Sharla's Moon Palace Review: June 20, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I know it’s been nearly a month since our wedding but you wouldn’t believe how ridiculously crazy life has been ever since. I apologize to those who won’t be able to read this in time for their own wedding!

I thought I’d just go through the whole week so that you know basically how it all went in “real life.” 

June 16th we arrived at the Moon Palace at 10:05 AM. Everything went smooth checking in (for us). We scheduled ourselves to be the first to arrive for the week so that we could deal with any bumps that would occur. Around 3 PM 3 other groups arrived…..this is where the NOT SO FUN part began. We had 15 rooms booked under our reservation and 13 of these were supposedly not paid for and/or had a remaining balance. Apparently the lovely Nancy Anduja from the PR office in Miami didn’t send all of our information stating that we had been paid in full for months. We all had copies of our invoices stating that we were paid in full, so we showed this to the front desk. They simply said “It does not matter senorita, we can not do anything about this. I’m sorry you will have to wait until the morning when we can speak with the Miami office.” Basically, suggesting my grandparents sleep outside for the night. NOT COOL!! I eventually ended up in the managers office for a couple hours (wasting my vacation) getting everyone in a room for the night. He assured me we would get this all settled. Tuesday and Wednesday groups kept arriving and kept having problems. It was all eventually straightened out… it just sucked spending a good chunk of each day in the office trying to get everyone in their room.

The Resort: Amazing. It is extremely large so I was a bit worried about the older group we had with us but the golf carts ran every 5 minutes or so during the day. If you needed one any other time you could just call the front desk. It was very convenient. The rooms were clean and spacious. They used all Biosilk products in the shower/bath so I was pleasantly surprised. Great maid service…never had a complaint. Food was good nothing I can complain about but a couple of our guests did get a little sick. I think it's to be expected when you are eating in a different country...some may not feel that way. ha! We were on the Sunrise side and didn't venture to the Nizuc side except for wedding stuff. I'd defintely recommend doing it this way. Both are very nice but I loved the Sunrise lobby...totally worth it!

Photography: We used the Resort Photographer and were extremely pleased. I had seen other pictures in magazines etc that I wanted for ourselves…I simply asked him if he could do it and he did! They were very nice men!!

DVD: This was included in our package. It was by far the best DVD of a wedding I have ever seen. They do such an amazing job with the recording and editing. There were apparently 4 or 5 guys around us at all times getting different views for the DVD but I never noticed them for a second. 

Wedding Package: We choose the Deluxe Package because I couldn’t decide and figured I’d want everything once we got there. The massages were great! Our wedding coordinator (Lily) didn’t really keep in touch through the week until the wedding day so we missed half of our treatments. I was going to complain (since they had been paid for) but I was so tired of being stressed. At some point, you just have to let things go when everything is going soooooo off course. Definitely don’t spend your week stressin’ all the small stuff.

Wedding Day: PERFECT! June 20, 2008 at 4 PM

Our wedding coordinator may not have been attentive but she was on the ball that day. All I was allowed to know what my hair appointment and what time to be in the room. Everything else was taken care of by her and her assistant. They do not do a rehearsal so I had no idea what I was supposed to do or when but I just went with it. It was kind of nice not having to think about what you should do. My Maid of Honor went Bridezilla on everyone and apparently made sure everything else was in place for the ceremony before I arrived….that’s why I love that girl!  I would highly recommend the horse carriage. It was the most magical 20 minutes of my life…everyone takes pictures of you and cheers as you ride by. It really was amazing!

Ceremony Music: I made a list of the music to be played and burned the copy for my WC. I’ve attached that word document to this review. I believe I used Lenita’s as a reference guide for building it.

Flowers: I’m not going to lie. I was definitely disappointed when she handed me my bouquet. I had seen so many pretty pictures and couldn’t believe how dried and dead the flowers looked. Luckily, you can’t tell AT ALL in the pictures so it really didn’t matter. They originally had green stuff all around the flowers but I just ripped them off on the way to the gazebo so it didn’t look so much like a plant. The bouquet was included in my package. The flower arrangements at the ceremony were also pretty blah considering what I had showed her as our selection. They used weedy flowers surrounded by little lilies. We had discussed the extra large lilies for months so this was why I was so disappointed…but again I did not even notice any of this until I saw the pictures. So…don’t stress! 

Cake: This was also a part of my package. It was decorated exactly like I had asked so I loved it. It wasn’t all that important to me since I knew I was having my dream cake at the AHR. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it but I wouldn’t spend too much money on it.

Salon: I had my nails done the day before the ceremony. They did an excellent job. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING ALBERTO AS YOUR HAIR STYLIST. While I was there I saw him do 3 bridal hair-dos and every single one was flawless!

Cocktail Hour: We had our cocktail around 5:30 until 7:30. This allowed for 1hour of pictures (which was plenty of time). It was extremely hot for everyone but they did they best they could hiding under trees and umbrellas. I was having a blast so the heat didn’t bother me at all. This was also included in our package since we booked more than 10 rooms. It was wayyyy better than I could have ever expected for a free cocktail hour. They were always there to cater to everyone and their needs. I loved it. This is where we did all of the dances. We brought an IPOD and paid the $204 for the equipment. We didn’t pay for the upgraded package to have someone control the music but the technical man that worked the equipment loved our playlist so much he wanted to do it…so I said SURE!  This came with a microphone so the best man could give his speech, etc….(we had the Maid of Honor give her speech at the AHR.)

Dinner: This was included in the package. It was originally supposed to be a dinner reservation for the wedding guests at any restaurant we selected. I got REALLY lucky and (from what I’m assuming) because we had such a horrible experience planning before and after we arrived they went all out for us. We got the terrace overlooking the beach from 7:30-10 with a Mariachi band, our own private grill with a chef making made to order steak and shish-ka-bobs. There was a HUGE buffet line set up that we picked the menu for and a dessert table. To the side were 2 bartenders making made to order drinks. We also had 2 or 3 servers catering to everyone’s needs. This was WAY beyond any of my expectations!! Loved it!!

I’m sure I have about 30 more minutes of typing left in me that have completely left my brain. Feel free to ask me any questions you have. I have over 2000 pictures so I’ll do my best to post what I can! 

Hope this helps ladies!

Questions I've been asked since the Review:

1. Where was the cocktail hour and dinner?

The cocktail hour was at the area right next to the Bugambilia Gazebo...I'm assuming it is reffered to as the Bugambilia Terrace. The dinner was at a ocean front terrace on the sunrise side ... (but literally not even a 5 minute walk). I'm not sure of the name because this is the only way she ever referred to it via email!

2. What Gazebo and more about the photo package...

We were married in the Bugambilia Gazebo. We used the photo package from the deluxe package. It was like 36 photos with an album and a DVD. I'm not exactly sure. Once you arrive they offer you a package upgrade with larger picktures, 62 photos instead of 36, a larger album (that's much nicer), and all copies of the photos on a DVD. It was an additional $220 I think. COMPLETELY worth it. If you don't get a copy of the pictures on a DVD you will never be able to see all that they took. They pick out which 36 to print and put in your album so you don't really get a say. If you get the upgraded package you can keep them forever and order them yourselves. That's what we did anyway!

3. Where did the family members eat that were sick?

I'm not sure where they ate since they stayed after we had gone on our honeymoon but I bet it was just the normal food. No offense to this part of the family.....BUT they are a little overexaggeratory at times, so I wouldn't doubt it if they were just exhausted! I never had a problem with the food but I stay away from anything that looks like it should have been in a frig or heated and wasn't!

4. Anything I would have done differently?

I would have tried harder to have the wedding at 5 or 6....4 pm was soooo hot. Other than that, nope!

5. Where did I get my shoes?

This is the only information I can find for them right now:

Description: Women's Annie Sadie

Size/Width: 9.5 M

Color: Silver

Annie Sadie - Free Shipping Both Ways & 365-Day Return Policy

6. Did you get 2 hours free with your cocktail party or 1 hour free for booking 10 rooms or more?

They don't really care about how long it lasts. I know it says 1 hour but they will go for 2 or more without any complaints.

7. Did your upgrage photo package include pictures of the coctail party and reception?

No. We had a dozen cameras with us so we just took them ourselves.

8. Also could you have the photographer taking pictures while you was getting ready?

We didn't. I knew we were having a professional photog for the AHR so I didn't worry too much about it. I'm sure you could find a way if you asked, I know they had upgraged packages up to $1000 more over the deluxe package.

9. Did any of your guests stay outside the resort? if so did the resort charge the guest passes to your room?

Yes. 2 guests have a condo in Cancun. They just drove in and paid their $81/person. They will not let guests into the gazebo without a bracelet. They were very strict with us about that.

10. Did you have a welcome dinner for your guests? if so what resturant?

No. I wanted everyone to do what they wanted the whole time. If I were to go to a DW I wouldn't want a iteniarary handed to me...that was just me though. I just told them all to show up on the wedding day at a certain time...it went flawless. We all hung out with anyone we ran into the whole week and everyone did their own excursions etc....no one felt like they were tied down or HAD to be anywhere. We were very laid back.

11. How much did your bridesmaid flowers cost?

I made them ...but about $10/bouquet.

12. Did you get to choose the gazebo?

No. They just emailed me and sent pictures saying this is where you will be....which was fine by me. I didn't need anymore decisions to make!

The Gazebo:

The Carriage: (coming around to see the Gazebo for the first time!)

Walking Down the Aisle:

Us:

Our Wedding Party:

Cocktail Hour:

Dinner:

At Home Reception:

Professional Photos back in Texas:

Great review. I'm sorry to hear about the room reservation issue, but at least they tried to accommodate your guests until everything was straightened out. But you looked absolutely stunning! Congradulations!!

Sunrise Lobby:

View from 3rd Floor Pinata Section:

Cocktail Hour:

Off to the Wedding:

My Daddy helping me out...can you tell we're Texan!!!

Giving Me Away:

Seeing the Cocktail area for the first time:

Walking to the Beach for Pictures:

Our GROUP:

Great pictures! you look very beautiful and so happy

You look beautiful Congrats and great review!

Wow! Great review and awesome pics...UGH! I have 6 more months!!!!!

Great review!! Thanks for all the pictures!

It sounds like MP wanted to make everything right even though there was a hassle in the beginning.

Sharla thank you sooooo much for your lovely review. I am really sorry about the room issue, I am glad to hear you got the private dinner in light of that problem (that private dinner cost almost 2k).

Anyway, I LOVED your hair style, I am glad to know that there is a talented hairstylist as I was concerned about what my hair was going to look like.

The one question I have is where did you have your cocktail hour and dinner?

once again, you looked AMAZING!!!