Holly & Aaron

After meeting in a small country town, lovebirds Holly & Aaron found themselves tying the knot 10 years later in the tropical oasis of Bali. After the sweetest proposal in Benoa, they wanted to share their second home with family and friends through a special week-long celebration filled with love and gorgeous details.

With Holly being a graphic artist, it was important for the aesthetics of the day to be modern, fresh and beautifully styled. Set at the dreamy local venue Cocoon Beach Club, the incredible location made it easy to achieve their brief! Situated directly in front of Double Six beach at picturesque Seminyak, the tropical-inspired architecture, organic decor and towering palm trees of the resort helped to create a relaxed but contemporary ambience for the perfect Bali wedding.

Working with their event planner, the day was designed around luxe tropical vibes with a classic colour palette of green and white. From the lush trailing bridal bouquet filled with cascading white orchids and delicate greenery to the subtle cream interiors of the venue, Holly & Aaron’s stunning celebrations were reflected around their own personal tastes and style to create a truly unique setting.

An intimate ceremony was created inside the light-filled space at Cocoon, complete with an aisle lined with palm leaves and bronze lanterns to complement the natural beauty of the venue. Guests were seated on plush white ottomans, with giant potted Monstera plants and one seriously beautiful hanging foliage arrangement becoming the perfect backdrop for Holly & Aaron to exchange vows, as the surroundings of the venue filtered in through clear glass windows.

The lush styling continued through to the reception, with tablescapes kept organic and natural. Woven charger plates and simple black calligraphy were set underneath vertical foliage arrangements, creating an intimate green oasis for guests to dine. With an incredible a-la-carte menu catered by the venue, the night was complete with a divine lemon and coconut naked cake topped with meringue and macaroons (the perfect combination!) created by the talented Ixora Cakes.

A local band performed as the sun set and the dance floor came to life, with giant love letters lighting up the room and creating a glowing ambience for the evening to unfold. See the entire day captured beautifully by Flipmax Photography below, along with some words of advice from the bride and groom on planning the perfect Bali wedding!

How we met: It was back in 2007, we come from a small country town and we then met a few times through mutual friends however we were both in relationships with other people, so a few months past and so did the previous relationships and then from July 21, 2007 the rest became history…10 years later we are finally married.

The proposal: It was our second trip to Bali (August 2015) which I had planned a ‘Family Trip’ with my parents, brother, myself and Aaron just because it had been 10 years since my parents had had a decent holiday so I made them come to Bali. But in true Aaron style of well time/unplanned romance he jumped on this bandwagon and on the last night on the beach in Benoa he proposed. Also to Aaron’s ‘well timing nature’ there was a band playing Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ in the background and then across the beach in the distance fireworks went off, He was pretty chuffed with the timing and still claims it was all him. I will give him some credit though, he did a great job of not leading on with any suspicion as I had packed his bags. I never saw any funny business and when I asked him how he had gotten the ring here without me seeing he said he hid it in the ‘Game of Thrones’ monopoly we had bought over to play in our villa with everyone. (We are all a little Game of Thrones mad)

The Details…
Wedding date: Wednesday May 24, 2017
Wedding Ceremony & Reception Venue: Cocoon Beach Club, Seminyak
Total Guests: 40
Our style/Inspiration: Luxe and lush tropical vibes, keeping to a clean green and white palette
Who we couldn’t have done it without: Our wedding planner from Bali Bride Wedding Planners, she made the whole experience from start to finish so easy for us, the thought of planning a wedding in Bali at the start was very daunting but once she came to the rescue I honestly didn’t have to do a great deal or worry about a thing! Her eye for detail was amazing.
Advice for future Bali Brides: If something doesn’t go exactly to plan, stay calm, there is always a solution.

Our Wedding Day…
Wedding Planner/Stylist: Tristan Moy (Bali Brides)
Décor/Furniture: Cocoon Beach Club/Tigerlily Bali florist
Flowers/Florist: Cocoon Beach Club/Tigerlily Bali florist
Hair & Make-up: Ranny (The Bronzer) oh what an amazing woman she is! I don’t usually let people do my makeup much as I’m really fussing and very passionate about makeup myself (currently training to be a MUA). But her work was fantastic and stayed on all night long. I had a trial a year out from our wedding and she also did my make for my hens day too.
Photography: Flipmax Photograpy (Aditya Mahatva Yodha)
Videography: Flipmax Videography
Favours: We did something a little untraditional and on behalf of ourselves and our guests we gave a donation back to a community based charity in Bali
Celebrant: Pastor Witanto, C3 Church Kuta
Catering: Cocoon beach Club, A la Carte style, which we loved! Everyone could pick their meal instead of alternate drop or buffet
Cake/Dessert: IXORA cakes, it was one tier lemon and one tier coconut , semi naked with drizzle, meringue and Macaroons.
Stationery/Invitations: I actually did all the save the dates and invites myself as I’m a graphic artist and with the help of my Mum who is a craft Guru
Entertainment: Ghostnote Acoustic Band, Local Bali band (They usually perform at Taris Bar on Double Six Beach)
Transport: Our amazing driver/friend who is pretty much a part of our family – Nyoman Naya AKA Grumpy

Wedding Songs:
Aisle: Elvis Presley – Cant help falling in love with you
Signing registry: Bon Jovi – Thank you for loving me
Back down the aisle: Fatboy Slim – Praise you
Announcement: The Chainsmokers/Chris Martin – Something just Like this
First Dance: Nick Cave and the bad seeds – In to my Arm which was sung by the band
Cake Cutting: Fleetwood Mac – Songbirds

The Bridal Party Details…
Bride’s Dress: The Bridal Atelier, designer was Theia Couture and my Veil was from Michelle Ann Bridal Bali
Bride’s Shoes: Jo Mercer
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Sheike
Bridemaid’s Shoes: Siren
Shirts: Local Tailor
Shoes: ASOS
Pants and shorts: Top Shop Bali
Well this one has a little story behind it….
When we arrived in Bali on The Saturday before the Big day (Wednesday), our first stop was the local tailor, however my colour picking skills were a little off and what looked great on a 5 centimetre swatch was not so great when arriving back the day before the wedding and seeing it full scale. Just picture Shimmery Gold/baby poo brown pants and matching shorts! I was in a very quiet state of shock, panic and hatred for the pants but after a few very deep breaths off too Beachwalk mall we went. Thankfully Topshop was the first stop and they had the perfect pants and shorts! Pfeewww!
Jewellery: Lovisa and custom cufflings (gift from bridesmaid)
The rings: Michael Hill Jeweler
Honeymoon Details: We honeymooned in Vietnam for 10 nights, which was a first for us. It was great to go somewhere new and explore (the food was amazing!) but at the end of the day Bali will always have our hearts!

The final part…
Where did you find your styling inspiration for your Bali wedding?
Endless scrolling through PINTEREST 

What was the hardest part about planning a destination wedding?
Impatiently waiting for emails, its all on Bali time 🙂

Why did you choose Bali as your wedding destination?
Well being engaged in Bali we wanted to keep the fairytale going and thought it would be so amazing to have our nearest and dearest on one big holiday, celebrating all week long in the place we consider our second home that is so near to our hearts now!

How did you stay organised while planning a destination wedding?
Our wedding planner, I honestly didn’t have to do a great deal, only in the first few months and the last few before the big day it was more just a waiting (and saving) game back in Aus.