“Our wedding was elegant and timeless, laid back (as it was outside), but nothing short of romantic.” It was in beautiful Bali that Stephanie and Kent said “I do”. The pair met in the bride’s home country of Canada at high school and became high school sweethearts, leading the bride to follow her future groom back to his hometown of Adelaide.

With Kleio Photography behind the camera, they celebrated among the most stunning Balinese tropical gardens. This wedding will give you all the tropical feels.

It was on their ten-year anniversary that Kent popped the question. Stephanie fills us in; “Kent and I took quite a long time to get engaged. After dating through high school and beating the odds by doing long-distance for about five years, Kent eventually proposed on our 10 year anniversary. He surprised me in the morning with breakfast in bed, then a series of notes/hints that led me to various destinations throughout the day! He took me to wineries and a beautiful lunch, then we ended at Mount Lofty House here in Adelaide where he had organised dinner and a night’s stay. After dinner, we walked in the beautiful gardens where he got down on one knee and proposed – FINALLY!”

 

Stephanie worked with a friend to create her dream gown, “I take fashion quite seriously and also am very particular! One of my closest friends actually made my wedding dress for me as she is a talented designer. To begin the process, we went and tried on wedding dresses together. From there, we took each of the elements that we loved about the ones I tried on and merged it into one beautiful gown. We met up every month or so and tried the dress on, changed around some elements, added elements until I had the dress of my dreams! It was such a wonderful process.”

The beautiful Royal Pita Maha set the scene for the big day. Stephanie shares, “because I am Canadian, we always knew that we wanted a destination wedding where all of our family could meet. The Royal Pita Maha in Ubud, Bali was absolutely breathtaking, and we just couldn’t look past it after finding it online through Botanica Weddings. It was secluded, very lush and green, and still amazingly romantic. Our ceremony took place alongside a flowing river, with a perfect warm breeze rolling through the white fabrics we had at the ceremony. Our reception took place under a temple, with lanterns and fairy lights everywhere. Just amazing.”

The bride’s father walked her down the aisle to Beyonce’s cover of “Ava Maria”.

“The ceremony was in an open-air pavilion with white fabrics and flowers everywhere. The pavilion was situated next to a beautiful flowing river which on the opposite side had sky-high cliffs adding an element of seclusion. There was a beautiful warm breeze, perfect weather,” tells the bride.

The bride made decisions to honour her family throughout the day, telling “We got married on August 8th, which was my late grandmother’s birthday. She was a very special person in my life and we really felt it important to include her in some aspect or another on our wedding day. My mom also surprised me while we were getting ready with one of my grandmother’s rings, which I ended up tying to my bouquet.”

The bride carried a bouquet of white blossoms, telling “We went all white with the flowers to keep everything crisp and elegant. My bouquet was filled with an Indonesian white carnation which mimicked a peony-style that I couldn’t get in Bali.”

Of their photographer, the bride remarks, “Our photographer was Kleio Photography. We were suggested them by our wedding planners and they didn’t let us down! Beautiful natural shots with amazing colours.”

Bali’s beauty came to life, the couple surprising their guests with plenty of Balinese flavour. Stephanie explains, “My favourite detail was the surprise fire dancers we had! There was quite a long walk from the ceremony to the reception, so to keep our guests entertained they had fire dancers walk them up to the reception. It was such a great addition!”

Stephanie and Kent worked with Botanica Weddings to plan their day, sharing, “All suppliers were through our wedding planner, Botanica Wedding. Who, in general, were just amazing with every detail!”

Of their first dance, Stephanie remembers, “We kept it simple for our first dance. No lessons, we just wanted our love to shine through. We danced to ‘At Last’ by Etta James.”

A big congratulations to the newlyweds! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Kleio Photography and Botanica Weddings for sharing today’s celebration.