andreslove

Loved the pics...we want more! Everything looked beautiful!

That is a cute color scheme. I love it!

Hi everyone,

I've been extremely busy since I've returned, but I wanted to write my review while things are fresh in my mind. We had a ball in Mexico! All of our guests keep thanking us for having it there. They seem to have had just as much fun as we did. Let me start with the pictures.

Lenita & Andre

Photography: Jill Higgins and Josie Martin (Charleston Wedding Photography by Jill Higgins - Childrens Portrait Photographers)

Jill and Josie did an amazing job on our photography! We love our pictures. It captured everything we'd hoped. We met them the day before to do a get to know you shoot. They were really nice and funny! The morning of my wedding, they met me at 8:00 am to take pictures of me getting my hair and make-up done. They were full of personality to keep me calm and laughing on what could be a stressful day. Once things got rolling I forgot they were there, but the pictures reveal that they didn't miss a thing!

Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort:

We were pleased with the resort. The rooms were clean and the service was great. However, the resort is so big we didn't get a chance to see everything. We stayed on the Nizuc side and never made it to the Sunrise side. The restaurants that we tried were all good. My favorite was El Manglar which is the Italian restuarant. A couple of people also recommended the other Italian restuarant by the golf course but we never made it.

We chose the "free" package and purchased add-ons once we were at the resort. Upon arrival, we received a welcome letter from our wedding coordinator, Carolina, informing us of our meeting with her the next morning. She was well organized and I soon realized that I stressed for nothing. Everything was taken care of. We did the civil ceremony which lasted about 5 minutes and then my cousin who is a minister took over for the religious ceremony. Before I get ahead of myself, I would have to recommend the horse and carraige. I loved it! They had everything timed perfectly. We went riding and when we came around the corner where the gazebo was all I heard was "Awww" from our guests and flashes from the cameras. My father rode with me in the carraige.

Immediately after the ceremony while we were taking pictures, the cocktail hour began with the Mariachi band. We had it in the garden area near the gazebo and everything was set up beautifully. Next we moved to the private dinner reception held in the Laud ballroom. We had a DJ, but this is where I would have saved some money. We didn't need it. The sound system is great, so we had our iPods and one of our friends acted as the MC. For those who are getting married at Moon Palace, you may want to assign someone the tasks of hosting and MC. Once Carolina had the DJ announce us and passed out our favors, we didn't see her again. My friends took over and kept things going (announced first dance, garter toss, cake cutting, etc.).

Videography: We used the resort's videographer. We upgraded to the DVD and it turned out nice. They use your ceremony music on the DVD, which is a nice touch.

Ceremony music: I made a list of music to be used during the ceremony and gave it to Carolina during our meeting. I've attached our wedding songs just in case anyone is interested.

Flowers: They will give you a book of flowers and centerpieces to choose from. I was so nervous about not liking my flowers that I decided to use fake flowers. They looked, felt and even smelt real. This saved us some money. However, it was a real pain traveling with them. The centerpieces were real and were provided by the resort.

Cake: The cake came from the resort as well. I emailed Carolina a picture of what I wanted and they were able to create it. It looked good, but didn't taste that great. The only time I ate it was during the cutting of it.

Salon services: The day before I had my nails done and the day of I had my hair and make-up done. I took a picture with me, but after I realized how windy it was I ended up having to pick a picture out of the book. This was what I was most nervous about. I even had Josie (the photographer) translate some questions that I had for the stylist. He didn't speak much english, but knew what he was doing. I was happy with the way both my hair and make-up turned out.

Welcome bags: I think I'm the only lazy person on this forum...lazy enough to order our bags. We ordered them from Swell Sweets (www.swellsweets.com). I told them how much I wanted to spend per bag and they presented some options. They were really easy to work with and they arrived early. I posted a picture in another thread, but would be happy to share if anyone wanted to see.

Shoes: I love my shoes because they were custom made by my friend Candra of Artyce Designs (www.artycedesigns.com). I posted a picture of my shoe in another thread as well. When I began designing my shoe, I didn't know what I wanted, but that soon changed. I enjoyed working with her and I loved the end result. They were comfortable too. I kept them on the entire time.

OK, I think that's about it. I am a huge fan of destination weddings and couldn't be happier with the way things turned out. Hopefully, someone will find this review helpful. I know I probably forgot something, so if anyone has any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Wedding Songs.doc

Hi everyone,

We're back! Looks like Jill has filled you all in with the pictures. I still have to write my review, but I'm trying to get caught up at work. I loved Andre's reactions! I can't stop laughing at it. The first thing he asked though was who tooked the pictures. He was totally surprised because I would never do anything like that which made it even better.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Just doing my last minute check before I leave for Mexico. It will be really weird to be away from the forum for so long, but I think I'll manage. I'll post the review and pictures as soon as possible.

Thanks for all the well wishes. Jill Higgins is my photographer, so I'm sure she'll have the pictures covered. I've spoken with my on-site wedding coordinator and she said that it was ok to bring a photographer as long as they weren't from Mexico. Jill will actually be staying at the resort, so I don't forsee them kicking her out. Thanks for your concern though. That's crazy! I'm also not much of a beach girl, which is one of the reasons why I loved the gazebos. I will pay attention to the beach to let you all know how maintained it is. I heard the sound system is really good, but I'll confirm that too.

Thanks everyone and stay tuned!

I haven't received the final product (should get it tomorrow), but when I originally tried them on they were comfortable.

Thanks ladies. I'm supposed to get them on Friday, so I'll have a couple of days to break them in. Natalie, my friend Candra created them. She's from Chicago, but lives in California now and just opened up a shoe boutique. Here's her information Artyce Designs Boutique In Los Angeles - DECEMBER 2006

Jessalyn, those are beautiful!

THose pictures were so nice. Thanks for sharing.

Nice ss. Great work Leigh. Ann, you all look so cute together.

Welcome to the forum! I'm getting married at Moon Palace in 10 days! I'll be giving a review upon my return. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions. There are a few threads that exist already with information on Moon Palace. Good luck and congrats!

Sounds great to me.

I really like this idea. Now, I just need the time to actually come up with the puzzles.

Thanks everyone. That gives me a good starting point. Good suggestions. Sometimes the most fun comes when things aren't planned and just kinda happen. I did want a way to see everyone before the wedding though. Sydskyga, where can I find more info?

My shoes are finally ready! Here's a picture. My friend designed and created them. I can't wait to get them.

I don't know if it's the excitement or what, but I'm starting to not be able to sleep. I think I just want to make sure everything is together so I'm constantly going through things in my mind. It will be over soon though.

OK, I have a little over a week before I leave for my wedding. Does any of the Moon Palace brides have any questions or requests? Do you want me to take a picture of a certain restaurant? Have you had trouble getting in touch with the coordinator and need me to ask a question for you? Post any questions or requests here and I'll try and get as many things as I can while I'm there.

Hey,

Has anyone done the welcome dinner outside of the resort? Most of our guests are staying in the hotel zone, so I wanted to put together something in that area instead of our resort. I don't want it formal or anything, just something fun and reasonably priced. Doesn't even have to be a dinner. I can't remember who I was talking to, but someone mentioned that they had some type of cruise. Any ideas?

My guests are staying at different hotels too. But, the ones that are staying at the same hotel and arriving the same day. I plan on delivering them to the hotels and if someone hasn't arrived, leave their bag with friends/relatives to give them. For those who are arriving on Friday, I'm handing them out at the welcome dinner. I know it's going to be a headache trying to deliver them, but I think it will be a nice welcome to those who've traveled so far.

We are getting married at Moon Palace and switching to LeBlanc after the wedding. We have children coming to the wedding, but LeBlanc is an adults-only resort which is what we were looking for after the wedding (especially since it's so close to Spring Break).

Those pictures are too cute! Love them all. Especially the ones in the park, the Navy Pier one and the snow one. Can't wait to see the rest. Very nice...

Ditto to what everyone else has said. Your ring is beautiful and they are just rude! Some people have no tact whatsoever. I've had comments like that as well. Don't let it get to you. At the end of the day, it's not important what kind of ring you have, but the committment you all will make and the love you all will share.

I'm glad everything worked out. You all looked lovely! Congratulations!