The number one locale on my ever expanding “places-I-must-visit” list is Bali. With it’s breathtaking beaches and perfect pace of life, there is something so spectacular, and so intriguing, about the island gem. And then this little Villa Bayuh Sabbha number from Tom Blachford came my way. Casual, totally beautiful and paired with one of the sweetest love stories you ever did hear, this tropical wedding has it all. See it all right here!
From the Bride… A random meeting, 12 years ago, in a car park at the age of 16 is where I met Andrew, and we have been together ever since. From the very beginning Andrew was my rock, holding me up as I watched both my parents pass away from cancer. In our twenties, we survived a five-year long-distance relationship as Andrew studied in Adelaide and I studied in Melbourne. At the age of 21, Andrew proposed, saving his Centrelink payments to purchase the ring. After a seven-year engagement, we finally started planning the wedding. We looked at wedding venues in Melbourne but nothing appealed to us. After a lot of debate, we decided on an overseas wedding in Bali. I found a villa online that we loved and also found a wedding planner who organized all my wishes. Ironically, organizing a wedding overseas was incredibly easy and painless. There were a lot of emails back and forth with our planner. We booked the venue and caterers without seeing or tasting a thing; we just crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. We flew in our photographer and DJ because we felt these two aspects were extremely important in the overall success of the day. We knew exactly how we wanted the wedding to look and feel. We wanted a classic, clean wedding with simple designs and a relaxed atmosphere. White was the main color, and we had natural pops of pastels, which we felt would complement the setting well. We wanted the beauty of the venue, our love for each other and our family and friends, and having a great time to be the wow factors and not table arrangements or decorations.
We wanted the ceremony to be the standout of the day. The aisle was covered in tuberoses, lined with beautiful yellow frangipani and red and white rose pomanders. The canopy was draped in chiffon with white flower tassels on each pole. The bridal party consisted of my two sisters and Andrew’s brother, Michael. Michael walked me down the aisle to “Welcome Home” by Radical Face. We wanted the ceremony to be conducted by our family and friends, not a celebrant. Our celebrant had a very small role in the actual ceremony. My best friend opened the ceremony, followed by 11 readings from family and friends that we had chosen that reflected our beliefs on love and marriage. Andrew hand-made 55 ceremony booklets for our guests to allow them to follow the readings as they were read out. Two weeks before the wedding, I was looking through a box of things that my mother had left for me before she died, and I found a note about love on a scrap piece of paper, which we included in the booklets.
We didn’t want a traditional reception. We are both young and like to have fun, and we wanted the reception to reflect this. We wanted all the formal proceedings to be short and over with at the beginning of the night so the dancing could begin. Our first dance was to “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers. Our friend taught us a minute’s worth of steps before our family and friends were invited to join us on the dance floor, and that is where they stayed for the rest of the night. When we sent out our invitations, we asked guests to list three songs that they wanted to dance to on the night, and with their help, we were able to collate songs and give them to our DJ. At midnight, our friends and family joined hands to make an archway, which Andrew and I walked through with a parasol that said “Finally Married” and had Australian beer cans attached to it. We walked to our room on the other side of the villa, changed into our bathers and came running back outside and jumped into the pool with friends. We just didn’t want the night to end. Our wedding reflected us and what we wanted perfectly. I still can’t believe that was MY wedding.
Wedding Photography: Tom Blachford / Wedding Venue: Villa Bayuh Sabbha in Bali, Indonesia / Wedding Planning: Bali Weddings International / Catering: M&M INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS / Wedding Dress: Amaline Vitale / Bride’s Beaded Reception Dress: Handmade by a Friend / Bride’s Earrings: Lisa Ho / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Stellini / Bridesmaids’ Corsages: Autumn Grace Bridal / Groom’s Shirt: Giorgio Armani / Groom’s Pants: Oxford