Moon Dance Cliffs

[SoontobeMrsRay]

Hey Girls, 

 

I did find a thread about Moon Dance Cliffs but it was 86 pages Long!!!!!

So with that said, hopefully if i start a new one ill get the answer to my question a little faster.

I recently came across Moon Dance and it was LOVE at first sight!! I started reading some of the PDFs online and I got a little confused.

With the purchase of 15 or more rooms for a min of 3 nights the wedding and reception is FREE!? I feel the fine print somewhere just its too fine to see... Has anyone dealt with with? How exactly does it work?

I plan to get married August 2013 and the rates are already posted on their site as $195. Im pretty sure that's per night. And I think there is an additional fee for all Inclusive. Is that per night also?

 

If someone has recently had a wedding at Moon Dance Please Help!!

[boscobel]

We prefer to keep information about things in one thread, otherwise we would have a billion threads about the same subjects.

 

What might help navigating those threads that are super long, is the function to "search this thread".  

[Mocha Hontas]

Hi There SoontobeMrsRay,

 

I didn't get married there YET. I am working on my contract as we speak. The wedding reception is free with the all inclusive plan. If your guest pay the european plan which is you pay as you go. You will pay $125 pp + tax and gratuity per person at your reception.

 

So basically the all inclusive is additonal to the room rate. The off season as you mentioned is $195 per night for that room category. On top of that $195, you have to add the 20% tax + 15 resort fee.  That will be the total for the room. I could be wrong but I sat up 1 night calculating this as being $249 per room. THEN, IF you decide to do the all inclusive, that will be $125 per person. per night.

 

It may be a tad bit pricey but if you plan and give enough time ppl who u really want will be able to come and once there they wont have to pay for anything.

 

Also, you could plana welcome dinner, a farewell brunch and wedding recption and not pay anything extra as you and your guest just gave them a boat load of money for all inclusive! Heck I better be right becuase this is EXACTLY what I am planning!

[HMM 01282012]

Well, I’m finally getting around to it…shame on me for waiting so long.  I apologize – but in my defense, the wedding was so perfect that we both plunged into a post-wedding period of back-to-reality semi-depression and I have been busy just keeping my household together. No excuse though – this thread was my lifeline for planning and I should have let you all know how it went earlier.  But here goes…..

When we first arrived to the resort, it was an uncanny feeling – we had stalked pictures of the resort and in some ways, it felt like we already knew the resort inside & out….but then, it was so breathtaking in person, it was like a slap in the face.  Beautiful.  I mean stunning.  The difference between MDC and the beach resorts is so striking – you wake up everyday to UNBROKEN horizon as far as you can see.  A local fishing boat here and there, but mostly just ocean.  It’s really relaxing, as opposed to seeing parasailers and jet ski rentals and people everywhere.  The grounds are so well-kept.  Their staff was up every morning tending to the landscaping, but it was never obtrusive.  And all the staff, whether housekeeping, landscaping, waitstaff, butlers, concierge…..they are SO friendly.  Always smiling, making sure you’re comfortable, willing to talk if you want.  Some of the bartenders (Ralston, Rayon, Douglas, Omight, Tracey, Randean, Johnny Walker, Angie) taught us about local Jamaican customs, language (Patois) and activities.  I am seriously facebook friends with half of the staff because when we left, they were like old friends.

About the wedding – the groom and I decided to use some of our budget to pay for the guests’ arrival transfers to the resort.  I truly did not want our guests’ first experience on the island to be shelling out cash/hailing a cab to the resort.  It was a lot of upfront planning to get all the guests’ flight information (well, honestly, the reservations office—Kim and Miriam—would have asked for that anyway), but it all worked out.  I think we had one mishap where the bus didn’t make it for one guest, but luckily he is a world traveler and had no problem finding his own ride.  In fact, once the resort realized that happened, they actually reimbursed him for the taxi fare he paid on his own (amazing customer service, I’m telling you).  Otherwise, they did a great job arranging times for pickups based on arrivals from even different flights to maximize the # of people per transfer (read:our costs) but minimize the guests’ need to hang around the airport.

Upon arrival, they greeted everyone with a tropical drink.  Because half of my guests don’t drink due to religious beliefs, they even took a specified list of who was to receive alcoholic welcome drinks vs. non-alcoholic, and they got it right.  It was fabulous. 

Once the guests all arrived, we had a welcome dinner with a live band.  They set tables up in the lawn area and had a buffet of Jamaican cuisine (the curried goat was AMAZING).  The band played great, and was very interactive with the crowd.  We all ended up leaving the tables and dancing with the band by the end of the night.   I have to say, the waitstaff is incredible – seriously on top of things, and you can tell they literally are happy to be there, because even the kitchen staff came out to hang out for part of the party.

The groom and I also enjoyed a sunset melt massage down in the cave near the cliffs.  Let me tell you, WORTH EVERY PENNY.   It was so relaxing. They had soft music playing, they were so professional, and even gently let us know when to look up to see the sun slip below the horizon.  After that, I’m pretty sure I slipped into a hypnotic trance from the relaxation of it all.  It was perfect to get us in the mood for a weekend of “usâ€. 

I treated each of the bridesmaids to a mani/pedi.  The on-site salon/spa (Kamala) made sure that I met with them a few days prior to schedule the girls’ appointments, and Ross even did a run-through for my bridal updo (which he perfected in seriously like 5 minutes, he’s so good at what he does).  I appreciated the time they took in making sure the salon scheduled accordingly to get all the girls’ pampered without any hectic rush.  On the day of the wedding, I was awakened by our butler Titanya, swept away to the spa for a body scrub and massage that made me feel like a queen!  Ross and Peggy were willing to come to the villa for the day to do our hair and makeup instead of having us hang out in the salon all day (which meant that the groom definitely didn’t see me since I didn’t have to sneak through the resort after my hair and makeup was done).   I can’t say enough about what a great job they did.  Ross was able to put each girls’ personality into the hairdo and makeup style (I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s so true).  And the QUALITY.  My hair was EXACTLY how I’d pictured, and stayed put ALL night, through rain, through dancing, through the after-party.  It retained curl like it never has before.  And my makeup never needed touching up.  I have never looked so beautiful, the makeup was stunning but natural looking.

Rosemarie of Floral Fantasies did our flowers.  During planning, since I couldn’t lock down # of centerpieces til we had a final count, the flower contract came relatively late in the game.  Because of that, I had a little bit of a budgeting issue.  Through e-mails back and forth, Rosemarie helped to bring down the floral budget by scaling down some of the centerpieces and aisle markers that we had decided on.  It’s amazing that by e-mailing from 2 different countries, someone could “get†my vision so impeccably.   The aisle markers were stunning tropical sprays that were also featured at the reception site – many of our guests were seen oohing and aahing over them.  I will say that my bouquet wasn’t exactly the lilies I’d envisioned, but it was striking and so beautiful (I really didn’t mind – it was exactly as we’d discussed, I’d just pictured a slightly different color).   And it was so well crafted.   I had asked the wedding coordinator (Kerry) to re-use the centerpieces for the next morning’s brunch, but they actually lasted so long that they made several appearances for events after the wedding as well.

Noida Cooke provided the cake for us.  I had kept up on her FB page to see pictures of her cakes, and I liked her presentation better than the other recommendation from Kerry (started with an M, I can’t remember).  We had a 3-tier cake with a different flavor/filling for each tier.  We sent her a picture of a cake from Pinterest that we loved, and they did an amazing job recreating it.  My only complaint was that I was so caught up in all the hype that I never got to taste all 3 flavors.  But the slice of lemon I had was moist, delicious, fragrant and packed with flavor.  I was disappointed I never met her in person, she really did a great job.

We had the steel drums play during cocktail hour.  During planning, I was pretty sad that we were going to be taking pictures while they played because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to hear them.  Well….the rains came RIGHT after we ended the ceremony, so it kind of threw our plans for a loop….we had to move the cocktail hour inside the front lobby.  It was a little hectic, as the staff had set up an elaborate bar with signature cocktails on the lawn by the gazebo, and the storm ended up kinda wiping that out.  Having the steel drums in the lobby was honestly a little too loud for guests to hang out there, but a lot of guests were following us around with the photographer, so it made for great background music while we were on the grounds/cliffs.  The hors d’ouvres were delicious but I’m not sure if they ended up getting passed – the staff was busy rearranging our reception site to the lobby because of the rain.  But, it’s possible they were passed earlier in the cocktail hour, honestly I wasn’t there, so I am not quite sure. By the time I got to them, they were on a table in the lobby, but either way, it’s obvious the guests enjoyed them because there wasn’t much left once we got there!

Michael Saab did our wedding photography.  Because of his prices, I was only able to have him there for a few hours, but my god I have the most amazing pictures ever.  If you can swing it, there’s NO OTHER CHOICE.  He captured such amazing moments and details.  Also, his editing is fantastic.  He and his wife, Olive, were very professional and sweet.  I was amazed that he could get such amazing quality photos with portable equipment.  And, you can’t beat the turnaround.  Within a week, he had posted the proofs for all to see, and within another week, we had the CD delivered to our house with full rights to print.  Our contract was for 4 hours, and we received 440 pictures.  However, because the rain caused a slight delay in the activities, Michael came to us and told us they would stay longer to make sure they got the cake cutting and the first dance.  (But..we kinda moved the cake cutting up so he could catch it right before they left).

DJ Kevan (jamaicanweddingdj) provided the entertainment for dinner/reception.  I was so impressed that he made the trip up there a day or two before so he could meet us, get our vibe, go through all the “must-play†songs to make sure he had the right versions, go through logistics, get the names/pronunciations of the wedding party, etc.   On the day of, he was there early, did his set up inconspicuously, and was ready to go when we needed him.  He was very professional and fun.  He kept the party going, and would play songs that pumped the party up, or appropriate background music for moments when the attention needed to be elsewhere.  One thing that I will say is that I got a little frustrated that during dancing, he would stop the song to make comments—BUT he asked me if he could do that during his pre-visit and I had said yes.  I just didn’t realize when he asked, that it meant he would literally stop the music to say things.  So just be aware when he asks you if he can do that, that’s what he means.  On the other hand, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it if I had answered differently – because he did end up teaching us some Jamaican dances and stuff, it was really fun.  And, bless his heart, when we were in the middle of our (surprise) choreographed first dance, and we completely BLANKED and had to START OVER (eek!), he helped to make light of it and got the crowd pumped back up to make it less embarrassing! 

And it all couldn’t have happened without ::::angels singing::::: Kerry, the wedding coordinator.  Kerry and I communicated for probably 9 months in total.  She was very helpful with logistics during the early months, but there were also periods of time where it took a little while to hear from her.  It’s honestly because she is 100% there for her current brides.  So try not to get frustrated.  The weddings she pulls off must be a lot of work, and it’s all her.  That said, when it gets down the wire, and you’re a few months off, she’s e-mailing you back and forth and she’s on top of it.  I remember she e-mailed me a wedding overview a month or two before the big day, and she had remembered details from e-mails at the very beginning of the planning stages – whether she really remembered, or had just taken the time to review hundreds of e-mails, either way, it was obvious she really cared about every little need/want.  When I finally met her, there wasn’t any hesitation to greet with a huge hug.  She was there every step of the way, and was able to come up with last-minute solutions to some unforeseen circumstances.  She met with us prior to the wedding day to go over details and to deliver the things we’d asked her to get for the guests’ welcome bags.  (I’m fair skinned and had to stay out of the sun before the wedding day, so I assembled the bags myself and the staff helped distribute them….there were a few mix-ups so I would say ask for a list of room #s and help the staff out by writing room #s on the bags or something).  Kerry also collected all the things I’d brought myself (pashminas for the guests at the reception, our “guest book†frame mat, cake topper, etc) and I didn’t have to worry about any of it.  On the day of, she was calm and collected, but also super excited, and really handled all the logistics fabulously.  There were a few twists and turns, and she was able to improvise without changing any of the important “vision†aspects.  She kept us updated throughout the whole day, without being in-your-face about anything.  Guardian angel, really.  And she wouldn’t leave until she was absolutely sure we didn’t need anything else.  Favorite Kerry moment?  She came to the reception table to let us know the “surprise†would be here in 5 minutes….we were like “what?â€â€¦.we had planned to have a fire dancer come during the reception as a surprise to the guests….and had completely forgotten ourselves, LOL. 

The guests loved the fire dancer.  It was a fun addition.  I think I had nightmares about him doing this crazy spider walk thing, though….it was creepy!  But I really think everyone enjoyed it, it was captivating.

Overall, the wedding was perfect.  Even though it rained and some things changed last minute, I honestly believe that in 5 years we’ll forget it even rained.   It was the wedding of our dreams, and we owe it to those vendors, the MDC staff, and Kerry.  If you want a wedding that is unique, classy, elegant, surreal….MDC is it.  Don’t fall for the wedding factory resorts, it will never compare to what MDC can do for you.  Sure, it’s pricey, I know…but I wouldn’t bat an eye to do it all over again, exactly the same way.  Our guests are still talking about it.  I will never stay anywhere else in Jamaica. 

Good luck, brides! 

[HMM 01282012]

Hi girls. Sorry for the radio silence. We were married in Jan at MDC and everything was perfect. I spent an hour or so this morning typing out a thorough review of the experience but it was rejected by the site because they thought it should be In a review section rather than in this thread. I've never had this happen with this site before and to be honest I'm extremely disappointed that an honest, relevant post was rejected from this thread. I previously considered this thread to be the lifeline of my wedding planning and now find myself questioning what other information they kept from us. In no way as my post offensive or inappropriate. Please FB message me I'd be happy to give you true details about MDC. Good luck brides! mDC was the wedding of our dreams. -- Heidi Mangus

[Mocha Hontas]

OK,

 

NOW, I am really excited! I just put my down payment At Moon Dance Cliffs for a resort takeover! I have quite some time for my wedding but I think I am doing the right thing by planning so early in advance. Gives myself and my guest time to pay down and save!!

 

 

PS: My wedding date is April 26, 2014. 

[Kleonne06]

Hi Ladies!!

 

This site is awesome! I'm getting married at Moon Dance Cliffs on July 31, 2012. Everyone here seems so helpful and full of great ideas and suggestions. This is just what I need as I am finalizing everything and getting quite anxious about everything coming together. I do have a question about the day after the wedding activities. I don't want my guests to be bored but I don't want to plan every minute either. I'm thinking of doing a brunch the day after the wedding any other suggestions for us and our guests to do that day? Thanks so much!!

[MALDJ1]

Hi Kleonne6,

 

I am getting married right before you on July 17,2012.  I dont know what your budget is but we are doing a cruise.  Kerry from Moon dance said it takes you down by Ricks and you can watch the cliff jumpers, you can snorkel off the back of the boat, and they party on the way back to the hotel. Its 50pp plus 10% tax. I have seen others in this thread who have done beach trips and also trips to Ricks Cafe. But  I dont think you have to worry about people being bored.  I sure everyone will enjoy the hotel itself.

[shaeshae18]

How many rooms total do they have?  Essentially, I'm asking how many guests would you need to book the entire hotel??

[MALDJ1]

Hi ShaeShae18, There are 22 hotel rooms, and 4 villas. ( two 1 bedroom villas and a 4 bedroom and a 5 bedroom. All of the reviews I have seen for Moon Dance are fantastic. Good luck choosing your location! I will be there in less than a month!!!!