SouthernSweetie

Good Morning Ladies from Gorgeous Cancun Mexico!!!

We got in yesterday evening to low clouds and LOTS of humidity, had a few sprinkles last night; but woke up to bright sunshine over the ocean.  I heard that the storm later today will be pretty fierce, but outside of my guests arriving safely, I really don't mind.  The view is spectacular and Charlie & I decided that lounging in the jacuzzi as we watched the rain over the Carribean could be pretty romantic.

I woke up at 5am because I was to freakin' excited to sleep!  :woot:

We have our meeting with the WC this morning.  I will try to put up a brief on that later today.

We got so much internal peace once we got here, most of my anxieties have disappeared.  So far the staff has been amazing.  (We forgot to research the value of a dollar here, so we haven't figured out yet what a good tip is.)   Even that phenomenal photo posted by Del Sol eased my mind.  I seriously doubt that the resort photographer is a good as Matt and company so pray for sunshine and dry conditions for Saturday, please!!!

We fly out Wednesday too.  The good news is, if you look at the forecast, there is a sun peaking out from behind the cloud and the lightening bolt.  That typically means that the rain is intermittent.  I'm stressing over so much now, I had to let go of the things I can't control.  I just feel really badly that our guests have kicked out so much money to make this trip just to get rained on.  I heard that the beaches are why people flock to Cancun in the first place.  It'll be lousy not to get that experience.
 

Originally Posted by aholen 

Oh no! I just looked at the 10 day forecast for Cancun (we fly out Wednesday), and it's t-storms and showers all the way through! Darnit!!

The prices start at $220.  This is the "basic" package, but it is more than just basic.  It comes with a mixing board, a microphone, a dual-DVD player, speakers, all of the cables, set-up and take-down, etc.
 

Originally Posted by lali333dance 

How much does it cost to rent their speakers if you bring your own IPOD?

Ladies, I just put up a post for more clarification about what photography and/or video service we can use the resort credit for.  I'm pretty desperate for a photographer.  What can we or can't we use the Vacation Dollars for regarding photography and video?  Please help!  

Originally Posted by JennW818 

I just received the video from our wedding yesterday.  The quality isn't really all that great, but I would totally do it again anyway.  It's so nice to have b/c there are so many things I already forgot about that were on the video.  I was able to use my resort credit for it as well, so basically it was free.  If I was paying for it, I'd probably just get the ceremony and not the extra hours.

Originally Posted by kyndall 

We also used the vacation dollars for the video.  It isn't amazing but it's kind of nice because we can actually here what was being said.  I couldn't understand a word in the wedding because of the acoustics in the chapel.  It's also nice to see the guest and what was going on while we were taking pictures and what not.
 

 

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

I'm so glad that a lot of us were able to use vacation dollars for the video. I would have been so mad if we paid $500 for that video. It was good and we'll watch it again, but way overpriced. Our videographer took off pretty quick, it would have been nice to have some video of the cocktail hour. We also should have had our first dance then to get it included in the pro video.

I have been assigned Cristina and Lupita too!  Our wedding is Saturday, June 11th (only 13 more days!!!).  I haven't heard anything about Cristina either.  She typically takes about 2 days to respond to my emails.  There have been a few questions she's left unanswered, even though I've asked more than once.  Hmmmm..... I too would like to know more about Lupita's work if anyone knows.

Ladies,  I'm still catching up on reading the posts, so please forgive me if this has already been addressed:  Can someone PLEASE help me to understand what specific photography and/or video services we can use our Vacation Dollars for?  I sent Lupita an email asking her specifically if we could and she responded that Vacation Dollars could only be used for "My Palace Memories by Kodak."  I can't find anything on My Palace Memories on the photography website that Lupita sent me, on the MP website, nothing.  Even when I googled it, I got a synopsis but no details.

I had to use $2000 of my wedding budget to fix my car that died suddenly, so I had to axe my photographer.  IF Vacation Dollars can be used, that would be an answer from heaven!

Fantastic job with the books!

We are arriving on Wednesday, June 8th.  Our flight gets in about 5pm, so I'm hoping that we will be at the resort and checked-in no later than 8pm.  We are staying until Saturday, June 18th.  How long will you guys be there?

 

Originally Posted by Eskie14 

Hi SouthernSweeite,

 

I'm getting married right before you on June 5th at 4 pm.  When are you arriving at Moon?

I'm interested in combining orders, and we're date twins!  We're getting married in Cancun, how about you?  There is another bride on this thread with a June 10th date in Cabo.  I didn't look for her location, but I'm in Los Angeles.  If you're also in Cancun, that will save some shipping costs.

I'm interested in keychains and maybe baseball caps.

 

Originally Posted by june11bride 

I would love to order Mexico nail clipper key chains....I noticed that you have to have a minimum $75 order though.

Great idea, thanks!

 

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

Southern Sweetie, welcome back. We are also on our third Miami contact! And have never been notified of any changes. Thankfully, I already had my Cancun contact. If you still don't have your Cancun WC, I suggest posting something on the Palace Resorts facebook page. They should be able to get that info for you.

alison15:  How did you reserve a Hospitality/Dressing Room?  I asked my TA about one months ago, and she said that she thought I would have to book a regular room for a night to use for my WP to get ready.  Since resort check-in is not until 3pm and my wedding starts at 6pm, I would have to book a regular room for 2 nights - Friday night to have the room by noon and Saturday night so they won't kick us out at 3.
 

Originally Posted by alison15 

A few more tips from my stay

 

Go during the down season.  We were there in October with beautiful weather. The resort was at 12% capacity our first day (a Tuesday) and by the weekend they couldn't have been more than 40% capacity.  We never had to wait to get into restaurants and always had servers nearby to wait on us.  Getting into the spa wasn't even an issue.

 

If you send your gown to be steamed and you don't want your groom to see it prior to the wedding specify a different room for it to be sent to. They promised it would not go to my room but rather on Saturday morning to our hospitality/dressing room in the Nizuc section.  Instead it was dropped off to our room Friday night when my groom was headed back.

 

Everyone loved the Italian place by the golf course and the Caribbean restaurant in the Grand Moon. My favorite was the brick oven pizza in the Sunrise section. 11-4 everyday, Margarita, Mexican, Hawaiian and Pepperoni, all of it was delicious!

 

If a bartender offers you a "paralyzer" decline. 

 

 

Originally Posted by SKeller83 

 

I'm getting married June 10, 2011!  We just picked the date yesterday so I am very excited!!!!!

I'm getting married June 11, 2011 at 6pm.  acallihan's wedding is the 9th - we should all get together for a drink. 

Hi Ladies,

I'm finally baaaack!!!  I've haven't been active on the forum since last summer.  Life got so hectic, I even had to put the wedding planning down for a while.  I'm playing catch-up with reading the posts, so I'm reading 3-5 pages a night from where I originally left off and reading the current posts as they occur.

Please forgive me if I ask or post something redundant.  I hope to be completely caught up in a week or so.

HappyTara: what is the updated lighting package

GeorgiaPeach: do you have any photos of the Grand Moon Pool area for your reception?  I requested a reception spot on the Grand side and was given something else.  I will have to look back through my emails from about five months ago to see which one.

I'M LESS THAN THREE MONTHS AWAY AND I HAVEN'T BEEN CONTACTED BY MY RESORT WC YET!!!  SOOOOO NOT HAPPY.  (Nevermind that this is the THIRD one that I've been assigned...)  

I sent in a submission, but forgot to put my forum user name. 

Thank you for offering such a generous package!

Good Luck to all of you Cancun brides who entered!!! 

 - Jean

So, with all of the wedding & travel expenses, Latisse was moved to the very bottom of my budget.  (I've had to abandon my Zoom whitening wish for Crest 3-D strips.)  BUT, I found a product on HSN that I really LOVE.

It's a mascara+fiber+mascara kit called Scandalous Lashes by Ready-to-Wear.  The results are phenomenal!  What I really like about this product is that you can control the amount of volume and length you want by how much you actually apply.  I wear it at work (hospital administrator) and I've adjusted my application for an evening look.

A few friends at work recommended it.  I am the type to read product reviews, so after doing this and watching the video demonstration, I ordered it.  It was less than $40 and lasts for months.  I a fan of HSN anyway and the Scandalous Lashes keeps me coming back.

BTW: I didn't have it on in my profile pic, LOL!

Does anyone know what happened to Shavon's Silks?  She has done fantastic work for some other BDW brides, but I can't find her website.

When I went to order with AA back in November 2010 for my June 2011 wedding, she was already booked. 

I love this thread!

Ladies who are generously sharing: please indicate which part of the resort where the pictured locations are (Nizuc, Sunrise, Grand...).  The Carribean

Terrace is gorgeous, but I don't know which side it's on. 

Thanks everyone, keep those photos comin'!  (Especially pics from the Grand side, they are really rare.)

I have the same colors!  I'm planning to purchase some sashes, table runners, and napkins soon - maybe we can share and split the cost.  My wedding is June 2011 in Cancun, MX.  I need about 60 sashes total.

Send me a PM with your specifics if you're interested!

Could you please share where you found the Tiffany blue parasols and sashes?  Thanks!

I read somewhere that there is a charge for translating the marriage license.
 

Originally Posted by mochamakes3 

Does anyone know what MP charges for translating documents? Or is it included in the civil ceremony fee? I know that the civil fee covers blood tests and the minister, but what other costs should we anticipate?j

I'm really liking Norma's work. Thanks for the pics, Ladies.

We chose Mexico for the same reasons listed above; to circumvent the legal red tape, we're marrying secretly here in the States and doing a symbolic ceremony in Cancun.

Great pics - thanks for sharing. I absolutely LOVE your make-up! Girl, you look HOT! Your FI will love them!

Be sure to make sure that your new photographer has a stellar reputation. Check out their work and ratings on websites & better business bureaus. I met a photographer at a bridal show who offered to shoot my entire weekend for free - we would just have to pay for the cost of his trip. I thought that this was a little suspect until I read somewhere that lots of local photographers make the same offers quite a bit to increase their portfolios. If you haven't signed a contract yet, you may want to look into that option.

Dress #2 is beautiful but not as flattering on you as dress #1.