Agree with me when I say:

Wedding's cost an arm and a leg & your first unborn child!

It turns out you can have your dream wedding without the price tag.

In 2014 we did and got all the bells and whistles to go with it, inc fireworks! Follow along to find out how.

Why Bali as a wedding location?

When Steven popped the Q in 2013, we knew our wedding wouldn't be held in Australia, the idea of having a wedding with 120+ guests and getting around making small talk with that many people wasn't our thing. We were wanting a more intimate and private day where we could spend quality time with our nearest and dearest, ohhhh and did I mention we didn't fancy spending $50k + on a wedding.

We toyed with the idea of New Zealand, Steven is a keen snow boarder and his ideal holiday involves snow... me, I will meet you at the bar sipping mulled wine! And how damn amazing is Queenstown! Unfortunately the logistics and cost for our family and friends was a pretty big ask. Bali is somewhere we travel regularly and it was a cheap holiday for our guests with some amazing venue options.

So how do you make this happen & seamlessly?

I was working in the travel industry at the time and travelled to Bali every few months, in the year we were engaged I went over 4 or 5 times for work so I had the opportunity to go and visit venues, shop for decorations and meet with suppliers. 4-5 times is certainly not necessary however, I would absolutely recommend travelling over before choosing your venue as pictures are not always an accurate reflection.

One weekend I booked a quick two nighter with my parents in tow, we covered a lot of ground from Sanur, Seminyak, Nusa Dua to Uluwatu. We arranged for a driver for the day and checked out as many venues as we could and met with the wedding planners employed by the venues.

You can hire an external wedding planner, budget depending and they will do all the doing. Myself personally, I am too much of a control freak to hand over the reigns. I found it pretty easy contacting local suppliers direct to get quotes and book direct.

How do you narrow down a venue?

You know the show 'Say Yes To The Dress?' Well its kinda those feels. Some venues were completely under whelming and nothing like the photos, in fact one venue I thought we would be sure to lock down was so disappointing but still came with a large price tag. Go figure?

When you walk into the venue for you for the first time, your heart will flutter! I PROMISE! you will get a little giddy and no where else will compare! For us, it was Tirtha Uluwatu.

So here she is in all her glory..

Tirtha Wedding Chapel on the cliffs of Uluwatu stole my heart from the second I arrived, literally from stepping out of the car. I had butterflies and it gave me warm and fuzzies. After many venue inspections this one was a show stopper and I knew Steven would be well impressed.

Tirtha is a floating wedding chapel (air conditioned, it's a must as you can’t have back sweat on your wedding day!) on the picturesque cliffs of Uluwatu. It has the option for hosting outside under the night sky or in a function room. As we chose a later ceremony we opted to be outside to take in the amazing cliff side views.

How to maximise the most out of a Bali wedding

We had many overseas guests who had never experienced Bali, we wanted to share with them the culture and traditional side. We booked a Balinese Fire Show with dancing.. and call me extra but a couple of stilt walkers to entertain guests after the ceremony.

The real show stopper was fire works, I don't mean just your average fire works that you can buy from the street vendors, this was the real deal, like Sydney harbour on New Years Eve..ok not that impressive but close enough.

We started our first dance (Better Together - by Jack Johnson) and when all our guests joined us on the dance floor it started with a bang (pardon the pun) The fireworks set us back about $2k which was worth every penny if you ask me but depending on your budget, this was arranged by the venue. It really was a magical moment and I felt like a Princess dancing with her Prince.

I had the vision for all guests to release lanterns from the edge of the cliff just before me and a Steven left the reception, however the regulations in Uluwatu prevent you from doing this due to the fire hazard. The venue were so great they sourced some LED balloons for our guest to release instead. That was a lovely end to the night watching 70ish balloons being let go by our loved ones as we closed the night out.

What about the logistics of my big day, I dont want anyone missing the party

Regardless of what venue you go with, offer transport (buses) to and from the venue for your guests. Traffic can be very unpredictable and you don’t want your guests missing your ceremony or feeling stressed getting to an unknown location.

At Tirtha there is no accomodation so myself and Steven stayed close by in a hotel however I arranged for buses to pick up and drop off guests from Seminyak as Uluwatu is a fair drive from anywhere.

Dont mind being a control freak and confirming & reconfirming

In a nutshell, our experience was pretty seamless. I am a control freak so it bought me great joy in reconfirming every last detail numerous times, which I would recommend regardless of where you are hosting your wedding. The Indonesian people are so lovely they were happy to deal with a friendly version Bridezilla.

Our day was one to remember and anyone considering a Bali wedding.. DO IT! You won’t be disappointed. Your money will go so much further and your guests are all in the best vibe as it’s their holiday too. We went all out with about 70x guests and we spent about 25k however that is the higher end so whatever your budget the venue planner will work with you.

Boho Em's Bali Wedding Tips

• You don't need to find an external wedding planner ($$$), most venues will have an in house wedding planner and they come included. They will assist you with anything you need and more
• Consider the time of year as Bali has a wet and dry season. We married in October and were very lucky with the weather
• To legalise it in Bali, you need to arrange the correct documentation and the wedding planner will set up lodgement for you at the consulate (can take a few days) alternatively you can have a registry wedding at home
• Take precautions to avoid getting Bali belly, the runs on your wedding day is not recommended. These days it’s becoming less of an issue however some suggestions that have always worked for me: pro biotic before and during the trip, shot of neat cordial daily, charcoal (if you get the initial queasy tummy feels you can get this from the chemists) Don't let this put you off, just be smart about it!
• Take suits / wedding dress in your carry on. That’s precious cargo and you don’t want to risk either going missing
• With hair and make up, I had an aussie girl who runs a hair and makeup business in Bali and I highly recommend using her: http://www.reneepettit.com.au/home.html
• Appropriate insurance is a must! Especially for rings, cameras, ect
• Get a wedding planner file, I used the one from Kikki K and it was perfect to track everything
• There are lots of cool places to arrange a bucks \ hens. I had my hens at Motel Mexicola and it was amaazzzinngg. We cut up the main stage dance floor and had so much fun. Hubby's groomsmen had a local company who managed their whole day http://www.balipartyprofessionals.com/ and there was no complaints!

Now I would love to hear from you! Are you planning a Bali Wedding? Let me know by leaving a comment, would love the deets x

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