A bit late but life has been busy :)
Went to Sanur for our sons wedding which was on May 13th.We spent 4 weeks in Bali and it was absolutely fantastic. We had family and friends come from all over the world and many stayed at the venue of the wedding the Besakih hotel in Sanur. The legals as Reg is kiwi were a little daunting but Giselle (fordfamily) helped us with that and eventually it was a breeze.
Brides father stayed over in Nusa Dua as he has a time share there at the Peninsular ? anyway he has rarely used it but has taken advantage of the time share in many other parts of the world. They thought to sell their share but it has really paid for itself many times over. I have always knocked the whole time share thing but have changed my mind. We won't be rushing off to buy one but it definitely has advantages when you travel especially in europe. We visited and had dinner and were pleasantly surprised.
Our wedding planner was katie from Baliku weddings and she is wonderful. We really can't find enough good things to say about Katie. On the day she was always there organising and making sure everything was perfect but then blended into the background till she saw a need, she was on top of everything and I was very impressed.
The girls used Manik salon who gave a fantastic service and very beautiful professional job. The brides step sister is a make up artist and hair dresser, she wanted to be involved and worked like a trooper doing some of the bridesmaids hair and make up, we were very lucky as she is incredibly talented ( and we had no idea )
The photograper was Dominik and the video which is fantatsic was also done by his company. Dominik takes fantastic photos and the album is outstanding. I didn't like Dominik though, his people skills are not the best. I have to say that if you can ignore personality and just concentrate on the artistry then you must hire him for your wedding. We have done the whole hindsight thing and are still glad he did the photography. Dominiks error was an incredibly personal one which upset the bride and groom so much the bride cried and she is a very strong together person. He did apologise. The whole thing was kept from me as I would have thrown him out in the heat of the moment and then would have regretted it as the photos are amazing. Dominik enhances the shots so that everything is perfect and the thunderstorm which had blown in and caused the venue to move under cover is not noticed. How did he make the sky so blue ? the sky was totally black and light was difficult, he is a very talented person.
Our food was prepared by the hotel complete with roasted pig ! The food was wonderful. The cake made by Ixora cakes was a chocolate fudge cake and was too yummy for words. The hotel staff were amazing and special accolades must go to Ibu Sri and Mr Riky who made sure all was perfect for the couple in the hotel. We felt very spoiled and I will not even consider staying anywhere else in Bali from now on.
On the day as I said earlier the thunderstorm came and it pelted down but nothing took the shine from the day. The weather was so bad that the ballet company had to move on bikes to trucks and almost didn't make it. I am so pleased they did. The dancing was the most beautiful I have ever seen in Bali. The traditional Ramayana ( well a bit of it) was performed with half a gamalan and I felt honoured to listen and watch. It is unusual apparently for westerners to want traditional dancing at their weddings and very popular now are the entertainment packages including fire dancers. We never gave that a thought but I am sure that too would have been lovely.
Alysia also walked down the aisle to the tooth gamalan, it was important to our son that traditional elements he has grown to love over the years were represented at his wedding.
We danced and partied and had a wonderful day. We had hired the villa in the grounds of the hotel for the day so the bridal party could get ready in comfort and also for the happy couple to stay in overnight. I popped over with a friend to do some decorating and immediately Katie appeared by my side to help. She knows how to make a heart using flower petals ! my attempt was munted lol. We decorated and had fun doing it. The bride is a great fan of spongebob and we had delivered helium balloons earlier in the day so he too was part of the decorating :))
Well wedding over the guests did all the usual activities like white water rafting , cycling and shopping ! we now have new Bali converts who can't believe they have never been to Bali before.
just one more thing.....
please if you are an animal lover give to the Bali street dog fund australia ( easy to find the website) or look at the yudisthira website. The vets there are going on to the street giving rabies shots, they are short of money. One of the vets came to the hotel to help me with a dog who was ill, he had distemper and had to be put to sleep even though we tried, he was just not strong enough, if he had recovered she was going to desex and give rabies shots for me. She goes to homes and uses her own money for vaccines as they are so short of cash. I have never been refused help in Bali for a dog. I am not personally involved anymore with rescue in Bali but I still worm and deflea and take medicine for friends dogs. Both the newly weds work in the pet industry so will take medicine over next year.