Planning a destination wedding in Punta Cana during the pandemic. Is it a good thing?

It’s been almost 8 months since this worldwide pandemic situation started. This beautiful island closed its borders on March, and we are not lying when we say we lived very difficult times. Week after week, we received several mails with wedding cancellations and postponements, one of them was Andrew & Crystal’s wedding, who were planning their destination wedding at Hard Rock Punta Cana.

The initial date was May 17, but that didn’t happen. Mails after mails, it took a long time to set up a new date, but then, they found October 4th. Every one was wondering how it would be, including us since it was our second wedding after Dominican Republic re-opened their borders and everything was changed. New protocols, some restrictions, it definitely wasn’t how they had planned their celebration, but at least, they did it and it was gorgeous.

So if you are having your wedding in Punta Cana on the next weeks or months and your head is full of questions, maybe this testimonial from Crystal, a real “bride on the pandemic” could be helpful.

How was your destination wedding in Punta Cana affected by this pandemia?

We had to change our date due to the countries being shut down and quarantine. Even when the countries opened back up for tourism, we had difficulties with the airlines and multiple cancelled or changed flights. We only had 4 people that were not able to attend the wedding because of Covid related reasons. They were not able to obtain their passports in time because of closures within the US passport agencies. Thankfully we live in a state (Texas) that did not require quarantine following travel out of the country.

How you and your guests experienced the whole situation while here?

While in the Dominican Republic, we and our guests were able to forget there was a pandemic for the most part. We felt very safe everywhere we went. The hotel was very clean, employees followed protocols, and we were required to wear a mask in the lobby and in the restaurants if we were not at our table. We spent most of our time outside by the pool and beach, so it was very easy to forget there was anything wrong with the world. Upon return home, we are all healthy, happy and so grateful we made the trip to paradise!

Which was the hardest part of all this situation?

The hardest part of the whole situation was the constant unknown. It was hard to get excited and plan the wedding not knowing each month what was going to happen. We didn’t want to keep getting our hopes up just to have to cancel or reschedule again. Our guests thankfully were flexible, but it was stressful to have to change the date, flights, and time off for everyone.

Even though it could be hard to say, did you find anything positive that this situation has shown?

I feel like there has been a few positives that have come out of the pandemic. The hotel was very clean and sanitized the entire time we were there. I feel like it has made people more aware of sanitation, hygiene, and washing your hands to prevent spreading germs. We enjoyed the hotel having less people, and felt that we had a lot of space to ourselves, and room to move around. The service was phenomenal at the resort due to them having less people. They were all so grateful to have us there. Being at home for months has made us appreciate travel more.

What advice would you give to future brides?

The advice I would give to future brides is go for what you and your fiancé want. Don’t let anyone try to talk you out of your dream wedding. We went through the alcohol scare, and now the pandemic while planning our wedding. Many people tried talking us out of a destination wedding, but it was what we wanted. We are so glad we did have our dream wedding despite everything going on! Everyone that attended the wedding was so happy they came, and said it was the best wedding that they have ever been to . We didn’t let the Pandemic ruin our special day!

Would you recommend brides to keep their wedding plans and travel here?

Most definitely! We felt safer on the resort than at the local grocery store here in the United States. It was so clean, and everyone went out of their way to help us out. We felt like royalty from the minute we arrived in the Dominican Republic.

As photographers, we have a great experience with them. And damm, we really notice how we missed our ‘job’.
Cheers guys for eternal years of love!