Camie78

Quote: Originally Posted by kmac Thank you so much for the info. Camie, I have another question for you. How exactly does the iPod package work? Did anyone do announcing for 1st dance, toasts, etc.? There wasn't an emcee for our dance or toasts, etc. I decided when it was time for the first dance and had the iPod guy switch to my 'dance' play list and went from there. It felt like the longest dance ever BTW. We fully intended to have the traditional toasts but time flew by and I decided that getting the dance party started was more important and we didn't end up having toasts. I created 2 play lists: cocktail hour/dinner and dance. I had my bridesmaids take the iPod with them to the cocktail hour as we were going to do our bride/groom photo session. They worked with the iPod guy to get it started. The iPod guy also has iTunes and can download anything you want him to play. In fact, he was on Lime Wire illegally downloading music during our dance. My dad asked him if he was afraid of getting caught and his response was: "I'm in Mexico." LOL.

Quote: Originally Posted by kmac OMG...my wedding is 2 1/2 months away and I am starting to panic. I am having a hard time figuring out the timing of events. Any input would be wonderful. My wedding is scheduled for 3pm. So, I am thinking of either doing a cocktails afterwards or going to a bar until dinner. I have no idea where we are going to do the dinner. I am roughly at 50people, which means that we are going to have a private function. Ideally, I would like to have it on a terrace. Has anyone done this with a large group? Also, did you have a dance floor and dj? Please anyone, give me your opinon. I am confused. Hi kmac, I'd definitely opt for the cocktail hour and/or private reception on one of the terraces. Your group size should qualify you for a free cocktail hour and ideally, you'd want to limit the amount of walking your guests have to do throughout the day. So, keeping the location for the cocktail hour and private reception near one another is key in my opinion. There are several terraces on the property all ranging in size and they have allocated space on the lawns (for lack of better terms) for cocktail hours which they refer to as 'gardens'. The paths and the terraces on the property are stamped and dyed concrete. This is a great surface as it never really became slippery and we went injury free. I also know that MP will not put a dance floor down on the lawn due to liability issues (I had previously asked my WC this same question). We went for the iPod package and I'm glad we did that rather than spending the money on a DJ. The lighting around the terrace is adequate and unless you really have your heart set on DJ lights. I contemplated the DJ lights because my concern with not having the lights was that there really wouldn't be a designated area for dancing and that wasn't the case. MP setup the terrace in a very functional way where it was clear that there was an area for eating, drinking, and dancing. Last thing... you can get (small upcharge with iPod package) the 'disco lights' with either music package you chose (DJ or iPod). If you chose not to do a cocktail hour, then you could go to either of the lobby bars or possibly the rooftop bar on the Grand side (if open). I'd stay away from the pool bars; I wouldn't want to risk any of my guests wedding gear getting wet or ruined with drunk pool-goers. Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b Camie, My questions are coming slowly...... I'm currently trying to sell my old house and deal with a bad dress situation.... So glad I bought my second dress or it would be worse! Do you know if they have different colored rose petals? I really want an orange or coral color and really don't want to have to haul them to Mexico. Also, Question about the Chapel Gazebo and ceremony. Did you have a symbolic Catholic wedding ceremony? I thought you said you did your legal back in the states. Also, can you elaborate on why this is one of the better gazebos? We both are Catholic but have been married before. I have gone through the process to get remarried Catholic but he has not. We plan on doing the legal part in the states before but I would love it if we could have a symbolic Catholic wedding. I also just sold my townhouse in Minneapolis. Holla! I did not have a choice in the color of rose petals and I don't have the pictures yet to show you what colors they actually were but from what I remember they were yellow, coral, red, and orange. We got legally married in Dallas at the end of March and then we had a Catholic ceremony at MP which is different than a symbolic ceremony. In order to have the Catholic ceremony at MP, you need to complete all the traditional classes through your local church. For example, we had to go to a weekend communication seminar, go to a conflict management class, and have a couple other classes. After we finished all the requirements for our local church, the Deacon signed off and sent the paperwork to the priest in Mexico. Ultimately the priest in Mexico has the final say on if he is going to perform the ceremony or not. Which is kind of scary since I didn't meet him until I showed up at the altar. I believe Marie had a symbolic ceremony in the Catholic gazebo but I'm not 100% sure on that. The Catholic gazebo, or "The Chapel" as they call it is more elegant in my opinion because of the glass walls and the pews. The pews are in near perfect condition and are dark cherry wood. The floor is marble, the altar is marble, and its very clean. Then there is the mini river/creek that winds around it with the bridge that you walk over when you are walking down the aisle which adds a nice touch. For those of you who are wanting to possibly hang flowers on the ends of the pews, they do have little picture hooks where you can hang the flowers. I personally would not waste any money on decorating the chapel. The other two gazebos have railings (one of them has painted white railing, the other has brown wood railing) just didn't catch my eye as much, maybe it was because they looked empty even when they had chairs setup, I'm not sure. I will say that it gets HOT HOT HOT in the Catholic gazebo with the sun pounding down on it all day and the glass preventing any sort of breeze.

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b Camie and all recent brides, I will probably have more questions but would like your opinion. We are going down with a crew of party people. We originally chose the Sunrise side since that is where most of the bars/dance places are but I really think I would prefer the new Grand side or Nizuk. How much of a hike is it to each of the areas? How bout at night? How many bars and do you know the hours are there in the Grand section? I know about the Roof Top Bar, I was actually thinking of everyone meeting for happy hour there on Friday night. Our biggest nights with friends are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and I was thinking of listing meetings places in my brochure for Thursday and Friday. Any other suggestions on places to meet a crew of people? another question.... Do cell phones work in Mexico? We have Sprint. We too had a big party crew but found ourselves only going to Sunrise the night of the wedding (their lobby bar was open later than the Nizuc lobby bar) and during the day one day to check out the pool. We left notes at the front desk for some of our guests to meet us at the Nizuc pool bar as they all arrived during the day. There are 2 pool bars on the Nizuc side and at least 3 over on the Sunrise side. I'd recommend having people meet you at Nizuc simply because the pool is about 50% of the size of the Sunrise pool. Cell phones do work but it depends on your calling plan. With the passport promotion, you will have unlimited calls to US and Canada. We and our guests were calling family in the US all the time. There were no issues with the connection and the instructions for dialing out were very easy to follow. The roof top bar was not open when we were there, most likely due to low occupancy issues so check into that before you start planning. It also isn't the easiest to find because there are so many buildings over on the grand side and it would be hard to give directions because guests could be coming via the lobby-to-lobby bus, the internal transportation golf cart, or walking. I know of two restaurants on the Grand side (one is Los Tacos which is the pool restaurant) and then there are at least 4 pool bars, the roof top bar, and then the fancier restaurant (can't remember the name). The pools are really spread out over on the Grand side. My recommendation for meeting people is to either pick one of the Nizuc or Sunrise lobby bars or pick one of the pool bars if guests are arriving during the day. The hike from one side to another is not that bad - 10 minute walk along the beach from Nizuc to Sunrise at most. The disco is over on the Sunrise side and they do have more pool bars but that's because the pool is much larger. Also the MP convention center stuff is also over on the Sunrise side.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc Great review Camie! Thank you so much for all the advice about tipping, where to eat, and how to plan for our pre-wedding meeting. Our dinner reception is also at the Venado Terrace and I'm happy to hear the scenery is all we need without spending the extra $$$. Your so funny about Lilly keeping you on track except with the drinking (I'll probably be the same way). I love your idea to bring a drink mixing book and mugs!! Sorry to hear you didn't like the horse carriage..any particular reason why? How did your lop-sided cake turn out? Your pictures of the grand side look amazing...I want to stay on that side now. Is that where you stayed? Congrats newlywed!! Horse carriage ride... I think it came down to me just not being into the whole fairytale type wedding and being the center of attention. Personal preference - I just didn't need all the hoop-la with it I guess.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc Great review Camie! Thank you so much for all the advice about tipping, where to eat, and how to plan for our pre-wedding meeting. Our dinner reception is also at the Venado Terrace and I'm happy to hear the scenery is all we need without spending the extra $$$. Your so funny about Lilly keeping you on track except with the drinking (I'll probably be the same way). I love your idea to bring a drink mixing book and mugs!! Sorry to hear you didn't like the horse carriage..any particular reason why? How did your lop-sided cake turn out? Your pictures of the grand side look amazing...I want to stay on that side now. Is that where you stayed? Congrats newlywed!! Hi sooon2bemsleblac! We stayed on the Nizuc side in the Mariposa building which is located between the Tucan and Chapel Gazebos. At any given time we could walk out the hotel door or on our balcony and see either gazebo. The lop-sided cake turned out OK. From what I remember, (it was dark when it arrived) the bottom layer was lopsided but the top 2 layers were not so it kind of looked un-finished and our guests were unsure if it was suppose to look like that or if it was a mistake. The bakers definitely got the flowers and plane w/plane trail cartoon design accurate, maybe just not the whole lop-sided effect. If I had to do it all over again, I'd opt for a one-layer square cake and then have them do the flower/plane design on that one layer. We paid $240 for the cake and barely even dented it as we only had about 25 people there - I'd save the $200 and go for the smaller cake for $40. I'll post the pictures of the cake as soon as we get the pictures from the resort (we didn't take any pictures with our camera). The one thing about Venado Terrace was the bathrooms - they were the worst bathrooms on the resort and were connected to the Venado building but did not have A/C, had a plastic door, and were out of hand soap. The Grand bathrooms are not much more of a walk, so I'd suggest scoping out the closest Grand bathrooms and directing your guests there instead of using the other bathrooms (there will be a 'manager-type' person at your reception to direct everything to bathrooms, etc).

Hi Ladies, I am going to preface this review in stating that I believe our wedding and experience at Moon Palace is vastly different than any other bride has experienced previously. The reason for this is that the Swine Flu (H1N1) hoax/media blowout was announced 3 days prior to our departure date and nearly a week before our wedding date. One could say that I am very bitter about the way the situation has been and continues to be handled by the media. I stressed out the entire time wondering if my guests were going to cancel, if flights would be canceled, and if we would be able to get to back to the US. This made the trip less than enjoyable for me but that’s neither here nor there at this point. Due to this Swine Flu BS, travel to Mexico came to a screeching halt and occupancy at the resort hovered around 35% when we arrived and around 25% by the time we left. They said that they had less than 1,000 guests at the resort and they usually hover around 5,000. It was not uncommon for us to look around and see a 1:1 ratio of staff to guests in any of the restaurants, bars, or pool areas. We had several guests who flew down on planes with less than 20 other passengers (these planes have a max capacity of 250 passengers). Our flight to Mexico contained 50 passengers and was roughly 50 on the way back as well. So here goes… Wedding Package: Classic Catholic Wedding Coordinator: Pilar Capilla (preliminary) and Lily Sanchez (permanent) Wedding Site: Chapel Gazebo @ Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort (Cancun) Wedding Date/Time: 05/02/2009, 6pm CST Number of Guests: 24 including Pete and I – 3 guests cancelled their trip the night of our departure Air Traffic Noise On average we heard maybe 2 plans per day while we were at the pool. Monday was by far the busiest day when we heard maybe 6 planes. Overall, I would say that plane noise is a non-issue. Size of the Resort My first impression when we walked into the Nizuc lobby was “this isn’t as grandiose as I thought it would be.†The property overall is very large, however, not as large as I thought it would be. You can walk from the far end of the Sunrise pool to the beginning of the Grand side in about 10 minutes. It’ll take you 15 if you stop for a drink refill in-between Sunrise and Nizuc:) We did venture to the Moon Spa/Golf Course one night for dinner and that is when I really realized how large the resort it. First you get on the lobby-to-lobby bus which will take you about half-way to a bar that is located in the middle of nowhere. From there you have a drink and wait for the golf carts to come and pick you up and take you on the rest of your journey. It seemed like the restaurants on the golf course were super far away from everything. If the resort had been busy, the size would have been an issue for us when trying to find guests. Since there were so few people at the resort we had no issues finding anyone; this has its draw backs though because there were times when we just wanted to be alone but someone would always find us. I spent a couple hours one day walking around the resort taking pictures of the property for you guys. You can access the photos by clicking the link below. I named each picture with what it was and added comments to some of the photos. Enjoy! Kodakgallery.com: Slideshow OOT Bags Canvas tote bag filled with a beach towel for each guest, a card with the itinerary of planned events, and travel size toiletries including: sun screen, hand sanitizer, lotion, Shout wipes, lint roller, J&J first aid kit, Rolaids, and ibuprofen. In addition to those items we included a snack size bag of candy of both of our favorites: sour patch kids and peanut M&Ms. Bugs/Mosquitoes I didn’t see a single bug or mosquito in the 7 days we were there. Cleanliness of the Resort The resort is exceptionally clean aside from the stupid pigeons and birds that feed off all the food that people leave out at the pool. Often there was bird poop on the chairs because the birds hear the food come out and they are like hawks – they even know how to open the Styrofoam containers. There is also a black cat that seemed to live on the property that we saw meandering around several times. Tipping I recommend bringing thank you cards (pre-written out because you’ll forget to do this on your big day) and having a set amount of what you think is acceptable to tip prior to arriving at the resort. Below are the tips that we gave throughout out time at the resort - no idea if this is what we should have done but I feel it was within reason. WC #1 Pilar = $20 WC #2 Lily = $60 David (photographer) = $80 Maid service = $2-3/day Room service = $2-3/per room service order iPod DJ = $0 Servers at cocktail hour and private reception = $50 Father Benedict = $40 Wedding Coordinators We started our process working with Pilar who is the manager of the wedding coordinators. She was really great to work with and recently had a baby so is out on maternity leave. Our permanent wedding coordinator was Lily Sanchez and I can’t say enough good things about her. She is absolutely adorable – she’s like 4’10†(I’m 5’10†so I felt like a giant next to her) and so quiet and patient. We met with Lily 2 days before the wedding and she had everything all laid out in our folder and had all of my emails organized into an Outlook folder with our wedding confirmation number. We went through every decision and she made notes on the paperwork, drew pictures, etc. The wedding office is very organized. I work in software development so I was impressed to see that they have their own internal application to schedule, create invoices, and organize all the little details of your wedding electronically. I recommend you take notes during your meeting because a couple days and several cocktails later (coupled with nerves) you may forget some of the details that she told you at the meeting. For example, I couldn’t remember if she said they were going to deliver the flowers to the room or at the chapel so I was stressing about if we should stay in the room or go to the chapel. Take notes, I wish I had as I didn’t realize I would go to brain dead on my wedding day. Lily was with us from about 5:40 – 8:30. She pretty much owned me and ran the show. She had to tell us when to eat, cut the cake, etc. She’s the only one that kept the show on track as we were sidetracked with our guests and drinks. “Ms Camie, please walk down the aisle now.†“Ms Camie, you should eat now.†“Ms Camie, you should cut the cake now.†Never once did she tell me that I should drink. Apparently I had that action item under control. LOL. Beauty Salon My overall impression is that they were for the most part unorganized. We opted to only have manicures (I felt their hair dos were like 80’s prom hair. Seriously.) and we had no issues getting appointments but I have no patience for un-organized people so I was annoyed. Restaurants In our opinion, the best restaurants are: Los Caporales (Nizuc, Mexican) and Palapa Barracuda (Sunrise, steakhouse). I would recommend you have your welcome or wedding dinner at the steakhouse if at all possible. Other restaurants we ate at were: El Manglar, Arrecifes, and La Trattoria. Overall the food at the resort is much better than any other all inclusive resorts I have been to (RIU, Radisson, Barcelo). Room Service Hamburguesa anyone? The fries taste like McDonald fries (not kidding). Order them at the pool bar fresh and you’ll see what I mean. Other excellent items on the room service menu are: mixed fajitas, chicken nuggets, hamburger, and fries. Love the room service idea except that I think I gained 10 pounds from it. Dress Pressing $50.40 and it shows up in your room magically the day before your wedding. It was fabulous and I would never recommend getting your dress pressed at home because its going to get wrinkled. It was so hard to carry the dress through the airport with all our luggage. I wish I would have just packed it to begin with. Photography We requested David Pena and he is who we got. There was a communicate issue where either Lily did not tell David that we wanted the family photo session prior to the ceremony or he just didn’t understand but he showed up at my room at 4:50 expecting to take pictures of me getting ready which I was already in my dress and ready to go as we had the family photo session at 5. He did a really fantastic job when it was his time but then kind of lost his place at the cocktail hour. I saw him standing around and then ran over to him and said that I love candid shots and then he started taking lots of them. We had photo package E which included a family photo session, the ceremony, bride/groom session, and 1 hour of cocktail hour. The total was $950 + $65 because they need 72 hours to touch-up/print and we had left the resort before the minimum 72 hour time limit. Currently waiting to receive the photos and will post as soon as I have them. Flowers I had a bunch of calla lilies and then the bridesmaid had smaller bouquets of a similar flower. We also purchased two bags of flower petals – highly recommended and then got calla lilies for the altar (not necessary). The flowers did not show up until about 20 minutes prior to the ceremony so all my photos with the wedding party and family will not have any flowers. Not the end of the world but I was wondering where they were the whole time and if they were going to show up. Gazebos The chapel gazebo is the best gazebo. Not because this is where we were married but because I truly think it is the most elegant and gazebo. Note: if you see pictures of the pews with pew covers, know that those are the protective covers that they put on the pews when the chapel is not in use to prevent them from being destroyed by bird poop, cleaning solution, and salt water. We had the red carpet removed and I am glad that we did – just tell your wedding coordinator when you meet with her and it’s no problem. Priest/Ceremony I’m not Catholic, or religious at all for that matter so I really have no idea how things go during the ceremony. This part was all Pete. The one thing that surprised me/upset me was that the priest threw water on my head/in my face when we entered the chapel. There was so much water on my face that I had I spent the next 2 minutes wiping it off on my hand. The priest struggled with English and went on with a bunch of nonsense. He became the running joke for the rest of the trip. I’d recommend bringing your own priest. Horse Carriage Over the top and not worth the $130. Cocktail Hour Lots of food with high top tables, some folding chairs, a couple servers, and a bar. Ours was held at Venado Garden which overlooked the beach and is kind of in front of the Grand side. Private Reception Well worth the money – we had ours at Venado Terrace which overlooked the ocean. I would not spend any money of custom decor - the scenery does all it needs to do. The food was excellent (Cajun buffet) and the service was tip top. Since we had planned to go to the disco after the reception (and it was closed), I asked Lily if she could hook us up with a ballroom or if we could stay on the terrace longer. She allowed us to stay on the terrace until 11 when we were originally to leave at 10. At 11 we had golf carts waiting for us to take us to the Sunrise lobby bar. Music – iPod Package (4 hours) I spent MANY hours picking out music for the cocktail hour, dinner, and private reception. I was surprised to see that there actually is someone manning the iPod station with his own iTunes. I had to lay down the law with him twice because I had one super drunk guest who requested two different songs in the middle of my dance playlist and the iPod DJ played them! Overall it went well but there was no tip for iPod DJ. They provide the cord for the system and the music played for the cocktail hour, dinner, and dance. Liquor Selection Excellent liquor selection. Absolut Vodka, Stoli, Crown, Jack Daniels, Bacardi. The problem for our crew was that all the flavored vodkas are located at the lobby bar at Sunrise. We didn’t find this out until we had been there for two days which was sad. From then on we ‘imported’ flavored vodka to the Nizuc side via water bottles that the bartenders filled up for us. This act was somewhat trashy but well worth it. Helpful Hints 1. If you chose to do your own hair or have someone do it for you, I recommend bringing a power strip because outlets are sparse in the rooms. Also consider bringing an extra hair dryer if you think you will need to have people using the mirrors and drying hair at the same time. The area by the bathroom sink is very cramped. 2.Use room service. It was so nice to come back to the room after being at the pool all day and order room service to tide us over until dinner. 3.Bring lots of $1’s to tip. I have been to many all inclusive resorts and I have never tipped as much as I did in the first two days at the resort. There were tons of things at the resort that I was not expecting to have to tip for including: room service, when they bring the bottle of champagne to your room, when they bring the rose to your room, when they bring the other bottle of champagne on your wedding day, when they deliver your after-wedding breakfast, when they deliver your wedding cake the day after, bartenders, bellmen, tour operators, etc. 4.With the passport promotion, each room gets a $25 credit to the casino. All you have to do is go to the front desk at Sunrise, get your gaming card and then head over the casino. If you feel like having the cash instead of gambling, play a game and then cash in your gaming card. 5.If you plan on going on the zip line tour, bring a pair of tennis shoes and clothes that you do not care if they get ruined and lots of bug spray. While we did not take this tour, we inquired and were told that our shoes and clothes would be ruined after the trip and that we would be eaten alive. 6.Bring your dress and ceremony CD to your appointment with your WC. 7.Bring a list of photos that you want to get with designated people to keep the family photo session running smoothly and efficiently. This saved us. 8.Prepare notes to be given to your guests as they arrive prior to getting to the resort or right after you find a good meeting spot at the resort. Its not worth the stress of trying to run to the lobby to find people when you “think†they are going to arrive. Have them meet you. 9.Bring a drink mixing book and insulated mugs. 10.Bring a waterproof watch with you to the pool or wherever you are at as there are no clocks ANYWHERE! 11.Bring an iPod dock station where you can play music when you and your bridesmaids are getting ready. My SIL brought hers and the first night we used it when we had ‘modified discotech’ in room 6310 because the disco was closed but we also used it during getting ready time. 12.Rent the bikes and take a ride around the property one day. 13.Be sure to visit Moon Grand – it’s fabulous. We spent most of our time there, mostly because its happy hour every day, even when you don’t need two drinks at a time 14.A 15†laptop will fit in the safe in the room. I’d question a 17†laptop. Bring yours if you have one or you can use the public terminals located in ‘Sweet & Coffee’ in the lobby. 15.Reconsider getting flowers for the altar. At the end of the day I thought they were a waste of $180. 16.Consider getting the bags of flower petals for your guests to toss when you walk out of the gazebo. $35/bag and we had 2 bags for about 25 guests. 17.Put sunscreen on the tops of your ears, hairline part, hands, and tops of your feet. Not sure how I forgot these areas but I did. 18.All the pool bars serve food. Ask for a menu if you want something because it’s not really apparent where to order or what they offer. 19.Ask your wedding coordinator for special alcohol for your private reception (for example, flavored vodka) 20.If you do decide to get your dress steamed at home, consider putting it in a space bag to prevent it from re-wrinkling.

Quote: Originally Posted by doblauvelt TinaM2be, Is the pressing of your dress part of the 2009 package? The 2010 packages don't say anything about pressing of the dress... do you know how much extra that'll be? Tonya Dress pressing was not part of our package (Classic Catholic) which no longer exists for new brides. I had my dress pressed the day following our arrival day and the price was $50.40 and is charged directly to the credit card you provide to them for incidentals. They deliver the dress directly to your room when its done - so you come back from the pool and viola! There it is! Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by vgirl17 Congratulations Cami! You're a married woman now! I can't wait to read your review and see some pics I'm glad everything worked out for you! Just a quick question whenever you get a chance, was your wedding at 6pm? What was the weather like during your ceremony and what time did the sun set? My wedding is around the same time next year at 5pm. Is it still really hot at that time? Thanks! Yes the wedding was at 6pm and by that time the temperature had gone down a little bit but not much. I would say that it was probably close to 90 but it felt more like 85 because of the breeze. The sunset around 7:15 and I knew that going in and that is why we wanted to have our family photo session prior to the ceremony otherwise all of the photos would have been in the dusk.

Quote: Originally Posted by CindyMcGue Does the MP provide a cake cutter knife and toasting flutes, or should we bring our own? MP does provide a cake cutting knife and serving spatula. The knife is a serrated dinner knife. Pete actually cut the cake with the serving spatula and then Lily (our WC) came over and made us do it again with the real knife. I saw a post awhile back asking for feedback on Lily - she's fantastic. She was with us from 5:30-8:30 making sure everything went as planned. I had read a review by Marie (I think) who said her WC was pretty much missing in action and that was not my exp at all. Lily is wonderful, very organized, patient, and accommodating. Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b 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, We had David yesterday and we had him from about 4:50 - 8:30pm. I think that we were suppose to only have him through 8pm but our cake arrived late at the dinner so he had to stay to get a picture of the cake. We did all the family photos and some bride/groom photos before the ceremony and then we did more bride and groom photos after the ceremony while our guests were at the cocktail hour. We selected photo package E which was $950 + $65 shipping as they need 72 hours to prepare the photos, etc and we will have left before then. David's famous quotes: "Sexy body, sexy body" "Love the sand!" "Wait for me. OK good" He was really great to work with telling you how to pose (sexy body, sexy body) and he kept me laughing the entire time. I felt really weird in some of the poses but I am sure they will turn out fantastic. Camie

Hi Ladies, We had our wedding yesterday and everything went perfectly. I'll write the review as soon as I get back. I've taken lots and lots of pictures of everything and will be sure to share those as well. The resort is currently running at about 35% occupancy which means there are no issues finding chairs by the pool and getting quick service. The downfall of the low occupancy is that MP has decided to cut costs by closing the disco (they actually said it is closed for maint but we believe it just isn't economically feasible to keep it open when there are so few people). They have also closed one of the pool bar restauant but the other restaurant is not far and any of the wait staff will take your order and deliver your food. We've also heard that their occupancy is going to be even less next week - it's crazy the effect the media has had (swine flu blowout). Moon Palace Grand is amazing. Switch your reservations to that side if you can. Camie

Hi Ladies! I think we are finally over the SFP2009 (swine flu pandemic 2009) hump with our guests at this point. We only had one couple who was reconsidering and I think they are a for sure go at this time. We've got 3 guests at the resort already and they state that no one is walking around with Michael Jackson/SARS masks (LOL). We leave tomorrow morning and will arrive around 11:30am. I'll report back with pictures upon our return. Take care, Camie

I've narrowed the source of the swine flu freak out to my mother. Turns out she contacted my sister, brother-in-law, and brother and basically told them that we are all going to die or they are all going to get quarentined at the airport if they look sick. She's so over dramatic and if I didn't have a legit concern that there were going to be travel restrictions, I'd be laughing. I can't remember who posted the comment about guests not coming unless you switch locations... I think that's a little over the top and I'm sorry you have to deal with comments like those. One of my guests sent me a link to a Google map where it shows the areas of the breakouts - none have been reported anywhere near Cancun. In fact, there are more cases near the Dallas area than remotely near Cancun. H1N1 Swine Flu - Google Maps I'm off to pick up my dress from alterations now. Oh and I got my ring "blinging" (as my jeweler puts it) and it looks awesome. I highly recommend a little touch up before you take off. Hey, if you are going to get the swine flu, you might as well have a shiny ring to go along with it! LOL.

This has been quite the year for a destination wedding in Mexico. First the economy tanks, then Mexico has the whole militant drug killing fiasco, and now the swine flu. My guests are FREAKING OUT about the swine flu as the U.S. just declared a public health emergency today on it. In addition to the government freaking people out, airlines have jumped on the bandwagon and are now offering free ticket changes if you are traveling to Mexico between April 25 and May 6, 2009 which is of course is the exact time that we are going to be in Mexico. Why do public officials have to go overboard with everything and freak everyone out? I mean they issued this public health emergency because 20 people in NYC suddenly have flu-like symptoms. 20 people out of an estimated population of 306,297,221 - that's .000000065% of the population. Really? A public health emergency over that small of a percentage My excitement balloon has temporarily deflated. Boo hoo.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc Great tips Camie!! I just got my first email from Lily and I'm so excited to be working with her. Our 50% deadline is Friday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed everything comes together as planned. So far, things have been pretty calm, except for some of my guests complaining about the airport transfers being too expensive. I'm definetly going to take your advice about the flowers. $60 is way more affordable than $180, thats for sure! I'm also going with rose petals to throw...I love the pictures that CutieRosie just posted from her wedding. I was going to buy them from Michaels but then read about them being harmful to the environment and I don't want that. That's awesome about AA....we are flying Delta and I'm not sure they have the same policy. You will be in Cancun so soon....you must be so excited!! Yep, we leave next Wednesday @ 9am and I am super excited. It's extremely hard to concentrate at work or on anything really. I just want to be in Cancun with my fruity drink or mojito laying on the beach. Only 5 more days... tick, tock, tick, tock.

Quote: Originally Posted by Betsy There is also a little bottle of wine delivered to your room the day of your wedding, with 2 strawberries, one with white chocolate, and the other w/ dark chocolate (aka the bride and the groom) and on the plate it says Congratulations or something written in chocolate sauce..........I have a pic of it on here somewhere....... And breakfast in bed the next day is awesome! We ordered mimosas and they were SO good! That's awesome about the wine. I secretly put two bloody marys on our breakfast order. "We're married! Let's get drunk!" LOL

Hi Ladies, I want to quickly pass along a couple things I have learned in the last few days from Lily, my AWESOME WC. Sorry for the ginormous post but I think you will find the information valuable. I posted awhile back that I was going to ask MP if they would comp the cocktail hour even though I did not have the 10 minimum rooms booked under my group contract (as many of our guests booked through Travelocity, Orbitz, etc). I found out today that they honored their rooms and gave us the cocktail hour for free. Lesson here is that it never hurts to ask as it saved us $600. Since my guests booked through online travel sites, they did not get transportation included in their trip. I asked how much a cab was and she stated that a cab ride to the resort is around $50. I thought this was out of control since it is only 5 miles and didn't really believe it until I read a couple older posts on the forum and it seems to be true. Lily also provided me with an alternative for our guests where MP will coordinate a pick up time with their van and it would be cheaper. The contact at MP to coordinate this is Luis Villeda at [email protected]. Sorry I don't know the rates, I just sent this info on to our guests. Bargain shop when you are picking out flowers. I asked how much a bouquet of calla lilies would be for my bridesmaids and they told me $180. I thought was insane so I asked how much a MUCH smaller bouquet would be (with maybe like 5 calla lilies) and she said $60. My advice here is to press a little harder as they will always start off with the more expensive recommendations. They sell bags of flower petals for $35/bag. We have 25 guests and they recommended 2 bags and we intend to have our guests throw them in the air and have the photographer take a picture with them falling. Shires (I believe) posted her picture several pages back and I fell in love with the idea. MP offered us different cake filling options. Lily told us that our cake would be vanilla sponge cake and can be filled with vanilla, lemon, fruit, or strawberry. I wasn't expecting that at all... Lily also reminded us that we get breakfast in bed the day after the wedding and asked us to provide her with our personal menu. I thought this was pretty cool. I asked Lily if they cutoff all wedding party bracelets and she stated that only the bride and groom will have their bracelet cutoff. I asked if our wedding would follow the new wedding packages that they have online and she stated that MP will honor all old wedding contracts and the new packages are only for new brides. I asked if they provide umbrellas on the gardens or terraces for the private cocktail hour and/or dinner and she stated that they rent them for $25/umbrella. I asked if the red carpet can be removed from the Catholic Chapel and she stated that it can be removed without any issues. I asked how long the Catholic ceremony is and she stated that a complete mass is 50 minutes, Rite of matrimony and communion is only about 35 minutes, and only rite of matrimony is 30 minutes. One of our guests called American Airlines today to verify if there was a checked baggage fee from US to Mexico and there isn't. That's just plain awesome.

Quote: Originally Posted by cutierosie P.S. Tina, I brought my wedding coordinator a welcome gift (Jewelry, and a wedding favor), and on my way out I gave her a card and $60 dollars and two wedding favors for her assistants, I am also going to send her pictures of the table set up that she wanted. I didn't know how much to tip, but it was the only money I had left on my way out, I feel guilty because I wanted to give her more. I also tipped every server at the reception 100 pesos and the DJ 200 pesos each. I also tipped every server at the rehearsal dinner 50 pesos each (there were about 4-5 of them) Thank you cutierosie for the recommendation on tipping. I am so lost when it comes to tipping, how much, who, when, etc and this gives me a base to work with. Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by Jodimichelle AND FOR ALL- Ok I am 2 days away from signing my contract and one of my good friends emailed me with a concern- Is Mexico safe? =( Jodimichelle, I agree with Tina's comment above - the resort will be safe. I was reviewing the Moon Palace website last night as I was preparing my 'helpful hints/get pumped up for your trip' email to our guests last night and I found a section on the Palace Resorts website dedicated to addressing the safety concerns in Mexico. The articles may help put your friend's mind at ease. 1. Go to Palace Resorts - Welcome to the Official Site (www dot palaceresorts dot com) and scroll to the very bottom and click on the NEWS & UPDATES link. 2. Click on the MEXICO SECURITY UPDATES link on the left-hand side of the page. Good luck! Camie

THIS JUST IN... My WC emailed me a map of MP which includes all 3 sides: Sunrise, Nizuc, AND Grand. There really is a Grand side - mystery solved! Camie MP-SunriseNizucGrand.ppt

Tina- I heard back from my WC today about the type of marriage certificate copy (Zerox or certified) and she stated that they just need 1 Zerox copy. Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by nibsmom Okay, question for those of you who already had your weddings, or those who are close...well, or those who have thought about this....what are you doing for tipping? Are you tipping everyone? Officiant, servers, WC, etc? Or just a few select people? Or, should we not really be tipping since it's an AI? I have done A LOT of pondering on this topic and I still don't know what to do. I asked my WC if guests usually tip and on average how much they tip or what she feels would be an acceptable tip and she told me that not all guests tip and tips are not expected. She provided little to no guidance on the subject, most likely because they aren't to discuss it. Pete believes that the Priest should get a tip as he is associated with the Catholic church and not the resort per se. We budgeted for a $100 tip for the Priest but my goal is to at least cut that in half because I think $100 is excessive. I'm thinking $20 for the cocktail hour and dinner each. Then I'm not sure yet about the WC tip - she is definitely doing the majority of the leg work in this process. Maybe $20 for her too? Am I being cheap? Has anyone else thought about this? Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by nibsmom OMG...I know. We just had our bridal shower last weekend, and it really sunk in that our wedding is three months away! I have so much to do!!! I'm hoping a WC will contact us a little early - I really still have no idea how I want to organize stuff with a reception. This whole 1pm ceremony thing is really stumping me. I don't know where to put the reception!!! Eeps. I keep checking the website to see if anyone cancels and I can move up a bit...no luck yet!! We also had our bridal shower a couple weekends ago and that's when it really hit me. Then it hit me how time consuming thank you cards are! We have the same issue with our reception/cocktail hour but it is because our ceremony is late in the day - 6pm. I guess that just gives us more time to hang out in the pool with frozen fruity drinks?!?! I am getting super excited! We were assigned our WC about 5 weeks prior to our date - Lily Sanchez. She's really great to work with.

Quote: Originally Posted by TinaM2b Camie, 20 days..... wow!!! I can't wait till I start working with the resort. We still have three months but I have a feeling time is going to fly now. Does MP require a certified copy of the marriage license from the state? How many copies? We are doing the same. We did not want all our information circulated in a foreign country so we have decided to do the same before our actual ceremony in Mexico. Hi Tina, I am still waiting to hear back from my WC on if the copy needs to be certified or not. I assume that it has to be a certified copy and that is why I have started that fun process. I also found out that to get copies you either have to snail mail a request to the county in which you were married and send them a money order (copies are $8 each in Dallas county) and then they will mail you the copies in 10-14 days OR spend a fun morning at the government center and you can get the copies immediately. Since we are short on time, we will have to stop by the government offices. I've tasked Pete with this fun action item! Yay Pete! I will keep you posted on what I found out re: certified or not.