Any Half Moon Brides??

[mrsrrobinson]

I'm using the Royal Pavillion for my reception and the gazebo for the ceremony. Have you visited? We went on a scouting trip this past March. Oleander is beautiful for a beach wedding! I loved both locations.

 

With regards to the communication....Very frustrating for the type-A person I am. But I also recognize the 'no-problem' mentality (i have family in JA) but at the end of the day, this place is not cheap....so we need some top notch service lol. I'm sure things will be more timely as our month approaches.

 

Have you decided on welcome receptions, etc? We are using Sugar Mill Restaurant for a Thursday welcome reception and then using the Friday Beach Barbeque as our 'rehearsal' dinner.

 

I hope you don't mind these questions! I am just excited to finally meet another Half Moon bride Let me know if you'd rather exchange emails and I will PM you!

[halfmoonbride2b]

We should totally exchange e-mail.  Send me a private message.  We are planning on having a welcome reception on Thursday as well and a Farewell brunch on Sunday.  I am trying to get an idea of how many people will arrive on Thursday because I am thinking about having a catered welcome reception at one of the villas...and you are totally right about the money that we are paying.  What's your wedding date again?

[mrsrrobinson]

Ah just saw this! My wedding date is March 10. I'm not sure if my farewell brunch will work out too well, because all of the flights back to NYC are at like 10am and most of my guests are from NY.

 

I just sent Shanoya an updated wish-list/photos of flowers that I want to use, and she came back with an updated estimate. It looks like my flower budget might go up by $5,000 because I want to use cymbidium orchids, denrobium orchids, and roses. We shall see if the fiance approves that one! Have you decided on flowers?

[Leah22]

Hello Everyone!  I think I've finally narrowed down my choice to the Half Moon Royal Villas for June 2012.  I couldn't decide between St. Lucia or Jamaica.  St. Lucia is pricier to fly into AND we couldn't find a resort that fit all of our needs (without costing a small fortune).  But I've been working with Danielle at Half Moon and I think we've finally got the budget down to an affordable rate, plus the room rates and airfare work out to be cheaper for our guests.  I'm planning on having all of guests share the Royal Villas, which is really a great deal with the group booking discount.  Plus the villas each come with a pool, chef, butler, and maid.  I have not checked out all of my ceremony or reception options yet (Danielle can be a little slow to respond).

 

Is anyone else staying at the Royal Villas?  Do you know how it works with the chef?  From my understanding all of the meals are included if we purchase our own groceries separately.  I was hoping to use this as a way to save money on the "welcome party" and post-wedding brunch and just host everything at the villas.

[mrsrrobinson]

Hi Leah! St. Lucia looks gorgeous - I've never been but I've been looking into it. Obv I love Jamaica too though. I have not worked with Danielle, but my wedding planner (Shanoya) has actually improved the timeliness of her responses over the past couple weeks which has been really good

 

How many guests are you expecting/hoping for? The Royal Villas are great for all of the reasons you've listed. Yes, all the meals are included if you purchase your groceries. But I hear that the grocery store at Half Moon is not the cheapest place and you have to buy everything including spices - but I think it's worth it. The chefs are wonderful.

 

I'm not sure if the Villa chef can prepare the food for your "welcome party" though....because the food will be for more than just the guests staying in that specific Villa. I think you would have to have the food catered through Half Moon...selecting various menu options from their Romance package. But I'm not positive, so I'm curious to know what Danielle responds with. Let us know! Good luck!
 

Originally Posted by Leah22 

Hello Everyone!  I think I've finally narrowed down my choice to the Half Moon Royal Villas for June 2012.  I couldn't decide between St. Lucia or Jamaica.  St. Lucia is pricier to fly into AND we couldn't find a resort that fit all of our needs (without costing a small fortune).  But I've been working with Danielle at Half Moon and I think we've finally got the budget down to an affordable rate, plus the room rates and airfare work out to be cheaper for our guests.  I'm planning on having all of guests share the Royal Villas, which is really a great deal with the group booking discount.  Plus the villas each come with a pool, chef, butler, and maid.  I have not checked out all of my ceremony or reception options yet (Danielle can be a little slow to respond).

 

Is anyone else staying at the Royal Villas?  Do you know how it works with the chef?  From my understanding all of the meals are included if we purchase our own groceries separately.  I was hoping to use this as a way to save money on the "welcome party" and post-wedding brunch and just host everything at the villas.

 

[Leah22]

St. Lucia is gorgeous (even though I've never been!)!  It was just going to be too expensive for our guests and we weren't going to save any money on the wedding either.  Half Moon is not cheap, but I think it will actually be comparable in price to some of the all-inclusives we were considering.  

 

We are expecting 30 as "definites" (that's the number I have been using for budgeting and that's what I would prefer).  But I fear we may end up with over 50.  We have not yet sent out any formal invites or save-the-dates, but I think our invite list of just family and close friends will still be large (125-150).

 

I have been to Jamaica a few times, plus we both have friends from the island so we pretty much know what to expect...but I've never been to Half Moon, so I'm very excited.  For the chefs, we are counting on some of our local friends to take us to a regular grocery store to pre-stock the villas with food and liquor.  We wanted to pre-stock all of the villas, to avoid an extra expense for our guests...but I have no idea how much this may cost!  Do you know what the Half Moon charges to pre-stock the villas for the week?

 

But I decided to just go with the most basic wedding package...ceremony, cocktail hour, catered reception with open bar.  I haven't discussed any other events with my planner.  But hopefully all of my guests will choose to stay in the Villas.  If we rent 3 villas, we will have 3 chefs for our use, 3 private pools, and I can purchase my own alcohol.  Danielle even told me that the Butler will act as a bar tender/mixologist.  That's sounds like a party to me without the added formalities (and expense) of organizing a catered event.

 

One question: Did your planner inform you of any perks or extras that may come with hosting a wedding on the property?  My only gripe so far is that the Half Moon doesn't really seem to offer any "perks" for the couple.  We get a bottle of champagne and turn-down service with our package.  But they only offer 1 free night for the bride and groom if we bring in 25 rooms!  Some of the other hotels I considered offered multiple free nights (starting at 10 rooms), plus free nights on your anniversary, spa services, and even a catamaran cruise and private dinner!  

[mrsrrobinson]

I booked my wedding about 6 months ago, and I think things have changed since then because they're now "A Rock Resort" and under new management. So I'm getting a few perks for booking 25 rooms -- 4 complimentary nights, roundtrip airport transfer, and champagne and rose petals for our wedding night. I think that's it. 

 

I'm hoping for 75 people as that's what I've been budgeting for, and I've been told by friends who have also done a destination wedding to expect a 50% drop off rate. We invited 140 guests. Do you really think you'll only get 30? I'm not sure what we will be getting actually.

 

[Leah22]

Yes, I saw that they are under new management (hopefully that's a good thing).  With our package we would get champagne, turn-down service with a decorated room on the wedding night, free transfers, a keepsake of some sort,...but no free nights.  I think you need 25 rooms minimum for the free nights.  But 4 free nights is really great!

 

I honestly have no idea how many people we might get to come to the wedding.  Which is a little scary since the basic package I chose still comes with  a pretty hefty per person fee.  I fear that if we get much more than 30 we will have to switch venues.  But at the same time it would be difficult to cut people from the guest list.  At this point we still have not confirmed a date (I haven't heard back from Danielle yet).

[Winegirl]

I am interested in Half Moon and was a little concerned with some feedback I received.  One travel agent told me it was old/dated and clientele so old there was a dialysis center on site.  This scared me.  I wanted feedback from you since you visited during your scouting trip.  The website is beautiful and elegent.  Also, I was trying to determine all-inclusive for my guests or not.  I would love any feedback you can share.I am expecting 20-30 people.

[Jessica4LUXE]

Hi Ladies,

 

Have any of you considered the Roundhill Resort? It is a beautiful property and they are an absolute dream to work with

 

There is also a new property called The Jewel that is worth taking a look at!