Having a Bali...

Ahh, beautiful Bali. The Indonesian Island of paradise. It's the place where dreams (and weddings) come true! We were lucky enough to spend a few glorious days in this magical place recently and see for ourselves the kind of beauty and bliss that makes Bali such a legendary land.
A little background on why we were there:
So not only have we been blessed with some amazing travel opportunities while living on this side of the world, but we've also been blessed with some amazing friendships as well....and when these two things get together (travel opportunities with friends), it makes this crazy expat life that much more exciting...and worthwhile. Two of our friends in particular, Rob and Lauren, are a dear, sweet couple that we met the first weekend we arrived in KL. Rob, born and raised in Ireland and schooled in London, is a coworker of Will's, and his now-wife Lauren, is a sweetheart of a thing from Kansas City, Missouri. We've spent many a night, weekend, and dinner parties with them over the last few months and were lucky enough to score an invitation to their wedding....in Bali. YES!!! We flew down on a Wednesday night just in time to join them for an amazing dinner and cocktail party at a beautiful Balinese villa owned by Rob's Aunt and Uncle. What a great way to kick-off the wedding week! They literally had friends and families there from all over the world, and it was such a hoot listening to all of the different accents, picking up on all of the different mannerisms, and seeing all of the different fashion trends represented by so many different countries. It was an absolute blast! For a lot of these people (mostly our fellow Americans in the crowd), it was their vacation opportunity of a lifetime...something that they'd been trying to earn vacation time for throughout the whole year (and probably borrow some days into next year as well). So with that said, everyone's spirits were at an all time high this week. It was great being a part of this crowd where everyone was just so happy to be in some place as beautiful and tropical as Bali, and where the mood was always fun, festive, and full of energy. We spent the next couple of days walking up and down the beautiful Bali beaches and attending various wedding functions (i.e. bride's luncheon for me, and a waterpark adventure for Will with all the guys). By the time the actual wedding rolled around, we felt like we'd actually been friends with all these people for years and that it was just one great big reunion for everyone! And I just can't say enough great things about the wedding. It took place in a villa in the town of Canggu, Bali. The villa itself sat atop a gorgeous green hill which overlooked beautiful rice fields in the background and surrounded an incredible infinite pool and tropical gardens in the center.The wedding party had rented out all of the 5 private rooms at this villa, so the whole place belonged to Rob, Lauren, and their 54 wedding guests for the week (meaning that the wedding could last all night long without fear of being shut down, kicked out, or sent home). And being that the only wedding gift the couple requested from each of their wedding guests was to pick up a bottle of champagne at the duty-free airport in Bali to bring with them to the wedding reception, it was a good thing that this crowd didn't have a curfew! The bottomless flow of bubbly all night long, combined with the signature cocktails of the evening (some special Balinese Mojito and another refreshing rum-based cocktail of goodness), made for quite the festive environment. You throw all of that into a "room" (for lack of a better word of course...there really wasn't a "room" so to speak....just a beautiful outdoor garden and pavilion but you get the "picture") with a group of Irishmen, Scotsmen, Germans, Brits, and enthusiastic Americans, and you have the makings of one very unforgettable night...or forgettable for some but for all of the fun reasons. The wedding truly was, as they say, picture perfect. They couldn't have picked a lovelier setting, a happier crowd, or a more perfect place for their dream wedding, and for our dream vacation. Thank you, Rob and Lauren!!! :)

View from Restaurant on the Beach 

Pretty wind thingies blowing in the Balinese breeze

Rob and Lauren exchanging Vows

Rob and Lauren in front of rice fields

Wedding Villa and Pool