Moon Dance Cliffs

[rydm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by big3n09 For the those of you that have already booked DJ/Band what was required to book them a deposit or anything? I want to book the music and photographer first then the rest should be easy.

Hi Big3n09! Hope you're dong well. Our photographer is Christine Schaeffer at Digital Photography. Her Web site is amazingweddings.net. We're taking her as well as her assistant with us from Maryland and they're covering our entire weekend in JA. Her work is excellent and her price is reasonable. She did give us a break since we're also using her for our reception in Virginia. You can view her work online but I recommend you see it in person if you have time. The print and album qualities are one of the best I’ve seen. She took our engagement pics few weeks ago. She's so fun to work with. She kept us smiling all the time. She is wonderful. We really look forward to working with her on our wedding weekend in JA as well as the reception in VA.

Before we booked Christine, we talked to Scott, another great photographer! His Web site is Nyla Photography, destination wedding photographer, New York wedding. He did a wedding at MDC in April of this year. The pictures are amazing...they're posted on his blog @ - Journal. Check them out (They're towards the bottom of the page). Of all the photographers we have talked to, Scott has by far the BEST customer service. He's sooo nice! He answered all of our questions in great detail by attaching pictures and giving examples. We didn't go with him as we were looking for two photographers....and his price for that was a little bit over our budget since we have a tight budget. But even after we informed him we weren't going with him, he offered his help to answer any questions we’ll have while looking for another photographer. We took him up on his offer and asked him a lot of questions. He gave us great tips and advises and warned us about some of the things we need to be cautious about when hiring a photographer. He has also started doing videography recently. His style is very unique. He has a different Web site for that, which is www.nylastudios.com.

Another good photographer that we talked to was Shane Carpenter Shane Carpenter Wedding Photography. He takes good pictures and also has good customer service. He wasn't in our price range as well but was willing to help with any questions we might have in the future.

Our band is Front Page band. We reserved them through Moon Dance and there is no deposit requirement. We’ll be paying Moon Dance along with the rest of the wedding costs before we arrive or when we arrive in JA.


I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

[big3n09]

Thanks rdym for the advice. If you don't mind me asking why do you want 2 photographers? I am going to check out all the options you have suggested and thanks again.

[big3n09]

another question, how did you all or how are you all handling your guest flights?

[rydm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by big3n09 Thanks rdym for the advice. If you don't mind me asking why do you want 2 photographers? I am going to check out all the options you have suggested and thanks again.

My FI & I both believe it takes more than one photographer to tell a complete wedding story. We want our day fully documented so having a 2nd photographer definitely maximizes the coverage. The 1st photographer can't be two places at once….so the 2nd shooter will definitely see something that the 1st one completely missed. Also, when one does the formal portraits the other could focus on the photojournalism. In addition, when my FI & I take more pics after the formal portraits, the 2nd shooter will stay with the guests to document the cocktail hour. I just think you get so much with two photographers and the difference in cost is definitely worth it…..and….it’s usually not big if not nothing.

[big3n09]

Is anyone doing video also?

[MissBlade]

Hello Moon Dance Cliffs Brides!

It's been a while since I've chatted and I've made quite a bit of progress in the past few weeks. We are now at the point where we've been quoted for a deposit and due date for that deposit. Here is my question...if my FH and I pay this deposit of over $5,000 to reserve rooms for our guests, how and when do we get reimbursed? Or, do we ask our guests to pay their own deposits. (The money isn't due until 12/31. It would end up being about $200-$150 per person.)

Thanks for any advice!!!

[big3n09]

I'm assuming your going to just make the deposit to hold all the rooms you want, if so what's supposed to happen is when your guest call to get the rooms and give their info and pay she credits that to your room. If your stay is going to be less than $5000 then she should be crediting you with a check or what you will need to pay when you get there for the dj/band, flowers, decor ect. What I did was made a deposit on only 5 rooms for immediate family and everyone else I gave a date when they needed to at least make there deposit by. If he price is not going to change I would have them make their own deposits. I only did the 5 rooms because I wanted to get the grand opening rate.

[Un-Bride]

Hi everyone! I just took a look at the updated website for MDC and noticed that it is now advertised as All Inclusive. We booked December of 2008 for our trip this coming December. Has anyone heard about this? Does the grand opening rate I paid include this AI? The regular rates seem the same as what I remember from previously, but I could be wrong.

[MissBlade]

Hi! I just booked for 2/2011 and was told that all-inclusive was my only option. I know that this wasn't the case when I initially started looking and if I had the option I wouldn't have chosen it. However, it seemed like the pricing was still the same so I guess it all worked out for the best!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Un-Bride Hi everyone! I just took a look at the updated website for MDC and noticed that it is now advertised as All Inclusive. We booked December of 2008 for our trip this coming December. Has anyone heard about this? Does the grand opening rate I paid include this AI? The regular rates seem the same as what I remember from previously, but I could be wrong.

[MissBlade]

That makes a lot of sense! Knowing that any money we put down will ultimately go to our wedding makes it seem not as bad! (I might also consider decreasing the amount of rooms we reserved.)

 

Thanks so much for the info!!!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by big3n09 I'm assuming your going to just make the deposit to hold all the rooms you want, if so what's supposed to happen is when your guest call to get the rooms and give their info and pay she credits that to your room. If your stay is going to be less than $5000 then she should be crediting you with a check or what you will need to pay when you get there for the dj/band, flowers, decor ect. What I did was made a deposit on only 5 rooms for immediate family and everyone else I gave a date when they needed to at least make there deposit by. If he price is not going to change I would have them make their own deposits. I only did the 5 rooms because I wanted to get the grand opening rate.