Wedding in Bali

Wedding were held, and will be held here. But this time, it belongs to us.

The whole thing started just easy. Let's have the wedding in Bali! OK, why not?
We might take it out on the relatives, but at least we can have our wedding a few meters
from the sea, and barefoot .

We saved on the printing costs by sending the invitation by e-mail.

What do we need for a wedding? Well, the first thing is a lovely bride, and a few other things
like luck, and a lot of walking around...

Paperwork I.

A passport or ID card, birth certificates, certification of that we are not married, tons of pictures with red or blue background. Oh, yes, and a paper from the embassy that the country has no problem with me getting married. OK. So the date was selected, so let's go to the closest civil registry (Amlapura - Karangasem) Catatan Sipil.Papers were reviewed, so they figured out that they need a few more translations (validated by the Consul), plus police registry that I am in Bali. Few days and it was ready.
(Thanxs to Gabi, the Honorary Consul of Hungary in Bali)

Next, another trip to the Catatan Sipil.

- Yes, now everything is OK - they said.
- Where is the paper from the church that you are already married?
- Whaaaatt? We are going to be married next week! - we answered.
- A ha! Didn't we say? Please come back when you are already married!
-Why didn't they tell it the first time? - I was thinking silently...

to be continued! »

Clothes

There is nothing easier then that - I was thinking. A simple white linen shirt plus a linen trousers, my loved one has already her dress, so it is easy. And why would we need shoes in the tropics? :-)

Rented car, and we start. 16 shops in Kuta, no trousers in my size... The funniest story was when in one shop the shirts started 5 sizes bigger than mine, and the trousers from the same material were only for people of 35kg or less. (how can they sell anything like this????)

Let's go to Ubud, where there is a shop for linen, and they fix it to the size on site (a tip from a friend). On the way we have a flat tyre, it simply gave up. Probably it was a feather which finally made a whole in it - considering the thinckness of the tyre... We set on the ground of the police station. Help is close, spare tyre comes off the car, and ..... it had the same end some time ago. Also completely rived. Phone to the company. They pay it all, please help yourself. (later it turnd out that they were arguing about the price we payed for the tyre.)

Ubud. 5 shops, white linen is nonexistent. hehe. Back to Kuta, where we buy the first shirt of the first shop we visited - 5 seconds before the shop closes. In the meantime we found a trousers in the neighbouring shop, so all set..

Preparations

What do we need for a wedding outdoor, and we have already everything?

By my opinion, we need a priest, some people to be around, rings (already bought), and us.

Christine has another opinion (and a list):

- 5 kilogram flower flakes + 2 kilogram yellow flower
- millions of candles
- white sheet for the table
- flower on the table
- candle holder from banana tree
- floating candles
- penjor - this is a balinese something, standing on the sides of the table and looks good
- fruit janur - fruit basket balinese style
- bouquet (white arum lilly, from Seminyak)
- obor - torches
- gamelan - this a balinese traditional music band, with lots of precussions
- legong dancers
- BBQ dinner
- champagne
- wedding cake
- lots of dishes, cutlery
- and a list where you can follow up on different items (plus thousand others)

This rightly represents how simple we are men....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwater wedding (pictures here » ) (photography by Tim Rock)

We are both divers, the sea is a few meters away, so the case was given.

The previous night around 3:35 am Christine woke me up, she had a great idea:
- Why don't we dive in normal clothes?
I was totally enthousiastic, so we settled quick, and I could sleep again :-)

The photographer arrived in the morning. Well, could have arrived, if the driver didn't pick someone else (actually two others instead of one). When he arrived, I asked him what happened:

- Why did you pick others?
- Because this guest is called the same, Tim Rock! - so was the answer.
- Really? Both of them? - I was asking.
- Didn't you realise that you picked two person instead of one? How many did you bring?
- One! - was the determined answer.
(Strange senses for a driver not to realise how many guests are in the car....)

OK, the photographer has arrived later. I assemble my gear, my regulator just gave up. Change to a new one. Now it seems to work.

 

 

 

 

 

Hurrah! Guests around, fish around (banana for the case if the fish surround us too much that it is impossible to see each other), flowers, ring bearer. Dive on the wreck. Everything went just fine. The frangipani flowers just floating around us, rings were not losted, only my white trousers started to slip off, and I did not realise that. The fish though food for the flowers, so even the titan trigger was around!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding above the water (pictures here » )

With a normal lateness (we are in Bali right?), so 30 minutes later the bride has arrived on the side of her brother. I escorted her towards the altar. The priest gave a short speech, and got to the essence:

- Will you take her.... - and here it came the suprise. I always thought that the answer is: "I do", but here the correct answer was: " I will". OK, this will do as well.

Then we had poem readings from the Bible, choir was singing, vows with the rings, paperwork, and a surprise rice throwing ( I found one in my ears the next day). OK, headed for the Beach Bar, where people congratulated.

Later there was dance, the band was doing it hard, dancers, food, sunset, lots of stuff. The cake has given up as well, and very fast everyone just disappeared. The family.

Paperwork II.

OK, the wedding is done, with the papers we head for the Catatan Sipil again. Of course they were asking for some new copies this time too. (why not asking in the first or the second time?????) And of course there was problem again. My new wife just forgot part of the papers home.... OK, we will have a fourth visit too...

So, that was it. Pictures are here in order »

Bali, 2003.07.29.