Moon Dance Cliffs

[robinh]

OMG LaraJo.....I love this Jamali Garden site!!!!!  I will more than likely be taking my candles/holders too.  So this is a really great place to find great stuff.

 

Are any of you doing welcome bags?  Any ideas?  I'm bringing drink mixes and CDs from home, and plan to buy everything else when I get to Jamaica (snacks, water, postcards, rum, etc.).  Bags are cheaper in bulk.  So if any of you are doing welcome bags, I'm looking at jute bags on various sites and would love to split a bulk.  If there are any old brides still on the site, please share any welcome bag tips/ideas you may have.

 

Thanks,

Robin

[robinh]

By "old brides", I mean seasoned MDC vets....sorry ladies!!!!!

[Mallory57]

Hey ladies! My parents just took a vacation to Jamaica & they stopped by MDC and took tons of pictures. Thought you would all like to see! Here is the link (hopefully it works...):

 

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AauXLdq2buGbjI

 

My parents said MDC is Gorgeous and raved about it and Kerry the WC. Enjoy!

[LaraJo]

Glad you like it, Robin! As for the welcome bag, I'm skipping those because we're going to be in the villas and have gone for the all inclusive option. The villas are pre-stocked with food and drinks (alcoholic and non) and I plan to put in some special requests that are villa specific. For example, my cousin loves cheddar cheese Goldfish, so I'm going to ask that they have them in the villa he'll be in. And we're going to bring bug spray, sunscreen etc. to put in each of the villas, sooo pretty much everything that I'd put in a Welcome Bag will already be taken care of in one way or another. It's also a bit of a cost saver for us since my parents (who are being really generous) are picking up the bulk of the cost for the accommodations and the AI option. Your ideas for the bags sound fantastic though! Depending on how much you want to spend, you might include a pair of flip flops for each guest? My now FI and I got them at a destination wedding we went to and it was a nice touch.

 

Keep us posted on what you decide to do!!

 

Lara

[LaraJo]

Hey Mallory - I was just i Jamaica seeing the villas and went to the cliffs. It's just like the pictures. Actually, it's even better in person! Thanks for posting!

[carrierae]

Hi! I just booked MDV for Aug 28- Sept 1, 2011!!! We originially booked 10 rooms, but I think we were going to need more!

 

I saw that they added the $500 tent to the website...its not in my contract though. Has anyone been forced to use it? Even if we have rain, my fiance and I had decided that we are not wasting the money on the tent. It sounded like they want you to rent it, "in case" it rains...sounds like they want another $500.

 

Does anyone have any pictures of ceremonys there? I can't seem to find too many. We are having two receptions at our home states (Indiana and South Carolina) so we both don't really want to have a reception there. We were thinking about having the ceremony, and have the cake on a table displayed. We were going to have a light "cocktail" hour (with appetizers) after the ceremony (at the same location). I figured while we are mingling, we can gather and do the toasts and cut the cake. I was orginially wanting a mini-reception, but it would cost so much more for tables, extra chairs, flowers for tables...we are just simple people.

 

What kind of activities are in the area? are there good watersports nearby? Does anyone know anybody that does group rates?

 

I looked around at different resorts....tensing pen looked gorgeous (seriously...I want to come back there sometime), but they seemed to have waay to many hidden fees. Not to mention they wanted 50% down for reservations! Thats a lot of money up front for guests. The Rockhouse had a great rate too (and equally gorgeous), but they wanted you to rent out the entire hotel or have less than 20 ppl....we are hoping 30 people so that is out. I was looking at MDV over MDC, but the off season rate for weddings sun-thurs was such a steal! Asking guests to pay $125 per room is so much better than $150 per person! The cliffs look really pretty...I can't wait to see how everyone else's wedding works out.

 

Did anyone buy travelers insurance? I am worried for my guests...we are in hurricane season. My fiance is a police officer and I am a Marine Corps officer, so there could things (like unexpected deployments) that could cancel our trip. I just want to find a good policy that makes everyone 100% covered.

Sorry for the long reply...I'm just so excited!!!!

 

Carrie

[lisa203]

Congratulations and welcome, Carrie!

 

Maybe Check out Sungold Photography's website for pictures of MDV receptions. I've seen some gorgeous ones they've shot on there. Your coordinator may have pictures she can send you as well. As far as activities, someone had posted a pretty good list of things to do a few pages back on this thread. That may help.

 

We didn't buy travelers insurance. We never do, to be honest but I could totally see why you'd want to. Are you working with a travel agent? Is that something you'd get from them? Happy planning!

[LaraJo]

Hi Carrie - I'm getting married at MDV about a month before you! It is beautiful! We booked all of the villas except the 2 bedroom. We're also having a party/reception here in NY, but are still going all out for the wedding reception. The $500 tent is NOT in my contract and, after having just met with Oneika, the coordinator, in person, understand that the tent is there for MDV, not the guests, so there is no chance that I'm paying for it. I'd prefer not to have it at all. If it rains, we will have the reception in one of the villas. As it was explained to me, the tent is set up so that the tables for the reception can be set (place settings, napkins, centerpieces, etc.) and "stored" out of the way so they can then move the tables to the "dining area" when the guests transition from ceremony to cocktail hour to reception.

 

As for pictures of MDV weddings, check out the Sungold posting on this site. You'll have to search for it, but when you find it, you'll see that there's a section reserved for MDV weddings. Also, do a Google image search for "Moon Dance Villas" and you'll see some shots from photographers other than Sungold. If you go to the "Style Me Pretty" website and search for "Moon Dance Villas" you'll see pic from what appears to be a laid back MDV wedding. These links should work as well:

http://www.megphoto.com/blog/index.cfm?postID=359

http://www.sandymayphoto.com/2010/06/12/moondance-villas-negril-jamaica/

http://caribbeanjourney.blogspot.com/2010/01/moon-dance-jamaica-wedding-by-heather.html

 

I've got some pictures of the villas and the beach and can email them to you if you'd like.

 

Have you been in touch with Oneika yet? If not, will soon be emailing you some information regarding the costs for tables, chairs, DJ, bands, etc. If you want to PM me, I'll give you my email and then forward you the information she gave me so that you have something to look at in the meantime.

 

As for activities, the beach has pretty much anything you could want in terms of water sports in that there are jet ski rentals, parasailing, snorkeling boats that pull up right to MDV, etc. There are a few hobie cats on the MDV property and a water trampoline a few yards down the beach at Jimmy Buffet's. Keisha with MDV can arrange for day trips to the waterfalls, the Appleton Rum factory, deep sea fishing and other day trips. The MDV site lists activities and I'm sure Onekia can put you in touch with Keisha if you ask her. She'll be able to give you information on pricing.

 

Sorry, but I didn't buy travel insurance - we're going rain or shine.

 

Welcome to the forum, a million congrats and happy planning!!

[dmob]

Hi Carrie,

 

My daughter's wedding was Labor Day weekend 2010 at MDV. We  had rain showers every day, but her wedding day! The showers were short (not longer than an hour) and did not change any of her wedding events- beach reception, dinner on the cliffs (MDC) or a sunset cruise. We did purchase wedding insurance as a safety measure because it was there hurricane season. I think the cost was about $250 for our immediate family, and would reimburse not only our travel expenses, but wedding costs associated with the wedding- flowers, decorations, photographer fees, etc.  We also decided to go with the tent, which was a great choice for us! MDV did a wonderful job of having it set up and decorated, plus it gave her wedding reception a different feel from the beach reception a few nights earlier.

 

This is a link of non-professional pics (a lot but it will give you a true idea of the weekend, lol)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamaicasept2010/ 

 

and pics of the actual wedding

http://www.rochelleandpeter.jamaicaweddingphotos.com/ 

 

I can only tell you that the bride, groom and guests had an amazing time and are already planning a trip back to Negril and MDV!

 

Have a wonderful wedding, I would tell you not to worry, but we did too, all the way up to departure!

 

 

 

[sarah1981]

Hello Ladies

 

 

how is everyones planning?....I have been so stressed that I actually had a bad flu for about a week so I haven't been on here.  I have decided to take it easy for now...but truthfully I am still stressed...lol

 

Is anyone having any problems with guest being added to your list?...I have a few people that just decided to invite themselves to our wedding...you would think since its a destination wedding alot of people would shy away from it but Nooooo...lol

 

Anyway its puttin FI and I in a uncomfortable position since we are paying $300 towards everyones say at the cliffs...we already gave a head count and now we must revise that.  I am worried that we will be in over our heads if we keep adding...ARRgghhh!! this is so frustrating.  I would rather just have 25-30 guest and the wedding of my dreams than have 40-50 people and have to skimp on things that I want for my day.

 

Thanks for letting me vent guys...

 

oh lisa you can email me so we can pick up where we left off [email protected] don't know how to PM here..lol

 

happy planning ladies and welcome carrie!