Alexandra & Michael
For Alexandra & Michael, planning a wedding in Bali was about more than just saying ‘I-do’. It was an opportunity for them to share their favourite place in the world with their closest family and friends over 3 weeks of sun, sand and celebrations. Which is exactly what a Bali wedding should be about!
Following a sweet proposal in Jimbaran Bay (that didn’t go exactly as planned!), it was a no-brainer for these lovebirds to return to Bali again to tie the knot. Joined by 75 of their nearest and dearest in Canggu, Alexandra & Michael’s vision of a modern, tropical wedding was truly brought to life through gorgeous styling and beautiful details.
After dreaming of a Bali wedding for so long, it was important for Alexandra & Michael to create a wedding that reflected them as a couple. With the bride wearing a custom-designed gown complete with Samantha Wills ear cuffs, their relaxed and intimate ceremony was set in the lush gardens of the villa, against a tropical backdrop of palms and fresh greenery. Black bentwood chairs helped to add a modern luxe element to the styling, with this contemporary colour palette continuing through into the reception.
Working with the talented team at Hitch’d, an incredible ambience was created in the courtyard of the beach house for guests to enjoy a long, leisurely dinner. A selection of beautiful pieces from the amazing collection at Bali Event Hire helped tie the look together, from the relaxed cocktail furniture through to the tableware and decor. Teak dining tables dressed with trailing greenery, fresh white florals and delicate tulle details all came together under strings of festoon lighting for this warm, glowing reception.
You can see why we were more than a little chuffed to hear that Alexandra & Michael used #TheBaliBride as a huge source of inspiration for their styling – especially when you see more of the gorgeous photos from The White Tree below.
We spoke to the happy couple about their tips for staying organised while planning a destination wedding, how they found their team of suppliers, and the importance of doing what makes you happy in order to create the perfect day!
How we met: Michael and I met a very long time ago (11 years to be exact) through our local football club. We had our first kiss on the dance floor of a very questionable nightclub and the rest is history.
The proposal: The proposal was beautiful and very us (low key and relaxed). It was in Bali, we were staying at Rimba in Jimbaran Bay and we were getting ready to go out for dinner. I had just got out of the shower and Mick was on the bed looking very pale and a bit under the weather. Mick is known for his squirmy stomach and had Bali belly on one of our earlier trips together. I initially thought oh no you’re going downhill quick it’s probably Bali Belly again. He assured me he was ok and that he felt fine…but I could tell something was up. He had planned to propose at dinner however I think with the wave of anxiety and stress he knew he wouldn’t make it to dinner. So he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was so beautiful and took me by complete surprise. I was too busy getting out the gastro stop haha!!!! As soon as I said yes the colour immediately came back to his cheeks and I haven’t stopped smiling since. We spent the next hour calling our friends and family…. And yes we finally went out for that romantic dinner.
The Details…
Website: www.mrandmrsheib.squarespace.com
Wedding date: 10.06.2017
Wedding Ceremony & Reception Venue: Arnalaya Beach House, Canggu
Total Guests: 75
Our style/Inspiration: Modern Tropical – Greens & Whites and Lights!! The Bali Bride Instagram was where a lot of our Inspiration came from!!
Who we couldn’t have done it without: Kira from Hitchd – She was amazing!!!!!
Any advice for future Bali Brides: You always hear people say “do what you want to do – do what makes you happy”. I never really fully understood the true meaning of this until I started planning our wedding. It’s so easy to get caught up worrying about everyone else, but all that really matters is that you both do what makes you happy. It sounds so cliché but it’s actually harder than you think. We both knew there would be loved ones who couldn’t make the trip over, but a Bali wedding was our dream – so we made it work. Michaels two beautiful nanas are 90 and were not able to make the trip to Bali. So we arranged a small ceremony for them at the Melbourne Registry Office to sign our legal marriage certificate and took them to the Windsor for high tea. It was a beautiful day we will all never forget.
Our Wedding Day…
Wedding Planner/Stylist: Kira @ Hitch’d Wedding & Events. Kira was fabulous!! From the first time we met in Melbourne I knew she would always put our interests first. She understood our style and went above and beyond to make sure we were within our budget. From the pre planning stages to the recovery pool party the next day – nothing was ever too much trouble. Kira and her team made all our dreams come true. We couldn’t have done it without her. Our wedding bible is something we will keep forever and remember all the fun we had planning our big day. We truly cant thank her enough for everything she did.
Décor/Furniture: Bali Event Hire – the girls at Bali event hire have the best taste in décor and furniture. Everything they hire, we just love. Which made it very hard to choose our wedding furniture, as we loved it all. We decided to go with the teak rectangular dining tables paired with the black bentwood chairs. The black added a modern chic element to the timber tables. For our cocktail furniture, we chose the mexi dua sets to add to our modern tropical vibe.
Flowers/Florist: Ailuosi Décor – The team at Ailuosi were our life savers. From a last minute florist hitch – Ailuosi agreed to take on our wedding with only a few weeks’ notice. They did an amazing job of our bouquets, the greenery ceremony arch and the greenery foliage hanging over our bridal table.
Hair & Make-up: Yeanne Hair & Make Up – Yeanne and her team are the best in the business. Yeanne is so friendly and extremely talented at her job. My make-up stayed matte all day which goes to show she certainly knows how to work with that Bali humidity.
Photography: The White Tree – We flew these guys over from Melbourne as we love their relaxed style. We love all their previous work and were so happy to work with them on our Bali Wedding.
Videography: The White Tree
Celebrant: Zoie Ayling – Zoie was so lovely! She wanted nothing more than our happiness and to create a ceremony we felt comfortable with. She spoke beautifully and we cant thank her enough.
Catering: Merah Putih – Ridiculously amazing!!! SERIOUSLY!! What can I say. From the first moment we ate at Jaspers restaurant to our menu tasting and coordinating via email with Melissa – we couldn’t have chosen anyone better than Merah Putih to cater our wedding. Michael and I are big foodies and wanted to wow our guests with something different, something they had never experienced before. We certainly did that (to say the least). Every single person at our wedding came up to us to tell us how amazing the food was. From the canapes to the shared dinner style – they truly are the best in the business. Thank you so much for taking our guests on a wonderful culinary experience.
Cake/Dessert: Butter Bali – Butter Bali did an amazing job creating a custom design for our wedding cake. Kira emailed over a small brief and WOW the most incredible cake was created. One of my fondest memories from our wedding night was after everyone had left the villa – (it was about 2am) we found our parents sitting on our villa deck having a coffee just taking it all in. As we sat down with them our gorgeous villa staff brought us all a midnight snack, wedding cake. There we all were (all 6 of us) enjoying our wedding cake, reminiscing all together. It was a very special moment I will never forget.
Stationery/Invitations: Etsy – DYI – As we made a website I decided to cut a few costs and make my own simple invitations on Etsy.
Entertainment: Silaen Music (acoustic band during cocktail hour and over dinner) Silaen is the most gorgeous person and has such a beautiful voice. She set the tone perfectly during dinner. We then picked DJ Arshad to get the party started. We first met Arshad at Ku De Ta one night on a previous trip to Bali and I can still remember his fun, kind-hearted nature. Again, Arshad wanted nothing more than to play songs we loved. He did a fabulous job and the dance floor was jam-packed all night.
Gift Registry: As our guests had already spent so much money on attending our wedding we asked for no gifts.
Wedding Songs:
Down the Aisle: Wedding Song by Angus and Julia Stone
Signing: Catch and Release – Deepend Remix by Matt Simons
Bridal procession after ceremony – On top of the world -Imagine Dragons
Reception introductions: Chameleon – PNAU
Cutting Cake: Kiss Me -Sixpence none the richer
First Dance: I wont let you go – James Morrison
Father Daughter/ Mother Son dance: Valerie – Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse
The Bridal Party Details…
Bride’s Gown: I wore a gorgeous custom-designed gown by Georgia Young Couture. Georgia is known in the industry for her modern designs, strong, distinct gowns with a difference. I wanted a contemporary gown but with a small princess twist. I have loved tulle from a very young age and just fell in love with her modern Bali design.
Bride’s Shoes: Wittner
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Forever New
Bridemaid’s Shoes: Betts
Groom & Groomsmen Attire & Shoes: The boys kept it simple in Country Road navy chinos with a white Peter Jackson Shirt (my beautiful nan changed all the buttons to timber to add a gorgeous raw element to their outfit) Mick wore a beautiful baby blue linen jacket for the ceremony. Shoes: Florsheim Bow-ties: Declic Cufflinks: Individual initials – we gave these to each groomsman as their thank you gift. Following the ceremony Mick and the boys changed into shorts for the reception. We tried to keep their look casual but still smart. They all looked wonderful on the day.
Flowergirls/Page Boys: Caitlin my oldest niece who is 10 felt like she was more of a junior bridesmaid so we went shopping and found her a gorgeous (more age appropriate dress) from Minihaha Boutique. However, the 3 younger girls wore a Capezio white leotard and we got a local seamstress to make and attach a tulle skirt. They wore gold ballet flats from Cotton On Kids.
Jewellery: Brides earrings were Samantha Wills. I have always loved the idea of an ear cuff and fell in love with Samantha Wills bridal range.
The rings: We had my ring made by a local jeweller in Mornington called Roger Thomas. He did an amazing job. The Grooms ring was from the Gentleman’s Smith. We love it cause its light weight and brushed. Michael is a builder so he wanted one that wouldn’t scratch easy.
Honeymoon Details: As our beautiful friends and family came all the way from Australia to Bali for our special day we wanted to spend as much time with them as possible so we decided to delay our honeymoon until early next year. So we will head to New York, LA & Mexico next year. We ended up having 2 nights at Alila Seminyak on our own before we flew home.
Where did you find your styling inspiration for your Bali wedding? Our main inspiration came from Instagram and Pinterest. We are so lucky these days with social media and the wonderful inspiration you can find on the web. The Bali Bride was my main go to # hashtag plus other wedding blogs including Ivory Tribe and White Magazine.
What was the hardest part about planning a destination wedding? We had two trips to Bali during the planning so we were lucky enough to meet with Kira, suppliers and our villa before the big day. So to be honest it was not so much the wedding but more trying to book and coordinate 75 guests flights and accommodation. We really wanted to make it super easy and cheap for our guests to attend our wedding in Bali, so we found ourselves constantly searching the web for cheap flights day in day out. However, in the end planning 75 holidays and a wedding was just a bit much. We decided to leave it up to our capable guests who were more than happy to make their own reservations.
Why did you choose Bali as your wedding destination? Bali holds a special place in both our hearts. We are our happiest when in Bali. We love the water, sand, weather, people and food and wanted to share this with our friends and family.
We decided on a BALI Wedding so we could show everyone why we love this place so much. Plus we couldn’t think of a better way than to celebrate our love than by sharing 3 weeks with the ones we love in Bali.
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