How We Made Our Bali Wedding A Reality

Bali weddings are very popular. This is understandable when you consider the beauty of the area. The beauty of the ocean combined with the lush green plants and vibrant flowers make Bali the perfect wedding destination. However, it can be very costly to get married in Bali. If you are traveling from another country, you soon realize there is a lot to know. Bali became a paradise for digital nomads, luxury hotels but also for travelers around the globe on the budget - so prices are going up every year.

Mike and Joanna had long dreamed of getting married in Bali. They simply could not be happy with any other destination. As they began their planning, they found some stumbling blocks that had to be overcome.

Also Read: Ideas To Help Achieve A Stress Free Wedding

When you get married is as important as where you get married

Bali has two seasons. There is not winter, summer, spring, and fall. They are wet or dry. From May to September the weather is mostly dry. From October to April, the weather is wet. Actually, those months are monsoon months. If you are looking to get married on the beach and the rain comes, these venues will not have a backup plan.

Bali has no regulations on weddings. So, you have to be very selective in the venue. A villa wedding is the best option because it affords you some privacy, and you are able to stay in the villa for your honeymoon. There are wedding chapels and hotels. But, they are inflexible on the wedding choices. They sell you a “wedding in a box” and it includes the photographer of their choice, the caterer of their choice, and even the florist of their choice. You do not have a say in these vendors who got the position by offering the cheapest price.

How they got the wedding they wanted and saved money

Mike and Joanna made some tough choices to make their dream wedding come true. They set a realistic budget and then set out about making it happen.

They learned that anyone can call themselves a wedding planner or professional in the wedding industry (as I mentioned, not regulations) so in order to find a quality wedding planner they sought the advice of the Society Of Bali which is the equivalent of the United States, Better Business Bureau.

This professional gave them sound advice on how much it would costs to get married in Bali.

Putting the plan in motion

Joanna was willing to do whatever was necessary to have her dream wedding. She cut cost by learning to fix her own hair and make-up. She did her own manicure. She cut the wedding guests to only close family and friends. The wedding dress was a perfect match for the tropical weather and everything was “ready” for happily ever after!

Technology to the rescue

Mike and Joanna did some research on staying on budget. They found the state-of-the-art and free wedding registries, Honeyfund and their sister company, Plumfund.  These crowdfund sites allowed Mike and Joanna to set up a social media wedding site and link it to these sites.

Their social media site told their friends and family about the wedding and announced it was to be a “going green” wedding. They then posted the information about the wedding on the home page, explaining that paper invitations would not be sent out. It referred their friends to the Honeyfund site for their wedding registry. This allowed the people that loved them to give them what they really wanted which was a wedding in Bali. It was free and easy for all people involved.

The saved money by not having their wedding between the months of June and August which is the wedding season in Bali. The hotels, plane tickets, venues, and vendors prices are doubled in those months. They chose late May as their wedding date and decided on a chapel wedding overlooking the water. Instead of a reception, they took their small wedding group to a restaurant for dinner. They set up a laptop and live-streamed the wedding for all of those who could not attend.

Like Mike and Joanna, you can have your dream by adjusting the details and hiring the right people and using the right tools.  This is your wedding, make it one you will never forget.