Destination Wedding: Bahia, the Riu or the Barcelo?

[Future Mrs PBo]

My fiance and I are trying to decide between the Bahia, the Riu and the Barcelo. We will be getting married in March of 2014, not during spring break. People will be flying in from all over, California, Wisconsin/Illinois and the East Coast. We know that these things get expensive for guests, so we are trying to keep our costs down to try and get more people to come. We are thinking that we will have around 40-50 people, and for a 4-5 night stay with airfare included we are hoping that guests won't have to spend more than $1,400. 

 

One thing we are worried about is that guests who stay at one resort won't be able to go to other resorts (the Barcelo and Riu Palace locations, for example), while the Bahia is easy to get to and from each resort and you don't need special day passes. 

 

Also, the Bahia is really far from the airport. Was that a drag taking a shuttle? Or was it not too bad?

 

We would like a private dinner, cocktail hour/s, potentially bring our own photographer (unless you had a great experience with one at a certain resort - do tell), a beach on site, snorkeling if possible (the Bahia might be the only one with snorkeling... As you can tell, we are leaning toward the Bahia, but we were hoping a few of you could weigh in and let us know what you thought. We have read a ton of reviews about each restort, but not too many compare the locations. 

 

Thanks so much for your help... 

 

Last, please let us know if your wedding was included in your stay (a minimum number of guests, for example), or how much extra stuff was. 

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

Best,

 

Becca