DWandMJ

Thanks ladies! Im so excited and cant wait to feel/hear our little one!

Well ladies, I'm joining the ranks! As of Friday, our pregnancy was confirmed after four months of trying Baby's ETA is May 26, 2009.... We told his parents this morning, we'll share the news with my side on Friday in person.

Quote: Originally Posted by cb280182 Hi, I know you posted your review a few months ago (hoping you will be logging on still) I see you had the Catholic Gazebo and wondered if you could answer a few questions. I had emailed the hotel but yet to have a response. Did you have to have any baptism/confirmation documents to enable you to get married in that location by a catholic minister? Reference the decoration: did you request the carpet be taken up (looks a lot better without it!) and did you bring your own petals or did the hotel provide them? they make a lovely effect so may be stealing that idea from you!! many thanks Hi! Our symbolic ceremony was actually performed by a non-denom minister, so no proof of religious ties were necessary, just our marriage certificate from california. As far as the carpet goes, we just requested to go without and they rolled it up for us. I originally intended to have a white aisle runner too, but packing it was a hassle. We toted freeze dried petals down with us. although we both got a green light at customs, we were questioned at customs because a sticker had been placed on the tote. When they finally figured out that it wasnt food, they let us proceed without further incidence. The resort does/did have fresh petals available for purchase, but they were ungodly expensive. We were told that it would take six bags to do what we did, and at $40 a pop, I wasn't even going to croach the subject with dh. The freeze dried ones came from flyboy and arrived in a clear trash bag with a bow tying it shut. After looking through the requirement for customs, we ended up sealing them up in several food saver bags and they kept well for about 7 months in a cool dry place. As far as quality goes, there is better quality out there, but they served their purpose well and at 1/3 of the price. Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b I am not sure who mentioned this earlier, maybe Camie, but it was mentioned you need to bring a certified copy of your marriage licence to MP. Can you get yours that quickly? I have heard that we need to give it a couple weeks before we can get ours. You arrive the same day as most of our guests. We arrive on July 5th - leave the 16th. I originally thought we would be by ourselves the first few days and have guests there till we left. We found out last week some will be arriving the same day as us but all our guests will leave monday after the wedding giving us a few days at the end. Nibsmom, We have not heard anything from Kelena either. My TA is calling her contact today to see what is up. Have you heard any bride actually say they had her as the WC? Eureka, I am surprised they have already assigned some of your stuff. I want the Bugumbilia Gazebo and they will not confirm it...... just put in a request for it. What have you heard about the Tucan being cooler? I would contact your county clerk to find out about waiting time. Every state and potentially every county is different. For Nevada and California, its the same day. We got legally married at the courthouse and were able to apply for the license, have the ceremony performed, and walk out the door with a certified copy all within an hour. A law had also been recently passed that included on the certificate was my legal name change. Nothing further to do aside present the certificate to Social Security and DMV.

Quote: Originally Posted by nibsmom Hey all! For anyone who's been to the MP, are room keys actual keys or cards? I was thinking of getting those coil bracelets to put in my OOT bags so people can put their keys on them - does the MP already hand anything like this out? Its a key card.... and something I had never seen before is that you have to enter your card into a slot once your inside the room for the lights to work.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc Hi Camie, I asked Rosy about this and she said since we are doing the symbolic ceremony, all we need are our ID's! Thanks for the heads-up though...that could have been a big mess!!! Unless their requirements have changed within the last two months, its just the opposite. Our symbolic wedding was April 2nd and we had to present a certified copy of our legal marriage certificate at the appointment with our WC. We were never asked for our IDs.

I bit the bullet and went with Vista Print....making sure to click "No, Thanks" and "Skip" on every offer... Now I'm going to be watching my credit card like a hawk.

Have you had any photos printed through them?

Forgive me, but I can't comprehend why people are so paranoid about this swine flu, to the point of cancelling a vaca or even worse, their weddings. Thats as bad as having people pull out because of the drug cartels in Mexico kidnapping and murdering people. Pretty good chances that its not going to affect you or any of your guests. Theres some kind of flu epidemic every year. Just stay away from the livestock and wash your hands regularly. And for safety sake, stay along the well beaten tourist path.

Any recommendations on another printer?

I had every intention of printing our AHR postcard invitations through VistaPrint, but after reading some definate negative feedback (including monthy unauthorized charges for one time purchases) throughout the web, I'm a bit leery. Can anyone recommend a safe/ decent/ reasonably priced alternative printer?

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b Your review was great! I have a question about the photography package. Did you have a contract early on or sign anything? I got the price list when I signed my wedding contract and mine does say $780 for package E. What did they say when they told you it had increased to $950? Have you received your package yet? Are you happy with the photos they chose and the album? We did sign a contract early on and are purchasing the Deluxe Package. It came with a price sheet and check sheet to turn in to the WC to purchase additional items. There was no contract for the add ons, only the actual wedding ceremony package (which we chose a free one). It clearly states on the website that prices are subject to change (with regard to the optional services)without notice so I didn't say a word because I knew that I didn't have a leg to stand on. I am very happy with our photos. We had a number of them that are awesome. I took the album to work to show the girls and they all had a different favorite. I can't even decide on a favorite because there are som many tht turned out to be frame-worthy. I had some mixed feelings going in because photos were so important to me (not so much DH so he fought me on spending anything on them) and I knew that our budget was so limited that we couldn't afford the cost of the photographer plus their accomodations even for one night. After seeing the final products, I wouldn't hestiate to do it the same way again. The forum definately exposes us to the refined and as a result we have higher expectations than if we never found this sanctuary. Its crazy how skewed our perception can become. I can see our photos meeting par to a lot of those shared on the forum, but in real life, they far exceed any of my friends' wedding photos. Maybe its because we live in a small town with limited resources, but half of the people that have seen them in person have actually remarked that they look like something out of a magazine.

Quote: Originally Posted by Eureaka Hey everyone, Does anyone have any opinions about the different Gazebos? I just found out that we are scheduled to be a Bugambilia gazebo and the terrace for the cocktail hour. However, we are scheduled to stay at the newer section on the other side of the resort. I am thinking about seeing if we could be switched to the Tucan gazebo since it is much closer to the Grand Moon section. I would like the cocktail hour to be right near the gazebo though... Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks! Erika I'm definately partial to the Chapel Gazebo. It doesn't have the arches that the other two do. There is glass in the windows to block out the wind. The entrance (in my opinion) is far superior because there is a wrap around pond/creek water feature with a little bridge that you cross to get the gazebo. The altar is a light color that works better with the rest of the color scheme. And there are pretty pews instead of the white chairs. We had a small wedding party and the minimal amount of chairs would have been depressing.

Good call! and cute idea! I making it my goal to have it drafted up tomorrow! Thanks for the input!

Thanks all! There is a beach right next door to the Forum mall. Theres a parking garage and you literally walk out the entrance of the garage and around the cement wall and you're there. The beach we shot at was further north in downtown. It was a locals beach. I can ask Cecilia what the name of the beach was.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mrs D To Be! thanks for the review - i think i may be stealing your hans zimmer track for my entrance!lol can i ask one question - we are planning on doing a ttd session, but wasn't sure if the beach at moon palace would be a good location, because of the seaweed situation - did you do yours at the mp beach - and if not, how long did it take you to get to a near-by beach? thanks in advance, and again, thanks for the review - very helpful....your pictures make me feel at ease about using the resort hairdresser and make-up artist - you look gorgeous! Thank you! Due to the outside vendor policy at the resort, we had to use an alternate beach, which was more than fine with me. It gave us a little variety in the photos.You'll notice that the beaches closer to town are a lot more pristine and the water much clearer.... Its actually breathtaking at the Beach Palace which is near downtown. We made arrangements to meet Cecilia at the Forum mall because there was a nice public beach right near by. Unfortunately the tide was up and the beach was under water, so we hopped in Cece's car and drove to another public beach like five minutes away. The Forum mall was like a 30 minute drive to get to, but then only a 20 minute drive back to the MP (the routes were different). We took a taxi which totalled about $45 round trip.

Okay ladies, I've finally sat down for a long enough to write a review of our wedding experience at the MP on 04.02.2009.... Feel free to check it out and ask any questions! http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...450#post776728

Wedding Date: April 2, 2009, 5:00 pm Wedding Location: Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort – Cancun, Mexico Ceremony Package: Free Symbolic Ceremony Wedding Coordinator: Claudia Rodriguez, Assistant: Christina Ceremony: Chapel Gazebo Minister: Jorge Pinto Reception Dinner: Arrecifes Restaurant @ 6:00 pm Wedding Day Photographer: David Pena – Resort Photog. Trash the Dress Photographer: Cecilia Dumas VENUE: Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort – Cancun, Mexico GRADE: A The Moon Palace is stunning and an amazing venue to host our wedding and honeymoon. The staff is wonderful and the resort is expansive. Although the beach at the resort is not as pristine as those closer to town, it was still scenic and serene. Kelp does accumulate on the beach. They make an effort to clear it off, but it’s never ending. By the time our ceremony and photos came around at 5pm, it was definitely present. It didn’t subtract from our photos and actually added some extra character. The one drawback for us (and the reason I can’t give it an A+) is that it’s a family resort and we went during spring break, so there were an abundance of teenagers running around excited to get drunk. We chose the MP over the Adventura for the reason of accommodating a specific guest and her kids which led to our biggest regret about the entire experience (by no means the fault of the Moon Palace or its staff, just an extremely selfish and inconsiderate guest). If we were to do it over again, I would have either put my foot down that the kids were not invited or stayed at one the resort’s adults only counterparts. Our wedding party totaled 10 (7 adults and 3 children) so we opted out of a room block. We chose to book directly through the resort and stayed on the Grand side. While the view from our room wasn’t exactly scenic (direct shot of one the buildings under construction), we didn’t spend too much time on the balcony. The rooms are huge and gorgeous (Grand standard is twice as big as those on the Nizuc and Sunrise). If it came down to choosing the room or the view, I would go the same route. WEDDING COORDINATOR: Claudia Fonseca-Sanchez Assistant: Christina GRADE: B+ ADDITIONAL COSTS: $105 for 6 rented hurricane candles Overall, Claudia did a nice job. She was organized and had everything ready to go according to our conversations via email. When I was neurotic and wanted desperately to confirm a specific resort photographer early on, she actually adopted me into her case load because the coordinator our wedding had originally been assigned to had been on vacation. She dealt with my hundreds of questions and helped us to reschedule our civil ceremony on April 3rd for a symbolic ceremony on April 2nd. Our wedding wasn’t a huge operation, but the few details I wanted, I was determined to have. It wasn’t an entirely smooth process though. After reading about some other girls’ experiences with response times, I wrote off the week long delays as typical, however when we got down to the final weeks, it didn’t really improve. I gave her a heads up of when we would be arriving at the resort and was expecting a letter from Claudia waiting for us upon our check-in that would state when our appointment to meet with her was the following day…which we never got. I initially was a little more forgiving and figured we would check back to the concierge desk the following morning since we arrived at almost 10pm on a Sunday night (there’s only a concierge and no lobby on the Grand side). At 9:00 am we stopped into the concierge office on our way to breakfast to see if anything had been delivered and still nothing. We had a long breakfast and checked back at the concierge desk at 10:45 and they called down to the Wedding office for us. Apparently our appointment had been set for 10 am… unbeknownst to us. We made it to the office at 11:00 and I held my tongue about the lack of communication. That day, she took possession of my gown and DH shirt that needed to be steamed, and the Rubbermaid tub packed with our freeze dried petals and raffia fans. The gazebo was decorated perfectly. I wished that the candles on each side of the altar had been lit, but I blame myself for not communicating that. On the actual wedding day, the only time I ever saw Claudia was when she stopped by immediately following the ceremony to congratulate us. Her assistant Christina brought me the bouquet and escorted us to the horse drawn carriage. Upon seeing our photos, I learned that Claudia was taking care of more pressing issues including organizing the wedding procession. HONEYMOON DESK GRADE: C (but I honestly can’t complain because it was free) After leaving the wedding office, we were directed to the honeymoon desk for that side of our package. We booked our ‘honeymooners’ dinner (which we ended up skipping) and we were asked if we had received our bottle of champagne, fruit basket, and rose upon checking into our room, which we did not. The champagne arrived two days later on Wednesday, the rose on Thursday, and we didn’t ever see that fruit basket. HAIR & MAKE-UP: Spa Salon - 1:00 pm GRADE: A+ ADDITIONAL COST: $42 Hair, $42 Makeup Alfredo at the Spa salon did a beautiful job on both. He was very quiet, but a sweetheart. I brought in pictures of what I wanted he worked his magic. He even made sure to address the sunburn/tan lines left on my chest by my swim suit. It was a pretty relaxing experience and well worth the money. FLOWERS: BOUQUET GRADE: A ADDITIONAL COST: $200 Knowing that the flowers through the resort were pricey (and refusing to use artificial flowers) I opted to only use flowers in my bouquet. I sent Claudia a photo of the bouquet and ribbon wrap that I wanted and got exactly what I asked for. It saddened me to have to leave it behind (customs and packing were an issue) but I’ll always have the photos. HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE GRADE: A++ ADDITIONAL COST: $130 This was a magical experience. Hearing the clip clop of the horse's hooves just makes it like a fairytale. You feel like a princess with a royal entrance. Passers-by wave and greet you with a smile like you’re a celebrity. If you add no other extras, this is a necessity! MUSIC: GAZEBO SOUND SYSTEM GRADE: A+ I could hear the music perfectly from the time the carriage came into view until I was handed off to my groom. And I must say, “You’re so cool” by Hans Zimmer is absolutely perfect for the carriage entrance!!! The rest of our ceremony music included: 1.Sufjan Stevens - “For the Widows in Paradise” – MOB/MOH/Groom’s entrance 2.Hans Zimmer - “You’re So Cool” – Carriage Entrance 3.Amy Sealey - “Gravel Lines” – Bridal Procession 4.Jason Mraz – “I’m Yours” - Recession MINISTER: JORGE PINTO GRADE: hmm… B Jorge was sweet and he did his job. I had re-written the entire ceremony script, which went up for his approval long before we ever departed for Mexico, but I don’t think he ever actually read it until our ceremony. We chuckle about it, but he didn’t verify the pronunciation of our names with the wedding department so he kept referring to me as Mary up until Daniel gave his vows of “I, Daniel, take you, Marie…” then he caught on quickly. DH got a laugh out of it because he got to marry someone named Mary. PHOTOGRAPHY: David Pena – Resort Photographer GRADE: A ADDITIONAL COST: Package E - $950 + $65 Shipping Fee David was awesome to work with and well worth the money. I could tell that he liked doing a lot of the posed shots, which I’m not really into, but we came to a happy meeting place. There were a few shots that were a little too posed, but several that were in the moment that I love! I compiled a sample book of shots I wanted which I think definitely helped. We didn’t get all of them, but some of my and DH’s favorite photos were entirely his artistic vision. Package E included two hours of reception, however we weren’t going to have a formal reception, so we were permitted to use the two hours during the preparation instead (which turned out to be my preparation.) When I got DH to agree on Package E, it was only listed at $780 (he can’t rationalize spending even that much on photos), so when we sat down at our planning meeting and learned that it had increased to $950 with a $65 shipping fee, DH had sticker shock and was upset with me. I think he’s over it now that he’s seen how happy I am. RECEPTION DINNER: ARRECIFES @ 6PM GRADE: A+ The food was awesome at Arrecifes! DH was excited about the way the meat is presented and it made for a fun but intimate dinner. The decorative hurricane candles were transported from the ceremony site to our table and the candles lit, which made for a romantic warm setting. The wind was blowing too hard for us to be out on the terrace, so we were inside set back away from other people. When we walked into the restaurant, everyone including staff and other guests stood up and started clapping for us. TRASH THE DRESS: Cecilia Dumas – 4/3/2009 @ 8:00 am GRADE: A+ Cecilia is amazing! Working with her was such an incredible experience and I can definitely say that I would have hated myself for missing the opportunity. She’s sweet, professional, easy to work with and totally accommodating (plus she’s adorable). When high tide came up and the beach we were planning to shoot at was underwater, we hopped in her car and she took us to another one. She took a number of shots and was open to any shots that we wanted. Loved it! I can’t recommend Cecilia enough! I promise I will post more photos later... Overall, the pleasant memories of our wedding day will resonate for years to come and I know that I can look back and smile at our magical day in a far off place. One of the biggest lessons I learned throughout this process, is that regardless of how meticulously you plan your big day, you cannot control the actions of other people and do not allow people to persuade you away from what you want. I allowed myself to be persuaded for the sake of saving family members’ hurt feelings when I honestly shouldn’t have because that same person would not/did not afford us the same level of respect. I initially wanted to have our wedding at the Adventura Spa Palace. Not because anything was wrong with the Moon Palace, I just didn’t want to have to deal with young children (too young) or the possibility of them doing exactly what they did.

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We had Claudia. She was very organized when it came to the things we discussed and gave me everything I asked for, I just wished that she had more of a presence on the big day. I've spent the last few hours typing up my review, now I'm just battling with getting the picture to post properly.

I confess that I'm procrastinating on writing my wedding review because I have some bitter feelings about our big day. Overall, the day was beautiful, the pictures turned out gorgeous, and I got to marry the man of my dreams. On the other side, our wedding coordinator was MIA for all but about 10 minutes. She was there to give three people direction on walking down the aisle and then came to congratulate us immediately following the ceremony. Her assistant had more of a presence then she did. But what Im still pissed about (and the one thing I truly regret) is not putting my foot down when it came to allowing my sister to bring her 2 year old twins on the vacation. Her kids are little sh*ts because she refuses to discipline them. The kids literally screamed through half of our wedding ceremony while running back and forth through the pews and playing in the rose petals along the aisle... no joke. I had to turn around and motion her to cover their mouths and remove them because I could no longer stand hearing her children over the minister.

We are sending out post card invitations for our AHR and I'm struggling with the wording to use. Our wedding invitations made brief mention of a reception upon our return home with further details to follow. Now that we're back and finally have a date and venue decided on, I'm at a loss for words! Please help!

Quote: Originally Posted by Myen Congrats! Can't wait to see those pics. Did you use the resort photographer? Yes, we used David Pena

You guys are going to love having your wedding at the MP! Once our pictures arrive and I can sit down at the computer for a while, I will definately post a review. Good luck upcoming brides!

Quote: Originally Posted by laceydawn04 Hey all- Its getting really close to time to leave! Only a little over a month! Really excited although getting a little worried. I read peoples comments on tripadvisor.com before booking and the hotel was gettting really good reviews and ranked really well. As time goes on its dropping in ranks and less positive reviews. Is this making anyone else nervous? I know that they say the beach is not the pretty blue like other locations but is does anyone know if it is not swimable? I have read the seaweed is a real problem. I was just hoping someone could ease my mind. Thanks! The beach isnt the prettiest, and in all reality, I wouldn't swim in the ocean. The entire time we were there (March 29-April 5) they had a red flag out meaning swimming was not permitted.