Quiet
Ubud jungle
River valleys and a canopy on every side. Ceremony in the garden, dinner on the deck, nobody else there.
Vow renewal
Say it again, somewhere better.
A renewal needs no paperwork and no permission. It is a ceremony you design from nothing, in a place you chose rather than one that was convenient.
- No documentation required
- Jungle or clifftop
- Private pool villas
Where
Two settings worth the flight.
Most couples renewing vows have been married long enough to know what they actually like. These are the two the island does best.
Quiet
Ubud jungle
River valleys and a canopy on every side. Ceremony in the garden, dinner on the deck, nobody else there.
Dramatic
Uluwatu cliffs
The ocean on three sides and the sunset in front of you. The version people picture when they think of Bali.
Secluded
North coast
Calm water, almost no crowds, and the lowest rates on the island. A long drive, and worth it for privacy.
What to add
The ceremony is the short part.
A renewal takes twenty minutes. What makes the trip is what sits around it, and all of it is arranged through the villa rather than separately.
- 1 Private candlelight dinner On the deck or in the garden, the same evening. The most commonly added extra, and the one people remember.
- 2 Spa treatments for two Balinese massages and flower baths, before the ceremony rather than after it.
- 3 A decorated room Set up on arrival. It needs a few days of notice, which is the only deadline in the whole plan.
- 4 Two regions, if you have the nights Ubud first for the jungle, then the coast. It gives the trip two halves instead of one long stay.
Stolen villa photos and operators impersonating real ones have both been reported in Bali. Verify every supplier through an official account or a recognised platform before you pay a deposit.
Where a renewal sits
Legal, or symbolic.
A vow renewal is a symbolic ceremony by definition. It is worth seeing the comparison anyway, because the difference is what makes a renewal so much easier to arrange.
Legal marriage
- Paperwork
- Documents from Indonesia and from your home country, including an affidavit of no impediment.
- Recognised
- Legally recognised, subject to both countries accepting it.
- Lead time
- Start months ahead. Document turnaround is the slowest part.
- Who to hire
- A local planner who has done the paperwork before.
Symbolic ceremony
- Paperwork
- None required.
- Recognised
- Not a legal marriage. It carries whatever meaning you give it.
- Lead time
- As long as the venue needs, which is usually weeks.
- Who to hire
- A celebrant and a venue. The rest is styling.
You are already married. Nothing on the left hand column applies, which is why a renewal can be booked in weeks rather than months.
Asked most often
Questions couples ask first.
Keep reading
The rest of the ceremony guides.
Same island, different ceremony. Start with the pillar guide if you are still deciding.
- Destination Weddings in Bali The pillar guide: beach, clifftop and jungle venues, and what a legal ceremony asks for that a symbolic one does not.
- Intimate Weddings Under about twenty guests the whole wedding fits inside one villa. That changes everything about the planning.
- Symbolic Weddings No legal documentation at all. Venue, celebrant, flowers, photography, and nothing else to file.
Give us the date. We will set the table.
Send the month and how many nights you have. You will get villas, a celebrant and a plan for the evening itself.