Camie78

Quote: Originally Posted by cutierosie FYI Yudelka Kok is no longer working at Palace Resorts in Miami.... Thanks for the information cutierosie. I had been working with Yudekla so this is sad news as she was great to work with. First Father Gouraud leaves me and now Yudelka. I have the worst luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by COLCUBA Hi Camie, I plan to have a Catholic ceremony, can you tell me if it was a big hassle? Thanks, Liz Hi Liz, In order to have the Catholic ceremony, you will need to complete and meet all the requirements of your church. For example, we had to go to this "engaged encounter" weekend and attend 3 or 4 classes during the week. We also had 2 or 3 sessions with the Deacon. He then completed all the paperwork and handed to us, which we then sent to an address other than the address on the Palace Resorts website. That was a big mistake because it took almost 2 months for me to track down if they had actually received our documents. So, I'd advise sending the documents to the address that is listed on their website or ask your WC for the address. The main thing to note about the Catholic ceremony is that you have to be married prior to the ceremony as the ceremony is not a legal one. So, you can either get married at home and then go to MP or you can have a civil ceremony quick before your Catholic ceremony. That's all I know about the process thus far - the biggest hassle was all the classes that we had to go through to get our "certification." Camie

FYI for anyone having a Catholic ceremony... looks like there's a new Father in town:) I just received this email from Father Gouraud: Dear Camie, There is a new chaplain now in the Palace Hotels. His name is Fr Benito Aguilar. He will be now in touch with you for your wedding. Anyhow, we live in the same community and see each other every day. God bless you. Fr Pierre, L.C.

Does anyone know when you have to pay for items like the private reception, music, flowers, etc? Do you pay for this when you arrive at the resort and finalize everything or do you pay in advance?

I've got a very dumb question. What does OOT stand for? I've been trying to figure this out for several months now and I know what it means, just can't figure out the words that make up the acronym. Anyway, so for our 'OOT' (LOL) bags, we are doing a canvas tote with a beach towel (prewashed to prevent any color bleeding when they get wet), and a couple trial size items including: heartburn medicine, sunscreen, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, and Chapstick. Those items were in high demand at this past wedding I went to, so that's what I am going with. They'll be confused why I included a medicine cabinet but they'll soon figure it out after their 5th frozen fruity drink:)

Quote: Originally Posted by Betsy Hey Cammie - Just and FYI - We met Father Pierre and he is really nice and accomodating. We flew our own priest down but we met Father Pierre on the last day we were there. Just in case you were wondering about the person who will be marrying you Betsy, you are a mind reader! I also want to thank you for all your help, you've put my mind at ease and I appreciate all your help! I am nervous about Fr. Pierre because we sent him all of our original documents from the church here in Dallas AND we sent them to the address that the Deacon told us to which was different than the address that is listed on the website. I believe the Deacon actually talked to someone at this address because he had the name of Fr. Pierre's assistant and everything. I did a return receipt (or whatever it is called, which by-the-way was totally overpriced) on the package that I sent and I never received anything back. Now I am wondering if they ever received it. Along with this, I sent a copy of the documents to the address on the MP website and then a copy to the Miami office just in case. Both of which have been confirmed. I've emailed Father Pierre a couple times to see if he received our originals and he has not responded and it appears as though no one can get a hold of him. I'm slightly freaking out about this - I just hope that if worse comes to worse and they will allow the copies to replace our originals that are currently MIA.

Quote: Originally Posted by soccergurl3 hey ladies, I am getting married at MP on July 15th 2009. I am having a problem tho! I really really want a sit down plated meal where i can decorate the reception hall and make it more unique. The problem is that i may only have 18 people coming to the wedding and i know they always tell you that you need 20 people to have the reception. This is really heartbreaking for me because i don't want to jsut have a dinner in a restaurant like every other day of the week i want it to be special. Do you think they will make it work for me? Because if not this won't be my dream wedding at all!!! I also believe that they will make it work for you. I know that we are going to be on the cusp of 20 people and I mentioned when I first started that we would be very close and it was no problem. At the end of the day, they are getting the extra $$ for the private function. One thing to note is that plated dinners are only an option for an indoor reception (you could do buffet if you wanted as well). For outdoor receptions, its buffet only.

Quote: Originally Posted by katt Camie thank you.Hey I was reading your post and I didn't know that you could be married already and still do civil nup's. All the research I've done seemed like if you were married already you could only do vow renewal.Wow that's great that you can do is again in cancun. My WC in cancun is named Nancy. We have spoken a few time's but with 96 days let I'm thinking she'll be hearing from me very soon. I decied to go w/ the 75$ center pieces the tall one.I have five tables on the terrace so the damage to my pockets not to bad... LOL. I'm doing the deluxe package which is the 2,200 w/ the 25 room block deal. I'm also doing the guest bag's in the guest rooms. I'm thinking of giving them 1.Under water disposable camera, 2. A little bottle of "Special Bew" the one w/ the worm in it .I am SUPER excited. Oh camie that's again for checking the pic's thing. Katt Katt, We are doing the catholic ceremony in Cancun which is not a legalizing (is that even a word??) ceremony. So, the choice was to either have a quick civil ceremony before the catholic ceremony or get married in the states and then have only the catholic one in Cancun. Getting married in the states is cheaper so this is why we chose to go this route. My MIL is requiring this catholic service, so I'm just going along with it, otherwise, we would have just had the civil service in Cancun I also heard back from my WC today on the pictures and some other stuff. My FH wanted to do the formal dinner, so we are back to doing the cocktail hour followed by dinner. Here goes: 1. Our cocktail reception is from 7-8 at Venado Garden and then our private reception is from 8-10 at Venado Terrace. We'd like to use the 4 hour music package for both the cocktail and private receptions. Will someone from the resort move the speaker system from the cocktail reception area to the private reception? IN THIS CASE WHAT WE CAN DO IS TO HAVE TWO SPEAKERS, ONE CLOSER TO THE GARDEN AREA AND ONE AT THE RECEPTION. ONCE YOU FINISH THE COCKTAILS, THE TECHNICIAN WILL TURN THE 2ND SPEAKER TO HAVE THE FULL SOUND AT THE RECEPTION. 2. I understand that the self cd/iPod package does not come with lighting. Do you recommend getting additional lighting for the dancing portion? I assume we will be eating dinner until about 9pm and then only dancing until 10pm or whenever the max time is allowed. Do you think that the additional lighting is needed for only about an hour of dancing time? Will the lighting from the resort be enough to light up Venado Terrace a little bit so that we are not in pitch black dark? THE SPOTLIGHTS WE OFFER ARE ENOUGH TO LIGHT IT UP, THE SOUND LIGHTING (LEDS) GIVES TO YOUR PARTY THE SENSATION TO BE AT THE DISCO, SO WE RECOMMEND TO ADD IT, HOWEVER IT'S UP TO YOU:) THE 2009 PRICE FOR SOUND LIGHTING IS $189 USD. 3. Is it possible to do the bride & groom and family session prior to the ceremony? IF YOU DON'T MIND TO SEE THE GROOM BEFORE THE CEREMONY, IT'S FINE. WE WILL SUGGEST TO HAVE THE SESSION AT 5:00PM, EVERYBODY MUST BE PUNCTUAL. PLEASE CONFIRM THIS SO WE CAN MAKE A NOTE OF THIS SPECIAL CONCESSION.

I just got an email back from my WC on a couple questions I had regarding the catholic ceremony and getting married in the US beforehand versus having a civil ceremony in Mexico. Not sure if anyone is in this same situation but I thought I'd share her responses. 1. Is there a time limit as to which we can get married? For example, do we have to wait until 3, 2, or 1 week (or a different designated time frame) prior to our ceremony date in Cancun or can we get married in the US at any time, as long as it is before we leave for Cancun? YOU CAN GET MARRIED ANY TIME AS LONG AS IT IS BEFORE YOU COME HERE TO CANCUN. 2. Will we need to provide any of the civil ceremony documents (passports, addresses, occupations, and birth certificates (certified copy of each one) with Apostille document attached), or are our catholic documents from our church in the US all that we need? IF YOU ARE ALREADY MARRIED ( CIVIL) BEFORE YOU COME TO CANCUN, YOU ONLY HAVE TO BRING YOUR CATHOLIC DOCUMENTS FROM YOUR CHURCH, REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO SEND COPY OF THIS TO FATHER PIERRE BEFORE SO HE CHECK ON THEM AND YOU CAN BRING YOUR ORIGINALS WITH YOU. WE NEED YOU TO BRING THE AUTHORIZATION FROM YOUR CHURCH THAT STATES THAT IT IS OK FOR YOU TO GET MARRIED IN CANCUN. 3. Will we need to provide a marriage certificate from the US? Or any other document that certifies our marriage? BRING COPY OF YOU MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE PLEASE. I also was able to get a hold of Father Pierre's email address, it's: pgouraud at prodigy dot net dot mx

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc Thanks Nibsmom!! I received group rates but they don't seem to carry a big discount. If you book through a TA are you still eligible for the free cocktail reception? Anyone know any great TAs that helped you?? Thats a good question Ashrose....I was wondering the same thing! I'm also wondering how I'm going to ship everything there. I'm afraid something will break or get messed up somehow....What if we wanted colored linens?? If you are referring to physically shipping things to the resort, it is my understanding that the resort does not accept shipments under any circumstance. As far as the linens go, they do have a couple options of colored linens which can be rented for an additional fee.

Quote: Originally Posted by katt hello ladies. Well I have 98 Days until my moon palace wedding. We are getting married in the chapel and the reception is being held on the Tucan Terrace. Our wedding is at 6pm.We were wondering if any other 6pm bride and groom had to take pic's before the ceremony because of losing light after the nup's. I really do want hinto see me before the nup's.Were hoping that because it will be in April we might be able to wait. Katt, I have this same question (also having a 6pm wedding) and I emailed my WC last week but have not heard back from her yet. I'll post with her reply as soon as I receive it. Unless someone on the forum knows... Camie

Betsy, Were you able to place your gift bags in the rooms for your guests or do you know if the resort allows this? Thanks, Camie

I received a couple responses back from Katie on the questions below. In response to the star ratings, I found different ratings tripadvisor.com. 1. Do you recommend that this bride-to-be switch go with RIU Cancun and risk not being able to have dinner for everyone in one spot, etc? I think they will "encourage" the Riu Caribe as they did this to me once I hit 80. I am not sure if the Caribe offers private dinners. She could ask if they could do a private dinner at the Riu Cancun. I would probably prefer Riu Cancun, it's a 4 star and Caribe is a 3 star, I believe. Now, if she's worried about how much people would spend, Caribe would be cheaper. 2. Do you have an email address for anyone at the resort that you'd be willing to share? weddings.cancun at riu dot com - Pamela Zerecro (not sure about the last name). She is the wedding coordinator both at RIU Caribe and RIU Cancun.

Quote: Originally Posted by soon2bemsleblanc I think having a cocktail reception without a formal dinner is a great idea and also a money saver!! Does anyone know what time the sun sets in July? I am trying to decide on what time for the ceremony. I remember seeing this picture of a sunset wedding with the aisle runner lined with candles on both sides. It was so beautiful!! I was wondering the same thing as I was just in Cancun and the sun was setting at like 4pm and I freaked out because our wedding is at 6 and I didn't want it to be pitch dark. I did a Google search for 'cancun sunset time' and clicked on the first link (below) and per this website, the sunsets around 715 in May and 730 in July. Sunrise and Sunset for Mexico – Quintana Roo – Cancún – coming days Hope this helps, Camie

Quote: Originally Posted by cdc0427 Thanks for the info Camie. I really wanted to have it at the Riu Cancun but I didn't want to play it that close with the number allowed so I settled with Riu Caribe. Now you are making me want to take the risk and see what happens with Riu Cancun. Ask your friend does she think I should risk it or not please. I expect there to be about 75 (have to look at list again) Another thing that you kinda answered but I just want to clarify, I heard the beach was really rocky and their isn't much beach there, is that true? Did you happen to go to Riu Caribe at all? Here's my best attempt to describe the beach: Yes, the beach is super rocky but only on about half of it and on that half of the beach the beach is much, much wider than the part of the beach that does not have rocks. By rocky, try to imagine the shore line of Hawaii where volcanoes are active, its that type of flat rock that people walk on and take pictures on, they aren't sharp pointy rocks by any means. From the resort to ocean it goes from really super soft sand to flat rocks (like uneven cement) then to the water but the water is down a couple feet from the rocks. The rocky part of the beach is closest to RIU Las Americanas, near the pool restaurant. This is also the part of the beach that the sun sets latest at. In the part of the beach that does not have rocks, its about 20 feet wide from the retaining wall to the shore line (very little seaweed) . There's plenty of room for chairs and people, the sun sets here about 330ish. I sent an email to Katie for her opinion on if you should risk it with your expected number of guests. I'll also ask her if she's got any contacts at the resort you could use as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by Betsy We kind of turned our cocktail reception into dinner and dancing - Our WC worked with us and because it was FREE I didn't see the point in paying for a private dinner reception when we basically got that. My only concern was I didn't want people eating a bunch of apps, drinking, dancing and then having to go sit down and eat more dinner and then not know what to do afterwards. But are you planning on doing the dancing and cake cutting at your private reception? Are you getting either one free?? Just from the $$ aspect I wouldn't necessarily pay for anything - For us the cocktail reception worked out perfect - they had chairs and tables off to the side - So when we first got there - everyone else was already there because we were doing our pictures - and everyone was eating and having a great time - we joined in and then did the cake cutting and moved on to dancing - the food was set up out of the way so people could munch and dance and just have fun. It was great - I personally did not feel like I missed out on anything not having a formal dinner. Hope this helps!! I know it's hard planning when you don't know - It was a hard decision but in the end having the cocktail reception only worked out perfect for us - and all our guests never even thought they were missing anything b/c it was just like dinner!! Good Luck! Thanks for the advice Betsy - I think we are going to change our plan because, you're right, its overkill and I was worried about the same thing. People would be eating and hanging out (possibly getting a little tipsy) and then have to transform into a serious dinner and I was afraid that the party would then die, which is what I don't want to happen. Question - Did you have the cocktail hour for only 1 hour and then continue the dancing and drinking. If so, then did you have to pay for them to continue the bar service or did they just consider it an extended cocktail hour? Camie

OK, I just got a reply from my friend, below are the details. When she mentioned the restaurant called "La Mision", that is the restuarant by the pool turned "steakhouse" at night. She also stated that any of you are welcome to contact her if you like. Just let me know and I'll forward on her email address. 1. Did you have to pay to reserve the restuarant for just our group? No, we didn't have to pay to reserve, but we needed to purchase the most expensive package, due to the group size, which was base price of $2700 or so, I believe. Well then you know how it adds up from there... 2. Why did they say at one point that they could not accommodate your group and then suddenly they could? Did they provide you with any reason as to why they had changed their minds? As far as the restaurant goes, they were supposed to have a semi-private dinner for us. With 70, it was suppsoed to be at "La Mision" restaurant, then once we hit 80, they said it had to be at the Brazilian restaurant. I didn't know until we were sitting down at the restaurant for dinner that it was going to be a private dinner and we had the entire restaurant. Needless to say, I was VERY happy at that point. I didn't have a choice at any point to have a private dinner.

Betsy, Our wedding is at 6pm followed by a cocktail hour from 7-8 and then we have our private reception beginning at 8. I'm concerned after reading your last post that this may be overkill, too much food. Do you think that this is overkill, should we skip the dinner? I don't want guests to eat all the apps and then have to sit down and eat again. Any advice you can provide is appreciated. Thanks, Camie

In response to the question about the maximum number of guests, yes, she really did have close to 80 people there. I know there were 72 chairs (a couple were empty) for the guests + there was her, the groom, 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen, so about 80 people total. I can tell you that she chose RIU Cancun because they could easily accomodate a group of 50 which is what they were originally expecting. This number grew to 50 quickly and the next thing they knew, they were at close to 80. She kept in touch with the resort as her guest list grew and grew and at one point they came back and told her that they would not be able to accommodate her group. They told her that she may have to split the group up into two different restaurants, requiring the bride/groom to run from one to another. You can imagine how well this went over as they were about a month from the wedding. Then, after a little persistance and discussions with the resort, they suddenly were able to handle our group. Everything worked out so I know that they can accommodate a group of that size. I think that I mentioned earlier that we had the entire restuarant to ourselves the night of the wedding and half of the restuarant was empty. Originally RIU Cancun told them that our group would be in the restuarant along with other guests but that they would seat us together. We were shocked when we got there and it was just us in the restuarant. I do not think that they paid extra to rent out the restaurant because they seemed as surprised by us being the only guests in the restuarant as we were. I'll send her an email asking about it though and report back.

One additional thing that I wanted to share is that we booked our vacation to RIU Cancun through AA.com who uses Olympus Tours/Gogo Worldwide as their tour company (to hook up the transfers between resort and hotel) and this tour company was FANTASTIC. I've never had such great service from a tour company as I did with them -to the hotel, at the hotel, and to the airport. I know that AA.com is one of the few airline vacation companies that offers Moon Palace as a hotel option so I assume they'd use Olympus Tours as they are associated with American Airlines. So, anyone who has any woes about transfers and about booking online, specifically through AA.com, rest assured that they will take good care of you and/or your guests.

I know... I'm completely out of control with my posts today but I just returned from a wedding at the RIU Cancun. Like a good bride-to-be I posted my review of the resort and pictures under the RIU Cancun thread but I wanted to share a couple things I learned. First, the MP thread rocks. The RIU Cancun thread is very small and it doesn't seem like they have a lot of participation. So props to everyone for making this forum so great! The RIU Cancun was in the hotel zone (right by downtown Cancun) so one thing that I was not a fan of is that it was hotel next to hotel next to hotel, etc. ALSO, during the ceremony a plane was flying along the beach with a banner that read "SENOR FROGS, BACHELORETTE PARTIES DRINK FREE" during the ceremony. I hope that this type of advertising is a hotel zone thing and MP does not have this - anyone know? The resort was super small and the hotel was at 110% occupancy (yes, overbooked) so people were fighting for lounge chairs, etc. People literally were down at the beach reserving chairs beginning at 6am. Also the resort only had two restaurants so I'm happy that there are lots of choices at MP. The one thing about this time of year is that the sunsets super early. At this particular resort, the sun set behind the resort so the pool and beach were completely shaded by 3pm. By 530pm the sun has almost fully set and by 6pm its pitch black and the lights around the resort come on. I was shocked at this at first but then I remembered that a friend and I went to Barcelo Tropical and Colonial in Riviera Maya a couple years ago during the same week (Jan 7 -Jan 12) and remembered that the sun set there early as well. I didn't see a single bug while I was there; this could just be because of the time of year or the location of the hotel but no bugs or bed bugs for that matter. YIKES! Finally the temp was in the low 80's and living in Texas I thought I'd be wearing a "North Face" jacket and long johns but that was not the case. It was actually hot when the sun was out without any clouds and we had to jump in the pool or get a frozen fruity drink to cool down. Oh and I would not recommend the RIU Cancun for vacation or otherwise, however, I would recommend the RIU chain as I have good exp with that chain overall. Barcelo Tropical and Colonial is a resort and chain that I would recommend. Just wanted to pass that information along as well. Anyway, just wanted to share this with everyone.

Quote: Originally Posted by SunnyBride Thank you guys for posting about what to tell my guests - it is definitely helpful to know that the restaurants don't take reservations, and where to get the entertainment schedules, etc. We are also getting the 'Promotion' package where you get the two free tours included as a part of your week. Does anyone know if the tours fill up quickly, or if it's possible to reserve a spot in advance? We had wanted to do the Tulum tour with the snorkeling in the afternoon as a group activity. I talked to the resort to see if I could reserve a block of seats and they said that everyone has to be at the hotel before we can book. I don't want to suggest it as a group activity and then have people get turned away if the tours fill up quickly...does anyone know how that works? Thank you so much for your help! I thought I had read somewhere, possibly on this forum that you could book tours in advance by emailing the tour company (email address is on the website, elitetours or something). Not sure if that is true but I remember reading it somewhere...

Quote: Originally Posted by kennynicole Well I got word back from MP. They have the date I want but not the time. I have sent them another e-mail asking for the time I would like on diff. days. I am thinking about just calling them but don’t want to be too pushy this early in the game. Ok here are my questions for the day: 1. To veil or not to veil? I have a veil that I bought b4 I knew I would be getting married in Mexico with blowing winds. Are you ladies doing veils? It seems like they look great in some videos and pictures and in others the brides are doing all they can to keep them out of their faces. I have found someone that does beautiful bird cages vales. I was thinking about doing one of them but I am still on the fence. 2. Have you seen the beach at MP b4? I have read some reviews on tripadvisor and it seems that it is not the best. Are you concerned about this? 3. Bug bites…I have also read some reviews from people that have gotten really really bad bug bites. They are not sure if it’s sand flees or bed bugs but have all said it was painful. We have a lot of older people attending the wedding and I am now concerned for them. I can take a few days of itching but I would feel bad for my guest. Do you know anything about this or have experience with it? 4. Photogs….if you have been married at MP and just used their photography package were you happy with it? I am really trying to keep the cost down and this would be nice if I didn’t need to bring someone in from outside. 5. What package are you doing? If you are doing the free package what do you plan on adding if anything? Thank you sooooo much for reading this and sharing your knowledge and thoughts! You gals are great!!! 1. I'm not wearing a veil. I guess I'm just not into them plus my dress ended up being way more dressy than I had hoped for so I feel the veil would just add to that. I was just at a wedding in Cancun (RIU Cancun) this past weekend and the bride did not wear one - she's got curly hair and put it up and put flowers in it and it looked very nice. 3. Bed bugs?!?!?!? Crap.

Quote: Originally Posted by kennynicole Thank you to all that have posted why you chose MP. It was hard to decide between all the palace resorts. After reading your reasons why you booked MP I think it too will be a good fit for us! I have sent in my wedding date reservation for Nov. 28th 2009. So…..how long did it take for you to find out if you got your date and time? It says 24-48 hrs but from what I am hearing they are not all that great about completing things in a timely manner. After we have our date and time confirmed what should I do or expect to happen next? Great news that you have chosen MP - let the planning begin! We waited 6 weeks (yes, I'm not kidding) to get our date and time reserved. Again, I have no idea why it took this long and I believe it has something to do with the travel agent that we used as they worked out the contract with MP and I did not work with MP directly on the contract. I also think it took so long because we booked more than a year in advance and they did not have their rates ready for the following year, etc. I don't mean to scare you, I just think I have bad luck. As stated in other posts, you will be assigned a contact in Miami. Ours is Yudelka and she is FANTASTIC. Always responds within 24 hours and is more than willing to help. After that you get assigned a WC onsite to work through the details. Good luck!

Quote: Originally Posted by blaired Camie- Thanks! My sister-in law talked to our WC in Miami and seemed to have worked out some details and hopefully we'll have a revised contract sometime this week! I'm excited to get married, but we are having a short engagement, so planning is in super overdrive which makes me kinda panic! Can you send me those documents too? I post on here, and on the newbie form, but it takes me forever to accrue points, then I use them and they are gone My email is blaired at gmail dot com ! Thanks! Also I see you are in Dallas! We are in Denton! If you have any general MP questions I have a lot of pics of the resort/general info from over the years and can help out! Just sent you the documents, hope they provide some value. I am definitely interested in your review of the resort and any pictures you have. My email is [email protected] Thanks in advance!!