KRSmith's Moon Palace Planning Thread

[krsmith]

Hey beautiful ladies!

 

I am back from my amazing wedding and now a Mrs! And now it is time to share my planning journey and give a little back to all of you who have helped me in more ways than one. Thank you to every single Mrs. and Mrs.-to-be on here and especially to all my girls on the Moon Palace 2012 Brides thread! I feel like you girls are my family and NO ONE can even begin to relate to the things we DW brides go through like all of us here on BDW. You girls have been with me through all my ups and downs throughout this entire process and I can't thank you enough! 

 

I have made some wonderful friends on here, and hope to continue that friendship beyond BDW. You ladies know who you are! I pray that you all have the most amazing planning experience and weddings, and make lasting friendships on here like I have. 

 

Without further ado here is my planning journey:

 

The Engagement

 

 

Dan proposed to me on August 29th, 2009, on our 4 year anniversary in an amazing restaurant called El Gaucho in Seattle, WA. The funny part of the story that only a few know, was that I HATED the way he proposed to me! A while back he had asked me if he ever proposed, if there was something that I would or would not want in a proposal. Being really shy and not liking attention, I told him that the ONLY thing I would NOT want is to be proposed to in a RESTAURANT because I felt like it was not only cliche, but that I would be so embarrassed to be in the spotlight amongst strangers. Well as you can see, that was EXACTLY what I got! Haha! Dan got up after dinner to "go to the bathroom", and hand our camera to our waiter. When he got back he was acting kind of strange and sitting far away from me in the booth. He got up and walked around the front of the table and got down on one knee right next to me. I can't honestly say I remember anything that he said other than "Will you marry me?", because I was freaking out and asking him to "please get up, please get up, just sit next to me already!", as the entire restaurant was staring right at us! I of course said YES and the long journey began!

 

We originally had set the date to be August 28th, 2010 back in our hometown of Missoula, MT. But I had began to have some worries and hesitations about marrying Dan. We had been living together for almost 4 years, and we struggled on a daily basis with the little things (like level of cleanliness, chores, etc). It was obvious that Dan had gotten very comfortable with me being the maid and his caretaker, but I couldn't stand the thought of being his "mommy" for the rest of my life. I postponed the wedding 4 months before we were to be married, and demanded a MAJOR change if we were to stay together. After many months of counseling and big changes in Dan's maturity and level of responsibility for us and our life together, I felt comfortable talking about marriage again. Dan proposed a 2nd time, but this time in our home with our 2 dogs as help. It was the BEST and everything I wanted from a proposal.

 

 

The Resort

 

Moon Palace Spa & Golf All-Inclusive Resort

 

It took MONTHS, but we finally narrowed our choices down to the Rivera Maya area, and to the resorts that had an option for a Catholic ceremony. After going back and forth comparing MP and the Casa Magna Marriott package options, reading reviews on BDW, and going through countless pictures on the Del Sol Wiki, we finally decided that MP had the all around best options for us and our guests. I had read many reviews on MP's issue of lack of communication leading up to the wedding, just about everyone said that when their big day was at hand, their coordinators came through and made sure that everything was exactly how they envisioned it.

 

Photography

 

 

Del Sol Photography

Wedding Day: Juan Jose & Melissa

TTD: Matt & Sol

It was the picture above that made me realize I HAD to have Del Sol shoot our wedding, and if possible our TTD! I couldn't stop looking through the thousands of pictures that were posted on the Del Sol Wiki. Every picture I saw made me more and more excited for our wedding and gave me countless ideas for planning my ceremony and reception. 

The cenote TTD pictures took my breath away! I couldn't imagine a more magical and exciting way to celebrate our marriage than to forever memorialize one of the BEST times in our life than by Matt and Sol's unique and artistic vision. 

 

I will write a longer review on here once I get my own photos, but all in all I had the most AMAZING experience with the all my photographers that made every penny spent FAR beyond worth it. I feel like I have made foever friends with Juan, Melissa, Sol, and most of all Matt. I am so grateful that I got to work with the sweetest people in the world. I LOVE everything about Del Sol and would hire them again in a second! I'm hoping once I get to my goal weight to go back down to Playa del Carmen and have an Underwater Boudoir session with the lovely Sol. It is my motivation to stay on track and get sexy!

 

The Theme

 

 

Since our date was set for Valentines Day 2012, I wanted a romantic feel to our wedding. I went with shades of pink (since its my favorite color, and a very traditional V-day color), green, and ivory to give that "antique/vintage" feel I was looking for.

 

Attire

 

Brides by Demetrios

Sensualle

STYLE GR162

Ivory

 

 

 

Studio Suits

Slim Fit Suits $99 + Vest $45

Heritage Mid-Gray (Terry Rayon)

 

Out of the 4 suits, 2 were PERFECT. The only problem with the other 2 suits were due to error on our end. Dan's suit was REALLY tight, but it was his fault because he was overly ambitious with his weight loss goals (which NEVER happened), and didn't lose enough weight to fit the size he planned on being by our wedding. He ended up having a MAJOR muffin top, and was bursting out of his vest and jacket. I had him button his jacket to hide the strained buttons, but noticed in pictures that with his jacket buttoned, it was so tight that it pulled the vent in the back and exposed his shirt and backside! The 2nd was his youngest brother's suit (farthest on the left). The place he went to to have his measurements taken completely screwed up the measurements. I was told later that the girl measuring him was a complete B!%@$ and told him he was dumb for trusting a company out of the country and ordering online...that he'd be better off if he got a suit from them. Its now believed that she screwed up his measurements on purpose. Fortunately Dan's mother found a pair of slacks that matched perfectly and was able to do something to let the vest out. Unfortunately his jacket was beyond repair, so we had to scrap the jacket look for ALL the Groomsmen. I was a little upset, but with only 2 weeks left, I had to just let it go. I think all in all they looked really good!

 

Express

Shirts

1MX Fitted White (SUPER discounted with coupon~Approx $100 for 4 shirts)

Ties $50 ea

(both Groom & Groomsmen)

 

 

Bridesmaids:

Suzi Chin

Bought on Ideeli for $60 each

 

Save the Dates

 

 

You can read my DIY STD thread here!

 

Invitations

 

 

Allurements by Rebecca

 

I had attempted to create my own boarding pass invites, but after days of agonizing over just the design, I decided to go to Allurements by Rebecca for my invitations as she had already done a fantastic job on our Monograms. I decided to go with the Passport invites as they were a little more cost effective and have a Boarding Pass RSVP so I could have both styles! She did such a great job and put up with my indecisiveness and countless changes of mind. Even though we spent (WAY) more than we had originally planned and wanted by having the invites made instead of DIY, it was TOTALLY worth every penny as it saved me SO much time and stress. Plus everyone LOVED them and couldn't stop talking about how they were the "coolest" wedding invites they have ever gotten!

 

I ordered 50 Invites that were more "detailed" with more pages, and 20 Invites that were more simple (for the people we knew wouldn't come but thought should get an invite), Boarding Pass RSVP Postcard, and Colored Envelopes with a design on the front, and our a address printed on the back, and full assembly.

 

Total cost: Approx $500

 

Pre-Travel Packets

 

 

 

 

I designed and ordered the Luggage Tag Inserts on Zazzle for about $9 for 100 cards (I used a 50% code).

 

I created the Pre-Travel Brochures using Microsoft Powerpoint

 

Template

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOT Bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTENTS

 

Welcome Letter---------------------------JoAnn Fabric 

Photo Share Card------------------------Printed at Kinkos (done on Dan's computer will add later if its still there)

Activity Book------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 ea

Pencils---------------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per 10 pack

22 oz. Plastic Stein---------------------Ebay $71 for 50 Steins

Wrist Coil Card Holder-----------------Dollar Tree (Wrist Coil) $1 per 2 pack

                                                 Ebay (Badge Holder) $4.95 per 10 pack

                                                 Zazzle (Insert) $9 per 100

Lint Roller----------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per 2 pack

Loofah---------------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per 5 pack

Ear Plugs----------------------------------Dollar Tree

Chapstick----------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 ea

Hand Sanitizer---------------------------Target $1 ea

Pepto Bismol-----------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per box

Extra Strength Motrin-----------------Staples $12.95 per box (50 packets, 2 pills per packet)

Lens Cleansing Wipes----------------Walmart $1.95 per box

Propel Packets--------------------------Target 

Shout Wipes------------------------------Bartell Drug

Bandaids-----------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per pack

Colgate Wisps---------------------------Dollar Tree $1 per 4 pack

Gum-----------------------------------------Target 

Eye Mask (for women)---------------Target $1 ea

Nail File------------------------------------Dollar Tree $1 for 32 pack

 

Template

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Stuff & Extras

 

 

Etsy

Buttonz&Bloomz

 

Hanger for my wedding dress! I loved it! 

$30 Total

 

 

Etsy

OurHobbyToYourHome

 

We also had "I'm His Mrs." & "I'm Her Mr." painted on the backside and hung them on the backs of our chairs at the reception. I loved them!

$68.11 Total

 

 

Etsy

YourHappilyEverAfter

 

"I Do" shoe decals in Silver for me, and "Team Bride" for my Bridesmaids.

$32.45 Total

 

 

 

 

Red-i by Chelsea

Barefoot Jewelry- gifts for my Bridesmaids, my mom, and myself!

Hair Flower

Custom Necklace- specially made for my TTD with Del Sol! 

 

I met the FABULOUS Miss Chelsea here on BDW. After seeing all the amazing barefoot jewels, I knew I HAD to have some for myself and my girls. After seeing all her other work, I couldn't just stop there! I also ended up getting a custom made hair flower and necklace as well. I showed my mom the girls' barefoot jewels, and she thought they were the COOLEST thing and wanted to try them all on. After seeing how excited she was I decided I would get her a pair as well. I surprised her when she arrived with these beautiful jewels and she freaked! She wore them pretty much the whole week!

Chelsea was so great and fun to work with! She totally understands the needs of brides, and worked SO SO SO hard to make the design process as easy and fun as possible. She was VERY prompt at emailing me back and was so sweet with me and my crazy nit-picking. She kept telling me it was OK to know what I wanted and that all she wanted was to give me the most beautiful piece of jewelry I could possibly envision. SHE DELIVERED! I was so thrilled with everything she made me! I will most definitely be going back to her for all my jewelry needs! I think she is my new addiction!

Thank you Chelsea for making me sparkle and feel like a princess on my wedding day! 

 

 

I think that is all for now! I will update and post more if anything else comes to mind. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. I hope this helps all you future brides out there! And thanks again to all the past and present brides on here who made getting ideas and planning my wedding MUCH easier by your contributions on BDW.

 

Love to all and happy planning!

Mrs. Smith

 

P.S. Feel free to check out some of my photos from my wedding week (what I have so far) here!

 

 

 

Pre-Travel Brochure -9-1.12.ppt

Welcome letter.doc

K&D Chapstick Labels.doc

[Speckles121]

Such a great planning thread..I cannot wait to read your review of MP!! You looked gorgeous and you pictures came out amazingggggg!!

[vbbbtk]

Great Thread!  Thank you for sharing and can not wait to see pictures from Del Sol.  I too love their work!

[sunshine2413]

Congrats on being a Mrs!! Love the DIY stuff

[shan0487]

amazing job girl!!!!!

[ladydi1844]

awesome. u look stunning!!!

[Laura1220]

Congratulations and thank you for the review!

[krsmith]

Thanks ladies!

 

I thought of a few more things to add, so if I can get my sisters to take the pictures and send them to me I will add them asap!  

[krsmith]

Oh and I forgot the Packing List template as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope the formats are OK for the attachments...I have a Mac, and still haven't quite figured out what exactly I need to do so PC users can open it as well. 

K&D Packing List.ppt

[summer12]

Love it and can't wait for the wedding review!!