Moon Palace 2008 & 2009 Brides - POST HERE!

Hello MP brides to be

My daughter was married at the Moon Palace the end of last month. I know that she hasn't posted a review yet so I wanted to comment on some of the things that have been shared by other Moon Palace brides.

I have to say, this forum is addicting! Why do I still read it every day?

There are a few things that I've read that I don't agree with and some I do, I just wanted to post my opinion.

She was married in the Tucan gazebo at 4:00 in the afternoon. We had a total of 26 people along with us. It was very windy that day and from what I heard it's like that most of the time. We got used to it. She had a harpist play for the ceremony, he started playing at 3:45. He was the only music; it was very nice and so in theme with the whole tropical destination wedding. She had ribbon tied around the chairs; very nice, classy, and inexpensive touch. The minister was Gorge Pinto. He does speak good english but if you're thinking of rewriting his ceremony script this is where you'll run into problems. She added a sand ceremony in the middle; he had a little trouble pronouncing some of the words he wasn't used to using.

We bought rose petals from the resort and they were passed out to throw as they walked out of the gazebo, also very nice. They were around 90 dollars for 24 people to toss.

We decided to take the advice of another MP bride and did not have a dinner. After pictures we had the cocktail reception which included food, very good food, and plenty of it. She chose the VIP hordevores. (sp?) The chicken/pineapple kabobs were very good, also the beef medallions. They kept it hot and kept it full. We were very glad we did not spend the 400 per table. It would have been out of place. The cocktail reception was on the Tucan terrace from 6 to 9. We rented the sound system and had a relative DJ. This was very easy; he just hooked up his iPhone with the downloaded music and that was it. If you are on this terrace you should not use the extra lighting. The lights there were plenty and more would ruin the ambiance of the whole thing. She also rented the lounge furniture from deco cancun, a vender used by the MP. OMG! this was the best thing we did! We had four little living rooms set up, seating for 32. Very comfortable, very cool looking. The love seats even had a hood that pulled up from the back to keep out the wind/sun. She also had them put up what they called flags, very nice, and column lights, beautiful in pics!

The Mariachi band played from 6 to 7 while we ate. If you can cut your budget somewhere else try to fit this in, they were wonderful!

A couple more things I wanted to be sure to mention...I read someones thoughts on tipping..I consider myself a very good tipper. I tip my hairdresser 20 percent, dining 15 etc. .. At the MP we did not tip for drinks, bartenders, servers etc. You are staying at a five star resort and you've paid a good price for it, you've already paid these people. Don't go wild on tipping. We tipped anyone who handled our luggage, $1 per bag, hairdresser 20 percent, housekeeping $3 per day. These things are normal. Someone said on this forum that not tipping everyone is rude because these people make next to nothing, this isn't true. These people who will be happy to serve you get bussed in paid by the MP as far as an hour away, they get three free meals a day, a good wage, and can stay when their shift is done to learn English. These people are not underpaid. They are very happy with what they make. If you have extra money to throw or give away then spend it on YOURSELF.... Upgrade your room to the concierge level ocean view, this is what we did and would do it again if we go back!

One last thing. The MP photog, David Pena...beautiful pics. MP DVD..priceless! It's not just recorded, the DVD is like some soap opera wedding, fading in and out, different angles, the couple walking on the beach, it was worth ten times what we paid for it.

Okay, that's it. I'd like to post pics but don't really know how! If you'd like to see pics of the lounge furniture set up, columns, mariachi band, gazebo chairs/ribbons or the pics the MP photog took send me a pm and I'll be happy to send them to you or answer any questionsl [email protected]

Hey momslehcar! Thanks for the tips! I feel better now about not having a dinner, I've been teetering on the fence about this one. It sounds like it was beautiful! I'll have to run the furniture by Matt. Would you mind sharing how much that furniture cost you?

Thanks for the wonderful information momslehcar!! I have requested David Pena for our wedding. I sent you a personal email with some questions but I forgot one. How long did you have David for? We were thinking of getting a little before the wedding, during the wedding, and for a couple hours afterwards. Thanks for all the information.

Hi Tina He took pictures at the ceremony, family after, us on the beach etc, and two hours into the reception. The pics are on the way!

Thanks for sending me those pictures of the cocktail party momslehcar!, Hopefully I'm as good at negotiating the prices for the furniture as you were

your daughter looks beautiful!!

Drtracy and Camie- Congrats and good luck with the next few days! I'm here at Moon Palace till next Tuesday and will keep an eye out for you guys!

CAMIE, Congratulations! I hope your special day was wonderful!!

DRTRACY, Good Luck and Have Fun!! It is now your turn!