cheeks75

I just posted my Moon Palace review. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t28261 Hopefully it will help someone out.

I was married August 2, 2008 at Moon Palace in Mexico. Here is my review and when I figure out how to post pics, I will post them as well. First of all, let me start by saying that the Moon Palace is a beautiful resort. It is huge, so if you are looking for something that is not crowded and full of people all the time, then this definitely is not the place for you. But, if you are looking to have a good time, good food, and courteous people, all without leaving your resort, then you picked the right choice. ARRIVAL When we first arrived, we were handed a wet towel and a glass of mimosa, which I thought was awesome. While we were standing in line, a lady came by and gave me a flower and welcomed me to Moon Palace Sunrise. This is when the problem began. Originally, I was told that my guests and I were going to be booked on the Moon Grand side, so why am I at the Sunrise side. After 2 hours of speaking with numerous people and showing the email (I had a copy of every email that I had exchanged with Claudia, my WC) we finally were given a room on the Grand side, which to us was worth fighting for. The rooms over there are much bigger than the other rooms, and it was more peaceful, which my older guests appreciated. The only thing negative was the fact that all of the activities were elsewhere, so you had to catch a golf cart to get to the Nizuc side, and then a shuttle if you wanted to go to the Sunrise side. We never heard any complaints, so we didn’t find it to be a problem at all. Don’t want to drag my problems out, let’s just say that every time a guest of mine checked in, they were given a room on the Sunrise side, then I had to try and track them down so that they could be transferred to the Grand side, which was typed in the notes, but apparently, they are so busy, no one even read the notes. This took valuable time out of my day because when you are the bride, everything has to be PERFECT. The guests may not have had a problem with their rooms, but the mere fact that I knew they were suppose to be someplace else, caused me to react. At this point, I was questioning if I made the right choice, but James kept assuring me that the wedding will be great so just calm down. MEETING My meeting with Claudia went well. Every question that I had, she was ready to answer and made me feel confident that everything was going to be alright. She took notes the whole time and every time I started to seem doubtful, she made me aware that she had things under control. What I thought would be the most stressful time of the week, actually turned out to be the easiest. SPA James and I both received manicures and pedicures the day before the wedding. I had got my nails down prior to coming, so I just had my cuticles cleaned and a minor touch up. I really wanted to go and see the brides getting their hair done, so that I can know what to expect. Plus, this gave me time to look through some books and decide if it was a style that I may want. WELCOME DINNER Since we were having a private reception, we chose to use our free dinner for a welcome dinner. This was held in La Bugambilia, Italian restaurant in the Sunrise lobby. The food was good, but I didn’t really eat anything because I was mingling with guests and taking pictures. This was the first time that everyone had a chance to meet each other, so it was more talking going on than eating. One thing about dining, I will not say that any of the food taste bad because I didn’t go there looking for 1st class dining. I knew that it was an AI resort, so the food may not be a black tie type dish, but as long as it was eatable and we didn’t get sick, it was alright to me. The food just coats your belly for the drinking that you can do. The service was always outstanding and there were times that we were angry because people didn’t leave a tip. These workers go out of their way to help you and to not leave them a tip just seem ridiculous, especially when in the States you tip for service that may not have been good at all, but it is expected of you and sometimes a must to do. WEDDING DAY Being an African-American, I was really worried about getting my hair done, but she got down!!!!!!. My hair was turned out beautiful. I didn’t find anything in those books, so I just told her to put the back up and sweep the front. She said okay and went to work. My photographer, personal paparazzi, was with me and kept telling me how it was looking because I was afraid to look. In the end, I was highly impressed. The same goes for my makeup. I did bring along my own makeup, so maybe that helped, but whatever the case may be, I was very pleased with their services. We were married at the Bugambilia gazebo and had our reception on the terrace. I arrived by horse and carriage, which is an absolute MUST!!!! The guests were all smiles when I pulled up. My husband said that even know he knew that I was going to arrive like that, there was something about the clopping of the horse’s hooves that made the difference. Plus, the ride to the gazebo was so fun. We passed so many people waving and saying how beautiful I looked. Some of the workers who had asked when the wedding was were even along the road waving. It was such a great experience!!!!! The ceremony went error free and we had a ball at the reception. We brought our laptop and my God-brother was our deejay. We danced until they made us stop. We had people walking by that stopped and danced. We didn’t mind at all, because at this point, we were like the more the merrier. We had drinks, ate, had drinks, danced, and did I mention we had drinks. This truly was a DREAM DAY!!!!!!!!!!! When the reception ended, we went to Andromeda disco, which is in the Sunrise lobby and danced, had more drinks, and danced some more. NEXT NIGHT The next day everyone did their own thing. We had some who went to Wet n’ Wild, some went shopping downtown, and others just went to the pool and hung out. The next night we decided to go on the Lobster Dinner cruise. This was really relaxing as well. The only negativity was we ate in the bottom of the boat, and it was hot down there. So we kind of ate quicker than normal, so that we can get back upstairs. But, it was really nice and the night breeze was wonderful. DEPARTURE The following morning we did our trash the dress pictures. This was when James proved to me that he was a romantic. He got in the ocean and pretty much guided me where he wanted me to be. This turned me on (too much information, let me get back on track). This made me see him in a different light. The whole time, it was whatever I wanted, but this day he had his way and I liked it. Afterwards, we showered, etc…, and then went around thanking all of our guests for coming and wishing them a safe return. Soon, we were off to our honeymoon which was at Aventura Palace. Details about Aventura coming soon. OVERVIEW Everyone had a great time and there was no sickness in my group. Although it is hard to imagine now if you are going to be married there, everything will be alright. Although we had problems in the beginning, our main focus was the wedding and it was flawless. I brought my own photographer, which came as a guest so we didn’t have any problems. We did pay for the video, which I thought came out well. We brought our florist, who did all of the bridesmaids’ flowers, the boutonnieres, my flowers, the girls anklets and the hair combs. Plus, she did my flower girl’s basket and hair piece. Plus, we brought people who would not have cared if they stayed at the Motel 6; they were going to have a good time, so that helps. When we began our planning, everyone had a lot of input as to where they felt that we should go, and how much they thought that they should spend. It started to get frustrating because I wanted to please everyone, and didn’t want to have anyone left out because of my decision. In the end, I had to realize that no matter what I chose, someone would have something negative to say. Decide where YOU want to be married and if they want to come, they will come. I gave people 11 months to pay on their trip, so if it was a will, I tried to make a way. Although we didn’t get as many people to go that said they were going, we got 34 people and that was more than we expected. Try and be understanding and remember that as long as you have your FI, you can have a wedding. I tried to touch on everything. If I missed anything or if you have specific questions let me know and I will try and answer them. Hopefully, I helped someone and Congratulations to each and every one of you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mrs. LaTasha Lewis

Aventura was beautiful. I have pictures that I could email you if you tell me your email address. We had a ball there. But, it took an hour to get there from Moon Palace and not 20 minutes. The setup is just like Moon Palace except they have a lagoon where you can snorkel, kayak, and swim with the fish. The water at Aventura is beautiful, but there is no beach. The people are extremely nice there and go out of there way to help you. The rooms seemed small to me because we stayed at the Moon Grand and the rooms there were bigger and we had a lot of room. I am at work, so I am trying to sum it up. I will give more details this weekend when I get home. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I just came back from my wedding. (Review soon to come) Just wanted to let you know that we had room issues as well. So, you were not alone. But, the wedding itself was PERFECT!!!

Hello everyone!!! I just returned from my Moon Palace dream wedding and it was just that a 'dream' that finally became reality. The wedding was perfect!!!!! Give me a couple of days and I will post my review. If you have certain questions that you want me to talk about just let me know and hopefully, I will be able to answer them all.

Great review Sharla!!! I am getting married there in 2 weeks, and loved reading the good/bad of the resort. It is very helpful to know that there is someone there who can do hair, because that was quite a concern. You looked FABULOUS!!!! Would you had done anything different if you had known prior to the wedding?

Good luck with your wedding!!!!!! I can't wait to read your review.

I am not getting married there, but I am going there for my honeymoon. I am actually getting married at the Moon Palace, but I will share any information that I have about Aventura once I return. My wedding is Aug 2, 2008.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! You looked beautiful.

WELCOME!!!!!!! You will find more than enough information here. Everyone is soooo helpful. Happy Planning!!

Those are really cute and will look good on my tables. Thanks for the post!!!!

Hello all, I have received menu information, dj information, spa pricing, and I think photographer information. The attachments are at home on my computer. If anyone needs any of that, please let me know. If enough of you need it, then maybe I will just figure out how to post it all here, so it will be available for everyone.

The colors look great. I need the banana sand and a green color, so I will definitely look at the site. I love the wording for the sand ceremony.

If someone have any extra fans, I am willing to buy them from you. I need about 20 - 30 fans.

I will love to have the cd sleeves. How many of those do you have?