Newbie, Moon Palace 2013

[jenapr14]

Hi all I'm a newbie on here but been ready all posts about moon palace. I'm getting married there on 28th April 2014. All has been going well until My planner ana hadn't replied to my emails she normally would very quickly. I have just received an email saying ana no longer deals with the personal planning. The email was sent by opelia but it didn't say if she would be the new planner. Panicking a little bit now I don't know if I have to start all the planning again or what! Hope everyone else is getting on ok!

(Any other uk moon palace brides on here?)

 

Jenny x

 

 

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[Ems85]

As this forum was so helpful in making my wedding what it was I thought I’d return the favour a write a mini review/guide to how my wedding day went. Hope you find this useful J

On-Site Wedding Coordinator: Miriam

Wedding Date: 16th October 2013

Room Block: Moon Grand

Rehearsal/Welcome dinner: Grand Terrace

Ceremony: 3pm @ The Chapel

Cocktail Hour/Reception: Venado Terrace/Garden

Photography/ Video: Ocean Studio

Guests -35 including children and bridal party

Bridal Party - 5 bridesmaids, flower girl, best man and 2 ushers.

 

Wedding Package

 

We went with the complimentary package as we knew no substitutions were allowed with the other packages and there were lots of things which we did not want or need in these.

I'm not quite sure why it's called complimentary as there is a $460 charge for this which covers documents, blood tests etc

Other items included in the "complimentary" package - ceremony location, brides bouquets, dinner, cake and champagne for up to 30 people. We wanted a champagne toast for after the ceremony and for the speeches, the extra champagne was provided for us at no extra charge.

I didn’t need the bouquet as I made my bridal bouquet as I make and sell these via my website www.lovefieldofdreams.com.

We chose the cheesecake for our wedding cake which was delicious!

 

As we had over 75 room nights booked between us and our guests we were entitled to

"unlimited" private functions. This actually means you can have a 2 hour private buffet dinner and 1 hour of cocktails in selected venues (usually the terraces) around the hotel. This doesn't just restrict you to the wedding day. If locations are available you could have several of these. For example you could have a welcome dinner then your wedding reception and if you wanted you could have a goodbye dinner on one of the beach terraces providing the locations are available on the days you request. We were restricted during our stay as the Nizuc section was closed for refurb but the staff were really helpful in finding the right venue for our guests.

 

We added the following to our Package

 

Horse and Carriage -$130 - so worth it!

Deluxe Photography package - $1799 expensive but we got our monies worth.

Extra Hour DVD - $235 - totally worth it, wish I'd filmed every moment.

Ipod Doc, Speakers, Lights and Mic - $775

Dress Press - $35 Also had it dry cleaned after for $60 so much cheaper than it would have cost when I got it home.

Decorations - see Deco Cancun below

2hours extra reception @ $60 per table per hour (5 tables x 2) $600

 

Two of my bridesmaids used their resort credit to have their hair done. The stylists did a fab job. However I would say leave plenty of time and try and get an early appointment if you can as they work on Mexican time and the last thing you want to do is be in a mad panic rushing back to your room to get dressed half an hour before your wedding is about to start.

 

Deco Cancun

We dealt with Lily. She was great and really helpful. I sent her a list with everything I wanted and she got back to me within a few days with a quote. The prices were quite expensive for some things as back home I could do the same thing on a much smaller budget, but as I was so far from home I was restricted to how much I could fit in my suitcase.

 

Here's the breakdown of what we had;

 

Draping for the Chapel ( see below pictures) - $350

Wicker Lounge set up for 8-10 people $135x 2 - $270

Lantern Structure - $125 (I provided my own lanterns as this was cheaper)

String of 10 lanterns $75 x 3 - $225 ( my own lanterns)

Candy Table with Candy for 30ppl - $ 330

Light trees for around the terrace $35 x4 $140

Glass vases with surrounding candles and mirror base $15 x5 $75

Delivery and set up $150

 

 

Our Holiday

We booked via Thomas Cook as these were the only tour operator in the UK to provide rooms in the Moon Grand section. We had stayed at the Grand 2 years before and we loved it. The rooms are twice the size of the rooms in the Sunrise and Nizuc section and they look fab. We were lucky enough to get an upgrade to one of the presidential suites. The room was amazing and perfect for getting ready with my maids on the day of the wedding. Thomas Cook were also the cheapest by a long way however when we go back to the moon palace we will defo book with a different tour operator as the reason it's much cheaper is because the flight isn't great. Pretty much a no frills airline which is hard work on a long haul.

 

Welcome dinner - Grand Terrace

6.30 -9.30pm included with "unlimited private events"

5 tables of 6

BBQ Buffet and the pool bar was open with waiter service to provide drinks.

This terrace is on the grand side next to the pools. This worked out really well for us. As it was arranged for 6.30pm everyone had left the pool area by then so it was like we had our own secluded part of the hotel. We decided to have a theme for this event and we went with Hawaiian fancy dress which worked brilliantly and it can be as simple or as fancy as you like. We didn't end up leaving the area until after 10pm but we weren't charged any extra for the service.

As our friends were travelling a few days after our family we also did a mini welcome dinner at MoMo the oriental restaurant for the early arrivals. There were about 16 of us and we wanted to have something a bit special so we booked the Teriyaki tables which are fab. You can’t pre book these they can only be booked on evening you want to go. If you know how many guests you have coming the best way to get a table is to pop along to the MOMO front desk at around 5.45pm and you can book your slot for that evening. You will be given a token for each guest which you will need to hand in when you go back later that evening. We did this a couple of times and everybody loved it. Even if you don't like the food the show the chef put s on is great.

 

Ceremony

Originally I wanted the Bugambillias gazebo but due to the construction in Nizuc it would have been difficult for our guests to get to the reception venue so on the advice of Miriam our wedding coordinator we had a look at the chapel. I loved the chapel as the grounds surrounding it are very pretty (fountains etc) I thought this was a chapel only for catholic ceremonies as there are lots of religious figures and statues hanging in the chapel. I'm not catholic or in any way religious so I didn't want this. However Miriam suggested they could take down all the religious items around the chapel so it was suitable for our ceremony. This was perfect for us. And the bonus of it all was the Chapel has air conditioning so it was a huge relieve from the heat for our guest plus all the gents in their suits not to mention me in my dress.

I had seen that DECO could provide draping and with my wedding colours I thought this would completely transform the chapel. Deco did an amazing job with the draping it looked beautiful.

With the basic package you also get flower pomanders for the ceremony table which looked lovely. I also provided parasols which again were in my wedding colours they placed these around the chapel for me which finished the look off nicely.

We also had a sand ceremony. You can request this when booking your wedding. I thought it was a nice touch. I provided the sand and containers myself. I made the container which we poured the sand into as I looked online for Sand ceremony sets but they were quite expensive. I actually forgot to take containers for the two separate sands to go into so in a mad rush the night before the wedding I brought two shot glasses from the gift shop. These actually looked pretty good considering and you would never have known.

 

 

Horse and Carriage is a must. It made the whole thing seem like a fairy tale. $130 may seem a lot for a short ride but arriving in a golf cart just isn't the same. If I had that back home it would be about 4 times as much. So if you can, go for it you won't regret it.

 

 

Flowers

As I have mentioned before I provided my own flowers. I wanted artificial because in so many pictures I’d seen didn’t last long and wilted in the heat .I wanted my flowers to look great in the photos and also it's something I wanted to keep afterwards. I had artificial roses, brooches and jewels in my bouquet in a mixture of colours to match my theme. And for my bridesmaids they had vintage rose posies with brooches and lace in neutral colours as they all had different colour dresses this worked perfectly and looked effective. Their bouquets then doubled up as table centres for the reception. I had wanted floral table centres but when I had a look around they were so expensive and a minimum of $60 per table for anything decent. So I asked Deco to provide empty vases with gems and candles so when my bridesmaids got to the reception they could place their bouquets in

the vases. These made great table centres and saved a few pennies.

 

 

Reception

Venado Terrace and Garden

5.30pm - 10pm (3hours included –paid for 2 extra Hours)

We had our Cocktail Hour in the garden next to the Venado Terrace. This was just a short walk from the Chapel so no need to worry about catching the shuttle bus or flagging down a golf cart.

During the cocktail hour our guests were given canapés - we chose the Mexican canapés and these went down a treat. Everybody commented on how tasty they were. For our main meal we had the Italian buffet. This also went down really well.

Tables - We had 5 tables of 6 plus extra room on the tables for the children and high chairs. For the table decor the hotel provided the white table cloths. I provided the organza runners in colours to match my theme. Each of my tables had a different colour to match each of the bridesmaids. I then had glass vases with the bridesmaid bouquets as table centres with coloured crystals scattered around each table. For the chairs I provided organza sashes which I gave to my wedding coordinator at our meeting. With all the extras I thought I may get charged a set up fee but they didn't mention this at all and set everything up just the way I wanted. I totally loved it as did all our guests.

 

Lights and Sound – J&S AV provided the lighting, speakers etc. The lighting really did make the venue what it was. It looked amazing. They lit up the surrounding palm trees in alternate colours this set the ambience and made it look and feel extra special. With regards to music, I provided my own ipod with a playlist I’d arranged on Spotify. I looked into getting a DJ but its seemed so expensive and I would have given the DJ a list of songs wanted, so it would have been a waste of money. J&S provided a technician who sorted the microphone and music so it was no hassle for us at all.

 

All in all the day went perfectly and the Moon Palace were fantastic!

TOP TIPS!

Get the DVD – it may seem expensive but the day goes so quickly and you can watch it back in years to come and will treasure it forever.

Horse and Carriage is a must! Felt like a princess and made the moment magical.

Go to the Italian on the golf course! The food is brilliant and keeps on coming. Honestly, one of the best Italians I’ve been to and I’ve travelled around Italy!

If you’re thinking of going on any trips take the Jungle tour. It’s Fantastic. You get to drive your own speed boat and then stop off at the 2nd largest coral reef in the world (which is about a mile out from the moon palace) for a spot of snorkelling. I had always been too scared to do this before but the guys running the tour were great and stayed with me the whole time so I felt safe.

Sorry I haven’t gone into more detail on some things I could go on forever but writing isn’t my forte. If you have any questions or would like help with anything don’t hesitate to contact me. This forum helped make our wedding the day it was and if I can help others to do the same I’d be more than happy to do so.

I've tried to add photos with this post but they don't seem to load :-(

[ylan9383]

i wonder if everything is the same at Playacar Palace.

[KimberlyTrutnau]

Hey this question is for past brides and brides to be....

We're looking for a video ographer for our wedding at the Moon Palace March 7th 2014 does anyone have suggestions please.

Thanks Kimberly

[Moments That Matter]

Awesome review, ems85!! that is sure to help all your fellow Moon Palace brides a lot - THx for sharing would love to see some photos of your Big Day too if you get the chance to post some

 

soooo agree about the horse n carriage ride creating a fairy tale fantasy kind of feel - as shown in these magical wedding 'moments that matter" Linc captured there recently....enjoy!!!

 

 

team MTM

[Ems85]

Thanks ????

How do I post photos on here? X

Hi Kimberly

We used ocean studio which is the moon palace vendor. They did a good job of my video was really happy with it. I've used it to create some mini videos. If I knew how to post them on here I'd put it up for you to see x

[leighleigh77]

Hi all I'm a newbie on here but been ready all posts about moon palace. I'm getting married there on 28th April 2014. All has been going well until My planner ana hadn't replied to my emails she normally would very quickly. I have just received an email saying ana no longer deals with the personal planning. The email was sent by opelia but it didn't say if she would be the new planner. Panicking a little bit now I don't know if I have to start all the planning again or what! Hope everyone else is getting on ok!

(Any other uk moon palace brides on here?)

 

Jenny x

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jenny I am in the very same position Ana was great at responses I'm still waiting for Elizabeth who is my new one to reply to me from Monday about if I need to resend any of my documents to her. Please let me know how you get on and I will do the same. Missing Ana already and I didn't even know she has left x

[Moments That Matter]

Thx for the "like" ems85 - it's such a Gorgeous Wedding venue...hard to choose which images to show as each one is a winner......here's a few more ...enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all the best everyone - cheers! team MTM

Edited January 9, 2014 by Moments That Matter

[jenapr14]

Leigh when are r u getting married? We have been given Brenda she is very nice but I seem to be starting from scratch again with the plans! Emails do seem to be slow coming back I have read reviews that it can be hard work before u get there but once u r there they are amazing x

 

 

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[bridie89]

Hey!! I am getting married in Moon Palace on 09th June this year!! Getting extremely excited now but am experiencing the same as you, jenapr14. We had Ana and now she has left and we have been given Renee to talk to but she has not responded   

Are you choosing a package wedding or are you going with the complimentary and adding things on? I am not sure which works out cheaper....

It is nice to have everyone's feedback and a relief that they are all good comments but still doesn't stop me being a little nervous!!

xx