resort is a great option in a smaller resort under the Karisma brand banner.
This means you get the same Gourmet Inclusive experience with the fun dial cranked up, and only 20-30 minutes from the airport.
Best for: Couples who want an unforgettable wedding, with fun, food, and slime
TRS Cap Cana is an adults-only haven surrounded by 2,500 hectares of Caribbean forest.
This resort is situated in the heart of the Cap Cana Marina and takes advantage of the warm waters that make for great swimming year-round.
Best for: Couples seeking romance and sophistication in a smaller and more intimate resort
Dreams Macao is one of the best destinations for family and adult-only weddings in the Dominican Republic.
As with the Secrets resorts, Dreams offers some of the most transparent and comprehensive Punta Cana wedding packages.
I spent some time at Dreams Macao recently and shared my full review of the resort here.
Best for: Couples who want to feel immersed in the Dominican Republic’s natural beauty in a family-friendly, yet classy environment
Royalton Punta Cana is a 317-suite resort that offers the whole family non-stop entertainment, relaxation, and luxury.
Their All-in Luxury offers world-class all-inclusive amenities, including gourmet dining and expertly prepared drinks.
Guests also enjoy full access to Royalton Splash Punta Cana and its water park, for truly limitless fun.
Best for: Couples who want to bring the whole family along to a service-oriented, yet fun-filled destination with spectacular surroundings
Soon to open on the postcard-perfect beaches of La Costa del Coco is the brand new Moon Palace the Grand Punta Cana.
Couples we work with love Palace resorts for their destination weddings due to the venues, wedding teams, room pricing, and wedding perks, so we’re excited about the first Palace property in the Dominican Republic.
This is the newest family-friendly slice of paradise for couples with a desire for flair, opening in late 2025 as the largest resort on the island.
Best for: Couples who dream of elegant weddings with an emphasis on sophisticated design and top-of-the-range facilities
There is certainly no shortage of choice when it comes to quality resorts in Punta Cana.
A few key considerations are important when reviewing your options, and these can help you find the resort that best reflects your ambitions and offers the elements you want.
Here are a few aspects to bear in mind when searching for a venue at the eastern end of the Dominican Republic:
In Punta Cana, resorts range greatly in size, with some having over 3,000 rooms, and others with as little as 75.
The size of the resort you choose can have an impact on the experience you have, and both large and small resorts have their own benefits.
Larger resorts can accommodate bigger groups of guests, and may have more facilities such as restaurants, pools, or kids’ activities.
Smaller resorts can offer a more intimate or personalized experience, with a greater focus on romance.
Consider which of these sounds more like the experience you want before you start looking for resorts, as this will help you choose the right one for you.
It’s also important to think about the needs of your guests and the experience they’ll have.
Even more important than the resort’s facilities is the range of packages they offer.
Some resorts even offer free wedding packages, allowing you to get a ceremony (or even more) for free when you meet certain conditions, such as the wedding couple staying a predetermined number of nights.
Other packages get better the more guests you bring, making them more suitable if you plan on inviting a guest list of a certain size.
Of course, your budget and the resort’s wedding package have to align, which is something we can help you manage as experts in this field.
Don’t forget that there are always logistics considerations when planning a destination wedding.
Consider how far the resort is from the airport if you have guests who may be uncomfortable traveling longer distances by car or shuttle.
Similarly, if you have specific religious or ceremonial needs, such as if you’re having a Jewish or South Asian wedding, it’s important to ensure that the resort is equipt to host such ceremonies adequately.
Answering this question is a bit like answering the question, “How much does dinner cost?”
How fancy is the restaurant? How many people are coming? Are there specials on at the moment? What will you order?
What we can do is review the typical costs or price ranges for most destination weddings in Punta Cana.
Let’s ignore the costs of wedding elements that would be the same at home, like rings, dresses, and an officiant, and focus on what it might cost you to host your wedding in a tropical dreamscape like Punta Cana.
The cost of a destination wedding is largely determined by the number of guests you have.
Many of the core aspects of a destination wedding can be consolidated through wedding packages, such as a symbolic ceremony, cakes, wine toasts, cocktail parties with open bars, and even entire reception diners.
Some resorts have comprehensive packages that include all the bells and whistles and can cater to hundreds of guests.
Other packages allow couples to have an unforgettable and romantic elopement in paradise.
As we’ve mentioned, you can even have a FREE wedding by taking advantage of complimentary wedding packages that some resorts offer! These usually require the wedding couple to meet certain criteria, such as paying to stay a sufficient number of nights or bringing a guest list of a minimum size to stay in the resort.
The good news is that areas in the Caribbean, such as Mexico, Jamaica, and you guessed it…The Dominican Republic can fetch a much smaller bill.
In our experience, the average destination wedding in Punta Cana costs between $15,000 and $20,000, excluding travel.
The best destination wedding packages in Punta Cana are those that offer affordability, customizability and transparency.
In our opinion, the packages offered by the Hyatt Inclusive group offer all three of these, at a range of price levels that satisfy a variety of needs.
Resorts in this group include the Secrets, Dreams, and Breathless all-inclusive resorts.
At the entry-level, couples can enjoy a complimentary wedding valued at $999 when they book at least seven nights in a specific room category or five rooms for three nights in any category.
For couples dreaming of an all-out wedding extravaganza, the Beyond Memorable Wedding Package includes a ceremony, reception dinner, rehearsal dinner, cocktail party, welcome party, and a long list of additional fundamentals and perks.
This package costs between $8,999 and $9,499 for 50-70 people, and $13,499 to $14,399 for up to 100 guests.
Pound for pound, these are extremely affordable packages, and deliver the luxury experience that these resorts offer at every level.
Other resort brands like Hard Rock offer incredible wedding package perks, especially for larger groups.
When reviewing wedding packages and options, you may have some questions about what a “symbolic ceremony” is.
You might be wondering if you can even get legally married with a civil wedding in The Dominican Republic.
A symbolic ceremony is a wedding event that follows the traditional processes associated with getting married by a minister.
Whether you want to exchange your vows and say “I do” or crush a ceremonial glass underfoot, these can be stages in a symbolic wedding.
This means that you can fulfill any religious obligations of your wedding ceremony and you can have ministers of your religion lead your ceremony, whether you’re religious or simply want to incorporate wedding traditions.
This alone, however, doesn’t mean that you’re married legally in your home country.
To get legally married overseas is possible, but requires extra steps.
Alternatively, you can get legally married in your home country, but still have a symbolic ceremony in Punta Cana before or after this.
This is the path that most couples take, as it avoids additional cost, steps, and time considerations.
For example, the couple to be married must arrive at least three business days before the wedding, and all marriage documents are to be translated and authorized by the Dominican Consulate prior to arrival in the country.
It’s also wise to ensure that the Dominican Consulate legalizes your documents at least three months before the date of your wedding.
Legal wedding documents in The Dominican Republic are in Spanish, meaning that these may need to be translated before they can be recognized in home countries like the US.
Similarly, you also need your Secretary of State to apostille your documents.
Our experienced wedding planners at Destination Weddings by Vacationeeze are with you every step of the way.
With decades of experience planning hundreds of weddings, our team understands what couples are looking for and how to navigate working with the resorts.
Our dedicated team will work with all your friends and family so you can focus on planning your dream wedding.
Ready to start planning your big day?
Call us at 215-454-2070 or get in touch with us here.
Jared is a certified destination wedding travel advisor and has been recognized as a top agent by Palace Resorts, Karisma Resorts, Lomas Hospitality, and Hyatt Inclusive Collection.
He caught the travel bug early in his life as his parents (the founders of Vacationeeze!) instilled a passion for travel and adventure in him and his siblings.
Our team has 30+ years planning dream destination weddings. For a limited time we're offering up to $4,000 cash for your wedding.
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