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So romantic

You’ve met the person of your dreams and the two of you have decided to begin a life together. Now, you get to enjoy the experience of planning a wedding ceremony to celebrate that love in a very public way. Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of a fairy-tale, sunset wedding on a gorgeous white sand beach, surrounded by those you love the most. If this sounds familiar, then may we take a few minutes to promote Bali as an ideal wedding destination? Before you shake your head and sigh to yourself that, “It’s just too expensive,” and “There’s no way we could ever afford that,” we encourage you to hear us out. We think you may be pleasantly surprised, Bali Weddings – Cheaper Than You Think!

In all reality, planning a wedding in Bali is almost undoubtedly less expensive than you suspect… especially if you follow some of our thrifty, money saving tips! (And ladies, this is not to say that your wedding will feel “cheap” or that you will have to sacrifice luxury because neither is the case whatsoever). Find a villa of your dreams for that fairy tail wedding.

Save money and get married in Bali

First, we do recommend that you hire a wedding coordinator. Yes, we realise that this may seem like a huge, up-front cost and planning everything yourself to save funds is tempting, but trust us when we say this will be money well spent. In the long run, your wedding coordinator will be able to find you great deals and discounts you might not otherwise be aware of, and will also save you a great deal of stress in dealing with language barriers, marriage guidelines specific to Bali law, etc. You will be able to rely on your planner to make arrangements on your behalf, and if you give him or her an idea of the budget guidelines you wish to work within, they will be able to offer you tons of great, affordable options.

If you’re familiar with the old real estate adage, “Location is key,” then you’ll believe us when we say this this also holds true for weddings. The location you select will ultimately set the tone for your entire celebration and likely will consume the bulk of your budget. For this reason, we recommend doing your homework and really considering the advise of your planner. There are so many lovely, private beachside locations to host your ceremony that will not even come close to breaking the bank. As the beaches in Bali are all public, your planner will be able to help you arrange for a secluded, quiet spot to exchange vows or you can host the wedding within the grounds of your private villa.

Ayana Resort Wedding Venues | Jimbaran, Bali

Saving money

With regard to the reception, one great idea is to avoid pricey, all-inclusive resorts and instead, host it at your villa using a catering company. Besides the fact that you and your guests will have a shorter distance to travel at the end of the evening, this allows you to set your menu and effectively help control food costs. You will avoid all sorts of built in, hidden fees associated with a resort wedding, plus, you’ll be able to serve your guests foods that are much closer to their retail price than you would if you have to pay for the markup at a restaurant.

If you plan to imbibe at your wedding, we caution you that alcohol can be pricey in Bali. However, if you’re a bit creative in your planning, this need not be a deal breaker. If you plan to offer a bar, local liquors are obviously going to be less expensive than brand name types that must be imported. (Plus, what better way to give your guests a true taste of Bali?!) Additionally, since Bali does allow for wine to be brought into the country by visitors, many couples recruit their family and friends, or the members of the wedding party, to each pack a bottle of duty free wine in their luggage to serve at the reception.

Fiji

Select a destination

Bali is full of vendors from whom you can order flowers, wedding cakes, and any extra amenities along these lines. Denpasar especially, is an ideal place to order local flowers which will add an exotic (yet inexpensive) tough to your wedding and there are a number of bakeries on the island that produce delicious wedding cakes. Often however, if you mention the word “wedding” when placing an order, the price will immediately skyrocket so you’re much better off simply placing your order without an explanation of what specifically it is for. (This holds true for hair and makeup stylists in Bali as well). To give you an idea of the sort of costs involved, one stylish Seminyak salon quoted us $50 per person to do the bridal party hair and makeup!

Above all, the best advice we can give you is to enjoy every moment of this lovely time of your life. From the planning, to the minute details, to the big day itself; this is a joyous, happy occasion and regardless of how you choose to celebrate, we hope you will look back on your wedding in Bali with only the fondest of memories. Talk to our villa specialists today if you would like a little help finding the perfect villa.

2 Comments

  • Avatar for Gwendolyn Kam Gwendolyn Kam says:

    Hi there, thanks for the advice. However, what about wedding planners in Bali who ask for a kickback/recommendation fee/commission from the vendors? I thought the planner is meant to help get a better pricing from the vendors instead of charging extra on top of their service fee?

    This seems to be quite common in Bali…any recommendations for a professional planner?

  • Avatar for Jenny Jenny says:

    Thanks for your article. We are planning our wedding in Bali so we are looking for best place to book it. Currently we are planning to book http://7.agency/destination/bali/package/villa-wedding as our wedding package. Heard so good things about this company. Maybe you can offer us something else?

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