Ultimate Travel Destination Wedding Blog: Top Venues, Resorts, and Tips

Mexico and the Dominican Republic are the two most popular all-inclusive wedding destinations for U.S. couples — and their legal marriage requirements could hardly be more different. Mexico asks for a blood test, an apostille, and a Spanish translation of your documents. The Dominican Republic skips the blood test but charges a flat, mandatory $800 government surcharge no other major destination applies. Neither is difficult, but getting the details wrong can delay your ceremony or add unplanned cost — here's exactly what each country requires, side by side.

Planning a destination wedding follows a different rhythm than a local one — guest travel time, resort group-contract deadlines, and legal document timelines all move at their own pace, and missing one can mean losing your date or your preferred package tier. This timeline lays out exactly what to handle and when, from the day you pick a destination through the final week before you fly out — built around the real booking windows VFL sees across Mexico and the Caribbean, not a generic wedding-blog checklist.