Your Guide to Wedding Planning in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Posted on September 18, 2025

The joy and enthusiasm of a wedding proposal is too often followed by the chaos and complexity of planning the wedding, and settling on a destination wedding might seem like it’s an invitation for a whole lot of stress.

However, planning a destination wedding isn’t actually any more difficult than planning a wedding near your home. While you may find yourself looking at pictures and making more phone calls than visiting places in person, the excitement and wonder of a destination wedding more than make up for the extra time spent planning it.

And if you have any qualms about starting the process, that’s when our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists are ready to assist you, especially with an incredible destination like Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by the thought of planning one of the most important days of your life in a place you may have never visited. Let’s go through the process step by step, and you may just find yourself jumping at the chance to start planning.

Why Couples and Guests Love Punta Cana Weddings

The main draw of Punta Cana is its absolutely gorgeous scenery, with its world-class beaches, fantastic all-inclusive experiences, and the beautiful tropical weather. If you’re searching for a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding, Punta Cana will give you the best wedding pictures ever.

Punta Cana is also a dreamy and fun place for vacations, even if you’re not getting married, so it’s the ideal destination for combining a gorgeous wedding and a beautiful vacation locale.

How to Plan a Destination Wedding in Punta Cana

The first step in planning a destination wedding – or any wedding – is setting the budget. Once you know how much money you have to spend on your wedding, you’ll be able to start arranging the vital pieces of your wedding, like the venue and travel arrangements.

Even if you don’t plan on walking down the aisle for a year or more, starting the planning process as early as possible is paramount. “The earlier the better” is always the best policy when it comes to wedding planning.

When you’re planning a destination wedding, working with locals can help you make solid plans. Our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists can make things even easier if you need to connect with additional professionals beyond those at your all-inclusive resort or within the wedding package you choose.

After settling on your budget, here are the first few steps you’ll need to think about when you officially start your wedding planning:

1. Choose your resort destination

Choosing Punta Cana as your destination is only half the battle, as far as the destination is concerned. You’ll need to narrow it down to a specific resort for all the events that encompass your wedding, like the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception.

2. Hire a wedding planner

You may want to hire a wedding planner or work with one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists, even if you have a firm idea as far as your resort location is concerned. Let the wedding planner stress about the finer points of wedding planning Punta Cana Dominican Republic, while you just have fun choosing what food you’ll eat and the style of music you’ll hear at your reception.

3. Start making travel arrangements

You may want to start booking travel arrangements, like securing rooms at your resort and booking plane tickets, as soon as you’ve settled on a date. Communicating the dates early to your guests and anyone participating in your wedding can make a significant difference in the cost of plane tickets.

Remember that even if you want to take the reins of planning your own wedding, working with a Specialist can help you get your questions answered quickly, which can help you set the wheels in motion for things like dates, locations, and travel arrangements.

Dominican Republic Wedding Planning Tips

Work with a planner who has experience in Punta Cana. Ensure your wedding planner has local experience in Punta Cana; working with someone who knows the locals can make all the difference in finding the right resort, wedding package, or optional outside vendors. Certified Destination Wedding Specialists can save you hours – perhaps days – of time researching locations and packages.

Always have a backup for outdoor weddings. If you dream of getting married on the sand in front of the ocean, make sure you have a backup plan just in case there’s a rainstorm. Remember, too, that the Dominican Republic can experience hurricanes in the latter half of the year, so consider a date to avoid the potentially rainy and stormy months of June through November.

Start planning as early as possible. You might think that a year is plenty of time to plan a wedding, but some planners consider it scarcely enough time to plan a destination wedding. Venues – especially the most in-demand spots – get booked quickly, so it’s not an exaggeration to suggest you start planning the moment you set a date.

Don’t forget about travel other than flights. Remember that your guests must get from the airport to the hotel and back again. Punta Cana International Airport is a quick 15-minute drive to many of the most popular venues in the area, but arranging travel on the island is an essential step in the overall booking process.

Remind everyone about their passports and visas. North Americans and most Europeans, for example, don’t need a visa to visit the Dominican Republic unless they’re staying for more than a month, but everyone will still need a passport. It takes some legwork, but ensure everyone traveling to the island has a valid passport or applies for one well in advance of your travel dates.

Always be flexible and focus on the big picture. Letting a wedding planner take care of the small details can certainly help the planning process feel less stressful, but it’s also helpful to remain flexible, even when everything is planned ahead of time. The weather might go haywire, the lead singer in your live band might lose their voice, or one of your bridesmaids might miss her flight. Take it all in stride; you’re still getting married in a gorgeous place, even if your wedding planner needs to find a DJ at the last minute.

Things To Know about Punta Cana

Weather: Punta Cana is always tropical and usually ranges from the eighties and nineties during the day and somewhere in the seventies at night. It rains more often around hurricane season, so most tourists will head to the island between December and April.
Money: The Dominican Republic uses the Dominican Peso as its official currency, but you can use credit cards at most tourist venues on the island, especially at resorts in Punta Cana. Try to use a credit card with no international transaction fees when you pay for your wedding arrangements with a card.
Language: Most people in Punta Cana speak Spanish as their primary language, but many tourist venues have English-speaking employees, and your Certified Destination Wedding Specialist can help you communicate during the planning process if you don’t speak Spanish.
Customs: The people of the Dominican Republic are wonderfully friendly, and you won’t feel any pressure with a language barrier. You shouldn’t feel concerned that you might make a cultural faux pas. The people of the Dominican Republic are quite friendly to tourists.
Legal Considerations: Everyone on your guest list who isn’t otherwise a resident of the Dominican Republic will need a passport. If you have international visitors from places outside the Caribbean, the Americas, or Europe, check to see whether your guests will need a visa, too.

Punta Cana Destination Wedding Planning Checklist

Around a year before your wedding date:

Figure out your total budget.
Speak with one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists or hire a wedding planner.
Select the Punta Cana resort and all-inclusive wedding package.
Choose the resort for your wedding and reception.
Settle on your wedding date (and the overall trip dates).

Around nine months before your wedding date:

Make the guest list and wedding party list.
Send a “save the date” email or letter to guests.
Choose your vendors (optional or when you don’t choose an all-inclusive package).
Select the wedding clothing (don’t forget the outfits for the rehearsal and reception!).
Send out invitations, create the wedding website, and publish the gift registry.

About six months before your wedding date:

Buy the wedding rings.
Book flights and island transportation (or as early as you can on the flights).
Remind guests to get their travel documents in order.
Book blocks of hotel rooms for everyone who has RSVP’d.
Have a last meeting with your planner to ensure everything is finalized.

Remember: Because you’re planning a destination wedding, you’ll want to send out the “save the date” and wedding invitations earlier than usual. Rather than giving guests a few months to prepare, give them as much as six months of notice, so they can get time off from work, get good rates on tickets, and plan.

Start Planning Your Dream Punta Cana Destination Wedding

Have you chosen a wedding date yet? Will it be Punta Cana for your wonderful romantic celebration? Punta Cana offers the ideal mix of a relaxing vacation, a gorgeous wedding venue, and unforgettable tropical splendor. Let’s get started on your exciting destination wedding in Punta Cana today with one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists! Fill out our online wedding planning form to get started on your destination wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.