Destination wedding question ...
So I'm looking for a little advice, or at the very least some share-and-tell on similar experiences.
My fiance and I are currently in the midst of planning our destination wedding for next spring. Things are very, very preliminary right now because we're still finalizing a location with our travel agent. Right now we're considering Cuba, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic -- and looking very favourably at Punta Cana in the DR.
Here's where the question/dilemma comes in ... we've heard some nightmare stories about getting married in Punta Cana. I guess because there are so many resorts crammed into the area -- and only a couple local judges able to perform ceremonies -- it's notorious for officiants showing up late, early, mixing up bookings, etc. Our agent warned us about this right off the bat, but it's not something that really phases me -- as long as we get married at some point that week and our resort is relatively cooperative, I'm cool. :)
My fiance, however, has heard about couples coming back with wrong documentation -- finding out a few years later they're not legally married -- missing judges, etc., and is now a little worried. He's concerned it's going to end up being a major hassle, and also about the fact that fees for documentation and translation will probably run us about $500-$600 (Canadian) but a civil ceremony here is only $150. (Apparently this isn't the case in Jamaica, but is in Cuba ... so this may all be a moot point if we end up going to Jamaica anyway.)
Regardless, we're now discussing potential options to make our wedding as stress-free and budget-friendly as possible. So far, there are three that have been thrown around:
a) Have a civil wedding at City Hall with just ourselves prior to the trip, and hold a "symbolic" ceremony with all our family and friends at the resort.
b) Do the civil ceremony, but keep it on the down-low, and still have the symbolic wedding at the resort. (This I'm not a fan of AT ALL, because I think it's somewhat deceptive not to let people know and unfair to everyone who's paying/taking time to come -- on the flip side, we have friends who did this when they got married in the DR and were really happy with how it turned out and how uncomplicated it kept everything.)
c) Have the legal ceremony down in the Caribbean, wherever we decide to go.
Basically I'm looking for any advice on this, whether to soothe my fiance's nerves or make me more open-minded about the idea of having the legal ceremony here in Canada ... did the prior-to civil ceremony really keep things simple? Any positive/negative stories to share about your destination wedding down south?
Any and all input is greatly appreciated!