wedding gazebo, Half Moon, Jamaica

Barefoot in the sand on Half Moon’s Sunrise Beach.

The basics

If you’re contemplating a wedding on a grand scale,  Half Moon, with its marble lobby and ocean-view terrace rooms, isn’t just one of Jamaica’s classic destination wedding resorts, it’s one of its largest. The resort’s 400 acres, with two miles of private, crescent-shaped beach (and more than 50 pools!), means that no matter how many weddings they host on a single day, you’re going to feel as if yours is the only one. The resort also has enough activities to keep even the most rambunctious among your guests happily occupied. Swim with the dolphins, anyone?

Wedding details

Ceremony and reception venues range from the intimate Sunset Beach Gazebo, which can seat up to 30 guests, to the Royal Pavilion, which offers the peace of mind of a covered area, with views across a croquet lawn to the sea beyond. We think the most romantic reception setting, though, is the Sugar Mill restaurant, whose 200-year-old working watermill sets just the right tone for a timeless event with up to 144 guests in attendance.

Getting there

One of the easiest Jamaican resorts to reach, Half Moon is a 15-minute, $30 taxi ride from the Montego Bay airport.

Keep in mind

As with most of the old-line Jamaican resorts, you’ll find families here, many of them British, who have been coming for generations. And you’ll find couples getting married here because it evokes some of the most pleasant memories of their childhood—not a bad tradition to start thinking about for when you have your own brood.

Sugar Mill restaurant, Half Moon, at night

Sugar Mill Restaurant creates romantic setting for reception.

 

 

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