Married with children

By Sallie Brady

updated 7:02 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2007

Here are some fabulous wedding-worthy resorts that will also appeal to the littlest ones on your guest list.

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa, Providenciales
The folks who perfected adults-only all-inclusives with the Sandals line do the same for families at Beaches resorts. Fresh from a $100 million renovation, this outpost boats a prime spot on Grace Bay and is designed to resemble a French village, complete with manicured gardens and sidewalk bistros, five swimming pools and miles of sandy white beach.

Romantic Ambience: Entrust the tots to the care of Beaches’ professional nannies and spend some quality couple time at the Red Lane Spa. With the In Each Other’s Hands treatment, you’ll both learn the basics of massage. Then choose a custom massage oil, go can go back to your room and practice.

Kid Quotient: From the newly expanded Pirates Island water park to unlimited Xbox playtime, your youngest guests will be begging to come back next year.

Planning Pluses: Wedding planning is a breeze thanks to Beaches’ Dream Team:  packages designed by wedding planner Preston Bailey, bridal accessories by Beverly Clark and cake decor from Sylvia Weinstock (her custom-designed sugar flowers are flown in from New York.

Only Here: Kids will flip for the other bold-faced names: Sign them up to make chocolate-chip cookies with Cookie Monster, share story time with Elmo, and have sand-bucket favors stuffed with Sesame Street souvenirs delivered to their rooms.   

Three-night all-inclusive packages from $1270 per couple.

Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
For a laid-back, toes-in-the-sand family wedding that won’t break the budget, head to this recently renovated 519-room Club Med. The all-inclusive chain has long been a favorite with spirited adults, but they offer cool kids’ programs too. While you’re dozing in a hammock, they’ll be skating, kayaking, or flying on the trapeze in circus school.

Romantic Ambience: Take a day-sail to the resort’s private isle; first you’ll snorkel, then you’ll relax with a beachside picnic of lobster and champagne.

Kid Quotient: Mothers with infants can order an in-room microwave and bottle warmers; in-room babysitters are also available. The new David Rockwell-designed teen club has everything from video games to telescopes.

Planning Pluses: Get away from the other guests by holding your event in a special private ballroom that opens onto a white-sand beach. Guests will love the chef’s signature hors d’oeuvres: mini empanadas, tostones, and fried yucca.

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Only Here: Kids practice singing and dancing with their adult instructors during the day, then stage performances for resort guests at night -- priceless.

Seven-night all-inclusive stays from $770 per person; children’s rates vary from 25 to 50 percent off adult fare, and tots under 2 are free. 

Beaches From the newly expanded Pirates Island water park to unlimited Xbox playtime, your youngest guests will be begging to come back next year to Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa.

Turtle Bay Resort, Oahu
Nestled on 880 acres of Oahu’s unspoiled North Shore just an hour from Honolulu, this comprehensive family resort offers everything from championship golf to a world-class spa. For ceremonies, think big -- a ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Pacific can accommodate up to 1,000 (yikes!) -- or go intimate with an al fresco nuptials on the grassy Kuilima Point, led by an authentic kahu (Hawaiian priest).

Romantic Ambience: Newlyweds will want to splurge on a cozy beach cottage with a marble bath, plantation four-poster and postage stamp of manicured lawn that separates you from the Pacific. (Julia Roberts and hubby Danny Moder like to escape here with twins Hazel and Phinnaeus).

Turtle Bay Nestled on 880 acres of Oahu’s unspoiled North Shore just an hour from Honolulu, this comprehensive family resort offers everything from championship golf to a world-class spa.

Kid Quotient: With the resort’s Keiki Turtle Club, the junior set will learn about Hawaiian culture through lei-making, hula dancing and Hawaiian pole fishing. The night camp offers fun activities like reef walks, sand crab hunts and coconut s’mores by the campfire.

Planning Pluses: An onsite stable means you can arrive at your ceremony by horse and carriage, or literally ride off into the sunset with your groom. Arrange for the rehearsal dinner in Ola, the resort’s new open-air seaside restaurant; chef Fred DeAngelo’s kalua pork quesadillas are tops.

Only Here: Teach your wedding party how to hang ten at the resident Hans Hedemann’s Surf School.

Rooms from $295.

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