Whether you’re throwing a big wedding bash or celebrating with an intimate gathering of friends and family, these Caribbean resorts are magical and memorable destinations for newlyweds’ first kiss and the beginning of wedded bliss.
On the beach or off, your Caribbean destination wedding at the One&Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas is sure to be spectacular: couples can exchange vows on the resort’s Beach Deck or amid the majesty of the 12th-century Augustinian cloister overlooking the Ocean Club’s Versailles-inspired gardens. The acclaimed beachfront Dune restaurant by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten can be booked for rehearsal dinners, intimate receptions or even your wedding ceremony itself.
The new Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla offers the option of a casual ceremony and barbecue-and-bonfire reception along Meads Bay Beach as well as more formal affairs at the bluff-top Cobà restaurant, which can accommodate receptions of up to 200 guests and has an attached terrace that’s perfect for open-air cocktail receptions.
Barbados’ Sandy Lane is famed for its celebrity weddings and offers some atypical settings for a Caribbean wedding, including the upper level of The Spa, which overlooks the pool, and the resort’s country club, where the golf course and the Caribbean Sea provide the backdrop to ceremonies and receptions.
Every bride dreams of walking down the aisle on her wedding day: at COMO Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos, that aisle is a boardwalk leading to a white sand beach sprinkled with flower petals. Couples exchange vows under a gossamer canopy to spark a celebration with up to 120 guests; a buyout of this private island ensures the exclusivity you deserve.
Amanera is setting the standard for luxury in the Dominican Republic, and this beautiful new resort on Playa Grande melds naturally with the beauty of Hispaniola’s north coast: beachfront casitas are surrounded by thousands of acres of lush rainforest, and weddings here are sure to integrate local customs and culture—a trademark of all Aman resorts.
Any destination wedding at the Sugar Beach resort in St. Lucia should start with a spa day at the Rainforest Spa, where you’ll be immersed in the relaxed spirit of the islands with massages in the spa’s famous treehouse treatment rooms. Virtually anywhere on the resort is available as a setting for your wedding ceremony—after all, you can’t turn around here without a stunning view of St. Lucia’s twin Piton mountains or the shimmering white sands that give Sugar Beach its name.
The Sandals Royal Caribbean resort in Jamaica is making a big splash—quite literally—with the opening of the first over-the-water suites in the Caribbean islands. These romantic rooms are perfect for newlyweds, of course, and the resort also has an exclusive private island: the wedding party can sail out on an authentic dragon boat for a ceremony on the beach and a reception at the Royal Thai restaurant.
Beach or gazebo? That’s the toughest choice you’ll have to make when planning your wedding at the Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada, where your destination wedding can be flavored with treatments featuring indigenous spices at Janissa’s Spa, gourmet dining at Oliver’s restaurant, and an extended honeymoon stay in one of the resort’s Royal Collection Pool Suites, which not only have private pools but also patio saunas for relaxing and rejuvenation.
Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands is one of the most exclusive destination wedding locations in the Caribbean; owned by billionaire Richard Branson, the private island can host weddings with up to 200 guests on beautiful Turtle Beach or the south terrace of the hilltop Great House. When the celebration finally winds down, guests can depart by boat while the new couple stays behind to enjoy the serenity of the island’s exquisite villas, including a Dom Pérignon champagne toast for turndown service. A morning couple’s massage at the Bali Leha spa will get your first married day off to the best kind of start.
Location: One&Only Ocean Club, Bahamas
> Written by Bob Curley