When it comes to the most planning the most aaaah-mazing weddings around [not to mention cost-effective!], weddings in Bali are rightly top of the list for the ultimate vows that wow. And Bali may be an (aaah-mazing) island – with postcard-perfect bridal venues and reception stunners, endless five-star villas all fringed by limestone cliffs and teal seas – but you’re not! So be like the the clever couples and bring in an expert to help manage the big day for you.
There’s an abundance of on-the-ground bridal experts ready to make your big day a [tropical island] breeze. Whether you want to fly a helicopter into a 200 guest wedding on Gili Trawangan or nestle amongst the rice fields with a few close friends, here’s a list of experts ready to help you make it an easy, perfect reality.
Beyond Events Bali
These guys know Bali, and all of the great wedding venues. With more than 400+ weddings and happy couples behind them in Bali (and 24 detailed testimonials on their website), not to mention their history of managing major events around the world, it’s not hard to hand your trust to Beyond Events Bali. Specialising in high-class functions and weddings, their team of industry experts hail from all around Australia with oodles of event and production experience.
They guarantee to respond to your initial enquiry within 24 hours of receiving your email or call (irrespective of your time zone), and will be in attendance in person from the beginning through to the very end of your function. You can even venture out with them for venue inspections just to get a [great!] feel for the way they work. So if it’s professional reliability, attention to detail and divine style you’re looking for, Beyond Events Bali is a smart, first call. They also offer a $500 cash refund if things aren’t too your satisfaction, but you won’t need it.
Global Weddings
Since 2003, Global Weddings have been organising special days in Bali, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Mauritius, Greek Islands, Thailand, Hawaii, and Oahu Malaysia. It’s safe to say they have the destination-wedding thing down pat. A personalised web page for guests with all the information needed about the wedding, destination, and great travel deals is a free part of the Global Wedding service. They’re highly capable in one of the most overlooked aspects of overseas weddings – legalities, and this even spans travel insurance. You’ll be sure to dot your I’s and cross your T’s with Global Weddings!
Paper Diamonds
Paper Diamonds is all about style. The website says it all, with design degrees and graphic skills thrown left, right and centre. Head honchos Natalie and Andi pride themselves on taking on only a select number of weddings per year so they can pool their energy and passion into each wedding wholeheartedly. They create personal style boards based on the happy couples tastes and likes, and can even assist in creating a wedding website and personally designed wedding stationery. Their strong reputation has been featured on Style Me Pretty, Cosmopolitan Bride, Polka Dot Bride, 100 Layer Cake, Magnolia Rouge, and Once Wed. A trustworthy bunch when, naturally, you’re looking to put your wedding in safe hands.
Libby Doherty Weddings
Taco bars, dumpling stands, fuchsia pink floral arrangements, industrial lighting arrangements… Libby Doherty is at the forefront of creating modern boho Bali weddings that pack a punch of personality. She’s been in the business over 15 years and is happy to curate events in other parts of Asia and Australia – hens and bucks in Singapore, after party in Shanghai, perhaps? Her Instagram will have you bursting with ideas and excitement (like this gorgeous ‘Show Us Your Party’).
Bali Dream
The Bali Dream team selling point is a special touch of Balinese. If you’re looking for some island specific authenticity, and a warm hospitable approach “from the first contact by e-mail until the departure at the airport”, this organisation will see you satisfied. Noting many of their clients as good friends, they can organise traditional dancers, lace Indonesian Kebaya outfits or Balinese Rindik instruments, as well all the extravagances like an air camera or helicopter ride. Traditional doesn’t have to mean typical!
Lestari Bali Wedding
Floor plans, budget management, running schedules, checklists – Lestari Bali Wedding have organisation down to a fine art. They offer a unique ‘final stage’ wedding planning, if the bride and groom have most things organised and are keen to steer their own ship. This can reduce the cost of a fully involved wedding planner dedicated to your big day for 6-months or more, but still ensures you have access to someone on the ground who can check things off on your behalf and keep things running smoothly. Packages start at USD $5,500 and they offer complimentary consultations to get you started. Check out their website for video examples with a touch of inspo.
Bali Wedding For You
“Everyday in Bali a love story unfolds: HOW WILL YOURS BE TOLD?” These compelling words from the Bali Wedding For You website quickly get you hooked imagining the answer to this question, before you can then navigate the easy to follow packages online, like the Frangipani set that even details the number of hours of photography you will receive and an personal service to the consulate in Bali. The whole business started through word of mouth, which speaks volumes of their reliability. Be sure to check out their Instagram account – it may have limited posts, but they’re inspirational and Bali wedding specific.
Call Me Madame
Having a wedding in Bali doesn’t need to mean a casual affair involving sand and coconuts. Enter Call Me Madame, a boutique wedding planning agency that brings Parisian chic to wedding events on the island. They pride themselves on “approaching every wedding with a fresh outlook, and creating a close bond with clients to ensure that the wedding is the perfect reflection of the couple”. They have no pre-defined packages, with everything tailored to suit the tastes, passions, culture, likes and dislikes of the bride and groom. The company was founded by Alice Dentan who was born and raised in France where she became a senior wedding planner in one of the best French wedding planning agencies in Paris. Alice has worked with more than 80 couples, with weddings spanning from Paris to Vegas, and now – luckily for us – she is based here in Bali.
Your Bali Wedding
Your Bali Wedding is a no fuss, Australian owned company that works on the ground in Bali (from Bali or Australia) with a trusted network of villa partners and suppliers. They have coordinated hundreds of weddings on the island and supply fixed price quotes that ensure no hidden extras or surprises. Browse the incredible list of Bali venues they trust on the Your Bali Wedding website.
The Bali Bride
A clear list of what you can buy in Bali and what you can hire; suit and dress hire with price ranges; photobooth hire; babysitting services; additional daytrips and tours….these are just some of the topics covered on the Bali Bride website, which tells us they’ve thought of EVERYTHING. They also have a great “Where to Start” section with many FAQs – essential reading for any Bali bride to be.
Vara Wedding
While most wedding-planners in Bali refrain from dishing up a dollar sign on their websites, Vara Wedding puts some clear context around pricing right from the get go. Customised wedding champagne flutes? 7,500 IDR a piece. Hand-fans to keep guest cool in the Bali sun? 6,000 IDR a piece. They have even priced up honeymoons and full wedding packages.
Take our personal favourite, the Water Wedding for 12 people, for example; starting from $5,082 this luxe Bali wedding includes; an altar that floats on the surface of a water pond, a blessing ceremony, specialised floral decorations, classical background music by a violinist during your ceremony, 2 singers and a keyboardist for the reception, two wedding flower girls, a wedding sign board with the Bride and Groom’s name, welcome drinks, flower confetti, a flower bouquet, two nights accommodation inclusive of breakfast and more. Vara Wedding is a great way to see how far your Bali wedding money pool will take you.
P.S….
Furniture and decoration hire through Bali Events Hire
If you’re having trouble visualizing your big day on the island of Bali, jump onto the Bali Event Hire website. They have a showroom in Kerobokan and one in Canggu, where they can bring your wedding to life with props and décor.
Bali Wedding Association
Officially named “The Association of Professional Wedding Businesses in Bali” this is a great place to check off any businesses you are dealing with to ensure they are legitimate.
And don’t forget, search our Weddings section for more fabulous information on Bali weddings and our sister site Honey Brides also has endless e-pages of inspiration, tips, tricks, vendors and everything else you need for your special day! You can never be inspired enough, after all!
Main image credit: Bali Wedding for You.
Bottom image credit: Global Weddings.
This story was compiled by the lovely Samantha, a freelance travel writer that fell out of the womb in a tattered sarong. When she’s not penning notes for the Honeycombers, she’s trying – with great difficulty – to live like a Yogi. She’s also newly engaged – CONGRATS SAM!