Trading spreadsheets for sunsets? Roughly 25 percent of U.S. couples now choose destination weddings, making 2025 the busiest year on record for fly-in “I dos.” Guest lists are growing too; certified planners at Paradise Weddings tracked an average of 65 friends and relatives per celebration last year, and independent market research says 4 in 5 destination weddings still host fewer than 75 guests. All-inclusive resorts simplify everything—venue, food, drinks, and even the honeymoon—into one upfront price. After reviewing hundreds of properties, we pared the field to 12 resorts that balance service, scenery, and value. Ready to trade planning stress for beach breeze? Let’s find the slice of paradise that fits your crowd and your vibe.
Think of the next few screens as your personal concierge. We sorted the 12 destination-wedding resorts by the two questions couples ask first, so you can jump straight to the section that matches your guest list and style.
Choose the path that fits, then dive in. Each resort profile stays lean: the standout features, what the wedding package covers, and why it deserves a spot on your short list, helping you plan faster and toast sooner.
Champagne, infinity pools, and zero bedtime tantrums: this lane suits couples who want a child-free backdrop. Demand for grown-ups-only stays keeps rising; a 2024 Virtuoso report found that 28 percent of solo travelers and 34 percent of multigenerational groups now ask for adults-only properties. We selected five adults-only destination-wedding resorts where sleek design pairs with attentive planning, so you can simply arrive and say “I do.”
Walk a glass aisle above the Caribbean in the resort’s signature over-the-water chapel, complimentary with a three-night stay under Sandals’ free wedding package. After the ceremony, two miles of private sand and nine restaurants—from jerk shack to French fine dining—keep the celebration rolling.
Why couples love it
Fast facts for planners
The “Beautiful Beginnings” wedding package (arch, bouquet, cake) is free with a three-night stay; extra guests or décor upgrades are priced à la carte. Couples who want to flow straight from “I do” into honeymoon mode, without spreadsheets or surprise bills, will find Sandals South Coast a standout Jamaica destination wedding resort.
Opened in 2023, this 485-suite, adults-only destination-wedding resort now ranks among the 25 standout all-inclusive wedding resorts in Mexico, earning a 4.6 out of 5 score from nearly 4,000 TripAdvisor reviews. Its wood-and-stone design borders a quiet coast north of Playa del Carmen, blending Bali-style accents with Riviera Maya spirit.
Wedding playbook: begin with the complimentary “Wedding in Paradise” package, free when your group books 15 room-nights, or upgrade to the 20-guest “Eternal Love” plan at about US $5,299, according to Hola Weddings. Both include a minister, ceremony décor, sparkling-wine toast, and private cocktail hour. Couples can add rooftop-terrace photos, a mariachi aisle, or a cenote day-after shoot à la carte.
Guests enjoy Secrets’ Unlimited-Luxury®, so sushi lunches and midnight Champagne stay off the bill. Days drift among seven infinity pools and the rooftop Preferred Club lounge; nights light up with live DJs and beach fire pits. Reviewers note that staff remember your drink order by day two, showing service matches the sleek setting. Trend-seeking couples who want a photogenic Playa del Carmen destination wedding resort, plus a planner who handles every permit and petal, will feel at home here.
This 324-suite, adults-only destination wedding resort combines Spanish-colonial turrets with teal Caribbean water, feeling part private castle, part chic beach club. TripAdvisor guests award a 4.7 out of 5 score across more than 11,900 reviews, according to TripAdvisor.
Ceremony venues
Reserve a Castle Junior Suite at least six months ahead and the resort waives its basic ceremony fee for Monday-to-Wednesday weddings (arch, bouquet, cake), according to Marriott. Upgrades such as a horse-drawn arrival, violin duo, or rooftop bonfire are priced à la carte through Marriott’s Luxury Collection planners.
After the last dance, newlyweds can slip into a plunge-pool suite or, for a splurge, the 5,500-square-foot Castle Island Suite perched on its own rock with three indoor pools, as highlighted by The Daily Beast. Five à la carte restaurants plus the eateries of Sanctuary Town next door keep menus fresh for multi-day celebrations. When waves break below the balcony and pelicans drift by, the “just-married” feeling lingers a little longer at this Dominican Republic destination wedding resort.
This 67-villa, adults-only wedding resort rests on a private island thirty minutes by speedboat from Malé International Airport, according to Anantara. Couples usually pick a symbolic beach or sandbank ceremony, which includes Maldivian Bodu Beru drummers, a petal aisle, and a sunset dhoni cruise, then complete the legal paperwork at home.
Fast facts
The trip involves a flight plus a speedboat, yet the reward is postcard-level privacy: aqua-glass lagoon, Milky Way nights, and wedding photos friends will swear are filters. For couples seeking an adults-only Maldives destination wedding resort that pairs easy planning with maximum romance, Anantara Veli is hard to top.
An hour’s drive south of Miami, this 135-bungalow, adults-only (21+) wedding resort spans twelve waterfront acres on Florida Bay, according to TripAdvisor.
Why couples choose it
Ceremony settings span a sunset pier or a chartered catamaran, and the events team handles permits, petals, and post-vow Key lime pie slices. Each 900-square-foot bungalow offers an outdoor shower and garden veranda; many face the bay so you can swap a formal reception for a private fire-pit finale beneath Florida stars. Couples who want palm trees without passports, and zero TSA lines, will find this Florida Keys destination wedding resort an easy yes.
Getting little cousins, college friends, and grandparents under one roof takes resorts that balance water-park thrills with spa-day calm. The properties ahead strike that balance, with kid-magnet perks on one side and date-night luxuries on the other, so romance never feels like a compromise.
Think of this resort as the Swiss-Army knife of destination weddings: five themed villages, 23 eateries, and a 45,000-square-foot Pirates Island water park keep every age group busy from wheels down to bouquet toss, according to the resort.
Book any three-night stay and Beaches’ “Wedding on Us” package covers the basics: officiant, bouquet, two-tier cake, ceremony décor, and a dedicated concierge, all at no extra charge. Need more sparkle? Add a steel-drum band, private beach barbecue, or Sesame Street® guest visit for the children.
Parents praise the certified nannies and Kids Camp, while teens disappear into the Xbox lounge or PADI dive lessons. After dark, family clans regroup for sushi, wood-fired pizza, or jerk chicken before settling into rooms across the Key West, Italian, French, and Caribbean villages.
With a 4.3 out of 5 TripAdvisor score built on more than 16,700 reviews, according to TripAdvisor, Beaches turns the usual logistical headache of a multigenerational wedding into a sun-drenched reunion where toddlers and retirees share the dance floor, and nobody signs a single bar tab. This family-friendly destination wedding resort lives up to its name.
Jungle-draped hills on one side and a crescent of Pacific sand on the other frame this 447-suite, family-friendly all-inclusive resort, letting couples pair a beachfront “I do” with zip-lines or volcanic mud baths the same afternoon.
Wedding blueprint
Why guests stay happy
With an on-site coordinator managing every vendor and a rainforest adventure just beyond the gate, Dreams Las Mareas blends ease and adrenaline for couples seeking a Costa Rica destination wedding resort that delivers true Pura Vida.
Only about 120 hotels across North America hold AAA’s coveted Five-Diamond rating, representing less than one-half percent of all inspected properties. The luxury destination wedding resorts in this section live in that rare air (or aspire to it), pairing bucket-list scenery with butler teams who anticipate needs you did not even know you had. When every canapé, candle, and courtesy must earn a “wow,” these stages are built for red-carpet vows.
One of just 121 hotels worldwide carrying AAA’s Five-Diamond badge in 2025, according to AAA, Grand Velas Los Cabos treats weddings like red-carpet premieres. Ceremonies unfold on a cliff-edge terrace where desert meets the Sea of Cortez, and planners can add sunset fireworks, a Michelin-inspired tasting menu, or a live sax interlude without surprise up-charges, thanks to the resort’s transparent fee sheet.
Wedding math
The “Eternally Yours” package for up to 25 guests starts around US $9,500 and covers ceremony décor, a solo violinist, four-course reception, open bar, and a next-day newlywed massage. When the sax quiets, couples can slip to a plunge-pool balcony, watch Pacific waves crash, and remember that Grand Velas Los Cabos turns a ceremony into pure five-diamond sparkle.
With only 30 hillside or beachfront suites, this adults-focused boutique all-inclusive ranks number one among Antigua resorts on TripAdvisor with a 4.8 out of 5 score from more than 1,800 reviews, according to TripAdvisor. Privacy runs so deep you may hear tree frogs louder than neighbors.
Wedding notes
Daytime drifts between plunge-pool dips, sunrise yoga, and paddleboard laps across the bay; after dark, lanterns trace the sand while farm-to-fork kitchen plates produce grown on-site, showing that luxury and sustainability can share one table. Staff often remember your espresso order and the precise shade of rum in your welcome drink, turning subtle service into lasting memory.
For couples craving fewer guests, deeper connection, and wedding photos that read like a travel memoir, this Antigua destination wedding resort whispers “yes” with effortless grace.
This family-owned, 64-suite boutique all-inclusive hugs a private 1,600-foot stretch of Grand Anse, named one of the Caribbean’s top ten beaches by USA Today. The resort has held AAA’s Five-Diamond badge for nine consecutive years, one of only five Caribbean properties to do so in 2025.
Wedding snapshot
Why guests rave
When lanterns glow at sunset and a steel-pan rhythm drifts down the sand, you see how this Grenada destination wedding resort pairs casual warmth with Five-Diamond polish.
St. Lucia’s twin Pitons already appear surreal; Jade Mountain frames them like a living mural from 29 open-air “sanctuaries,” each missing the fourth wall so mountains and sea pour straight into a private infinity pool. The adults-only retreat holds a perfect 5.0 out of 5 TripAdvisor score from more than 1,500 reviews, according to TripAdvisor, many calling it “the most romantic hotel on earth.”
Wedding facts
Add-ons span sunset sails to next-morning spa rituals, all arranged by planners who know St. Lucia’s paperwork, leaving you free to focus on a Pitons-backdropped “I do.” When a major domo appears with chilled Champagne the moment you imagine it, you will understand why this St. Lucia destination wedding resort turns matrimony into high art.
Marlon Brando once called Tetiaroa “beautiful beyond my capacity to describe,” and this private-island resort proves him right. With just 35 beachfront villas, The Brando holds a near-perfect 4.9 out of 5 TripAdvisor score from more than 850 reviews, according to TripAdvisor. Solar panels, coconut-oil biofuel, and seawater air-conditioning meet about 70 percent of its energy needs, earning LEED-Platinum status and a spot on National Geographic’s “Unique Lodges of the World” list.
Between events, guests paddleboard alongside baby reef sharks, snorkel the coral nursery, or join scientists monitoring coconut crabs. Nightly rates begin near US $4,800 per villa, yet few places let you marry on a carbon-neutral stage that still pours unlimited vintage Champagne. For eco-minded couples seeking a once-in-a-lifetime Tahiti destination wedding resort, The Brando delivers a love story worthy of Hollywood.
Nearly 70 percent of couples now weave sustainability into their celebration, from skipping single-use décor to offsetting travel emissions. Resorts are meeting that demand with planet-first perks that keep the luxury intact:
Bottom line: five-star comfort and ecological stewardship can share the same itinerary. Choosing an eco-friendly destination wedding resort turns your first act as a married couple into a quiet gift for future honeymooners.
Free ceremony generally covers arch, bouquet, cake, and officiant; receptions and décor upgrades cost extra. Confirm current package terms with the resort’s wedding team, as inclusions change year to year.
Destination weddings are no longer a niche trend; they’ve become a mainstream way for couples to trade traditional planning stress for an experience-focused celebration that doubles as a vacation. The 12 all-inclusive resorts in the article show how varied these options can be, from adults-only havens and family-friendly mega-resorts to ultra-luxe hideaways, each bundling venue, food, drinks, and planning into clear, upfront packages. This structure not only simplifies logistics but also keeps budgets more predictable while still allowing for customized touches like unique ceremony venues, cultural elements, and tailored excursions. A strong thread throughout is intentionality: most celebrations lean toward smaller guest counts and more meaningful time together, rather than large, obligation-driven events. At the top end, eco-forward properties prove that couples no longer have to choose between five-star luxury and sustainability, integrating renewable energy, conservation projects, and farm-to-table dining into the wedding experience. Ultimately, the guide suggests that the “right” destination wedding resort isn’t just about a pretty beach, but about aligning your guest mix, values, and desired level of luxury with a place that can execute your vision seamlessly.
