Real Wedding – Lizzie & Josh, Tabanan BALI
‘Minimal formalities, maximum party’ was the planning motto for Lizzie and Josh’s Bali wedding.
While they initially thought this meant parting ways with all resemblance of tradition, the few rituals they did opt to include – personal vows and a first dance – resulted in their most memorable moments of the day.
Josh’s Ibiza Day Club-inspired look comprised a silk oyster shirt and white linen pants, while Lizzie’s gold Kyha reception dress signalled to guests when it was time for the spirited dancefloor shenanigans to begin.
Despite the distance, the couple worked closely with the team at Villa Vedas every step of the way to achieve – and exceed – their vision of an epic all-night celebration they’ll laugh and reminisce about for years to come.
The unmatched energy of their ‘I do’s’ could only be captured by a photographer as experienced and invested as Maegan Brown Moments. See how she did it below.
The meeting.
We met when we were 21 on a party bus to a music festival. That kicked off our friendship, but we didn’t actually get together for nearly ten years. When Josh organised a fairly spontaneous trip to London, he lit up my DM’s a few months prior to heading over and the conversations just kept flowing. Once he landed in London, we never looked back.
The ‘one’.
It was just so easy from the get-go. Who knew someone could actually get out of the friend zone!
The proposal.
Some of our favourite things are sunsets, pizza and wine. On a sunny Saturday, we decided to head to Floreat Beach and watch the sunset. On the way, Josh had organized pizzas from our favourite restaurant in Perth, Monsterella. We got to the beach and set up a spot in the back of his ute. Unbeknownst to me, Josh had got the pizzas made in the shape of love hearts and brought an incredibly special wine with him which has sentimental value to me. We had a glass of wine and a slice of love-heart pizza (Hawaiian pizza, of course, pineapple on pizza always!), and he pulled out a beautiful black diamond ring.
Planning process.
Lizzie did 95% of the planning, with some creative inputs from Josh as needed. We booked the venue two years from the date, giving us a lot of time to finesse exactly what we wanted. We knew from the get-go, though, that we wanted a big, old, fun party. Minimal formalities.
As we got closer to the big day, though, a lot of the typical formalities crept in, such as personal vows, a first dance, speeches, etc. We are so glad that we let those things happen. They were so special in the end. We stayed true to our vision.
Having a planner makes things so much easier as well; I would highly recommend one to everyone planning a wedding. Planning the wedding was the easy bit. The hard bit was figuring out what formalities we needed. Initially, we didn’t plan to have a bridal party. It feels so sucky having to pick your “best friends” when you love all of your friends. We ended up having a bridal party, Lizzie had 2 x Maids of Honours and 4 x bridesmaids, Josh had 1 x Best Man and 2 x Best Ladies. It was unusual, sure, but it was perfect for us, and our crew brought the best vibes. Nine women and two men in the bridal party photos is pretty hilarious, though.
Style inspiration.
Getting married in our mid-30s meant we have had the privilege of attending many, many of our friend’s weddings over the years. We knew that we didn’t want a traditional wedding, we wanted something that people would remember as the best party of their lives. Our vision for our wedding was “Tomorrowland meets Ibiza day club”. So, a wild party, but with classy elements. We imagined lots of white rattan lounges, pretty fairy lights, splashes of colour, and disco balls. We were able to cherry-pick what we liked at our friend’s weddings and what we didn’t like. This helped us create a day and evening that was PERFECT and everything we wanted, aka the best party of our lives. Looking at real weddings, particularly Ibiza weddings, as well as Bali weddings, was helpful. I was particularly interested in how everyone dealt with the Bali heat. If brides had their hair up, etc, and if there was a large presence of fans/umbrellas at weddings.
We also had custom cocktails, the “Jizzy”, a margarita made with local Balinese limes. There was an option for a “spicy Jizzy”, which was made with the spiciest Balinese chilli we’ve ever tried. Other cocktails were: ‘It’s an Island Ting’ (mojito), ‘The Holiday Josh’ (pina colada), ‘Matrimony Mule’ (Moscow mule). ‘Yeah Good’ (pineapple lemonade non-alcohol option).
The ceremony.
Lizzie was walked down the aisle by her mother and brother. For us as a family, that was an incredibly special moment. We are incredibly close and to be able to share that moment together is something we will never forget. Once we reached the end of the aisle, we had our bridal party sit down, so it was only Josh, Lizzie and our MC standing up there. This gave our bridal party the opportunity to watch the ceremony in comfort, which was important to us, especially given the Bali heat.
Having our friend as our celebrant was a hilarious experience. Whilst he said many beautiful things about us, he also took the opportunity to roast us and he had us and our guests in tears of laughter. Nothing was off the table. After this he handed over to Josh and I to say our vows. Standing in front of everyone we love in the world in one place, who had travelled from all over the world to witness our ceremony in Bali, was such a moving moment. The butterflies, the anxiety, the overwhelming love we felt. We will never forget that moment of our vows. They were equal parts sentimental and funny. Perfect for us.
As we kissed and began walking back down the aisle, one of our favourite DnB Dimension songs started playing, and our guests threw flower petals in the air. Absolute core memory burned into our brains.
The outfits.
Initially, I planned to wear a simple white dress, which I had custom-made from HANA. I considered myself someone who didn’t want to spend too much on a dress that I would only wear once. Bali is casual right? Beach wedding chic? Fast forward to the Kyha trunk show in Perth, and I’m trying on the Nile dress in gold. An unusual colour for a bride, but absolutely perfect. It fit like a glove; it felt like it was made for me. This dress was heavy, though, like chain consistency with individually hand-sewn beading. It’s amazing, it’s the best thing I’ve ever worn in my life so I ended up wearing both dresses, white for the ceremony, and then changed into the gold an hour later.
Josh also didn’t want to wear a tuxedo or traditional suit. But wearing chinos and a linen shirt seemed a bit basic. Trawling for inspiration one day we came across the Khizad brand, a local Perth designer situated on High Street. Their clothes are unique, extra, classy, statement pieces. We saw they also custom-made suits. So we popped into the store to see what they would recommend. The team there completely understood the vision, and Josh ended on a silk oyster shirt, white linen pants and a white linen blazer. The look gives Miami Vice.
It was too hot for the linen blazer to feature at the ceremony, however at 10pm we snuck off to shoot another final set of photos before we got in the pool. In these shots Maegan recommended Josh take off the silk shirt and wear just the white linen blazer with the white pants. Iconic. Our favourite shots of the day, and that is a big call to make.
Favourite moments.
Wow, it’s so hard to pick one moment. Can we answer all of it? I think if we had to pick one moment, it would be our first dance. Considering it was something we initially didn’t plan to do, it ended up being a core memory for us. We remember the moment so viscerally. Walking out onto a dancefloor in front of all of our favourite people in the entire world, with the beginning of our favourite song playing. Then, all of your friends run at you, yelling and screaming as they join you on the dancefloor. There is no better feeling. It was EUPHORIC. We also had posters of our two cats, Wombat and Tiger, made so our bridal party ran out with their cat heads so they could join the party. Just insane. Core memory.
If we could add in one other best moment it would be the transition from the classy wedding to the pool rave party. Unexpected but also at the same time unsurprisingly 90% of our guests ended up in the pool, some in their suits and dresses. Priceless.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage to us means we are each other’s best friends, partners in crime and a safe space for our whole lives.
Wedding soundtrack:
Bridesmaid’s aisle song – Glitterball by Sigma
Bride’s aisle song – Love to Give (Acoustic version) by Dimension
First kiss and flower shower exit – Want Need Love by Dimension
Reception entrance – Solar System by Subfocus
First dance – Shrine by RL Grime
Funny stories/near disasters.
Josh was incredibly hungover the day before the wedding. He got a little too excited at the welcome drinks on the Thursday and woke up Friday extremely ill (self-inflicted). Fortunately, after an IV drip he was able to pull it together for the wedding day.
Planning surprises.
The runsheet. Planning in 5-10 minute increments at some parts of the day. Wild. We never knew a wedding was THAT regimented.
Words of wisdom.
Agree with your partner on exactly what you want the day to look like prior to planning. Once you get stuck into the planning process, it’s easier for the vision to fall away, especially with other people’s inputs, family views, friends etc, etc. Stay true to what you want. No one will remember if things weren’t exactly to their liking at your wedding, but you will. No people-pleasing!
For more destination wedding inspiration read Mel & Deren’s Fiji real wedding.
LIZZIE & JOSH’S SUPPLIERS:
Ceremony & reception venue: Villa Vedas – We picked this location, firstly, because it is out of this world beautiful. The villa faces onto a private beach in Tabanan, surrounded by rice paddies. It has eight bedrooms so it could house our entire bridal party. It is the most picturesque and stunning location. The second drawcard for this location was the lack of curfew. Most private villas in Bali have a noise curfew of 10 or 11pm, Villa Vedas had NO curfew. Which meant the party could keep going till the early hours, which it did. Think 3am dance party in the infinity pool. The team at VV were phenomenal. The staff who run the villa made our wedding and our time here so special; we are forever grateful to them. We found this venue before we found our planner. Once we booked VV they recommended to us that we use Wonderland Planning.
Officiant: As our wedding ceremony in Bali was not legally recognized in Australia, we signed the legal documents in Perth and were able to have a friend “marry us” in Bali. Our best friend, Brett Dickman “BD” did us the honour of being our marriage celebrant. BD is certainly no marriage celebrant, however a few months after we got engaged, at 3am in the kitchen of a house party, the idea was floated that he would marry us. What started as a drunken idea quickly became a legitimate proposal, and fast forward to the day he was standing up with us while we said the most important words of our lives. He delivered the most debaucherous and cheekiest of speeches, having our guests and us crying with laughter.
Photography: Maegan Brown Moments. Maegs, where do we start? Our best friend Emily from Life Atlas Film (our videographer) recommended three photographers to us who she thought would fit our vibe. We are non-serious, crazy, party people who did not want hours of styled shoots or portrait sessions. Our hope was for someone to run along with us for our wild wedding and capture the candid, insane, fun moments. Someone who would make us feel comfortable and capture us at our best without forcing us to be in any staged moments detracting from the party. When we looked up Maegs on Instagram we immediately knew she was the one for us. Her wedding photos were the most insanely beautiful and unique photos, but it was the personal elements of her profile that really hooked us. Whether it was her fun party posts, or the photos with her cat Prince, we knew she was the girl for us. We felt we could be best friends with her and that we knew her before we had even met her. And wow, were we right. She was the firecracker we needed on the wild Bali wedding journey. From joining us at welcome drinks at a beach club, to partying with us in the pool at the wedding, she brought the best vibes. Our expectations were absolutely EXCEEDED. Because of how comfortable we were with her, the photos she was able to capture are out of this world and we are forever grateful to her. When you book Maegs you aren’t just getting a talented photographer, you are getting a vibe bringer! Someone who will guarantee that your wedding photos are the most special moments ever because you are just so comfortable and happy with her.
Videography: Life Atlas Film Co & second shooter Valentines Day Studio – Emily from Life Atlas is our best friend, and one of Lizzie’s Maid of Honours. Because of this role she was unable to film the wedding (she was a bit busy), so we called in the wonderful Valentine to shoot all of the content for us. Emily then used her wizard skills to develop a wedding film that had us in both hysterics and tears, we have watched it about 1000 times already. We held a watch party with our bridal party to preview it together which was extra special. Emily is insanely talented. I think creating a film of your best friends and where you are a part of the bridal party means an extra element of love is brought to the filmmaking process. I’ve always thought Emily’s work is the best I’ve ever seen, however seeing what she created for us brought tears to our eyes. She is an absolute wizard and she captured our day so perfectly. She used our wedding soundtrack music in the films, which meant it was an even more emotive to watch.
Content Creation: Brown Honey Studios – For content creation we had our friend Sez who had only recently started her content creation business shoot for us. She was a guest at the wedding as well so we are very appreciative of her being able to shoot content whilst having a fun time. Her content was fun, in the moment, and gave us extra moments to relive and enjoy.
Styling/Florist: Wonderland Bali – We were lucky enough to have both Anastasia and Natalia from the Wonderland team. These ladies are powerhouses of the Bali wedding planning world, they not only plan a wedding, they undertake floristry and styling. Theres nothing they can’t do. They helped bring our vision to life. They were responsive and incredibly organised. No detail was missed and they did an amazing job.
Hair: The Pretty Parlour. Brook is an absolute angel. She singlehandedly styled the hair for 9 women, this included the bride, 4 bridesmaids, 2 maids of honour, and two best ladies. She did so with style, grace and a whole lot of skill! She was cool, calm and collected the entire time. I believe she even finished early!
Make-up: Hannah Hughes & Bec Wilson – Hannah is a treasured and dear friend, and was a guest of our wedding, however there is no one else Lizzie would trust to paint her face except Hannah Hughes. She is a face SLAYING wizard, and when I look at photos of myself, I can’t even believe I looked like that. Hannah is the epitome of a makeup professional, so experienced, skilled and so considerate. She brings calming energy to the bridal room. Bec Wilson, a Perth babe living in Bali, also a face slaying wizard. She absolutely killed the makeup looks for the day.
The dresses: Ceremony dress from HANA Official Second gold dress from Kyha. Third mini dress from Eliya.
Alterations/ veil: Ilka –The team at Ilka are to die for. So supportive, no job was too hard. They brought enthusiasm, professionalism and excitement to the bridal alterations process.
Rings: A custom designed black diamond ring from David Murphy for Lizzy and a “E” for Elizabeth tattoo for Josh on his ring finger. (Swoon.)
Bridesmaid’s dresses: All maids of honour, bridesmaids and the grooms “best ladies” picked their own dresses. The only parameters were black and long. Some of the designers chosen were Studio Lexi, Bec & Bridge, Sonya Moda, Effie Kats and Meshki
Suits – Khirzad
Entertainment: DJ Flex
Honeymoon: Holidayed in Bali with our friends aka the “Jizzy matemoon”.
