jackielemman

I was lucky enough to have people offer to bring all of my decorations and favors down for me. I took over 100 chair ties with me that I had ironed flat and rolled up together. I used some gigantic suitcases and lots of packing materials. Luckily most of my decorations were lightweight and fit easily together in suitcases. I would start asking groomsmen to commit to carrying on a suitcase for you! You know boys pack 6 items and are good for a week!

@@kimmyd2 We were going to go to the underwater museum but the weather was bad. I think we went ended up snorkeling off the island of Isla Mujeres. It was beautiful even though it wasn't our original plan.

We got married in Cancun on October 12th this year and our reception is late June at my in-laws house. i am not planning or paying for any of it so as I see it--- I am rollin with it! I thought it was a bit odd at first but then realized its not my place to say anything and that I need to just appreciate and enjoy another party! Good luck and congratulations on your recent marriage!!

@@Kayla88 We used Samba Catamarans. Very good communication and was able to pay via paypal! Had the best time ever on the cruise. They took us snorkeling then were able to parasail off the back of the boat. Once in a lifetime experience for most of my guests. They worked with our budget too which was really appreciated.

I got married in October in Cancun and had no problems getting my starfish and shells thru customs both ways. I had a lot too!! I had starfish chair ties-- 10 and large starfish for the aisle. I had saved all my Crate and Barrel wedding gift packaging.... all of them made it there without breaking!! It was a beautiful touch. Hope this helps!

We were at our hotel for 7 nights and had an event scheduled almost every day. We gave our wedding planner $400, $200 when we first met her and the rest at checkout. I think it made a huge difference in our service and how well our events went! It was well worth finding the money to do this... she was so appreciative and went above and beyond her duties for us the entire week.

We used our Southwest Airlines Platinum credit card and there are no fees for international charges. It was wonderful! Saved us hundreds of dollars. Not sure if you are able to get one in Canada but I would check it out!

I didn't do OOT bags. I decided to use my money to provide memorable experiences for the guests while they were in Cancun! It was the smartest decision I made!! First... you dont have to lug all of the bags and their goodies all the way to your destination and spend your precious time putting them together. Second, people are coming to your wedding to do things with you and would rather have a cool experience than some advil, pepto, and some chapstick! Most of the OOT items people bring for themselves when going on vacation-- and the rest of the items never get used. I did a private Tequila tasting at our rehearsal dinner and chartered a catamaran for all our guests. Even if you choose to do a group dance lesson or an excursion or hire marriachi-- anything will be extra special and will provide lasting memories for you and your guests! Hope this helps!

Hey @@misbosox I used Gama Grupo for decorations and did their Disco setup. It included 4 light up columns and strings of light up lanterns to go over the reception area. It was beautiful!!! My reception was at 6:00 on the Tucan Terrace in October. I can't figure out how to add a picture but I can email you if you'd like! PM me your email address and I can send a few pictures your way!

@@ctlind7 So excited for you!! You will love Joselin! She is wonderful! Wishing you a dream wedding and perfect vacation!

@@grupogama Yay Gama!! We used you for our October wedding at Moon Palace! Thanks for helping our dream wedding come to life! Highly recommend their services ladies!! Great communication, on-time to set up and removal and professional staff!

@@agundisv I bought the runners from Etsy here is the link! https://www.etsy.com/listing/155038678/gold-dazzle-square-sequin-table-runner?ref=shop_home_active_5 I bought the 84" runners. They were the perfect length. Great price considering the rental prices down there!! I rented the table clothes... but I should have bought them and brought them with me. You can find them online so cheap and when you get back sell them online to recoup some of the money. All of the small items I would recommend trying to bring with you. Its worth it to beg family member or bridal party member to check a bag for you!! You've got time to prepare yourself. You wont feel ready anyways until you're down there and nothing will matter anymore! Make lots of lists and put label tags on everything you are bringing with you with what event it belongs to and how it is to be used. I had my groom and groomsmen do all of the decorating while the girls and I were getting hair and makeup done. It was so nice knowing that everything was labeled... I was a little OCD and even made sketches for them and found youtube videos for how to tie chair bows the way I wanted them done... I'm here if you've got questions! I lived on this site before my wedding and it really really helped!

I don't want to freak you all out but, my amazing designer wedding dress was dropped off at a reputable dry cleaners in Austin and it came back with a gigantic tear above the bustle-- larger than my head. Luckily the dry cleaners is taking responsibility but the dress absolutely cannot be fixed. its hand beaded lace. Please, make sure when you drop off the dress to get a written note from the cashier of any damage on the dress. That way when you get the dress back and there is something wrong with it there is no question as to who is responsible. This was standard policy at my dry cleaners but I can see this not being practiced at most dry cleaners. There is no price on the sentimental value of your wedding dress. Its been a huge headache and its been almost 4 weeks of having to deal with this.

So glad to hear this!! I can't wait to hear about it and see pictures!!!

@@colleentf09 Congratulations!! I just had my wedding October 12th and the forecast the entire month leading up to the wedding and while we were there called for 60-80% chance of rain. I must have had 100 nightmares and lost countless hours of sleep over the weather. It rained... one day during the week for 15 minutes. Not a drop after that and it was perfect! I did have a backup plan for the wedding. A ballroom.... yuck!! I planned the wedding as if it were to be outside just like I had dreamed! If it rains the day of the wedding then your onsite coordinator will get in contact with you about 4 hours prior to the ceremony and give you the choice to move the wedding. Unfortunately, many of your decorations and rentals wont look as great inside but... you'll be dry and enjoying your day!! My recommendation is to just go ahead with planning. It'll turn out great! I was told by my onsite coordinator upon arrival to the resort during our first meeting that if it rains they cant guarantee that everything will get moved inside-- I am assuming she meant rentals. Table cloths and any other linens if wet don't get replaced. They'll just give you white if they move you inside. If you make the decision ahead of time to change locations then they will make sure everything is set up nicely inside. If the weather really looks bad--- they will know and tell you, I would recommend having the location changed ahead of time. You don't want to be in the position where all of your stuff was set up outside hours before the wedding and it gets ruined from rain. Hope this helps!

Be firm with the RSVP and educate them about the whole process of booking a destination wedding. I can't even begin to tell you how many times my husband and I had this same discussion with people and in the end they had no idea what goes into planning and executing a destination wedding. They didn't even realize that there would be tables and a head count for food, cake etc... I can't even make this up. I really wanted to smack some of them thru the phone!! DUHH this is a wedding like every other wedding you've been to... with you know chairs, and tables, and food, and center pieces that all have to be pre-ordered!!!!! In the end we only had 4 people stay off property at their time share. I was very understanding but very clear that they would not be able to attend any of the other wedding week events and would need to pay for their day pass and transportation-- plus they had to leave before the wedding reception was actually over. I also had them pay me ahead of time for their day passes as part of their RSVP. You can be kind and firm at the same time. At the end... try not to make this issue work you up too much. You can only control people to an extent. Wishing you some serenity!! Try and do something nice for yourself to get your mind off of it!

@@llevasseur Wow! Already! So excited for you!! Everyone was able to make reservations at restaurants while we were there. I highly recommend the Italian at the Golf Course. You can call the restaurant to make the reservations. We walked right into other restaurants sometimes with groups of 12 and they accommodated us! I wouldn't worry about making those reservations ahead of time. Excursions and spa should be booked ahead of time. They fill up really fast and if you have a busy wedding week schedule then your guests may be limited on the days they can actually enjoy an excursion off property. Most of the excursions are alllll day. Make sure people know that they should bring water, bug spray,a nd lots of sun block. Its hot and a lot of walking. When you check in you will get a large resort map. Its way better than the PDF versions found online. Also, go to the public relations desk by the concierge and ask for a weekly activities guide. It will give you a list of times and days that shows and other activities are offered on the whole property!! Its like a jackpot for people who just want to stay on property and enjoy themselves!! Have a fantastic time!! Can't wait to hear all about it

@@KatyM81 Absolutely! Glad I could help someone. Its an overwhelming process. Any wedding is really a lot to handle but when you can't see anything coming together, and you can't meet with anyone in person its even more challenging and frustrating! All of you ladies can handle it and your weddings will be perfect!! @@kimiko5280 So glad I could be of help!

@@robertandreneesayido I did not do a site visit. It was really hard to book since you can only travel during "off peak" times. Well i am a teacher and can do most of my traveling over the summer when I am off... which is of course peak travel times according to Palace resorts. I am not so sure its even really necessary. All of the outdoor locations are beautiful! Communication can be difficult with the resort. It can take some time to get responses! I found that calling sometimes worked better. The resort did not charge me to bring in my decor. It was so nice having my groom and groomsmen doing all the set up! I knew it would be done right and could totally relax the day of the wedding! Save your money for other things!! We had very simple decor and it was beautiful. The Bose Sound Dock 10 is amazing! We "wheeled" it in a carry on suitcase on the plane and then just kept wheeling it around the resort for all of our private events. saved us so much money! No one noticed that we didn't have a live DJ. Easy set up too! We used Gama Grupo for the lighting, I think it was called the Disco set up. It wsa well worth the money! They are an approved vendor as well. Super fast communicators and were very professional. We had ordered a dance floor but cancelled last minute. It is very much NOT needed! The terrace is plenty large enough for people to dance in the middle! The bar was included as part of the reception. If they didn't have something that my guests were looking for they ran to go find it. Then served the guest their preferred drink. The service was incredible!! Tips are definitely worth while! We tipped all of our staff at each event-- depending on the type. Breakfasts and cocktail hours were around $10 per staff member. At the reception we gave $50 a staff member. Sounds steep but worth every penny!! They truly go out of their way to find what you are looking for and even taught some dances to our reception guests! For our onsite coordinator I would suggest 10% of your total wedding bill-- we had other stuff on our wedding bill that had to do with the weeks activities. We ended up giving her $300 total. They work incredibly hard for their money and I don't think Joseline got a day off the week I was there. we were so grateful for her service. I haven't even mentioned on here yet that we totally ruined our wedding ceremony certificate... I was soo elated to be married I spelled October and twelfth wrong!!! After a good laugh with us she hunted down the minister and he brough us a new certificate and signed it for us! Now we have one for the great memory and another nice one to frame! I really is super funny but it was very nice of her to go out of her way one last time for us to make sure we were satisfied. For your photog. Get a day pass or buy them one nights stay at the hotel. That'll get you around the fee. I used Naal Photography. I highly recommend her!!!

I have had airbrush makeup but did not use it at my recent wedding at Moon Palace. I would say that if your climate is going to be extremely humid-- airbrushing will be worth it. The humidity wasn't terrible this month in Cancun. My makeup was perfect all night. Had it done at 10:30 am, married at 4:00 and reception went until 10 pm. Jumped into the pool at 11 pm and my makeup was still perfect!! I am not a super sweater either. It all depends on you and what you're looking for. Some women like it because they will spray your neck and collar bone area to blend a lot. I use MAC products and so did my resort. They used a heavy primer and then use a setting spray at the end to make the makeup last. I would check with your resort to see what they use, check the average humidity and temperature and go from there. Wishing you luck and a beautiful wedding!!

@@llevasseur How exciting!! You are going to have an incredible time!! You won't need any adapters. Everything is standard plugs. They have a full size hair dryer and chi straightening iron in all the rooms! I didn't bring but my curling iron! Soo nice!! Ask housekeeping for the Chi shampoo and conditioner. When we got to our room we only had small bottles of some other kind of shampoo. There was nothing wrong with it but I have ALOT of hair and use a lot of shampoo and conditioner! The housekeeping ladies are lovely. They really will find anything you need! Have a wonderful wonderful trip! I will be sending you lots of positive energy! My best advice-- relax relax relax. it goes by so fast and then its all over. Take time to absorb all of the love, light and life that will surround you and your FI on your wedding day. It is absolutely amazing!! Ohh I brought my ipad charger and iphone chargers. Plugged them into the plugs that are right on the wall behind each nightstand.

@@LTR I just put a couple pictures up in my gallery of hair and makeup! Take a look!