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It’s a weekday morning and there you are at your local courthouse, dressed for your wedding and waiting under strip lighting with a handful of strangers for your names to be called. Then, before you know it, it’s over. Vows are exchanged and your marriage is signed, sealed, and delivered. Sure, you got the budget-friendly, stress-free wedding you wanted. But for many couples, it can also feel a little underwhelming. And if any part of you is thinking, I wish we were doing this on a beach in Jamaica instead, it may be worth asking why you’re saving the beach for the honeymoon.

The appeal of the court wedding is clear: no production, no giant guest list, no months spent choosing napkins. But the real comparison is not whether an expensive destination wedding is better than a court wedding. In fact, if you’re planning a court wedding and then booking a honeymoon anyway, those are two parts of the same budget. At Sandals & Beaches Resorts, qualifying stays can include the wedding itself, which means the trip you were already going to take can also become the place you say “I do.” You can keep the guest list tiny (even just the two of you!) without making the occasion feel small. The legal ceremony, the honeymoon, and the sense of having gone somewhere extraordinary can all happen in one journey. Small does not have to mean plain, and budget-friendly doesn’t have to mean forgettable.

Is a Destination Wedding Better Than a Court Wedding?

A destination wedding can be better than a court wedding if you are already planning to take a honeymoon. A court wedding is usually the cheapest way to complete the legal marriage itself, but at Sandals Resorts, qualifying Caribbean stays can include the wedding package at no additional cost, allowing the ceremony and honeymoon to happen in one trip. 

Couples can keep the celebration as small as they like, including an elopement for two, while still choosing a beach, garden, oceanfront gazebo, or overwater setting. Sandals also provides wedding-planning support, help with local marriage documents, ceremony coordination, and honeymoon inclusions.

• Best for: Couples who want the simplicity and intimacy of a court wedding but also plan to take a Caribbean honeymoon.
• Your Wedding On Us: Complimentary Sweetheart Wedding Package for up to 10 resort guests with a qualifying seven-night stay in a Club or Butler room category.
• Two Lovebirds Wedding Package: $1,300 for an intimate and special celebration for just the two of you, with accommodation booked separately.
• Free Weddings in Jamaica: Qualifying five-night stays at Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Caribbean Cay, or Sandals South Coast can include a complimentary legal wedding ceremony and reception for up to 50 people, with Jamaica’s marriage license and administrative fees waived.
• Key advantage: Instead of paying for a court wedding first and then planning a separate honeymoon, couples can combine the legal ceremony, celebration, and honeymoon into one Caribbean journey.

The Courthouse Fee Alone Can Cost More Than a Sandals Ceremony

The strongest argument for a court wedding has always been cost. There is no venue to decorate, no reception to cater, and no long list of vendors to hire. Depending on where you live, the marriage license and ceremony fees may amount to little more than a few hundred dollars. And if your comparison ends there, the courthouse may make financial sense. But for many couples, the wedding is only one part of the plan. Once the paperwork is signed, there is still a honeymoon to book: flights, accommodation, meals, drinks, activities, and all the little extras that turn a few days away into a real celebration. That’s where the calculation changes. 

At Sandals & Beaches Resorts, couples booking a qualifying seven-night stay in a Club or Butler room category can receive the Sweetheart Wedding Package at no additional cost through the Your Wedding On Us offer. The package applies to weddings of up to 10 resort guests, with eligible ceremonies held Monday through Thursday between 9am and 2pm.

In other words, if you were already planning to spend seven nights honeymooning in the Caribbean, the wedding itself can become part of the trip rather than a separate expense before it. And however reasonable the courthouse ceremony fee is, it probably can’t beat a complimentary wedding

Compare the whole experience, not just the license fee

A court wedding and a destination wedding are not identical experiences, so comparing only their ceremony fees does not tell the whole story. Think instead about what you expect to spend across the entire celebration at the start of your married life.

A court wedding route might include:

• marriage license and ceremony fees
• wedding outfits
• photography
• perhaps lunch, dinner, or drinks afterward
• a separate honeymoon with flights, accommodation, food, drinks, and activities

A Sandals or Beaches destination wedding combines the ceremony and honeymoon within the same journey. With a qualifying stay, the Sweetheart Wedding Package includes wedding planning support, on-site coordination, a ceremony location, floral elements, chairs and music, a private one-hour cocktail reception, wedding cake, and honeymoon extras. Which means you can keep the simplicity and save what would have been your wedding budget on perks, upgrades and destination extras to make it a once-in-a-lifetime dream Caribbean experience.

For couples considering Jamaica, there is an additional limited-time option. The current Free Weddings in Jamaica promotion applies at Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Caribbean Cay, and Sandals South Coast. Couples booking a minimum five-night stay in a Club or Butler room can receive a free upgraded Sweetheart Wedding Package for a legal wedding ceremony and reception for up to 50 people, with Jamaica’s marriage license and administrative fees also waived. Eligible weddings must take place Monday through Thursday between 9am and 2pm, with bookings made by December 31, 2026 for qualifying 2027 travel.

Free Weddings in Jamaica

Someone Else Files Your Paperwork Before You Even Land 

But doesn’t a destination wedding also mean a lot of paperwork and the stress of figuring out another country’s requirements on your own? This is another area where Sandals & Beaches can take those worries off your plate. Every Sandals wedding package includes support from a Wedding Planning Team before travel and an On-Site Wedding Team once you arrive. The team helps prepare the documents required for the local marriage license and guides couples through the process for their chosen island.

You will still need to provide your legal identification and any required paperwork relating to a previous marriage. Required arrival windows and other legal conditions continue to apply according to the destination. The difference is that you are not working out an unfamiliar legal process alone.

It’s also important to note that government marriage license and administrative fees are separate from the wedding package and vary across the Caribbean. Within the Sandals portfolio, Jamaica’s legal marriage license and administrative fees are $250, while some other islands cost more. Curaçao, for example, has a $750 legal ceremony fee. Couples should therefore factor both the resort package and the destination’s legal requirements into their decision.

The Honeymoon Isn’t a Separate Trip You Plan Later

If you do not want a honeymoon, a local court wedding remains difficult to beat for cost alone. But if a honeymoon package is already part of the plan, the two choices begin to overlap. At Sandals & Beaches, you arrive for the wedding and stay for the honeymoon. There is no second round of airfare to book, additional hotel to choose, or itinerary to organize once the marriage certificate is signed. The place where you say “I do” also becomes the place where you celebrate afterward. One morning there are vows and cake. The next there is breakfast, a beach, and nowhere you particularly need to be.

Every Sandals & Beaches wedding package includes honeymoon elements rather than treating the honeymoon as an unrelated add-on. Depending on the package, these include a honeymoon dinner and even a honeymoon experience, with touches such as sparkling wine, a sweet treat, breakfast in bed, and romantic turndown service on the wedding night. Sandals & Beaches also have a standalone Free Honeymoon package for qualifying couples, while eligible seven-night anniversary stays can include a complimentary anniversary night.

One budget can do two jobs

 This is also a more useful way to think about value. Suppose, for example, that you have already allocated money for seven nights in Jamaica, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, or another Caribbean island. You plan to fly there after your courthouse ceremony and spend your first week of married life at a resort. Now compare that with flying to the same resort and having your legal wedding there too. You still have the honeymoon expense, because you always intended to take the honeymoon. What potentially disappears is the need to create and pay for a separate wedding at home first.

Two Names on a Guest List Still Gets the Full Caribbean Treatment

Perhaps you are considering a court wedding not just because of your budget, but because you love the idea of not having a whole wedding production. No seating plan. No extended-family politics. No 120-person invite list. No reception timeline. Just the two of you and a great big yes.

But a destination wedding doesn’t require you to give up that simplicity. Sandals & Beaches’ Two Lovebirds Wedding Package is designed specifically for an elopement-style celebration for two. The current package starts at $1,300, with accommodation booked separately for a minimum three-night stay. You can still have the private, pared-back wedding you want. It just happens somewhere extraordinarily beautiful.

 The Two Lovebirds package includes:

• everything you need for your wedding ceremony and reception, plus
• a Private Candlelight Dinner;
• a Scents of Love Couples Massage;
• and 10 digital wedding images.

Keep the intimacy, change the setting

The strongest case for a Caribbean elopement is atmosphere. You can still exchange vows with only two names on the guest list, but instead of getting married in a room whose primary purpose is government administration, the setting can be an oceanfront gazebo, a tropical garden, a stretch of beach, or an overwater chapel. All the vibes – none of the stress!

You Can Visit the Venue Before You Ever Book the Wedding

One legitimate hesitation about any destination wedding is that you may be committing to a place you have never seen. Sandals & Beaches Resorts’ Test-Drive Your Wedding program is designed to answer those questions before couples commit to the wedding itself. Couples can visit a participating Sandals or Beaches resort at a special rate, experience the property, and explore the wedding spaces in person. If they subsequently book five or more rooms under a qualifying group code, the current program offers up to $1,500 in credit toward the wedding.

Use the visit to make decisions

A Test-Drive is most useful when you arrive with a shortlist rather than treating it only as a preview vacation. For example, look at:

• the ceremony venues at roughly the time you hope to marry
• the distance between rooms and event spaces
• possible rain alternatives
• where photographs could take place
• the atmosphere of restaurants you may use for wedding events

What First-Time Caribbean Couples Never Think to Ask

Destination wedding planning becomes much easier once you know which costs and deadlines sit outside the headline package price. Here are some of the factors that can make a big difference, but that you may not think to query. 

Ask how the payment schedule works

Current Sandals & Beaches wedding packages require a $250 non-refundable deposit at booking, followed by 50% of the invoice 120 days before arrival and the final balance 60 days before travel. This allows you to stagger your payments over time, and save a little extra before the big day. Do ensure you put those dates into the wedding budget immediately to ensure that a major payment doesn’t land during the same month as flights, clothing, or other wedding costs.

Your preferred time and day may cost more

If your vision involves a particular ceremony time, ask about premiums before you fall in love with it. For example:

• Friday and Saturday ceremonies carry a $250 premium
• a twilight ceremony at 5pm carries a $600 premium
• the Overwater Wedding Chapel, where available, has a $750 venue fee

 None of these fees are hidden once you know to ask. But they can alter the price comparison if your original calculation assumes a complimentary weekday ceremony.

 And if you choose the Your Wedding On Us offer, that $250 deposit will be applied towards your final invoice including your government license and administration fees.    

Decide what actually deserves an upgrade

One of the advantages of starting with a complete package is that you do not have to upgrade everything. Perhaps the standard florals are perfectly suited to an intimate wedding, but photography matters more to you. Perhaps you care more about the overwater chapel setting than additional décor. Maybe your priority is the room where you will spend the honeymoon rather than the ceremony styling. Spend where the difference will be meaningful to you.

Why Sandals South Coast Answers Both Sides of This Question

If there is one resort that neatly illustrates the argument between court wedding simplicity and destination-wedding experience, it is Sandals South Coast in Jamaica. It sits within a 500-acre natural preserve, where mountains meet the Caribbean and the resort feels deliberately removed from everyday life. For couples who want privacy, it can deliver the quiet scale of an elopement while still offering the setting and sense of occasion they might miss at home.

 Jamaica also carries the lowest marriage-license fee at $250. And Sandals South Coast is one of the three properties eligible for the current Free Weddings in Jamaica promotion, which waives that fee and the $250 deposit fee alongside the free upgraded Sweetheart Wedding Package for qualifying 2027 legal weddings.

One of its greatest draws is that Sandals South Coast offers the Overwater Wedding Chapel. Its glass-floor aisle and setting above the Caribbean Sea create an obvious visual contrast with the functional setting of a courthouse. Who wouldn’t prefer to walk over the ocean to their sweetheart rather than a courtroom aisle?

Then stay for the honeymoon

Once the ceremony ends, nothing needs to happen next. No drive to the airport. No packing before the honeymoon. No change of hotel. You are already at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, with the wedding behind you and the vacation ahead. All that’s left is to pour the champagne and get your toes in the sand.

The Real Choice Was Never Cheap Versus Beautiful

A court wedding can be exactly right. It is simple, intimate, and budget-friendly, and for couples who care only about completing the legal marriage with minimal ceremony, there is little reason to complicate it. But for couples considering a court wedding only to avoid the expense and production of a traditional wedding, there’s no need to give up the idea that getting married should feel special.

If a small guest list, less planning, and a more manageable budget are what you want, the honeymoon you were going to take anyway is also the perfect place to get married. Visit the Sandals website or Beaches website and complete the inquiry form to get started!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Sandals or Beaches wedding legally binding?

Yes, Sandals & Beaches offers legally binding weddings in destinations where legal ceremonies are available, provided couples meet the marriage requirements of the island where they are getting married. The Wedding Planning Team and On-Site Wedding Team assist with preparation of the necessary marriage-license documentation, but couples are still responsible for supplying required identification, prior-marriage paperwork where applicable, and meeting local residency or timing rules.

How much does a Sandals or Beaches wedding cost compared to a courthouse wedding?

At Sandals & Beaches, the Sweetheart Wedding Package can be complimentary with a qualifying seven-night Club or Butler stay, while the Two Lovebirds Wedding Package starts at $1,300 for couples planning an intimate celebration. This means that couples already planning a honeymoon after their court wedding can save by having a destination wedding instead, because the ceremony, planning support, resort stay, and honeymoon experience all form part of the same trip.

Do we need a lawyer to get married in the Caribbean at a Sandals or Beaches resort?

No. A lawyer is not required for a Sandals or Beaches wedding. The resort’s Wedding Planning Team helps prepare the documents needed for the local marriage license, while couples provide their own identification and any documents relating to a previous marriage. Legal requirements vary by island, so couples should follow the timelines and instructions provided for their chosen destination.

What is the Two Lovebirds Wedding Package?

The Two Lovebirds Wedding Package is designed for couples planning an elopement-style wedding or vow renewal with just the two of them. It starts at $1,300, with accommodation booked separately and a minimum three-night stay. The package includes a Private Candlelight Dinner, a Scents of Love Couples Massage, and 10 digital images, giving couples a simple, intimate celebration without the scale or planning demands of a traditional wedding.

Does a Sandals or Beaches wedding include the honeymoon?

Sandals & Beaches wedding packages include honeymoon elements such as a honeymoon dinner and romantic touches during the stay, so couples do not need to plan an entirely separate trip after the ceremony. Sandals & Beaches also offer a standalone Free Honeymoon Package for qualifying newlyweds, while eligible anniversary stays of seven nights or longer can include one complimentary night. For couples already planning a Caribbean honeymoon, this is one of the biggest reasons a destination wedding can make financial and practical sense.

Which Caribbean islands have the lowest marriage license fees at Sandals?

Jamaica has the lowest at $250. Saint Lucia is listed at $495, while Curaçao’s legal ceremony fee is $750. Curaçao also offers a $400 symbolic ceremony option for couples who prefer to complete the legal marriage process at home. Government fees vary by destination and are separate from the cost of the wedding package unless a specific promotion waives them.

What is the Test-Drive Your Wedding program?

Test-Drive Your Wedding allows couples to visit a Sandals or Beaches resort before committing to hold their wedding there. The visit gives them an opportunity to experience the property, explore ceremony venues, and get a clearer sense of how the resort will work for their celebration. Couples who subsequently book five rooms or more under a qualifying group code can receive up to $1,500 in credit toward their wedding.

How many guests can attend a free Sandals or Beaches wedding?

The Your Wedding On Us offer includes the Sweetheart Wedding Package for up to 10 resort guests when the couple books a qualifying seven-night stay in a Club or Butler room. The current Free Weddings in Jamaica promotion for select Sandals resorts expands that limit to up to 50 people at Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Caribbean Cay, and Sandals South Coast, subject to the promotion’s qualifying stay, booking dates, and ceremony requirements.

What is the Free Weddings in Jamaica offer?

Free Weddings in Jamaica is a current promotion available at Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Caribbean Cay, and Sandals South Coast. Couples booking a qualifying stay of at least five nights in a Club or Butler room can receive a free upgraded Sweetheart Wedding Package for a legal wedding ceremony and reception for up to 50 people, with Jamaica’s marriage license and administrative fees and the $250 non-refundable deposit also waived. The offer applies to qualifying bookings made by December 31, 2026 for travel between January 2 and December 20, 2027, with eligible ceremonies taking place Monday through Thursday between 9am and 2pm.