Somewhere in the planning, most couples work out that they’ve been assuming the beach without ever really choosing it. Sand is hot by three, heels sink, chairs lean, tables rock, and the breeze that makes a beach pleasant is the same breeze that carries your vows away from the back row. A garden fixes all of that while keeping you outdoors.
The Dominican Republic is unusually good for this. Rain falls year-round across much of the island, so resort planting here is genuinely lush rather than irrigated-looking, and the range of garden venues runs from an 80-guest lobby garden up to a lawn licensed for 2,000.
Those gardens are spread across Cap Cana, Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Miches, and the Samana peninsula rather than concentrated in one place. Below are seven, and our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists can confirm which are held privately for your destination wedding.
Best Garden Destination Wedding Venues at Top Dominican Republic Resorts
Seven wedding resorts across five areas, with garden capacity from 80 guests to 2,000.
1. Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana has the Larimar Lawn, licensed for 2,000 guests and the largest outdoor venue of any kind in the country.
A lawn at that scale does something a beach can’t: level ground for a thousand chairs, a dance floor that actually works, and the ocean still in view rather than underfoot. For a very large wedding that wants to be outdoors without the practical problems of sand, nothing else in the Caribbean is comparable. The resort is family-friendly and sits in the gated Cap Cana development.
Learn more about Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and get a free quote today >>
2. Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa
Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa runs a Garden Terrace for 200 guests, which is the most useful size in this category and one of the better-planted settings on the coast.
A garden terrace is the best of both arrangements: established planting around you, a built surface underfoot. It’s adults-only, and the garden sits within a property that also has Juanillo Beach at 350, a gazebo at 80 and a 350-guest ballroom, so a garden ceremony has somewhere substantial to go afterward in any weather.
Learn more about Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa and get a free quote today >>
3. Viva V Samana by Wyndham, A Trademark Adults All Inclusive
Viva V Samana by Wyndham is the only wedding resort on the Samana peninsula, and it’s the one property here with two separate garden venues: one set up for the ceremony at 150 guests and another for the reception and cocktail hour at 150.
Having a dedicated garden for each part of the day is rare and genuinely practical, since nothing has to be turned around while guests wait. Samana is also the greenest, steepest coastline in the country, so the planting here sits against real landscape rather than resort grounds. Adults-only, and a long way from anywhere, which is the appeal.
Learn more about Viva V Samana by Wyndham and get a free quote today >>
4. Dreams Cap Cana Resort & Spa
Dreams Cap Cana Resort & Spa has a Garden Venue for 100, alongside a beach for 200, a Sky Terrace for 150 and an Infinity Pool Deck for 80.
A hundred guests is where most destination weddings actually land, and a garden at that size feels generous rather than stretched. What makes this property worth shortlisting is the spread around it: a garden ceremony, cocktails on the Sky Terrace, and dinner at the Mesa restaurant venue for 200 is a complete day without repeating a setting.
Learn more about Dreams Cap Cana Resort & Spa and get a free quote today >>
5. Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada
Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada has a Garden Venue for 100 on the Puerto Plata coast, with two beaches at 400 and 250 and a 250-guest Beach Gazebo.
The north coast is the wettest part of the island, which is a nuisance for beach weddings and the reason the planting here is the most established in the country. A garden ceremony with the Cordillera Septentrional rising behind the resort is a different photograph from anything available on the flat east coast.
Learn more about Iberostar Waves Costa Dorada and get a free quote today >>
6. Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa
Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa has a Garden Lobby for 80 in Miches, which is the most sheltered garden option on this list.
A planted lobby space sits between a true garden and an indoor room, so it gives you greenery with cover overhead, which in the wetter months is worth a great deal. It’s adults-only, with a 700-guest ballroom, a 300-guest pool terrace and a 200-guest beach around it, so an 80-guest garden ceremony scales up easily for the reception.
Learn more about Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa and get a free quote today >>
7. Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana
Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana has two garden terraces, the Himitsu Garden Terrace and the Seaside Grill & Garden Terrace, each taking up to 250 guests.
Two garden venues at 250 on one property is the most garden capacity anywhere in the country outside the Cap Cana lawns, and having them as a matched pair means the ceremony and the reception can both be planted settings without repeating the same one. It’s a 4.5-star family-friendly resort on the Macao coast, which is less built up than the main Bavaro strip, with a 700-guest ballroom behind it.
Learn more about Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana and get a free quote today >>
More Information for Planning Your Garden Destination Wedding in the Dominican Republic
Gardens sit between the beach and a ballroom and inherit advantages from both. Here’s what our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists raise.
Garden Destination Wedding Venues Appeal
Practicality is the honest first reason. Level ground means chairs stand straight, tables don’t rock, and guests in heels can walk to their seats without carrying their shoes. Mature planting cuts the wind, so the vows carry, and the hair survives until the photographs.
Shade is the second. An open-sand ceremony at three in the afternoon in the tropics is uncomfortable in a way nobody admits until they’re sitting in it. Planting brings the temperature down and lets you hold the ceremony earlier without punishing anyone.
And the setting does work your budget would otherwise do. Established tropical planting is a backdrop you don’t have to build, so florals can be modest and still read as generous. Ask whether the garden is overlooked by guest rooms or walkways, and whether evening lighting is installed or something you’ll be quoted for.
Dominican Republic Destination Wedding Cost
The average couple marrying in the Dominican Republic spends around $8,959 all in, with most landing between $7,000 and $11,000. That covers the wedding package, accommodations, airfare, and add-ons. Rooms average roughly $350 per person per night over a typical four-night stay, with airfare of $300 to $700 per person. Couples here average 38 guests.
These averages reflect real spend data from couples who booked their destination wedding with our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists.
Garden weddings land close to that average, and the florals are where couples find the savings. A venue that’s already green needs arrangements at the aisle and on the tables rather than structures built to create an environment, which, for a large wedding, is a meaningful difference.
Dominican Republic Destination Wedding Packages
Resorts here offer complimentary and deposit-only wedding packages with a qualifying room block, running roughly $800 to $3,000 at entry tier, $3,500 to $5,000 mid-tier, and $5,500 to $14,000 and beyond for full productions.
Most base packages assume a beach ceremony, so check whether a garden venue is included on the same terms or carries a setup charge. On the larger lawns, ask about evening lighting as a separate line, since a reception after dark on open grass needs considerably more than a beach ceremony at sunset.
Dominican Republic Destination Wedding Travel Information
Punta Cana International serves Cap Cana in 20 to 30 minutes and Miches in around two hours. Puerto Plata and Samana have their own airports, which for those resorts saves a long drive across the island.
The rain that makes these gardens lush arrives mostly between May and November, which is the trade-off: greenest planting, highest chance of an afternoon downpour. A garden wedding in those months needs a covered backup confirmed in writing. December through April is drier, and the planting is still substantially better here than on drier Caribbean islands.
Dominican Republic Garden Destination Wedding Venue FAQs
What is the largest garden wedding venue in the Dominican Republic?
The Larimar Lawn at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana, licensed for 2,000 guests and the largest outdoor venue of any type in the country. The two garden terraces at Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana come next at 250 each, followed by the Garden Terrace at Secrets Cap Cana at 200.
Is a garden better than a beach for the ceremony?
It’s more practical. Level ground keeps chairs and tables steady and lets guests walk in heels, planting cuts the wind so the vows carry, and shade keeps an afternoon ceremony comfortable. The beach gives you the ocean directly behind you, which a garden can’t.
Are garden venues available outside Punta Cana?
Yes, and several of the best are. Cap Cana has the 2,000-guest lawn and a 200-guest garden terrace, Samana has two dedicated garden venues at 150 each, Puerto Plata has a 100-guest garden, and Miches has a sheltered garden lobby for 80.
Get Ready to Plan a Garden Destination Wedding in the Dominican Republic
Rain that most destinations would rather not have gives this island the best resort planting in the Caribbean, and the venues built into it run from eighty guests to two thousand. You stay outdoors and lose none of the practicality of a room.
Fill out our online wedding planning form, and one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists will compare garden venues, capacities, and what’s included at each.
About the Author
Maggie Sabin
Maggie started as the SEO Manager at DestinationWeddings.com in 2024, where she works to drive organic traffic and conversions while creating meaningful, SEO-optimized content for the website. Previously, Maggie's career spanned from Human Resources & Recruitment to teaching at international schools for almost 10 years. Maggie spends her free time traveling, learning new languages, reading non-fiction books, working out, going to the beach and spending time cuddling her dog, Lola!
