Tell me about your Moon Palace wedding...

[kiahjane]

Hi there...

 

We are in the process of changing resorts from the Paradisus to the Moon Palace. We've just received our contract and are getting ready to sign.

 

Just a couple of questions for current Moon Palace brides...

 

Are you bringing your own photographer? Does the resort have a decent photographer?

 

Which package are you doing? Are you doing a reception? If so, where will you do it? Will you be doing dancing?

 

We are going to have our ceremony at 1 pm, then do the cocktail party that comes with booking 10 rooms (we'll probably have 15 rooms or so)...then we thought that we would do a private reception on one of the terraces for a mid-day lunch/dinner type of thing.

 

Thoughts?

Thanks! Claire

[cheeks75]

Hey there

 

We are getting married at the Moon Palace 8-2-08 at 5:00pm. I am bringing along my own photographer and will be doing the free package but adding optional items.

 

We will have the free cocktail hour and thinking of going with the private terrace reception. Haven't gotten everything figured out yet but that is as far as we have gotten.

 

Maybe we can help each other along.

[kiahjane]

Oh great! I will look forward to that!

 

We are getting married on 4-17-08 at 1 pm. I am trying to figure out what in the world to do reception-wise because it is a weird time... late for a lunch reception and early for a dinner reception. We are definitely going to add the private reception... I am just not sure exactly where or when. I hate to have a break in between.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing about your plans!

 

Claire

[eturnery]

hi

i am getting married at moon paalce on the 12th of march and have the same worried - we are coming from the uk so can't bring a photographer and we were told this wasn't aloud anyway?! so i very worried about what their photographer will be like

we are getting married at 3 and are having the free package and adding extras and are thinking of having a private reception on a terrace from 4 and paying extra to have the bar open so we don't have to split things up i think this costs $6 dollars per person per hour?

any info you guys have would be great being in the uk it is very hard to get any information and i have e-mailed the hotel serveral times but no one has go back to me which is slightly worrying.

my agant has told me that i can just sort everything out when i arrive but looking on the web site it states you need to book all private receptions 60 day prior to wedding date?

[kiahjane]

Hey - I don't know about the cost for open bar. I was quoted a free cocktail hour based upon booking 10 rooms and then if we want to do a private reception, which we will, I believe that the cost is $50 per person for two hours including open bar. That price is for a buffet, as they will not do plated dinners on the outside terraces. I think that it is $60 pp for a plated dinner if you do it in a ballroom. In the contract that I was sent, it says that a one-hour cocktail party is $25 pp.

 

I am dealing with Lorena in the Sales Office at the Resort and she has been super-responsive. Do you have a block of rooms and a sales manager that you are dealing with?

[eturnery]

Hi

 

I have booked through and agent in the uk so not dealing with anyone at moon palace have tried to contact them directly but no joy!!!

i am so excited though just 14 weeks to go!!!!

would like to get the details sorted before we arrive, will try e-mailing again.

are you using the hotels photograhers

[kiahjane]

I will use the resort photographer, but I am also trying to bring in an outside photographer as well. She is from the Riviera Maya area, though, and I understand that there my be an issue in bringing in a "local". I am trying to work it out now.

 

If I understand correctly, they assign you a wedding coordinator 90 days before your wedding, so hopefully you will hear from someone by mid-December? I have been dealing with Carolina Lopez in the Miami office for the wedding and she has been super responsive and wonderful.

 

Let me know how it goes!

[Betsy]

Hi! Congrats on your upcoming wedding! My wedding is 4-10-08 at Moon Palace and my WC is Carolina Lopez too!! We are doing the wedding at the Immaculate Conception Gazebo. We get dinner reservations for our entire party at one of the restaurants at Moon Palace - We won't know which one until we get there - we are also bringing our IPOD w/ speakers for the dances which my Travel Agent told us that there may be time after our wedding to do some dances at the gazebo. I just mainly want to have a dance w/ my father and husband. So I don't think the plan is to have a private reception at this time - I just can't see paying $25/person when we are at an all-inclusive resort!! But I still want the whole reception thing - so I'm not sure yet!!

[kiahjane]

Congrats to you too! We just booked our flights and will arrive the day after your wedding. We were actually planning on doing the dinner in the restaurant thing (we'll have about 45 people) but my dad made a big deal about the dancing... so guess we'll do the private one and figure out something for the music... Good luck with all of your planning!

[cariandnick]

hey all - haven't been on here in awhile but we got married over thanksgiving 2007 at moon palace and it was absolutely perfect. our ceremony was a 4 pm, then free champagne toast after that and then because we booked directly through the resort and booked over 10 rooms we got the free cocktail hour. we then added on open bar for the remainder of the night at $3 per person. we had free reception from 5-6 then open bar till 10 pm. there was so much food for the cocktail hour left over (they keep replacing all the food for the first hour) then they leave the remainder out for the rest of the reception. we brought our own ipod and rented speakers/mic for $150 for the night. it was perfect. on a terrace right next to the ocean. great lighting that comes with it etc.

here's a link to our wedding pics but i'm pretty sure its about ready to expire

Cari and Nick give it time though because sometimes it takes a little while to load before anything comes up. if it has expired, you can always see some of the pics by going to elizabethmedinaphotography.com and click on wedding blogs then scroll to the bottom and click on dec 2007 and then scroll down to cari and nick moon palace cancun. regarding outside photographers, they do NOT allow outside photographers and make it very clear so hwat i did is i paid for her hotel the night of the wedding and said she was a guest of ours. they never really asked and it wasnt a problem.

 

regarding the wedding coordinators, they work everything out once you get down there and they do so many of these that there's nothing that gets overlooked. just make sure you book your gazebo/time and if you want a reception or not ahead of time and everything else is worked out down there. we didn't even talk to our wedding coordinator until we got down there. ours was nancy arroyo and she was absolotely fabulous. btw, carolina lopez is not an actual wedding coordinator at the moon palace - she is just the main coordinator in terms of scheduling the site for ceremony/reception. she's not who you actually deal with once you get down to the moon palace - she's in miami.