DWandMJ

I can completely relate with you, except the frustration is coming from the FI's side of the family. We didn't want to elope, per se, but we wanted a small intimate wedding without hurting feelings. A DW limits the guest list by circumstance. My family has made it their number priority to attend. As if the economy was hard enough on all of us, my mother was laid off of her job, and even she's still attending! Its all a matter of prioritizing, and for her and a number of my other family members, they wouldn't miss it for the world. Heck, we're more or less foregoing Christmas gifts in an effort to save money. FI's family, on the other hand, are indirectly complaining about the expense to everyone else. At this point, absolutely no one from his side, his parents included, will be attending. In an effort to accomodate them, we took it to the point of actually changing the wedding from Cancun, to looking at venues in the Redwoods (about 6-7hours away) and Brookings, Oregon, to then even local spots. After looking at the expenses of rentals, catering, etc... we would end up spending the same amount on a local wedding as we would for our destination wedding, but the DW would include a week long honeymoon at a five star all inclusive resort. Needless to say we've reverted back to Plan A. I'm not okay with trying to accomodate those that don't care enough to try. They've known for a year what the plan was, and they haven't saved a cent. The only thing they've managed to come up with are more excuses. (***Biting my tongue from going off on a tyraid) If you would be happy with a quasi-destination wedding, then go for it. Look at the pros and cons, and do a preliminary planning as if you've made that your new venue (assuming you're far enough out). Set up a spreadsheet in excel and you can do a price comparison. Only you & the FI can conclude what feels right. You should be able to look back on your wedding day with no regrets, and no one should make you feel guilty for wanting that. I'm not saying "go all out, you'll only do this once," but your wedding day is one of the biggies in your life, and no one should prevent you from enjoying it. If your mom uses the "that's not how I would do it" line with you, remind her that its a good thing she isn't planning your wedding, because she would completely miss the mark on what you want. If she's only going to see you marry once, wouldn't she rather see you with a look of elation on your day?

Quote: Originally Posted by vgirl17 I don't know if this question was already asked or answered, but who stops and starts the music during the ceremony (ie. for the processional and the bridal entrance), etc?? Should I assign someone in the wedding party that task?... Thanks! A staff member will be in charge of this. Just bring the cd, a list of the songs, and the order to be played in.

We're only having about a dozen guests, and I was hoping to keep it under $100, but thats not likely to happen. I'm avoiding the little trinkets in lieu of a few items that could be lifesavers and may be forgotten/not though about, i.e. biodegradable sunblock (required at some sea parks in the Riveria Maya and they can charge on the upwards of $30/bottle down there), aloe vera gel, bug spray, cooling chapstick.... My goal is to avoid having to personally cart down more stuff than necessary and then giving guest more crap to cart back home with them.

Quote: Originally Posted by momslehcar Are there any Moon Palace brides getting married the last week in March 2009? Does anyone know if it's always windy in Cancun or is that just a certain time of year? I've also read about mosquitos at night from one post... Any help on this topic would be appreciated! We've never been to Cancun and I'm trying to be prepared... Our ceremony is on April 2, however we will be arriving Sunday, March 29th (right in between college spring break and grade school easter break) I haven't been to Cancun either, however a number of my co-workers and family members have. A co-worker of mine actually said March/April is one of the best times of year to go. Its the tail end of "high season" so the resort isn't packed to full capacity, but the weather hasn't gotten hot hot or super humid either... It can get a little cool at night but its comfortable weather. Good question about the mosquitos, if anyone knows...

KLO- If the resort's wedding availability per their website is any indication, I would expedite your choice because there appear to be a total of five other events going on December 10th. If you haven't already seen the resorts ceremony location document (Adobe file attached), it has photos of each area attached. The Tucan appears to be about the same as the Bubga with the white arch, but with a longer walkway leading to it, and the Chapel (which you are allowed to use as long as no one else has already reserved it for a Catholic ceremony) has pews in lieu of white chairs. The chapel also has pretty little ponds next to it with a bridge and plexiglass to block the wind. There is also the option of having the ceremony on one of the terraces. CEREMONY_LOCATIONS_FOR_MOON.pdf

Alex- Thanks for the picture posts! You look so beautiful!!! You can tell the similarities in the photography style to those samples of David Penas. The color saturation is almost richer. They turned out beautifully. Thanks for the insight about giving him direction. I've started compiling a mini scrapbook of specific shots that I want, including breaking them down to pre-ceremony preparation, ceremony shots, non-traditional ceremony shots, and bride & groom shots. Hopefully I don't come across as telling him how to do his job. Because we've opted to forego a fancy reception in lieu of an AHR, we've been told that we may use the 2 hours of "reception" time from the upgraded E photo package for the pre-wedding preparations instead.

Does anyone by chance have Mario's (head of photography) email address? Claudia, bless her heart, still hasn't responded to my inquiries and we're working on three weeks. Last I heard was that she would have Mario contact me to confirm photography information.... Please help! Has anyone heard anything from Claudia lately? Also, is anyone going the route of rent a tux through the resort?

Has anyone received any coorespondence with WC Claudia lately? I sent her a couple of emails a couple of weeks ago. She briefly responded to a follow up asking me to resend my inquiries and have yet to hear anything from her since. I still haven't heard anything from Mr. Mario either....

If I hear anything from Mario or can manage to get a hold of his email address, I will send it to you. I do agree on David Pena's style, and I would like to have him photograph ours (the expense of flying someone down or paying to have someone stay at the resort as a guest is beyond our budget). His work appears more polished and almost has an artsy kinda feel. The other samples kinda gave me the impression of the same kind of quality of photos that you would get from a family portrait at Sears. They're nice and all, but they don't insight any kind of emotion.

Quote: Originally Posted by annouska Hi there, I emailed Maribel requesting the Hot pink standard linen and David pina as the photographer. She e-mailed me back and said that only white table clothes and white napkinks comes as standard linen no other colours. Thats not what the attachment said that I have seen about standard decor on here or that I have been sent by other Moon Palace brides on here. I find it very strange because it had white, sky blue. green and hot pink as standard colours. Everything I've seen has stated that white is the only standard color of table linens. If you desire a color, which are available, you'll pay an obscene amount (like $16 per table cloth extra) on top of the cost of the event. In the event that they aren't doing the colors anymore, you can always play up the white linens with vibrant pink centerpieces and maybe a table runner. I try to avoid throwing the forum in their face. If I'm making a specific request, I tell them that a friend or acquaintance of mine who is also getting married there shared the information that she was provided. The trouble with trying to nail down specific details (ie color of linens) over eight months out is that prices and policies could very well change. Actually requesting a specific color of linen can be decided at your sit down appointment when you get there. At this point, request a price list directly from your WC and go from there. Print it and bring it along with you when you go. As far as the photographer goes, you'll have to speak directly to Mario, the head of photography. I sent an email to my WC in Cancun and even tried calling and they won't reserve it from 5 months out. The WC did respond to the email stating that she will have Mario contact me. I'm still waiting on that. At this point, if they can't reserve certain things for you, request that they put a note in your file regarding the request.

Quote: Originally Posted by Camie78 Does anyone know if MP accepts packages? I read on their website that they do not accept packages and I'm hoping that the website is outdated and it isn't true... I'm venturing to guess that the website is not outdated. By receiving packages, they become liable for anything that could happen to the contents. Imagine if half the people that get married there were to send down a package ahead of time, they would have no place to store anything and keeping track of whose is whose would be a bear... It also lines up with them being able to turn a greater profit. If you can't bring everything you want down with you, you'll likely spend more on other services/products they have to offer.

We're headed for the MP I went to Reed High, how about you?

Hey KLO! Of all the far stretches of the world that this forum reaches, it always makes me smile to see a fellow local. I was born and raised in the Reno/Sparks area and only moved away (to Susanville, CA) about a year and half ago.

I'm sure there is a better place that this could be posted, but I'm not quite sure where... To anyone planning on using Yankee Candles for their wedding favors, there is currently a 50% off promotion running until November 4 on votives and tarts, and it isn't just limited to the seasonal fragrances. Use Promo Code: XF810TS

Nibs, You're far enough out that if something should come up like a weird price jump, you can cancel the contract without penalty. We're already pretty sure that no one from my FI's side will be attending, but we're accepting that. Asking people to spend on the upwards of $4500 to attend a wedding (and have a fabulous vacation) will definately deter a lot of people on the guest list. As a result of some pretty important people not being able to attend, plus its actually about $200 cheaper, we're actually doing a symbolic ceremony at the MP and making it legal at city hall back home. The important people in our lives that won't be able to attend in Mexico (FI's parents and siblings) will be invited to attend the legal portion so they can at least witness that. See if a symbolic ceremony is worth it to you and that way your mom can bear witness at a legal ceremony. Or, if you're doing an at home reception, maybe you can have the marriage blessed at the reception. The MP also has a DVD package that I've heard nice things about.

Laura, Depending on how many weddings are scheduled for your wedding day, I would push to get your WC's name so you can reserve the chapel if thats what you really want. We ended up going around the procedures and I started talking to a WC that fortunately was willing to adopt our event into her work load, despite that she wasn't our scheduled would-be WC. As a result, we were able to reserve the chapel about 6 months out.... I know that I'm neurotic and a bit obsessive about specific details, I wonder how my approach compares to the other brides getting married on my wedding day. Its like I want to get the options that I want reserved before anyone can beat me to it and limit the choices available (ie ceremony location, photographer, restaurant). Am I being too aggressive?

Quote: Originally Posted by nibsmom Hey everyone! I am hoping to book the 2:00pm slot on July 18th at MP! I'm so excited! I've been trying to find a good travel agent who works with the MP and will be able to get us a good deal for our guests...any one have any suggestions?? Did anyone book their wedding date before finding a TA? Is that allowed?? I'm so confused! Sorry if someone's already posted this info!! Welcome aboard Nibsmom! To answer your question, you are very much so allowed to schedule your wedding ceremony prior to booking. We originally booked ours in April (ended up changing date, time, and type of ceremony) and didn't book our trip until just last week. If it helps you at all, feel free to talk to a TA to establish the best time/date to go and go from there. If you've already decided on a date and time (as you stated), what's holding you back from submitting a request?

Wow.... gotta love the language barrier Because its been taking Claudia a while to respond, I decided to call the resort in hopes of speaking directly to Mario to request David Pena, and instead managed to have to reexplain myself 4 times to the girl that answered the phone that I would like to request a specific resort photographer, and that yes, a WC had already been assigned. In the end, she's placing a note in my file, but not actually confirming anything. And I still didn't get to discuss the matter with Mario. Hhhmmpphh!

Thanks so much ladies!! Although I personally prefer a slightly more formal reception, my FI is definately pushing for the laid back casual. We've actually had disagreements about him not wearing jeans and a tshirt...thats too casual. Although I would like to be able to wear my gown again, I will probably just pick up a sun dress so I don't look overdressed for the occassion. I know that we will likely go the practical route and have cupcakes rather than a traditional multi layer cake, an ipod set up in lieu of a dj, and a potluck for the side dishes. Question is, should we have Mexican food (which is cheap to make a lot of, ties in with the destination wedding, and who honestly doesn't like mexican?) or go with BBQ steak and baked potatoes which is friggin scrumptous, but cost more? My biggest "planning endeavor" is how to decorate and where exactly to do it...

Hate to see the bridesmaid dresses!

Hate to see the bridesmaid dresses!

Thanks a bunch, Amduran! Have you already selected your photographer? Based on the photos, the two with the blonde bride are definately more my style (David Pena). I sent Claudia an inquiry for more samples and an inquiry to request David Pena specifically. It seems to take her a week or more to respond

Thanks a bunch, Amduran! Have you already selected your photographer? Based on the photos, the two with the blonde bride are definately more my style (David Pena). I sent Claudia an inquiry for more samples and an inquiry to request David Pena specifically. It seems to take her a week or more to respond

I think the planets must have been aligned or something, because my FI didn't put up a fight when I tried on two wedding bands with my ering. He went so far as to mention how sharp it looked and that it looked a lot better with the two rather than just the one along side my very simple solitaire ering. (He even told his parents how nice it looked) The retail price for the bands are $500 each, crafted out of 14k white gold, however FI has history with the jeweler and he always seems to cut an incredible deal. Platinum is fetching too high of price at this time for me to rationalize going that route. I'm just as content with white gold and for half the price. As far as the FI's ring goes, he's decided that he preferred a titanium over gold... so his ring is only running $80.

The dress is stunning on you, although I differ from the majority and think its prettier without the sash. The dress itself is timeless and will look amazing in your photo album years from now. While the pop of color is festive, the sash almost makes the gown appear trendy which in turn will look dated when looking back on it. Because its such a bright color, and doesn't appear to directly accent any of the dress details, it tends to draw the attention away from the beauty of the dress and straight to the sash. Best of luck! And congrats on finding 'the one'!