Nashira & Kevin, Canggu, Bali

Everyone always asks

“Why Bali?”

and our response is usually a giggle followed by “because we’re crazy!”...

But in truth, for the last 4 years, Kevin and I have been blessed enough to travel to all parts of the world. There were so many moments where we would just be in awe and say “I wish our family and friends were here to see this”. This is ultimately what lead us in choosing our wedding destination.

 Back home, a destination wedding usually means going somewhere in the Caribbean or Mexico. Having our wedding in Bali would just be absolutely absurd- some of our family and friends didn’t even have a clue of what or where Bali was!  But there we were, flying 10,000 miles to Bali last September and making plans to meet Kira, who would later become our (amazing) wedding planner, to take a peek at various venues and wedding villas. We completely fell in love with the island and we just knew in our hearts it was what we wanted, but we still had to go back home and share the news and hope everyone was on board.

 Well, everyone was! So the wedding planning began!!

 For as long as I could remember, I always pictured getting married in the yard of a beautiful home. I think I got that idea the first time I watched “Father of the Bride”. I just loved the idea of the intimacy, especially since I’ve always wanted a small wedding. I pictured it somewhere with a view of the beach.

 Villa the Sanctuary, the villa estate we chose for our venue, was not even on our list of places to check out. We had seen their website and it was beautiful, but it didn’t seem like the place we were envisioning. We had a free day on our trip to Bali and the owner asked if he could send a driver to bring us to the Sanctuary for a tour, and we figured, why not? The first time we saw it, our hearts just sank. It literally took our breath away! It was like nothing we’d ever seen before. It was like having our own private little jungle. We also loved the fact that the property was able to sleep 36 guests, so most of our friends and families were able to stay with us for 5 beautiful nights.

 For our wedding, we wanted something less formal and more fun! I knew I wanted a lot, but I mean A lot of flowers. We also both love twinkling lights. Oh and color! The more the better. So the vibe we went for was romantic boho with a tropical twist. Kira and I went on exchanging photos for a couple months, and a few successful skypes (it was always difficult to coordinate with the 12 hour time difference!), but what our wedding day looked like was right out of a whimsical dream. It was even better than I had ever hoped for. It was so beautiful that my heart was just thumping so loudly, I couldn’t even eat from how exciting everything looked! Kevin was also blown away! He was really, really proud of how it all came together.

 For my dress, I worked with Joy Cioci, a New York based designer, on the dress of my dreams. It was quite the journey! She was so particular about every single detail. She wanted it to be just perfect- it was her baby as much as it was mine. She was working on it down to the very last couple of hours before Kevin and I left for Bali. She hopped in an Uber and brought it to our apartment in New Jersey, and then we were off to JFK. We can all laugh about it now and it makes for an amazing story!

 Kevin went with a sage green linen suit from Suit Supply in NYC. We were both so concerned about the heat… the man can really sweat! But to our surprise, the temperature on our day was a perfect 77 degrees.

 I asked my bridesmaids to pick their own dresses based on our color scheme- which included many shades of pinks and purples! The groomsmen wore beige linen suits and accessorized with floral ties and bowties.

 For our ceremony, we wrote our own vows. We couldn’t wait for that part. I remember Kevin whipping out his 2-sided, full-paged vows and I giggled with wide eyes and whispered to him “WHOA baby! You have lots to say!”

 For entertainment, we had both a live band and a DJ. Reyna, the lead singer of the band, made lots of people cry that day! Her voice is pure bliss. On our first trip to Bali, we were lured in to this bar on the beach when we heard her voice. It actually gives you chills. When her set was over, I ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. We knew we had to have her sing at our wedding. Her and her band, SoulPlay, played “Latch” by Sam Smith as I walked down the aisle and “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur for our first dance.

 Our wedding planner Kira also recommended a Water Drum performance, which was EPIC!!

 It’s already been over a month since our big day and our friends and family are still talking about our wedding week. It was a life-changing trip for many, a blessing for Kevin and I, and a forever bond for all 57 of us.