A Beachside Bali Spa Wedding

Joanna & Amanda

ONE SENTENCE SUM-UP OF THE WEDDING VIBE: Six years in the making, the blending of two lives, cultures, families, and friends coming together to celebrate love and commitment for a beautiful wedding week in Bali.

Soundtrack For Reading: “Reign of Love” by Coldplay


OTHER COOL STUFF WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

We decided that Bali would be the perfect place to blend our cultures, family, and friends, as it has truly been an oasis for us to go monthly and relax from hectic Singapore. All of our guests were international and flew in for the week; many flew over twenty-four hours to be with us on our special day. We wanted to spend as much time with family and friends as possible, so we planned four days of activities and dinners to show them the beautiful island and to really cherish our time together. This has been a difficult and emotional journey for us as we have dealt with many obstacles in our situation and to have a week spent at the beautiful W Retreat and Spa surrounded by so much love was really overwhelming and something we will always remember.

Favorite Thing ABOUT THE WEDDING

Sharing time with family and friends!

How To DIY a Confetti Bag Seating Chart

One of the smartest bits of wisdom I ever received about party planning comes from Alison Faulkner of The Alison Show. (Actually most of my smart party planning tips come from her site. Girlfriend knows how to make anything fun.) When it comes to decor, she has two key pieces of advice. The first is to double up: “This is my major money-saving tip! What can you double-up on? Can you make the drink a decor item? Or can you make your decor a favor? Can you make your food decoration or your wall backdrops also a photo op?” Next is to give people something to do: “When you show up to a party you’re feeling all vulnerable and confused. Do you know anyone? What should you do now that you’re here? This is why people all stand in your kitchen and say, ‘What can I do to help?’ And you say, ‘GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN AND ENJOY THE PARTY!’ It doesn’t have to be complicated. The answer can be eat. The answer can be ‘sign a guest book.’ Why do you think the line for the guest book is always so long? Not because people actually ever want to sign it. They are just happy to have something to do.” Which, preach.

So that’s what we were thinking when we came up with today’s DIY. Now I know most of us are cut from the same #lazygirl cloth, and that’s why we don’t normally bother with DIY projects that involve a lot of smaller moving parts. But this does double duty. It’s both an escort card display (which is just plain useful, but more to the point gives you something to do when you walk into the reception: find your name and find your seat). But it’s also a fun confetti sendoff. Given all that goodness packed in one small punch, it seemed worth the minimal extra effort. And trust us when we say minimal. While this seating chart may look complicated, designer Michelle Edgemont managed to wave her magic wand over the whole thing and turn it into something dead easy.

Plus, y’all, it’s so pretty.

Pro-Tip: Just remember that anything involving confetti needs to be swept up at the end of the night (if it’s happening inside) or should be compliant with things like… littering laws. Obviously you can substitute confetti for any other biodegradable resource you want. It all sort of looks the same when you’re throwing it at a happy couple.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Square glassine bags
  • Avery clear round labels
  • Pink, white, and black confetti
  • Foamcore
  • Fabric
  • Thumbtacks
  • Packing tape
  • Scissors

Steps:

1. Use this printable template to type in your guests’ names. Print on the clear Avery labels.

2. Using a little math, figure out what size foamcore you’ll need. You’ll want all of the escort cards to fit onto the board with about half an inch between each one. Measure your fabric so that it’s about four inches larger than the foamcore on each side

3. Place your fabric on the table face down. Put the foamcore in the center of the fabric. Wrap the fabric around the foamcore, taping it onto the back. Pull the fabric taught so it’s nice and smooth on the front.

4. Stick a label onto each glassine bag. Fill with confetti and pin to your board in alphabetical order.