Planning a wedding in Bali? PART III

Are you ready for the third part of wedding planning? If you haven't read my 2 previous BlogPost, click on blogpost to read the rest. For readers who have read it, we are going to continue with the next chapter. Food & Beverage!

I basically found the best Balinese buffet style for the wedding day. My husband is european and he has many friends and family who flew all the way to the beautiful island of god. Because of that, we decided to do something different. I guess picking the right caterer is all in your hand. Do you have fancier taste e.g. set menu dining european style. We had attended a wedding where by the bride and groom preferred a set menu european style dining where waiters/waitresses served 3 dishes starting from a starter to dessert. Usually caterers have choices for you to choose from whether its 3, 4 or 5 dishes to serve, everything depending on your budget. They are a little cheaper than Balinese buffet style because of the portion.

We often thought the term 'buffet' will probably cost a lot cheaper than a fine serving set menu. Well, truth be told, we were both wrong! But come to think of it, it was worth the price. It was a pleasant moment dealing with KORI Catering. They are so professional and friendly to work with. We met them at their restaurant as per schedule and we did food tasting without the horrendous wedding planner we fired. We had learnt that food tasting alone with your partner and Kori crew actually gave more freedom compared to having a planner around because you get to give your opinion to change some dishes to your caterer upfront! You can also negotiate in a friendly manner with them (that's what we did). We really loved their professional manners!

We tasted so many food. Price we paid for food tasting was about Rp. 960.000* (SGD96) for 2 pax excluded canapes tasting. We made some changes with our menu and Kori was very easy and told us we could change and with the changes we made, prices were reduced too because we took out some menu we didn't like. There were so much food we couldn't really finish them all. But we enjoyed the time seeing them.

On the wedding day, we finally served:

• 4 types of canapes (Balinese/Western style) -Lumpia (Vegetables Spring Rolls), Cheese tomato with pesto, Bruschetta Avocado and Tomato Salsa and Lemper Ayam (Sticky rice stuffed with shredded chicken). 
• Soto Ayam Soup (Indonesian Soup with shredded chicken)
• Carving station: Babi Guling (Roasted Suckling Pig), Ayam Betutu (Balinese style chicken with special sauce), Nasi Kuning (Yellow rice with coconut milk), White rice and Sambal
• Stir fried vegetables, Potato and Cauliflower curry
• Dessert: Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Date Pudding served warm butterscotch sauce
• Coffee and Tea 

That was a lot of food and guests did not actually finish everything. We had so many left overs and the saddest part was that caterer did not ask if we wanted to keep the food as we were staying longer in the villa. So before we know it, everything was cleared. So much meat to finish. With all the menu we ordered, we paid approximately Rp. 600.000* per head. You could easily spend a good USD40* for a 3 course meal. But I recommend to have a try at kori even just for a nice lunch and dinner. Their place is in kuta, it is easy to find (small alley) and the place is really balinese style. A peaceful restaurant.

The most expensive I'd say would be the beverage. We only took the non alcoholic beverage with them because we brought our own bottle from another seller. They were not so keen to do such a service but they finally gave us the best quotation. Prices ranging from Rp.250,000 and above (per head).

I don't know how else I could praise Kori but we are now so thankful that you made our wedding day a memorable one. Thank you for dropping by to see me before you leave Fheny. You have been very helpful since day one and always reassuring me that there's nothing to worry in regards of the FIRED planner. I was worried but because of many other vendors reassured me, I finally had the best day of my life.

*Prices are subject to change without prior notice

**Sorry, I do not have photos of the catering side because I guess our photographers were too focused on the bride, groom and guests instead of whats on the plate haha. But here is a sweet sweet wedding photo to remember by! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter and I'll be back soon!

Planning a wedding in Bali? PART II

So, how far along are you from planning a wedding? Having trouble looking for the right vendors? Don't worry because I have everything you need (not exaggerating) to know from the most important to the least. When a planner tells you "All you need is TRUST". but as long as you have that "GLITCH" inside you, don't let what they tell you about "trust" be the judge in your mind. Follow your heart and listen to yourself.

From the previous Blogpost I made, I talked about how you should start and slowly find your own vendors. I also listed the vendors I used for my wedding back in the 19th of September 2015. I hope those lists will help you (somehow) to make the right choices. If you find that your planner is making you wait too long for one answer, tell them that you couldn't be waiting all the time. Planner will always give you the excuses they can create at any time e.g Busy with clients, had a meeting, big night for client wedding preparation, you name it. We are living in the new era where you have your cellphone by your side 24/7 (don't lie now because I'm sure you sleep with it too). Sometimes it is just funny how they can give any excuses. They could have just replied and said they will get back to us soonest but they left us hanging. Anyways, if you are worried about that, it is best to get your own vendors because that way, you get quotations quicker than some planners. Basically that's how I did it. Fuss free and quick response from vendors. Quicker than a lightning bolt!

I know that there are TOO MANY vendors to choose from, so how did I get them?

- I took all the time I had at home. My husband would pat my shoulder and said "Well done". I did a lot of research and compare prices from all vendors. If you didn't mind a little more work, I'm sure you can do exactly the same. To hire a full time wedding planner (from day 1 til day end), it will cost you more but if you have the "Mula$" and that you have no time to do the things I did, I suggest you to just flow the mula! Back to the question, before picking the one, I also see how quick they responded to my emails. They were mostly QUICK and in the end, it all depends on how they do the quotations and charts. You need a clear chart that indicated e.g 1 boutonnière for Rp. 20,000. You definitely do not want a vendor that stated e.g 1 boutonnière from Rp. 20,000*. With that said, bill will comes out different than your calculation you had in mind.

- Don't be afraid of asking for prices because that's all we need you know!

I found many Florist in Bali. Too many to be exact but just because you do not have many updates on Instagram that doesn't mean you are not a reputable vendor. Communication with vendors is key! If you felt right after meeting with the vendors, you will know what to do next.

Upon meeting with Susy from Bali Wedding Florence, she was a pleasant lady to work with. Very helpful and she gave me ideas with the wedding set up e.g where the altar, food, dance floor will be even though it wasn't her job to tell me in the first place but it was nice to have the vision before. (FYI, my FIRED planner did not even give me any vision about it).

Though there was a little glitch with the flower arrangement, I was happy because the wedding was beautiful. I requested a royal/navy blue but it turned out to be a light blue. Far from what I'd expect on that day but I guess if the light catches the flower in every angle and it's still beautiful, I shouldn't be worried about whether or not its royal blue, navy blue or light blue.

We had roughly 60 guests and every guests had a cone of flower petals to shower us when we walked the aisle. It was such a beautiful moment! We had a beautiful and simple pergola for the ceremony, petals on the ground aisle, tiffany chairs, jars of flowers, white lanterns, candles around the villa, candles floating on the pool, corsages, boutonnières, hand bouquets for bridesmaids and bride. Flowers I pick for the evening was very simple, roses, hydrangea, baby's breath, carnation and tuberose. With those, we spent approx. Rp. 26million (SGD2600)*. I think we had the best deal with whatever we had that evening. If you could find lower price than we did, I salute your hard work ;)

I hope you enjoy reading and also I wish for your hard work to look for the right vendor :)

My beautiful Hand Bouquet by Bali Wedding Florence

Bridesmaids & Bride's Hand Bouquets by Bali Wedding Florence

Susy from Bali Wedding Florence, scattering flower petals

Altar for our ceremony by Bali Wedding Florence

My gorgeous Hand Bouquet and flower petals everywhere!

Just can't get enough of the Hand Bouquet by Bali Wedding Florence

The Best men with their Baby's Breath boutonnière by Bali Wedding Florence

Simplicity is key by Bali Wedding Florence

By Bali Wedding Florence

The night lit up by 80 lanterns by Bali Wedding Florence

We are so thankful for the work from Bali Wedding Florence

Planning a wedding in Bali? PART I

I've finally return from my trip in Australia. I have to say I LOVE AUSTRALIA! Anyways, let's get back to wedding talk. Since there are many couples out there planning to have a wedding in Bali, I'd be honored to share with you my experiences with the vendors I picked. Don't sweat because they are all reputable and guaranteed the best service. 

If you are planning to have a wedding in Bali, you need to bear in mind that Wedding in Bali is rather expensive. It is either you are super loaded or you are the type who would prefer an intimate wedding gathered with only close friends and family. With this post, I'll drop a rough idea about the cost you will have to pay. 

It is never too late to plan your own wedding and have only the wedding planner to help you 3 months prior to your big day. If you have the time of your life to be doing it (planning) then do it! I did my part, It wasn't easy but you learn so much from it. If you are planning to have someone help you from beginning to the end, you will need to expect accepting some vendors recommended by your wedding planner. And because I 'Fired' wedding planner (If you haven't read my previous post, do refer HERE and HERE) in the end I got the wedding I dreamt of having, WITHOUT HER.

If you are planning to hire 'Wedding planner on the day only', they will help you build your run down. All you need to do for yourself is to meet up and talk to your vendors of your choice. Make sure they are legit and as soon as you paid deposit, jot them down in your organizer and make a list. So it will be easier for you to send them all together to your Wedding planner. 

Here are the list of vendors we had on our wedding (I will also show some photos, they weren't the best but I patted myself on my back because I made it all happen):

• Wedding Planner: Bali Dream Day (Kiki)
• Decorator: Bali Wedding Florence (Susy)
• Food & Beverage: Kori Restaurant (Fheny)
• Entertainment/Band: The Soul Entertainment (Putri)
• Photography/Videography/Cinematography: Apel Photography (Pande)
• Photobooth: Photo Story Bali
• Cake: Ixora
• Balloon: Smile Balloon & Party Shop (Zsolt Bartos)

My wedding went smoothly thanks to all the vendors who worked very professionally with me. Conversation with them were very pleasant and easy. The best vendor was my photographer, Pande Kadek Heryana and crew. They were young and talented people. Their rate aren't as expensive as others and they provide you a stunning and memorable photos. Check them out HERE! Since we took all package with them, we received a book of about 100 pages of our photo printed. It is beautiful and also it came with USB and CD for the other photos and also videos. Be ready to spend from *USD3500 (Pre-wedding, Wedding and Videography). Price changes every year so drop by if you want to get the new rate. He's a nice guy and super friendly!

Kiki, Our wedding planner is young and ambitious. As soon as I fired my old planner, I started the conversation very quickly with kiki as we didn't have much time left. Kiki and her crew were very good. Click HERE for the rate! If you wanted a rehearsal (a day before the wedding), there's an extra charges of *Rp. 1million (approx. SGD100). It is optional for you! Every wedding needs a blessing ceremony, bear in mind it would be an additional *Rp. 3million (approx. SGD300). My husband and I were very happy with the priest. He is good and very fluent with english. If you are interested, please refer to Kiki about it. Kiki's coordination fee cost *Rp. 9million (approx. SGD900). 

There are 6 more vendors left to talk about. Wait for the next post if you are interested to have your wedding in Bali. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a message :) 

TIL THEN! XOXO

*Prices are subject to change without prior notice

Apel Photography by Pande Kadek Heryana (My Wedding)

I'm so blessed with the wedding I had 38 days ago. Especially everything was recorded beautifully by  my talented photographer from Nusa Penida, Pande Kadek Heryana. I am so happy that I made the right choice. I was given many options but my heart set to just one and only one. There were many others that replied to my email but it wasn't as relax and friendly as Pande aka Apel. He's a very young and carefree photographer along with his crew. They are all young and talented!

He recently posted up our wedding video on youtube. And because I love his work so much, I would like to share it to you readers. I HIGHLY recommended ApelPhotography to anybody who's planning for a wedding in bali soon. You can check his website HERE and simply write to him. He will get back to you as soon as possible. He's unlike other vendors, if you text him, he wouldn't ask you to not text him or that it's for urgent use. He will entertain you with any answers you need from him.

I'll also be continuing to share my vendors experiences and help readers and brides/grooms to make the right choice in picking your right vendors. Wait for the next post ;)  But for now, let's check ApelPhotography's work, Shall me?

Hair cut @ Trimmings Hair Salon and Spa Robertson Walk

A couple of weeks ago I made a big change to my look as soon as the wedding was over. My hair was pretty damaged from all the coloring and bleaching due to the prewedding photoshoot and wedding itself. It was very hard to get it right because I had previously colored my hair jet black. You can imagine what I had gone through in order to get even a tiny bit of color. It was simply impossible to get it. I had to go through many process to get a touch of brown. Bleached at least 3 times and god knows how many layers. 

My hair wasn't THAT long but they are thick. So it kinda made me feel tired to carry it around everyday. Needless to say, to wash it and to see how much hair were dropped and drained by the water. It was rough especially (if you spotted) the inner corner of my hair. They were slightly blonde. It was supposed to be lavender but due to the rapid wash, the color came off.

SO...

There are tons of hair salon in Singapore. They are everywhere in Far East but because I had a couple of hair cuts done there, I wasn't amazed by the result. I had no idea why but I felt the choices at Far East were just too overrated. 

I headed down to Robertson walk to check out Trimmings. I initially wanted the Creative Director to do the cut because I thought if I needed to cut ALOT, I might as well get the best out of the salon. But sadly, the creative director only works on Tuesday and Saturday when I needed to go on Monday. All I needed to do was to whatsapp them to make the booking. It was quick and easy! I was offered to go with the Senior Stylist Benson. He's a modern looking guy with (if I could remember) colored blond/plat hair. It took him quite a while to finish the cut. It is not a complaint, in fact I'd prefer someone to spend a bit more time with my hair and REALLY cut the hair. 

His rate cost me SGD70 and it was all worth it. I'm already planning to go down again for a color for my trip next month. If you are planning to have a hair cut and wonder where you might want to go? Just try out Trimmings. You can easily find them via Google. 

GOOD LUCK!