The Dominican Republic is a Catholic country, and that changes what’s possible here in a way most Caribbean destinations can’t match. Twenty-seven wedding resorts host Catholic ceremonies, spread across every area from Puerto Plata to Samana, and the Church is part of ordinary life rather than something a resort has to arrange around.
Practically, that means priests are available, parishes are used to working with resorts, and seven properties have built chapels on their own grounds. Compare that with destinations where a Catholic ceremony means one property, one chapel and a long wait for a date.
The work still starts at home, with your own parish, about a year out. Below are six resorts across five areas, and our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists can tell you what each one arranges with the local parish for your destination wedding.
Best Catholic Destination Wedding Venues at Top Dominican Republic Resorts
Six wedding resorts across Cap Cana, La Romana, Punta Cana, Miches and Puerto Plata, from three and a half stars to five.
1. Casa De Campo Resort & Villas
Casa De Campo Resort & Villas is a five-star, medium-sized, family-friendly property in La Romana, handling Catholic, Jewish, South Asian, civil and symbolic ceremonies.
It’s the most versatile wedding property in the country, and for a Catholic wedding that breadth translates into a team who coordinate with clergy as a matter of routine. The villa accommodation also suits the way these destination weddings actually run, with extended family travelling together and often staying longer than the four nights most couples book.
Learn more about Casa De Campo Resort & Villas and get a free quote today >>
2. Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana
Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana is a five-star, family-friendly resort in gated Cap Cana, offering Catholic, Jewish, South Asian, civil and symbolic ceremonies.
Catholic weddings bring extended family, frequently three generations of it, and this is the property best equipped to hold all of them: a 2,070-guest ballroom, a 2,000-guest lawn and an 800-guest beach. Very few resorts anywhere can seat a large family Mass and an equally large reception without anyone leaving the grounds.
Learn more about Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and get a free quote today >>
3. Majestic Elegance Punta Cana
Majestic Elegance Punta Cana is a 4.5-star, large, family-friendly resort with a 30-guest chapel on its grounds and a 250-guest Beach Gazebo.
That pairing is the one most couples here end up using: the Mass in the chapel with close family, then everyone together under the gazebo for the celebration. Thirty is a firm number set by the building, so the chapel guest list needs deciding early rather than negotiated later. Its sister properties, Majestic Colonial and Majestic Mirage, run the same arrangement.
Learn more about Majestic Elegance Punta Cana and get a free quote today >>
4. Barcelo Bavaro Palace
Barcelo Bavaro Palace is a 4.5-star, large, family-friendly resort with an Iglesia seating 150, one of only two resort churches in the country that hold a full guest list.
That changes the shape of the day entirely. With a 30-guest chapel, you’re planning a small ceremony and a large reception as two separate events. At 150, the church holds everyone, so the Mass and the celebration run as one continuous thing. Ballrooms for 300 keep the reception on the same property.
Learn more about Barcelo Bavaro Palace and get a free quote today >>
5. Viva Miches by Wyndham, A Trademark All Inclusive
Viva Miches by Wyndham is a 4.5-star, large, family-friendly all-inclusive in Miches, handling Catholic, Jewish, South Asian, civil and symbolic ceremonies.
Miches is the newest and quietest wedding area in the country, with green hills behind the coast rather than resort blocks. For a Catholic wedding where the family wants the week to feel restful rather than busy, it’s a noticeably different proposition from the Bavaro strip, and the resort’s scale still absorbs a large room block.
Learn more about Viva Miches by Wyndham and get a free quote today >>
6. Viva Tangerine by Wyndham, A Trademark All Inclusive
Viva Tangerine by Wyndham is a 3.5-star, medium-sized, family-friendly resort on the Puerto Plata coast, with a 150-guest beach and La Vela for 100.
It’s the most affordable Catholic option on this list, and that matters because a religious wedding brings more guests than average and the room block is what decides who can come. Puerto Plata also has the strongest colonial character outside the capital, with mountains behind the coast and a historic town centre nearby.
Learn more about Viva Tangerine by Wyndham and get a free quote today >>
More Information for Planning Your Catholic Destination Wedding in the Dominican Republic
The Church’s requirements run on a longer timeline than the resort’s. Here’s the order our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists suggest tackling them in.
Catholic Destination Wedding Venues Appeal
Availability is the practical advantage, and it’s bigger than couples expect. Twenty-seven resorts here host Catholic ceremonies across six separate areas, so you’re choosing a setting and a budget rather than taking whatever date the one available chapel has left.
Start with your own priest, and start early. A Catholic ceremony abroad generally requires recently issued baptismal and confirmation certificates, completion of marriage preparation through your parish, and written permission for the marriage to take place in another diocese. The receiving parish then has to accept it.
One thing to confirm rather than assume: whether the religious ceremony also creates a legal marriage here depends on how it’s registered, and it works differently from Mexico, where a church ceremony has no civil effect at all. Ask your resort coordinator and your Certified Destination Wedding Specialist, and decide early whether you’re adding a civil ceremony or marrying legally at home.
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.
Budget separately for the religious side, since none of it sits inside a wedding package. A church offering or donation, the priest’s fee, document translations and a civil ceremony if you’re adding one are the usual items. Catholic weddings also run larger than average, and guest count moves the total more than any other decision.
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.
The officiant included in a standard package is not a priest. Ask explicitly how the resort arranges a Catholic ceremony, which parish or priest serves it, and what that substitution does to the price. It’s the most common gap between a quoted figure and a final one on religious weddings.
Dominican Republic Destination Wedding Travel Information
Punta Cana International serves the Bavaro and Cap Cana resorts in 20 to 40 minutes and Miches in around two hours. La Romana and Puerto Plata have their own airports, which for those resorts saves a long drive.
Allow more margin than a beach wedding needs. The priest’s schedule is fixed rather than flexible, religious paperwork gets reviewed locally, and if you’re adding a civil ceremony its documents have to be submitted in advance. December through April is the driest stretch, and a chapel or church ceremony is one of the few formats unaffected by weather either way.
Dominican Republic Catholic Destination Wedding Venue FAQs
How many Dominican Republic resorts host Catholic weddings?
Twenty-seven, across Punta Cana, Cap Cana, La Romana, Miches, Puerto Plata and Samana. Seven of them have a chapel or church on their own grounds, and the rest coordinate with a local parish.
Is a Catholic wedding in the Dominican Republic legally binding?
It depends on how the marriage is registered, and it works differently from Mexico, where a religious ceremony has no civil effect. Confirm the position with your resort coordinator and your Certified Destination Wedding Specialist, and decide early whether you’re adding a civil ceremony or marrying legally at home first.
How far in advance should you plan a Catholic destination wedding?
At least a year. Marriage preparation runs on your home parish’s schedule, baptismal certificates usually need to have been issued within six months of the wedding, and permission has to pass between dioceses. The religious requirements, not the resort, set the timeline.
Get Ready to Plan a Catholic Destination Wedding in the Dominican Republic
Marrying in the Church on a Caribbean island usually means taking whatever the single available chapel can offer. Here it means choosing between twenty-seven resorts across six coastlines, which is a genuinely different kind of decision.
Fill out our online wedding planning form, and one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists will line the resort’s calendar up with what your parish needs.
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!
