How to Plan a Sandals Destination Wedding: The Complete Guide

A Sandals destination wedding covers more ground than most couples expect — from an intimate elopement for two to a full multi-day celebration with 70+ guests. The right path depends on your guest list, your budget, and how far out you're planning. Here's how it actually works, what's legally required, and how to choose the resort and package that fit your wedding.

How a Sandals Destination Wedding Works

Every Sandals wedding runs through the same on-site wedding program, Aisle to Isle Weddings, at each resort. That team handles ceremony coordination, an officiant, and photography as part of every package, so you're not hiring outside vendors or arranging a separate venue. From there, the difference between the four package tiers comes down to guest count and how much ceremony and reception you want built in — from an intimate two-person elopement up to a 70-room celebration. There's no complimentary wedding package; every tier has a real starting price.

Comparing the Four Sandals Wedding Package Tiers

Pricing and inclusions shift periodically, and each package carries its own room-count and stay-length requirements.

Legal Requirements for Getting Married in the Caribbean as a U.S. Couple

Requirements vary by island and change over time, but most Caribbean destination weddings — including Sandals ceremonies — share a common shape for U.S. couples: a valid passport with at least six months of remaining validity, proof that both partners are free to marry (a certified divorce decree or death certificate if either of you was previously married), and a short residency or notice period on the island before the ceremony can take place, commonly a matter of one to a few business days rather than weeks. Marriage license fees are typically paid locally, and the license itself is usually arranged through the resort's on-site wedding team rather than something you file yourselves ahead of time.

Because these details differ by island and are updated periodically by local authorities, treat any general list — including this one — as a starting point, not a final checklist. Sandals' wedding coordinator confirms the exact, current documentation required for your specific resort and travel dates once you book, and a Sandals Elite Advisor can flag anything that needs extra lead time — like tracking down an old divorce decree — before it becomes a scheduling problem.

How Far Ahead to Book a Sandals Wedding

Planning timeline scales with guest count more than almost anything else. A Bliss or Epic package built around a group of 20-140 guests benefits from booking 9-12+ months out — that's the lead time needed to secure a large room block at your preferred resort, lock in a ceremony time before other couples take it, and give your guests enough notice to book their own travel. A Sweetheart or Two Lovebirds package, with far fewer moving pieces, can often be booked comfortably within 4-6 months.

Two Lovebirds, the smallest package, has the least logistics of all — just the two of you, no guest room block to coordinate — but it's still worth booking several months ahead rather than last-minute, both to lock in your preferred ceremony date and time slot and to leave enough runway for any legal documentation with a longer lead time.

Elopement vs. a Full Guest Celebration: Which Fits Your Trip

The real decision most couples are making isn't which of the four package tiers to pick — it's whether they want an intimate, guest-free ceremony or a celebration built around family and friends. Two Lovebirds is the elopement route, from $1,300: a legal beach ceremony, officiant, flowers, cake, and a photoshoot, with no guest list to manage and no reception to plan. Our Sandals honeymoon packages guide covers what's included in the separate, complimentary honeymoon stay that naturally follows a wedding.

The other three packages exist for couples who want people there. Sweetheart keeps things small and intimate — up to 10 close family and friends, a private cocktail reception — while Bliss and Epic are built for couples hosting a real wedding party, with reception space, group dining, and room-block pricing that rewards a larger travel party. If you're still weighing which package tier makes sense for your guest count and budget, current pricing and full inclusions for all four packages are the best place to compare them side by side.

What a Sandals Wedding Specialist Actually Does

Every Sandals resort has its own on-site wedding team, running the Aisle to Isle Weddings program, that handles the parts you'd otherwise need outside vendors for: the officiant, ceremony logistics, decor, and photography are coordinated directly by that team as part of your package. A Sandals Elite Advisor works alongside that on-site team from the booking side — confirming which package fits your guest count, coordinating room blocks so your wedding party books under one reservation, and securing preferred ceremony time slots before they're released to the general public — at no additional cost beyond what you'd pay booking directly. My role, as a certified Sandals Elite Advisor, is matching couples with the right package and resort and handling that booking coordination — the ceremony itself stays with Sandals' on-site wedding team throughout.

Choosing a Resort for a Wedding vs. a Regular Vacation

A resort that's perfect for a couples-only vacation isn't automatically the right pick once you're hosting guests. For a full guest celebration, prioritize room count and dedicated event space: Sandals Grande St. Lucian has a dedicated overwater wedding chapel seating 40 guests, and resorts that share exchange privileges with sister properties — like the St. Lucia and Ocho Rios trios — give a larger guest list more restaurants and room categories to spread across. Sandals Royal Barbados' rooftop venue and large event space are built for bigger receptions, backed by 21 combined restaurants once you factor in its sister resort next door.

For an intimate Two Lovebirds elopement, the calculus flips — a smaller, quieter resort with strong beach quality matters more than event capacity. Sandals Grenada, our top overall honeymoon pick, works well here for the same reasons it suits honeymooners: no guest logistics to manage, just a beautiful ceremony backdrop.

Frequently Asked Questions