Sometimes in life we need to take a leap of faith and just believe. This bride saw pictures and booked the venue, Semara Uluwatu, which many might say was an irrational thing for her to do. But she didn’t regret it and it turned out absolutely jaw dropping. Trust your gut feeling when choosing all your vendors, otherwise there will be no end to your search. Another beautiful set by Terralogical.
Yess: “Our officiant James Sietstra’s personal anecdotes of me and Paco made the occasion more meaningful and not just ceremonious. He’s Paco’s best friend from college who knows the both of us very well. We kept our vows very real, personal and funny, and we think that the guests appreciated this because they were able to relate to some of the things that we shared. When Paco recited ‘How Do I Love Thee’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I knew that the poem would have a special place in my heart forever:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
“Coming from the Philippines and belonging specifically to the Filipino Chinese community, weddings with 500 guests are considered standard. When we started wedding planning, we knew that we wanted a much more intimate affair and so decided to have it abroad. Bali was an easy choice because we fell in love with the charming island when we visited a few years back. We wanted an outdoor wedding to take advantage of Bali’s beautiful weather in September, and we took it to the next level by having it cliff-side. On our wedding coordinator’s recommendation, we saw photos of Semara Uluwatu’s sweeping views online and immediately booked the place before even seeing it in person. When we finally saw the place, my jaw dropped as I took in the unbelievable landscape – it was truly paradise right before my eyes.
“For my bridal gown, I wanted something comfortable that showed some skin, something strappy and with a low back. For the wedding party, on the other hand, we didn’t want it to scream ‘WEDDING’. I wanted something comfortable rather than be a person in costume who’s playing a role for the day. We asked each groomsman to bring a gray suit from his own wardrobe. Aside from this being the more practical option, we also didn’t want them to look identical because under any other circumstance, being dressed exactly the same at a party would be such a huge fashion faux pas! To add a playful element to the ceremony, we reversed the roles of the boys and girls, so my niece was the ring bearer while my three nephews were flower boys. I had comfort in mind when I picked out their outfits because I wanted them to be able to run around and play and enjoy the occasion too.
“We specifically wanted a colour that would complement gray (which was our dominant colour) and that would stand out against the beautiful azure Uluwatu cliff-side view – lilac was an easy pick! There was no specific theme in mind. From the simple, all white setup adorned purely with baby’s breath for the ceremony to the twinkling copper light bulbs that enveloped the guests during the dinner reception, all we wanted was to create a day that they would never forget and make our wedding as magical for them as it was for us.
“The vision of twinkling light bulbs at the dinner reception made us feel like we were dining under a million stars, while being serenaded by the smooth sounds of the saxophone was soothing. The ambience put people in such a genuinely good mood; we were so happy to sweep them off their feet even if only for one night – that’s what made it so special to us.
“The customised leather luggage tags that we gave away as favours bore our favourite quote from
Tolkien, ‘Not all those who wander are lost’. Since our guests flew in from different parts of the globe to spend the wedding weekend with us, we wanted to give them something luxurious yet practical that they could use when they travel to remind them of their trip to Bali.
“We also prepared customised canvas welcome bags for guests, which contained some travel and outdoor essentials such as a copy of the weekend itinerary, fans, mosquito repellants, hand sanitisers, travel candles, hair ties and seaweed flavoured potato chips. I printed out the itinerary and menus myself.”
Tips from the bride: “As soon as you step onto that aisle, breathe in, exhale, let go of all the stress and enjoy your hard work!”
YESS & PACO {Indonesia}
Photography by Terralogical / Videography by Bali Metro DigiArt / Venue Semara Luxury Villa Resort / Number of Guests 90 / Wedding Planning by
