Camie78

Hi Ladies, My name is Camie and I'm actually a Moon Palace bride but I just returned yesterday from a wedding at RIU Cancun held on January 10th, 2009. I wanted to give you a little review of what I thought of the resort and amenities and hopefully provide you with any pointers that I learned. Some of this you may already know but I know how much I appreciate all the information on the Moon Palace forum, so the more information, the better. We arrived at RIU Cancun on Thursday, 01/08/09 after a short shuttle ride. The tour company that we booked through is Olympus Tours/Gogo Worldwide and they were fantastic, I highly recommend them. We landed at 1230pm and got to the resort at about 2pm. It took us about 30 minutes to check in and talk with the Olympus representative at the resort to schedule our transfer back. We got out to the pool around 315pm and the first thing that I noticed was that the pool was completely shaded and 50% of the beach was also in the shade. One idea I have for you here is that the keys to the rooms are actual keys, not key cards. Some of these keys were on lanyard (sp?) and others were just on a normal key chain. If you are thinking of wedding guest gifts, I'd recommend doing lanyards because I know the people who had the key chain were annoyed because they rarely had pockets to carry the keys. Reserving Pool Chairs: Over the course of our stay we learned that the pool is completely shaded by 230pm and the beach is completely shaded by 4pm. Since there is limited sunshine throughout the day, people get up VERY early to reserve their chairs at the pools/beach. I'd recommend getting a chair on the beach rather than the pool because you'll get about an hour of extra sun on the beach. Now, when I say VERY early I mean that people are out reserving their chairs at 630am. I'm not kidding - I didn't sleep past 630 the whole trip because of this. By 7am there are no chairs left at the pool and by 9am you've got limited selection of chairs on the beach. In short, the resort does not have enough chairs to suffice 100% occupancy as it was during our stay. Beach: The beach itself had very little seaweed and was soft. You have your typical problems with any beach of cigarette butts and straws every now and again but overall I thought the beach was pretty good. The one thing that I noticed about the sand was that it was strange and it stuck to you. It wouldn't was off under the facet or in the ocean and you have to actually brush it off under water. Restaurants: Another reason why I recommend getting up early is essential is because there are only 4 restaurants on the property. 1 is the buffet, 1 is the pool restaurant (which opens as a "steakhouse" at night) and then two restaurants which require reservations (Japanese restaurant and Brazilian steakhouse). I got a tip from the bride's mother on the day that we arrived that the resort only takes reservations for the two restaurants on the day of and they begin taking reservations at 7am. She advised us to get down to the lobby to make these reservations no later than 645am. I took this advice and when I arrived at the lobby there were already over a dozen people waiting. At 7am the woman pulls out the podium and the chaos begins. People were yelling at one another about budding in line and everyone was pushing each other. It was CRAZY and very much unexpected. All other all inclusive resorts that I have been to allow you to make your reservations days in advance. I'm not sure why this resort handles things differently, perhaps it is because they only have two restaurants. Wedding: This wedding was pretty big, about 80 guests and was held on the beach. The WC requested that all of the guests meet in the lobby 30 minutes before the ceremony and then she walked us down to the wedding area. This area is pretty cool. Its a little alcove in the sand by the "adults only" pool. To get to this alcove you must walk down a long ramp (also where the bridesmaid and bride walk down) and then traverse back along side the ramp through the sand. So the bride's walk is super long and half of it is in the sand. The thing that I was not a fan of is that the bride comes in from the front, walks to the back, and then back up in the middle aisle. The ceremony was done in English and there was a lot of signing of paperwork (took about 5 minutes). The groomsmen stood at the 'altar' and then the bridesmaids walked down individually followed by the bride. There were a few onlookers but not too many. Overall, pretty cool. Wedding Dinner: We ended eating at both restaurants, Japanese the first night and then the Brazilian steakhouse the night of the wedding. What was cool about the steakhouse is that the bride and groom were able to rent out the entire space so we had a private dinner. I'm not sure how they swung this given the high demand to eat at this restaurant. None-the-less it was cool. Wedding Dance: After the dinner we went to the disco, "Pacha" which they also were able to reserve for two hours and we had a private wedding dance there. This was very cool because they were able to bring their own music and it ended up being just like a normal wedding dance without any strangers peering in and watching. Pacha has a bar within it and we had two or three bartenders helping out the wedding crew with their cocktails. One warning is that the bride and groom had rented this space from 830-1030 and then Pacha opened up to the general public at 1030. At 1030 SHARP the DJ stopped playing the song that was playing (yes, right in the middle of the song) and started in with the club's playlist. Needless to say this did not go over well with the groom and security was called in. Everything ended up ok but I want to warn you of this in case it should happen to you. Pacha is a pretty big space with plenty of bar stools but its dark (walls are black) and there are no windows. Pool Descriptions: There are 4 pools on the property, all of which are pretty small. One of them is and infinity pool and "adult only", one is used for sports like volleyball and belly flop contests, one is the pool bar (personal fav), and one is an infinity pool where kids hang out as it has a shallow end. All pools are shaded early as stated above. Downtown Cancun: Downtown Cancun and all of the clubs are within walking distance (about 3 blocks). We went out one night and had a pretty good time. Placing within 3 blocks of the resort are: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Rainforest Cafe, Carlos n' Charlies, Coco Bongo, Dady O's, and tons of little restaurants and places to drink. We ate at Carlos n' Charlies and the food was fantastic (maybe I just thought this because I was tired of the same ol, same ol at the resort) and the staff was so engaging. We ended up being there for almost 3 hours dancing, etc. If you plan on going into a club, do not pay the price that they ask you to - barter for a price and they will end up dropping it and if not, walk away, or better yet put one club promoter against another. Internet Access: Available in the sports bar for a fee (not sure how much). Bars: Pool bar - open until 6 Pool restaurant bar - not sure how late it was open but late enough for dinner Sports bar - open 24 hours Inside lobby bar - not sure how late it is open Outside lobby bar - this bar plays 80's music so we just started calling it the 80's bar. "Pacha" - opens at 1030pm, night club Entertainment area - have shows nightly, was entertaining and something different. Mini Bar/Fridge: Mini bar contains 4 liquors and we never touched them. I think they were rum, vodka, tequila, and brandy. The fridge contained Corona (only beer they have), waters (two different sizes), and soda/"pop". That's about all I have. I'm sure I have more but I can't think of anything else at the moment. I'll subscribe to this thread for the next week or so and look at postings or you can email me directly at [email protected]. I may not have all the specifics for you but I have no issues calling up the bride and asking her. I can tell you that she said that they never rehearsed and she was uneasy about how things would go - of course it all turned out fine. Below is a link to the photos that I took of the resort. Kodakgallery.com: Slideshow Best of luck to all of you, Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by blaired Hey girls!!! I'm new to this board/wedding planning! I'm not new with MP(we have visited them and that's why we picked the resort), but am having some issues with group booking. Have any of ya'll done group booking? I have the contract, it looked vague to me but in good faith not like they are intentionally trying to screw me. I was going to sign in and get everything going but then my sister-in law who is a lawyer(God bless her) looked it over! Now there are like 15 items that need to be changed. I know she is trying to cover our butts, and I'm super blessed to have a lawyer in the family, but have any of ya'll done a wedding w/o a group booking. Or do any of ya'll have any suggestions. I'm worried they aren't going to change the contract bc its a general contract. I'm totally OK with not signing it, especially if my sister-in law suggests we don't, but just generally worried that this is "easy stress free wedding" is going to turn into a uphill battle! Thanks! Blaire Hi Blaire, We do not have a group contract and our travel agent has not had any issues requesting that our guests are booked near each other on the Nizuc side of the resort. The travel agent we booked through was not able to get details on contracts (still to this day I have no idea why she was not able to get the details) so we ended up booking our room to open it up for the rest of our guests to book. I wish now that we had waited for the group contract because we, at a minimum, would have had enough rooms booked for the free cocktail hour which would have saved us $400-600. Not much we can do about it now but I'd recommend taking your time and getting all the details you can to help you make your decisions.

Quote: Originally Posted by kmac Can anyone please email me any maps, wedding locations, flowers, or any information you have on MP? I do not have enough points to download the information. My email address is [email protected] Thank you so much. Kmac, I've emailed you all of the documents I have received from my WC and have downloaded from the forum. When are you getting married? Good luck sifting through all the information! Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by ErikDaGenErik hi ladies! Maribel, my WC in Cancun, has been very helpful in sending and answering my questions. I am very concerned of how the Catholic Ceremony will be and she sent me a copy of what a ceremony there would be like. It's a trypical Catholic Ceremony as you would have here. I just want to share it for those wondering what a traditional wedding would be like. I asked the priest from Moon Palace who will be preciding our wedding, Father Pierre Gourard, if we could include some traditions from our culture and he said yes. We met with our local priest who will be helping us customize our ceremony with readings and psalms. Maribel said once we finalize the ceremony program, we send a copy to her and the priest so they could arrange and practice the sequence of the program. That's how they'll know what to do on the day of the wedding. Hope this helps some of you who are choosing the Catholic Ceremony route. The document is below and available for you to view/download. Quick question for you... How were you able to get in touch with Father Pierre Gourard? The email address we have for him, [email protected], bounced back as invalid earlier this week when I emailed him. Thanks, Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by DWandMJ I can totally handle 500! I sent her an email on Monday, now I'm just waiting. Although I'm pretty sure Daniel will be wearing a rented suit for the wedding, I saw a video on utube with the groom wearing a white button down shirt and jeans playing in the water... it was hot. The FI is a little opposed to doing it, but if we're down there, he's totally a captive audience. Provided the the atmosphere/gazebos, what are you ladies having your grooms wear for the wedding? My FH and the groomsmen are wearing khaki linen pants and white silk shirts from Tommy Bahama (they have a very faint pattern to them but not anything that is overbearing, or that is going to be shown in the pictures... I would think). My concern is that my FH is going to be dressed in the same outfit as the guys are so I was thinking that if he just had a flower and none of the other guys did that he would stand out as the husband-to-be. Thoughts? Should he wear something different, possibly a suit? We've had such a hard time finding the outfits for the guys as everytime we found something it went on clearance or "out-of-season" the following day and suddenly the store did not have all the sizes that we needed. So, I feel like we should just stick with what we have and not deal with the stress of finding him another outfit that matches. There are a gazillion shades of khaki in the world! I do like the idea of dark jeans - wish I would have thought of that!

Quote: Originally Posted by DWandMJ Nibs- I would call/email the Miami office. They're usually quicker to respond as long as they don't have to make contact with the resort. Those girls are at the mercy of the resort for responding too. Maybe Carolina Lopez would know? I would imagine that if it was within six months, you'd be safe, but of course thats not for sure. We changed our to a symbolic ceremony and just going to the courthouse to make it legal here. Its less of a headache and actually cheaper (no translations, no blood tests, no apostille docs) I've been curious about the TTD in Cancun also. I assume that the resort photographer doesn't do those sessions so I'm wandering if anyone can suggest a decent but affordable outside photographer that we could meet up with on a different beach? Any insight from anyone thats looked into this? (Affordable being under $1000) Marie, We are also planning on getting married in the US and then having the catholic ceremony at the resort. Did you confirm with the resort that you do not need to have the apostille docs, blood tests, etc? I have the same questions and I just emailed my WC (prior to catching up on the forum) but she's on vacation until January 13th. Thanks, Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by Anthony'sGirl Hi Ladies I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, my sister and brother-in-law are not coming to the wedding as it stands right now. Which is fine, but my BIL said that he was going to do the photography.. he bought a new camera and everything! So, now I'm stuck.. do I use the hotel photog? I have seen the website and their work and the pictures look nice, but I also want to do a TTD session. Do they do that too?? Is it extra?? Who is everyone else using and do you have websites or contact info? Pictures are pretty important to me and I really want some great photos... I'm just feeling lost with only 5 more months to go and just another obsticle to add to many others... *sigh* Any help would be wonderful, thanks so much!! Hi Anthony'sGirl, I know how you feel. One of my best friends from college got engaged 2 weeks prior to us and they beat us to the wedding date by selecting a date in January and also selecting Cancun as the location. in fact, they've beat us to everything, gift ideas, resort tour ideas, welcome gift ideas, etc. We decided to bump out our wedding to May in hope that spacing out the two trips would allow more of our mutual friends to come to our wedding as well. The problem is, this isn't happening and it's very heartbreaking. I know that not everyone has the timeoff and can afford two trips to Cancun but it still doesn't make it sting any less. I just have to keep telling myself that I wanted a destination wedding and it will be a great time with whomever is able to attend. I've shed many tears over the whole "who is going to attend, who isn't" ordeal...

Quote: Originally Posted by annouska Hi there I am thinking of using Lidya Solemidt as my wedding and TTD photographer. Her pictures look very nice and her packages are affordable. Her website address is Home Lidya Solemidt Photographer Has anyone her of her before? I found her on this site some where. I am now thinking of using the resort photographer for my welcome dinner. Whats everyone else doing? We are going to use the resort photographer for the ceremony and pictures directly following the ceremony and then one of my roommates from college is going to do the candid shots, shots throughout the rest of the evening, and shots at the welcome dinner. I wish we had the budget for a professional photographer for everything but we don't. Things would be different if we didn't own two houses at the moment - anyone interested in a townhouse in Minnesota? Sigh. On another note, my old roomie's fortay is with invitations/cards/etc. She designed our invites/thank you cards/programs and we were are so happy with them (see attached are the invites, not including the thank you cards and program). The image doesn't show it but the paper and envelope have a metallic sheen and also the blue writing on the image is lighter than it actually is on print. www.jessirischdesign.com is the website if you are interested in seeing some of her work. Invites.ppt

Quote: Originally Posted by KLO HELP...please! For those of you who have already been through this nerve wrecking experience or for anyone who might know, I have a couple of questions. First, I have always wanted a beach wedding so when my WC sent me pics of the gazebos I told her that I would rather have our ceremony on the beach. She had no problem with that and told me, "the beach it will be". I've been reading some reviews and noticed that a few people had the same idea that I did and then when they arrived at their resort they changed to a gazebo location. Why Can anyone tell me if the beach weddings aren't as private, appealing, too pricey, what is it Second, I have this awful tattoo on my finger that I've been having removed for almost 1 year now. It's much lighter than it used to be but unfortunately it's still there =( Does anyone know if the onsite photographers are able to airbrush any pictures that my finger may be in? I've tried lot's of things to cover it up but nothing works like I would like it to. I have read reviews from past brides that they rake the beach often but that there always seemed to an abundance of seaweed. I'd always wanted a beach wedding too but then I attended one a couple years ago in the Bahamas and while the view and whole idea of it was great, the wind was a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps it was an overly windy day but I decided that day that I was a not a fan of the wind and vowed to go with a gazebo if one was available.

Quote: Originally Posted by Camie78 Hi MP Brides, Question for you... We do not have a group contract and we've setup the private reception/cocktail hour but did not get any sort of formal contract for the private reception/cocktail hour back from my WC. Our WC sent us an email confirmation and that was the end of it. I'm curious to know if there are any other brides out there who do not have a group contract but have confirmed a private reception - specifically I'm wondering if you received a formal contract (sort of like the formal contact you received when confirming your wedding date/package). I asked my WC if I should expect to see a formal contract and she said that they only issue formal contracts for the group rates/pricing and the wedding package. I feel like I should have something more than an email confirmation from my WC... Maybe not?? I've answered my own question... I asked my WC for clarification on the contact thing (not sure why I am so nervous about not having a formal contract) and she explained that there isn't an official contract for private functions, cocktail parties, etc and that the email confirmation she sent is considered the contract and confirmation of services to be provided. Just wanted to post as an FYI. My nerves are now at ease.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jennifer43 Hey Camie....Where in Dallas are you at? I live up in Carrollton! I am looking for more details on the Grand side. I know there hasn't been much official information released, but is there anywhere over there that would be a good location for the rehearsal dinner? I have photos of the rooftop deck/bar above the carribean restaurant, but I have been told that can't be used for a big group...anyone else know anything? I am 6 months out and am definitely hitting the wedding planning mode! Hi Jennifer, I live in the Lakewood area of Dallas, near White Rock Lake but I work in Carrollton - small world! Our wedding is one week before yours; what day are you arriving at the resort? Our last day there is the May 5th I personally do not have any details on the Grand side but my aunt did visit MP when Grand was still somewhat under construction and she stated that the Carribean restaurant was awesome. Can you send me the photos you have of the rooftop deck/bar? I'm more or less curious as to what it looks like... [email protected] Thank you, Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by evtalbot Hi everyone! I have a question to those of you who have visited MP already: What restaurant would you recommend for a reception dinner of approx. 25-35 people? We started out wanting a private reception, but since we are not having as many people as we thought we would, we are thinking about just having our dinner in the restaurant since it is INCLUDED in the package! Are there any restaurants with outside seating overlooking the ocean? Which restaurant has the best food? I see lots of people commenting on Terrace Venado, but I believe that is a private reception area, right? Evelyn Hi Evelyn, Post #1051 on page 6 may provide you with some insight as to which restaurants can accommodate your group size. I received the same restaurant list posted there from my WC and was surprised that very few of the resturaunts could accommodate up to 35 guests. I've never been to MP but I've read recommendations in this forum on the following restaurants: Brazillian on the Nizuc side, Asian on the Sunrise side, the Italian place on the golf course, and the 2 restaurants on the Grand side. The restaurants on the Grand side and the Italian place on the golf course seem to be the best from what I've read. Not sure which, if any, have outdoor seating/oceanview. You are correct, Terrace Venado is for private receptions/cocktail hours. Where in Minneapolis are you from? I was raised there but couldn't handle the winters anymore so I relocated to Dallas... Camie

Hi MP Brides, Question for you... We do not have a group contract and we've setup the private reception/cocktail hour but did not get any sort of formal contract for the private reception/cocktail hour back from my WC. Our WC sent us an email confirmation and that was the end of it. I'm curious to know if there are any other brides out there who do not have a group contract but have confirmed a private reception - specifically I'm wondering if you received a formal contract (sort of like the formal contact you received when confirming your wedding date/package). I asked my WC if I should expect to see a formal contract and she said that they only issue formal contracts for the group rates/pricing and the wedding package. I feel like I should have something more than an email confirmation from my WC... Maybe not??

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...

Quote: Originally Posted by HaleGrifa Thank you so much for your detailed response! It is such a big help chatting with other Brides. I sent an email with my Wedding Event Form to my onsite WC today. I hope that she can get started on it, as we really have our hearts set on our plans! I have requested the Chapel Gazebo for the ceremony. The Chapel Garden or Terrace Venado for both the Cocktail Reception & Dinner. Where is the Terrace Venado - I can't seem to find it on any maps? Should you hear anymore on the DJ lighting, please keep me posted - as I have seen many photos of the self-DJ system and there has been lighting in these pictures. We will keep each other posted - you have been a huge help Chat soon - Laura Laura, I posted a map on posting #1098 that may help visualize where everything is. Terrace Venado is in the upper right-hand corner of the map. If you are short on points, I can email you a copy of the map (I'll see if I can make a little note on the map as to where the terraces are). All I need is your email address, so let me know. Camie

Susana, welcome to the forum and congratulations!

Hi Rachel, welcome and congratulations!

Quote: Originally Posted by DWandMJ 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? Marie, I do not think you are being overly aggressive. We all want our wedding day to be perfect and sometimes you have to push to get what you want. I love this forum and the information it has to offer but at the same time it creates this underlying competition almost. I remember first reading this forum and being jealous that brides who had weddings after mine already had their private functions booked and I had nothing. So, I decided based on your advice and others in the forum, to take a more aggressive approach and simply sent an email to my Florida contact regarding my concerns and she did everything to accommodate me and help me nail down the bigger details. I am an extremely detailed and anal person by nature, so I've had to learn that I am not going to be able to get all my details nailed down until I get my permanent WC and I've come to terms with that and have adjusted to "Mexico Time" Please continue to share any information you get from your WC. WOW, I've posted way too many replies today. I need to cut myself off! Camie

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!! Great news Nibsmom! When I began this journey, I stumbled upon destinationweddings.com. I signed up for their services and was assigned a travel agent. I had a lot of issues with this travel agent as she would not return my emails or calls and getting information through her was extremely difficult. At the end of the day though, she did find the best deal with Moon Palace. So be aware if someone recommends using this company for travel arrangements. Long story short, we ended up enlisting a second travel agent, who is a travel agent I have used several times in the past and have recommended countless times. She is based out of Minneapolis and provides exceptional service; I highly recommend her. I asked her to get a quote on the room price and her quote came back nearly $20/person/night more than the TA from destinationweddings.com. I was astonished that there could be such a large difference between two different travel agents. I then sent her the prices from the first travel agent and she was able to get within $5 of the first travel agent's price, which I thought was close enough and knew that she would provide the service that I thought my guests deserved. I've attached a pricing chart for both travel agent 1 and travel agent 2. I have no idea where these prices fall within prices others are paying but it is what it is:) Below is the contact information for a travel agent I recommend. Martha Aas Travel One, Inc [email protected] 952-854-2551 / 800-247-1311 traveloneinc.com Resort_Pricing 09162008.xls

Quote: Originally Posted by jlwedding Hello all, Hoping you can help! We are planning on getting married in Nov '09 - app 100-120 guests - want an outdoor ceremony and private reception. We are having a hard time choosing between the resorts in Cancun (have to be kid-friendly)... can any of you provide some insight into why you choose Moon Palace over some of the other places? It looks beautiful - but would love any thoughts! Many thanks. Hi Jlwedding, I heard of Moon Palace through a coworker of mine who was at Aventura Spa on vacation and met a bride and groom who were on their honeymoon as they had just been married at MP. They spoke so highly of MP that my coworker passed the testimonial on to me. I did a little research on the resort (much less than others have done I feel) and saw that they have lots of things for kids to do and we decided to book it. It is a little hard getting planning details completed early on (they do not assign a wedding coordinator until 60-90 days prior to your wedding date) but I've found that if you ask a couple questions here and there to your assigned Florida contact that they will do their best to answer your questions and accommodate you. I feel that the resort is a little higher priced than other resorts (i.e RUI or Barcelo resort chains) but I do believe that MP offers exceptional service and accommodations and it is a good value for your money. MP can also accommodate a large number of wedding guests which other resorts may not be able to handle - check out the 'private function and pricing' attachment on my previous post above to SunnyBride. It contains pictures of guest limits of the private function sites MP has to offer. One last note... MP is a VERY large resort so if you do decide to go with MP, recommend that your guests all stay on the same side of the resort (Nizuc, Grand, or Sunrise) otherwise you and/or your guests may find yourselves running around the resort to meet up with one another. Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by HaleGrifa Thanks so much for this information. It is such a huge help to have direct info from the hotel. Some more questions 1. Chapel Garden - Are you having your reception there? This is where we hope to have ours. - Dance Floor - so there will be an area to dance - I am just concerned about my guests being on the grass all night. 2. Are you having your Cocktail Reception in the same location as the Reception? 3. With the DJ Package 4 - does lighting also come with this? - we are planning on using our ipod for the music and purchasing package 4 Are there specific hook ups that we require in order to plug into their system? Thanks again Hi HaleGrifa, In response to your questions above... 1. We wanted Chapel Garden for our private function site as it is right next to the Chapel Gazebo where we are getting married and didn't want our guests to have to haul themselves to a different part of the resort. I submitted my request for Chapel Garden and it was already taken, so we opted for our second choice which is Terrace Venado. It was available so we booked it. I too was concerned about the grass but then I remembered my sister's wedding and how everyone was spilling drinks on the dance floor and everyone was slipping around and falling (my sister-in-law actually fell so hard that she went to the ER that night) and realized that maybe grass is a safer option! LOL. 2. Yes. This was a personal requirement from me as I did not want guests running around the resort, etc. Below is a summary of our day. 6pm: ceremony at Chapel Gazebo 7pm: cocktail hour at Terrace Venado 8pm-10pm: dinner and dancing at Terrace Venado 10pm+: disco/nightclub or another bar on the resort 3. I found out that lighting does come with the DJ packages (1 and 2) but I was not able to get verification if lights come with the iPod packages (3 and 4). If I have the opportunity to ask my WC, I will. As for the iPod hook-ups, I am assuming that the "mixer" my WC speaks of is something similar to a regular stereo receiver. I had to buy a cord in order to hook my iPod up to the stereo receiver up at home and it was about $5 at Best Buy. The cord plugs into the headphones jack on the iPod and then hooks into the receiver. I would recommend a trip to Best Buy to pick one of those up, you can always return it. They may also have these cords at the resort. Sorry I can't provide much more information on this. One last thing I learned was in regard to the private function automatic backup sites in the case of bad weather. I had asked my WC if it was true that they automatically book a backup site for private functions in the case of bad weather and her response wasn't clear. I asked her to clarify this and she said that the backup sites for outdoor private functions are in the ballrooms (not in the restaurants).

Quote: Originally Posted by SunnyBride Hi HaleGrifa, Congrats on your wedding! I'm getting so excited as the day gets closer. We are getting married at 4:00 PM on the 29th. I had asked the resort who my wedding coordinator was, and was told that it's Marlyn, but the more posts I read, the more it seems like she might not actually be the WC, she's just the contact until I actually get one assigned? Do you have one yet? I have asked for the Tucan Wedding Gazebo, because I kind of like the idea of a longer pathway to walk on, and we're not having a Catholic ceremony. Do you have yours booked yet? We were going to have a cocktail party on the Sat or Sun that everyone arrives as a 'meet the wedding group', and then on our wedding day we'll just have the private function. I don't know locations or anything like that for the private functions yet (I've asked Marlyn, so I'm just waiting). Do you know where your function is? Are you planning on having it indoors or outside? Hi SunnyBride, I have a document I received from Moon Palace regarding the private function pricing and pictures of the private function sites. I also received a map of the property to help me figure out where the gazebos are in relation to the private function sites, etc. Not sure if you have received anything from Marilyn yet but I wanted to pass these along to you just in case... Let me know if you are unable to open the attachments and I can email them to you. Camie Private Function Packages & Pictures v1.pdf

Today I received a response from my interim WC, Pilar, on some of the questions I had. So I thought I would share... Q. Can a dance floor be setup on Chapel Garden? Or will there be a space for guests to dance? A. NO, WE DO NOT SET UP DANCE FLOOR ON AN EXTERNAL AREA AS IT IS SLIPPERY, ONLY IN BALLROOM AREA....WE LEAVE A SPACE FOR YOU TO DANCE. Q. Is it true that an indoor backup site is automatically reserved for outside dinners in case of bad weather? A. YES, THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO BOOK THE LOCATIONS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE CAUSE IT IS ACCORDING TO AVAILABILITY. Q. The private function menu attachment states that there is a required 40 guest minimum. Other documents state that there is a 20 person minimum for a private function. What happens if we have less than 40 guests? A. DO NOT WORRY, YOU CAN CHOOSE THE MENU FROM THERE. Q. How long is does the catholic ceremony last? A. NORMALLY IS 1HR Q. Can the cocktail hour and dinner start at half past the hour (6:30, 7:30) or must they begin on the hour (7:00, 8:00)? A. MOST OF THE COUPLE STARTS AT 7:00PM WHILE THE COUPLE IS IN THE PHOTOGRAPH SESSION, UNLESS YOU WANT TO JOIN THEM AT THE COCKTAIL TOO. CAN START AT 7:30PM. Q. Do you have wheelchairs or transportation to escort the elderly from the ceremony site to the reception site? A. FOR A WHEELCHAIR YOU HAVE TO CHECK IT UPON ARRIVAL WITH PUBLIC RELATIONS, WE HAVE INTERNAL TRANSPORTATION..GOLFCARTS THAT RUNS AROUND THE LOCATION. Q. What is the additional cost of open bar per hour during dinner/dance time? A. $60 USD/TABLE. Q. What is included with the iPod music service option (package 4)? Speakers? Microphone? A. YES, SPEAKERS, MICROPHONE & MIXER. Q. With the DJ music service (package 2), does the DJ pick all music or do we pick the music to be played? A. YOU CAN BRING YOU OWN CD'S IF YOU WANT PLUS WHAT HE HAS..

Quote: Originally Posted by SunnyBride Hi Ladies, I'm so happy to have found this forum specifically for the Moon Palace! I have my wedding date booked there on January 29th, 2008, and the information in here is sooo helpful. I was looking at the pictures of the flowers that were posted in a PDF earlier. Does anyone know how much the bridesmaid bouquets usually cost? It seems like $100+ would be so much to spend for four bridesmaids... Hello SunnyBride, Moon Palace has starting prices for the bridal bouquet (starting at $140) and maid of honor bouquet (starting at $115) on their website. Another bride posted a suggestion very early in this forum of selecting 4 or 5 of the same flower (e.g. roses) and simply binding them together with ribbon. I did not read anything further on that topic in this forum but it is a possible option that you could discuss with your wedding coordinator which may help keep the cost down. Just wanted to pass along the idea... Palace Resorts Weddings

Jamie, congrats and welcome to the forum!