Maura

Quote: Originally Posted by Janelley100 Yes, I've seen the photos on several reviews....but what I was referring to is a website for him. I know I saw an actualy website featuring the MP photographers on this forum....I just can't for the life of me remember where I found it. And of course I didn't bookmark it when I looked at it. I'll keep looking though! Thanks! Sorry, I misunderstood. I did some searching both in English and Spanish using the correct spelling of his name (with an ñ) and couldn't find a website, so my guess would be he probably doesn't have his own site given that I think he is contracted full-time by the MP. I've never seen a spot on this forum that linked to a website featuring the MP photographers that are contracted directly by MP - if you find it, please do post as I'm sure it would be helpful to other MP brides. Perhaps was it a thread that listed examples of photos taken at MP that included in-house and outside vendors? Quote: Originally Posted by gemmalou oh god im really worried now, im a UK bride and was planning on having the photos with the resort photographer. i was going to take to some samples of how we want some of the photos so he could do them for us etc, i just hope they turn out ok now, we cant afford an outside photographer and harder to book one being in the UK Quote: Originally Posted by Tlseege I certainly don't want to scare you, however bringing photos of what you like doesn't mean you'll get photos like that. That is why people hire photographers from the states and fly them in. Basically, you find a photographer that shoots your STYLE and fly them in. A photographer can't change their artistic eye or their post processing skills. They can "try" to, but their style is their style. Now, you can always show them some posing ideas and things like that, but sometimes photographers don't do well with certain poses if it isn't their typical style of photographing. So what I would suggest is do a ton of research. Price everything out. Perhaps it's cheaper than you think to fly someone in? Perhaps you can find a bride who's wedding date is very close to yours and you can split the cost of a photographer? good luck! I have to 100% agree with Trisha here; not only with the issue of not being able to get the resort photographer to do much different with their style (because that is something that makes each photographer individual and they can certainly try to mimic someone else's style but you aren't guaranteed and if you don't know the photographer's skill range, I wouldn't get my hopes up that the photographer will able to successfully copycat a specific style). The other thing is that the resort photographers (in my experience from the majority of what I have seen –*because not all "resort photographers" are actual resort photogs, sometimes the hotel just contracts an outside vendor or is a preferred vendor of the hotel because they have a working relationship) do not typically do much post-processing. So if the style you like is heavily-based on post-processing (application of filters, color editing for achieving specific things like vintage looks or black & white photos with partial color, very vivid color, airbrushing, retouching, etc) then there is nothing that bringing the photos examples you like with you to show the photographer will do... if they don't post-process much and your photo examples are heavily processed, you risk not being happy with the end result. Remember that resort photographers often turn your photos around before you leave the resort or shortly thereafter. I can't speak for Trisha, but it takes me significantly longer than one week to edit a wedding. The shooting of the wedding is the easy, relatively quick part–it is the editing that takes time and care. Also, specific to MP, I want to let you know that my client had no contact with the resort photographer in advance of arriving in Mexico OR before the actual wedding day when they showed up to the ceremony. The first time she saw the resort photographer was literally when she was already being walked down the aisle by her parents for the ceremony. My advice and Trisha's advice are not meant to scare anyone; but these are things to consider when deciding on your wedding photography. With an outside vendor, you have a lot more decision and control of what the end product will look like and an opportunity to voice your expectations and special requests with a photographer. This is because you research in advance and find someone who fits your style, whose vision and eye/ideas and creativity you admire. If photography is something that is REALLY important to you, then I would suggest hiring an outside vendor for the most ideal experience. If you are typically critical and choosy and want to have a very specific style of photos, a resort photographer is probably not going to be the right choice for you. This is not at all to say that resort photographers cannot do good work, because I have seen some excellent work done by resort photographers in the past; it is simply to say that you cannot always count on a resort photographer, who often does several weddings per week, to give you the same kind of personal attention and listen to your post-processing requests the way an outside vendor typically would. Often if you do enough research you can find an outside vendor who fits both your vision for style and your budget. Some photographers are even willing to create custom packages based on a budget if you just ask. There are lots of local Riviera Maya photographers to choose from that do excellent work that will not bankrupt your wedding budget and there are even more endless possibilities when you consider flying in a photographer from the states. In fact, sometimes even with the cost of the flight and hotel, it can be cheaper than someone local and having to buy them a day pass. You just have to do your research and find what fits your situation best. Good luck!

Janelley, David is the resort photog that took photos on the resort's behalf for my client. He also worked with an assistant, unfortunately whose name I can't remember. There are some examples of David's work floating around the forum somewhere in an older Moon Palace thread (might have been in a 2008 or 2009 one) because I know I've seen it before. Actually, before I shot the wedding there, I did research to get a feel for the property and what kinds of photo opportunities would be available at the resort by looking at what other photographers had done there, and I stumbled across someone's photos from the MP that David did in 2008. So it shouldn't be too hard to locate them if anyone else wants to go searching. If I can help answer any further questions about my experience as an outside vendor there, please feel free to ask here or shoot me a PM.

Thanks, Trisha, for letting me know you mentioned me on this thread. I'm a moderator here at BDW (I was a DW bride in Aug. 2008 - got married at the Westin Los Cabos) as well as a professional photographer. I recently shot a destination wedding at the Moon Palace in November 2009. I am based in Chicago, but traveled to Cancun to shoot the wedding. There were no issues whatsoever made by the Moon Palace with my couple hiring an outside photographer; my bride booked me as a guest with the hotel for 3 nights. The hotel does not stipulate that a photographer needs to stay for 3 nights; that was part of my contract with my client. So long as you book your photographer as a guest for at least one night, you should not have any difficulty whatsoever with bringing an outside photographer. I do not know what their policy is regarding only purchasing a one-day pass for an outside photographer. I arrived on a Monday afternoon, the wedding was Tuesday, we did a trash the dress type shoot on Wednesday and I flew back home on Thursday morning. My bride booked my travel through her travel agent. The resort photographer & videographer that were part of my client's package still showed up on the day of the wedding, but they stayed out of my way as much as humanly possible. I know that some photographers no longer accept bookings at certain hotels in the Riviera Maya area due to stringent outside photographer policies. Some of those photographers are well known in the area and prefer to not work with certain venues, some work with certain venues only on a case by case basis. I personally did not have any problem shooting my client's wedding at the Moon Palace and had a good experience there with the venue and the staff. I will say that the first comment my bride made to me via email when she returned from Mexico and received her teaser photos from me was that while the resort photographer quality was OK for someone without a discerning eye who may not care so much about the photos, she was VERY happy they hired an outside photographer because "the resort photographer's photos did not even compare to the teasers" she received from me. She did not purchase any of the resort photographer's photos because they were expensive and she was not thrilled with the quality of the photos they took. I personally did not see the resort photog's work on my client's wedding, so I cannot comment to the quality myself, I can only share with you what my client told me regarding the photos she did not purchase. I am happy to answer any questions you may have about my experience as an outside photographer having shot a client's wedding at this particular resort. I also shot a wedding at Dreams Tulum in January and had no issues whatsoever as an outside vendor and found the staff to be very pleasant and accommodating. Here are two little photo collages I made from the November wedding at the Moon Palace (since I know the cardinal rule of BDW is to post photos whenever possible ):

i got married august 9th, 2008 in the extreme summer heat (because i had little choice with both my husband's and my job at the time). it honestly was not that bad. we had a just-before sunset ceremony and our guests were hot (though many of them were wearing very flowy clothing which helped) and we were hot in the big ol dress and the suit & tie, but you know what... it wasnt that bad. we also handed out water/drinks and cool wet towels. we had our ceremony, cocktail hour AND reception all outdoors with no AC and it wasnt that bad. my husband took off his suit jacket and eventually rolled up his pants like clam diggers during the reception after the dinner part. about 2/3 of the way through the reception, i changed into a long white cotton halter dress to be more comfortable for dancing, and i wore that all through our afterparty until 3 or 4 am. if you have timing issues because of school and other reasons, i can vouch it honestly was not that bad to have a wedding in the summer heat. we all survived and all of our guests still talk about our wedding, saying it was the best one they ever attended!

Quote: Originally Posted by NJ Hunnie Thanks for the picture Maura, I didnt realize how much seaweed, My wedding is at 4 pm. I hope they clean it up some. keep in mind those photos are from the day after hurricane ida passed through... i asked some of the staff and they said there is usually seaweed, but nowhere near what it looks like in the photos i posted that were taken on monday, after the hurricane had passed. they spent much of the day yesterday combing the beach removing seaweed. i'll try to get some photos today. Quote: Originally Posted by vgirl17 Thanks Maura but I don't think that will be a problem in April. In November the sunset is known to be earlier (5PM) but in April it's not until (7PM). That's the time of year we usually go to Cancun and it's not dark at 5PM yet. Thanks for the insight though! It will be very helpful for those having their wedding around these months it has nothing to do with the time the sun sets; the inside of the gazebos are shaded, therefore in order to get decent exposure inside the gazebo and to not wash out the outside which is brighter due to sunlight, photographers need to use flash so the inside of the gazebo doesnt look dark. i asked the resort photographer yesterday if he always uses flash in there and he said yes.

Here's what the MP beach looked like around 4 pm yesterday i noticed theyre working on cleaning up some of the seaweed today.

Here's what the MP beach looked like around 4 pm yesterday i noticed theyre working on cleaning up some of the seaweed today.

Quote: Originally Posted by mrseddy Oh, and how often are golf carts used to get around the resort? How else do people get from one end to the other? there are golf carts, little trams that fit 6-8 people (for example going between grand moon & nizuc) and then coach buses that will take you from one end to the other.

Quote: Originally Posted by vgirl17 Thanks! That would be great if you could! I'm hoping to have my wedding in the chapel gazebo or the tucan gazebo IMHO, if you arent having a catholic wedding, dont do it in the chapel gazebo. reason why: there is glass all around the outside of it, making it a photographer's nightmare. they almost certainly will need to use flash and it's quite a pain with the reflection. i arrived here at the MP today and did some scouting. i saw a wedding in both the chapel and the tucan gazebo. both were around 4pm, and both photographers were using all flash. that said, dino gomez just shot a wedding in the chapel here and i saw his photos–he did a great job of minimizing the problem with the flash and the glass but having seen it now in person i am sure it was a big challenge. the wedding i'm photographing tomorrow is in the tucan gazebo–will let you know how it turns out!

Hey gals, I arrived here at the Moon Palace today and there was a beach wedding that just ended around the time I went for a walk on the beach. Here are a few photos of the setup: as for your question about the candles, there was a steady breeze today that makes me think candles probably wouldnt stay lit for too long no matter what time of year. they combed the beach around this wedding setup to get rid of some of the seaweed from hurricane ida, so the rest of the moon palace beach looks like this as of this afternoon (i am sure they are going to start cleaning more of it up):

Quote: Originally Posted by vgirl17 I also posted this in the MP 2010 thread but... Does anyone know the measurements of the gazebo aisles (just inside the gazebos...not the whole walkway leading up to it) I want to make an aisle runner and have searched what seems like every post and still can't find it! I know HaleGrifa made a runner too but I can't find the measurements anywhere.... i dont know, but since i'll be there next week (photographing the wedding in the tucan gazebo if that's the gazebo you mean), i can check for you and let you know when i return if you can wait about a week. ill have computer access again on nov 13th. just let me know.

Quote: Originally Posted by Meagan&Alan I've heard good things about Tropicana - my fiance and I walked by it when we were in town but did not eat there. How did you transport everyone there? we didn't -- some of our guests had rented cars and so they just loaded up all the rental cars on their own and everyone else took the van taxis.

i used baja video productions and they were such a pleasure to work with and i love my video. i am so happy i got a video and that a friend recommended marci & enrique to me! as i got married over a year ago, i doubt the pricing is the same but i'd be happy to dig up a receipt for what i paid if you'd like. i only had the ceremony and beach walk option.

Quote: Originally Posted by Meagan&Alan Maura - we are having our ceremony on the beach right outside of La Playa, cocktail hour on the terrace, and dinner at La Playa too! Did you have a groom's/rehearsal dinner? If so, did you do that onsite or offsite? Did you host any other events at the Westin like a welcome reception? Hi Maegan, sounds like your wedding will be just like mine I had white table linens with navy blue napkins. I did not have a groom's or rehearsal dinner, but we did have a welcome dinner offsite for family & very close friends who were in town 2 days before our wedding. I didn't do any of the planning for it as it was a surprise gesture from my husband's aunts & uncles, but it was held at La Tropicana in downtown San Jose del Cabo right off the zocalo. I'd be happy to get you more info if you'd like. We had such a blast and the food was really fabulous–our family did a prearranged fixed price menu with 3 courses (soup or salad to start, arrachera or some kind of white fish for the entree, and two choices for dessert). They had a live band and our party rented out the 2nd floor of the restaurant.

Quote: Originally Posted by Woodsylou Thank you! that's great! wow one week to go! how exciting! are you a professional photographer or doing photos for a friend? you're very welcome! i am a professional photographer, i just don't advertise it all over the forum because i started out here as a bride and became a moderator. i've been toying with the idea of becoming a vendor here soon, though.