Moon Dance Cliffs

[lisa203]

Hi Sarah! I'm having guest issues too. A few of our guests decided to invite people we don't know and are taking up more than the one room we thought they would. So stressed! We've run out of space...I'll send you an email.

 

Out of curiosity, are any of you ladies staying at MDC June 19? We made the sad mistake of not blocking off the entire resort and could really use the two rooms that we didn't get.

[carrierae]

Sarah - we decided not to pay any of our guests hotel expenses. We figured that they are paying for a vacation...with the offseason weekday rate (-$65), that makes the hotel price down to $125...Thats only $65 a night per person (with a roommate). $125 is super cheap for any resort hotel (let alone a nice one). When I lived in DC, Georgetown hotels started out at $150...for a holiday inn). By not paying part of the guests' hotel rooms, you are saving money for the ceremony, reception, and other things.

 

Lisa - I am in the same boat. There has been a carribean room and a deluxe room rented out on my trip that is not associated with the wedding. We originally blocked off 10 rooms, but those are almost full. I want to block off the other 5 carribean rooms left, but my fiance is worried that we wouldn't fill all of them. I think we can, but we are starting to stress over the "what ifs". I really don't want to have to refer other guests over to neighboring hotels.

[lisa203]

Carrie - don't make my same mistake! I think you should maybe reserve it then re-assess as it gets closer. I absolutely hate the idea of people staying elsewhere but it seems that's what's going to happen.

[sarah1981]

So carrie am I right to assume that you are not taking the all inclusive deal then?...if not how does the reception dinner workout with an EP plan   I was quoted $125 plus tax which will bring it to basically $150 per person for the reception.  And if the rooms are 125 pp per night then wouldn't that bring it to $275 for that day then $125 pp per night for the other days...I am confused I thought the all inclusive option was the way to go but after reading what you said I am reconsidering...hmmm...I really have to look into my options because this is costing a pretty penny....How much have you ladies set aside for your entire decor...ceremony and reception, including chairs, tables and flowers?....I was told that my budget just for florist should be around $1500-$2000....just wondering what you guys were doing with that.

[LaraJo]

 

Originally Posted by sarah1981 

So carrie am I right to assume that you are not taking the all inclusive deal then?...if not how does the reception dinner workout with an EP plan   I was quoted $125 plus tax which will bring it to basically $150 per person for the reception.  And if the rooms are 125 pp per night then wouldn't that bring it to $275 for that day then $125 pp per night for the other days...I am confused I thought the all inclusive option was the way to go but after reading what you said I am reconsidering...hmmm...I really have to look into my options because this is costing a pretty penny....How much have you ladies set aside for your entire decor...ceremony and reception, including chairs, tables and flowers?....I was told that my budget just for florist should be around $1500-$2000....just wondering what you guys were doing with that.

Hey Sarah - I don't know how extensive your flowers are going to be, but I just met with Rosemarie from Floral Fantasies and was quoted the following:

 

Maid of honor bouquet:

 

The m.o.h bouquet will consist of kimi pink ginger, regular pink ginger, heliconias , green cymbidium orchid and green variegated leaf, stems wrapped with white satin ribbon & push pin tucked. U.S $ 45.00

 

 

3 boutonnieres:

Best man- using kimi pink ginger only

Father – using kimi pink ginger only

@ $5.00 x2 = $10.00

 

 

CEREMONY

 

 

? chair décor:

 

Using a single kimi pink ginger lily on a palm leaf backing

@ $10.00 x ? ……..to be decided on

 

 

 

RECEPTION

6 table centerpieces:

 

The centerpieces will be done in a 5-6†cubed vase with the inside of the cube wrapped with a dracaena leaf. The arrangement will consist of kimi pink & red ginger lilies, orange heliconias, pink anthuriums, anthuriums with white and pink veins, white dendrobium orchids and green foliage.

 

@ $50.00 x6 = $300.00

 

 

The bride and groom's flowers are included and we're not having much in the way of a bridal party, just a best man and a MOH and we're getting a boutonniere for my dad, since he's walking me down the aisle, and we're keeping the centerpieces pretty simple, but still, it's nowhere near the prices you were thinking. The prices do go up if you want calla lilies. I can send you pictures of my bouquets and centerpieces if you'd like. It may help you get a handle on what I'm getting for the prices. Hope this help!

[carrierae]

Sarah,

 

None of my guests are doing the AI option. I am small person...so it would take a lot of eating and drinking (which I rarely do) to rack up $115 a night in food and bev. Plus, I don't like the idea of paying $115 pppn for mandatory meals in the hotel's only restaurant. We want to be able to eat wherever we want to in Negril without feeling guilty for eating away from a place that is already paid for. If you use the "European" plan (no meals, just room), it is normally $185 per night (not per person). The off season wedding discount is $125 per night. The rate allows for 2 people to stay in the room..... So if you have 2 people sharing the room, it is roughly 65 dollars per person, per night (not including taxes). We blocked off 10 rooms at $125 per night. With taxes, our 20% down was $1,000 and our contract states our guests can have 2 ppl per room.

 

As for the reception, we are not having a sit down reception. We are already have two at home, so there is not too much of a purpose for a third reception at MDC. I have talked to the coordinator...we plan on still having a cake at the ceremony and serving light appetizers and cocktails after the ceremony so we can do the toasts, cut the cake, and mingle with our guests. I asked a few of my friends/guests if they thought it would be tacky if I didn't have a sit down dinner and none of them felt like it was needed. We are all going to have fun together for 4 days anyways.

 

Hope that helped!

[lisa203]

Larajo - did you reach out to Floral Fantasies on your own or through your WC? If you did on your own, would you mind sharing Rosemarie's info? Their prices seem pretty reasonable.

[Jacki7896]

LaraJo-

 

Those are great prices for your flower arrangements.  If you wouldn't mind posting sample pics, that would be much appreciated!

 

Also, I understand from your posts that you did a site visit.  Do you think it was worth it to do so?  I am trying to convince my FI that takinga  weekend to just go get everything done and decided is better than me wasting hours fretting about details forever. 

 

Happy planning everyone!

Jacki

[LaraJo]

Hey Girls - YES! A site visit is COMPLETELY worth it!!! It was extremely helpful for me to get a sense of the space, accommodations, talk to the coordinator, Oneika, in person (very reassuring and a complete delight), meet vendors and just generally get a sense of the beach, etc. I was able to meet with Paul Dillworth from Sound Illusion, Miss Myrie of Miss Myries Cakes, Rosemarie and the Floral Fantasy crew as well as some of the villa staff. My FI and I tasted about 5 different cakes, looked at flowers, talked about our preferences for wedding day set up etc. It was just very helpful for me to be able to show the vendors pictures of what I like, don't like and for them to be able to get a sense of my tastes. I'm very visual, so for me, the site visit made all the difference.

 

We are doing the AI option - I think it's a little different at the Villas because they come prestocked with food/drinks and because we are paying the majority of the costs for all of our guests (they're each being asked to pay $250 toward the stay and food/drinks). I just can't see my father paying the bill at the end of the trip and trying to figure out whether or not people actually consumed what he was charged for. It just seemed simpler for us to go with the AI, but I have read many reviews on Trip Advisor where people recommend skipping the AI.

 

I decided to go with Floral Fantasy because I found some pictures of centerpieces from a wedding held at Rochouse that I really liked and it turns out that they did them. So it was easy for me to say "like this, what you've done before, but with different flowers." I found the actual bouquets from a different wedding. Here are the pictures:

 

 

Here are 2 more shots of the bride's flowers:

 

 

 

The centerpieces from this wedding looked like:

 

I would like ours to be a little simpler. Not nearly  as much green, NO PURPLE and no star fruits. I'm concentrating our colors on navy and pink. I envision our centerpieces as looking more like the green/white Rockhouse centerpieces. I just would like them to incorporate these flowers: ginger lily, anthirium, heliconia. 

 

Here are the green/white Rockhouse centerpieces:

 

 

 

Rosemarie was great to deal with and very knowledgeable about what will/won't hold up and what will make for nice combinations. Her info is: Floral Fantasy Tel:(876)957-4887 Fax:(876)957-3771 E-mail: floralfan@hotmail.com Website: http://www.floralfantasiesjamaica.com

 

Truthfully, I would not judge by their website

 

Hope this was helpful!

 

Lara

[lisa203]

Yay Lara! You can post pics now! Thanks for sharing