La Romana has exactly one small resort. Out of the thirteen properties we work with on this coast, twelve are medium or large, which means couples planning a wedding for twenty people are rarely choosing a small resort here. They’re choosing a small venue inside a bigger one.
That turns out to be the better deal anyway. A large resort will hand a group of sixteen a gazebo beside a lake or a pier over the water, and still give them four restaurants, a spa and a kids’ club. A genuinely small property can’t offer the second half of that.
Below is the one small resort on this coast, followed by four larger resorts whose smallest venues are built for intimate weddings. Our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists know which spaces hold twenty well and which just look empty, so ask before you book your destination wedding.
Best Small Destination Wedding Venues at Top La Romana Resorts
One small resort and four larger ones hold destination weddings at this scale, with venues starting at sixteen guests.
1. Cadaques Bayahibe
Cadaques Bayahibe is the only small resort in La Romana, a three-star family-friendly property on the Bayahibe shore.
Small changes what a wedding week feels like more than any other single factor. Your group becomes a visible share of the guests, the staff learns names by the second day, and a welcome drink on the terrace doesn’t need to be a booked event because there’s nobody else competing for the space. It also makes a full buyout a realistic conversation rather than a fantasy.
Learn more about Cadaques Bayahibe and get a free quote today >>
2. Iberostar Selection Hacienda Dominicus
Iberostar Selection Hacienda Dominicus is a large 4.5-star resort holding the two smallest wedding venues on this coast, a lake gazebo for 16 and a pier for 24.
Sixteen is small enough that everyone present is someone you’d call on a Tuesday. The gazebo sits in planted grounds with the water behind it, and the pier runs out over the Caribbean, which is calm here in a way the Atlantic coast isn’t. Both are the kind of space a bigger guest list simply can’t use, which is why they stay available.
Learn more about Iberostar Selection Hacienda Dominicus and get a free quote today >>
3. Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham
Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham is a medium 3.5-star resort whose smallest venues, a cafe and a poolside gazebo, each seat 80.
Eighty is the ceiling rather than the target, so a party of thirty fits without rattling around. What makes this property useful at small scale is price: it supports five ceremony formats, religious ones included, at the lowest tier on the coast. A small destination wedding shouldn’t have to pay for a higher star rating to get a Catholic or interfaith ceremony.
Learn more about Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham and get a free quote today >>
4. Dreams Dominicus La Romana Resort & Spa
Dreams Dominicus La Romana Resort & Spa is a medium 4.5-star family-friendly resort with a poolside setting for 100 among its five venues.
Poolside works unusually well for a small group because the ground is level, the lighting is already installed, and the water keeps reflecting it after dark. Having five venues also means a twenty-person wedding can still move between three settings across the day, which is what stops an intimate celebration from feeling like one long dinner.
Learn more about Dreams Dominicus La Romana Resort & Spa and get a free quote today >>
5. Sunscape Dominicus La Romana
Sunscape Dominicus La Romana is a large four-star family-friendly resort with a beach venue for 100 at the most affordable end of this coast.
A small guest list and a four-star rate together are what let couples spend on the parts that show, like a longer stay, better photography, or an excursion out to Saona Island for everyone. The beach setting needs very little decorating, which is the other reason small weddings here come in well under what the same headcount costs at home.
Learn more about Sunscape Dominicus La Romana and get a free quote today >>
More Information for Planning a Small Destination Wedding in La Romana
Here’s what our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists tell couples planning at this scale.
Small Wedding Venues Appeal
A small destination wedding is the one format where you actually talk to every person who came. At forty guests, you work the room; at eighteen, you have a real conversation with each of them, which is what most couples say afterward they wanted all along.
It also removes most of the logistics. No seating chart worth arguing over, no shuttle schedule, no second reception space. Groups this size eat in a resort restaurant rather than a function room, which costs less and tends to taste better.
The thing to watch is minimum spend. Many wedding packages are priced for a base of 20 to 30 guests, so a party of twelve may pay the same as a party of twenty-five. Ask what the base count is before you fall for a venue, because below it you’re buying capacity you won’t fill.
La Romana Destination Wedding Cost
The average couple marrying in the Dominican Republic spends around $8,959 in total, with most landing between $7,000 and $11,000. That covers the wedding package, accommodations, airfare, and extras. Rooms average roughly $350 per person per night across a typical four-night stay, with airfare of $300 to $700 per person, and couples average 38 guests.
These averages reflect real spend data from couples who booked their destination wedding with our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists.
A wedding well under that 38-guest average usually lands toward the lower end, though not proportionally, because the package base count and the fixed costs don’t shrink with the guest list. Where small weddings really save is on the per-person extras: the open bar, the plated dinner, and the transfers.
La Romana Destination Wedding Packages
Resorts in the Dominican Republic offer complimentary and deposit-only wedding packages with a qualifying room block, running roughly $800 to $3,000 at the entry tier, $3,500 to $5,000 at the mid-tier, and $5,500 to $14,000 and beyond for full productions.
Small weddings are the sweet spot for the complimentary tiers, because those are written around a modest guest count and a handful of rooms. A group of twenty booking four or five rooms can often clear the threshold outright, which makes the ceremony itself cost nothing beyond the legal paperwork.
La Romana Destination Wedding Travel Information
La Romana International sits 20 to 30 minutes from the Bayahibe resorts but serves few routes, so most guests fly into Punta Cana International and transfer about 90 minutes west.
A small group has an advantage here that larger ones don’t: everyone can usually land within a few hours of each other, which means one private transfer instead of a string of them. Book it as a single vehicle rather than individual shuttle seats, and it often costs less overall.
La Romana Small Wedding Venue FAQs
How many small resorts are in La Romana?
One, out of the thirteen we work with on this coast. The rest are medium or large, so couples planning an intimate wedding here generally book a small venue at a bigger resort rather than a small property.
What is the smallest wedding venue in La Romana?
A lake gazebo seating 16, at Iberostar Selection Hacienda Dominicus. The same resort also has a pier over the water for 24. Those two are the smallest documented wedding venues anywhere on this coast.
How many guests count as a small destination wedding?
Roughly 30 or fewer. Couples marrying in the Dominican Republic average 38 guests, so anything below about 30 sits meaningfully under the norm and starts to change which venues and packages make sense for you.
Get Ready to Plan a Small Destination Wedding in La Romana
Sixteen people on a pier over calm water is a wedding you’ll remember person by person. There’s only one small resort on this coast, but there are plenty of small places to stand.
Fill out our online wedding planning form, and one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists will find the venue that fits your guest list!
About the Author
Maggie Sabin
Maggie has always loved traveling and discovering new places and cultures. Before joining DestinationWeddings.com as SEO Manager in 2024, she spent nearly a decade teaching at international schools across Europe and Asia, from the UK and Spain to Taiwan. Today, she creates and manages all of the blog's content, making sure couples can easily find the answers and inspiration they need to plan their destination wedding with confidence. When she's not working, you'll find Maggie learning a new language, curled up with a good book, working out, or soaking up the sun at the beach. She's happiest at home snuggling with her dogs, Lola and Minnie.
