Destination Weddings – Bali: You Don’t Have To Go Broke Making Your Dream Island Wedding Come True

The sound of waves crashing gently on clean sandy shores and a harp playing ‘Moonriver’ as you exchange your personally written vows at sunset… Picturesque weddings in Singapore aren’t impossible, but they do come with a premium price-tag.

Which is why many are choosing to say “I Do” in Bali instead.

Singapore is definitely not short of beautiful non-hotel venues to exchange your vows. Take it from our newly-wed editor who’s written about it here.

Still, I can’t help the little shudder I get when I look at the cost. From stressing about the venue to worrying about catering, here are some affordable alternatives in Bali, so you don’t burn a hole in your pocket as you achieve your dream destination wedding. 

Venue

We’ve all been there – all we want is a short getaway from real life, and celebrating a wedding presents the perfect opportunity. Until you realise that one night in a relatively fancy Singapore hotel costs more than a flight for two to Bali.

Consider an intimate, private ceremony for your big day instead and go for a Bali Villa Wedding. For as little as US$595 (~S$825), a massive four bedroom villa with a private pool is all yours.

Villa sizes go from four to 12 bedrooms, immediately solving the accommodation needs of all the guests and the couple. Services available upon request include babysitting, massages and personal driver services, so there’s no excuse for your children-laden friends to miss out now!

If getting that Bali wedding of your dreams means streamlining the guest list a little bit, I guess it’s time to figure out what’s more important.

Bali Wedding Solutions: Website | Facebook

Reception/Catering

If you’ve convinced a whole bunch of people to come to Bali to celebrate this get-together of a lifetime, the last thing you’d want to do is feed them nonsense food. Especially if they’re Singaporean because, Singaporeans need good food.

An eight-course Chinese dinner affair in a small hotel in Singapore would easily cost $150/pax. Add that to the cost of the venue, decorations, videographers and… you get my point right?

Instead of the expected banquet reception, why not choose to have dinner after the intimate ceremony at a gorgeous open-air restaurant overlooking paddy fields like a gal pal of mine did. One restaurant you can do this at is Three Monkeys Cafe in Ubud, known for its extensive menu, lovely view and fantastic service.

Or if you’re looking for something even more convenient, have brunch brought to you at your own private villa (we’ve even narrowed it down to ten for you to choose from.) These inexpensive alternatives which average S$20 – S$30/pax, allow you the flexibility of the type of food you want, so that all your guests will be happy.

I’d be pretty happy myself if I wasn’t spending my future kids’ college fund on Chinese wedding dinners.

Three Monkeys Cafe: Jalan Monkey Forest Ubud, Bali | Tel: +62 361 975 554 | Website | Facebook

Photography/Videography

Weddings are once-in-a-lifetime (most of the time anyway), and you’re going to want to capture that. For out-of-town weddings, it’s not uncommon to fly photographers in. But I’ve always thought that it’d be so much easier to work with someone who knows all the best places to go to to mark your fairy tale ending, wouldn’t it?

Well, you’re going to love me for this, because I might just have found a one-stop site for all your wedding photography needs!

Bless whoever conceptualised OneThreeOneFour – it’s genius. I can already imagine brides all over the world weeping with gratitude. Look at these Singaporean couples all glowing and smiley and stuff.

This company engages top local wedding photographers from 17 countries, 10 of which are Asian countries. Allowing couples who are photographer-shopping to browse albums, OneThreeOneFour also offers very comprehensive deals that include everything you’ll need for your wedding or pre-wedding photoshoot.

They’ll work out all the nitty gritty bits that brides have nightmares about, and going with a local photographer means knowing all the best spots to make your wedding pictures absolutely stunning! So all you about-to-be-married-people, instead of spending literally thousands of dollars on photography packages in Singapore, I’d say you might want to stop by OneThreeOneFour first (and of course, Bali is on the list).

If you’re thinking, “Sure anot? How cheap is cheap?”, basic packages will cost you as little as S$475 for a two-hour shoot and 30 edited photographs. You’re welcome.

OneThreeOneFour: Website

All-In Wedding Packages

Now, not everyone’s crazy enough to spend hours trawling websites to get deals. So for all who work way too hard, earn too little and are almost resigned to holding your wedding reception in a McDonald’s, all hope is not lost.

Before you make the downpayment on all those happy meals, there might still be a way to leave the planning to someone else to make your wedding dreams come true.

I’ve made some hypothetical Singapore Beach Wedding cost calculations for some perspective. A beach solemnisation in Sentosa will set you back by S$5,888 – S$14,888, and then dinner for 15 tables will have you fork out another ~S$30,000.

Add in cost of makeup, photography, venue decoration and we have a grand total of: A LOT.

Companies like BaliWedding will set you up with comprehensive wedding packages at more affordable starting prices of ~S$1233. 

With the most basic beach wedding package, they have made sure to include airport transfers, wedding set-up and decorations, a celebrant and a wedding photographer for an hour. For just a little bit more, brides also get their own hair and makeup artists, two wedding photographers and two photoshoot locations.

Thrown in absolutely free: The gorgeous sunset, glistening waters, and memories of a beautiful destination wedding to last a lifetime.

BaliWedding: Website | Tel: +62 8777 999 77 11

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Personally, the loose change in my couch is a little far off from S$50K. While I agree that these once-in-a-lifetime events shouldn’t be restricted by tiny budgets, the last thing we want is to start off our married lives in debt.

There is a sentimental touch to getting married in the place you grew up in. But then, the idea of being in a new place with new adventures that await is quite a romantic and symbolic parallel to what you and your other half will be embarking on.

Bali over Sentosa any day ya’ll.