Tying the knot on 'Paradise Island'

Tying the knot on 'Paradise Island'

Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Liana Halim and her longtime boyfriend George Knight looked elated after visiting Uluwatu hill in Jimbaran, which they are considering for a wedding ceremony they envision as small yet memorable.

"It was so gorgeous. This place is probably our first choice. Saying the sacred words 'I do' in a beautiful small chapel during sunset while overlooking the great waves of the Indian Ocean could be the most romantic moment in my life," cheered Liana, a graduate of London University, where she met Knight.

They were also considering an old house in a rural area near London for the wedding.

Liana's parents want the couple to hold a lavish wedding ceremony in Sukabumi, West Java.

"We just want a simple and private wedding with no more than 50 guests and relatives. George's parents have agreed to fly to Bali to attend our wedding and to spend their Christmas and New Year's holidays here," she said.

With more young couple choosing to hold stylish yet private weddings, it has created many business opportunities for wedding planners, villas, resorts and other wedding-related companies offering services for the happy and big-spending couples.

Tirtha Bali, which runs Tirtha Uluwatu and the newly opened Tirtha Luhur, two luxury wedding venues and resorts in Uluwatu, Jimbaran, offers a number of comprehensive wedding packages and accommodations for couples and their families.

Gusrie, the marketing manager of Tirtha Bali, said 90 percent of the companies' clients were Japanese couples. The remaining 10 percent are Indonesian.

"We have a special wedding chapel on the cliff surrounded by water and a flower garden. We have quite a few orders from celebrities and members of notable families from Jakarta and Surabaya," said Gusrie.

The prices for the company's wedding packages start from a few thousand US dollar to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the clients' requirements.

Since Mick Jagger and former wife Jerry Hall were wed in the 1980s in a traditional Balinese wedding ceremony, Bali has been a favorite destination for local and international celebrities tying the knot.

Bali offer the white sand and big waves of Kuta and Jimbaran, as well as the quieter Sanur beach area.

Maria Sitanggang, director of sales and marketing at the Bali Hyatt in Sanur, said the hotel's wedding packages were popular among Indonesians and Europeans.

The hotel offers a number of wedding packages, including the Flamboyant and Lily wedding packages, as well as special wedding receptions.

"We provide complete service to take the stress and headache out of getting married," Maria said.

The packages can be tailored to fit different types of ceremonies (traditional or Western-style ceremonies). Packages include bridal beauty treatments, bridal cake and wedding certificates.

For those who want a secluded ceremony, Ubud with its rice fields and green valleys make the perfect scene for a tranquil wedding.

"We frequently arrange wedding ceremonies for our clients from Australia, Japan and Indonesia," said Wawan Dharmawan, general manager of Kamandalu Resort and Spa.

The resort has special wedding bale that can accommodate 50 to 100 guests.

"The wedding couples get head-to-toe prenuptial treatment and a special honeymoon package. One interesting phenomenon, Bali is also the first option for many ethnic Indians from Jakarta, Singapore and Malaysia," Wawan said.

The Ubud Hanging Garden Resort also offers unique wedding packages. "It is ideal for medium-size parties who wish privacy and uniqueness," said Nicolas Pillet, general manager of the resort.

Packages include: venue, decorations, legal arrangements, etc. "With our expert wedding team and fine cuisine by our French chef, having your wedding here can be something to be remembered for a life time," Pillet said.

Puneeth Malhotra, manager of Seminyak's Queen Tandoor Indian restaurant, said that he was a little surprised by this trend.

"We have catered for hundreds of guests who flew directly from Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and even India to attend the wedding ceremony of a child of a successful ethnic Indian businessman from Jakarta," he said, adding that the wedding party lasted for three days.

"An Indian wedding ceremony should always be big and luxurious and involve hundreds and perhaps thousands of relatives and guests," he said.

The fathers of the brides usually book the hotel rooms, arrange a sumptuous wedding reception and even fly guests to the wedding venue.

This is a new opportunity for resorts, hotels, villas and other facilities in Bali to grab a piece of this new market.

For Dini and Handy, who just exchanged wedding vows in Kuta, getting married in Bali was a way to avoid the noisy and complicated wedding ceremony their parents wanted to arrange.

"With almost everybody still suffering from the economic crisis, holding a modest wedding was our main intention. We sold our wedding souvenirs and donated to children at several orphanages in Jakarta and Bali," said the beaming newlyweds.