To read part 1 of our secret Bali elopement all about our vows – Click HERE

I’ve never been one to stress about the details and this time was no different. I didn’t have any shoes to wear because I forgot to pack them, I couldn’t find a headband I loved so I wore an old one, and I forgot to order flowers in time so I didn’t have any. Not to mention my hair and makeup artist cancelled 10 minutes after she was supposed to show up and we didn’t have a spot for our ceremony picked out until the night before. Everything felt chaotic but I was calm knowing that it always works out the way it’s supposed to, sometimes too many plans can get in the way of the magic. I stood there in the bathroom mirror braiding my hair behind my back as one of my best friends foraged the hotel grounds to create a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. My mind was still blown that Kat was even there, as a few days before she had no idea we were going to Bali let alone getting married there, and she just so happened to be vacationing there in the same place same time. We drank champagne and laughed about how I had no idea how to do my hair or makeup, and I took one last dip in the pool to try and cool off from the hottest day I’ve maybe ever experienced in my life. I was jittery, nervous and could not stop smiling as I imagine most brides feel the morning of their wedding. An hour late, just like most brides the morning of their wedding, we began our hike down to the beach for the first look.

 

I could feel my heart beating on my chest as I slowly began to walk towards him. ‘Holocene’ was softly playing through the speaker, and I stood behind him with my hand on his shoulder for what felt like minutes to catch my fleeting breath. He slowly turned and our eyes both welled with tears. His smile was so sweet and he told me I looked beautiful. Our lips went in and out of what felt like 100 kisses as we both smiled and giggled through all of them. A tear fell down his cheek and he laughed “do I get to keep you now?” He said. I wiped his cheek “yes” I somehow mustered out through my cracked voice and ear to ear smile. He hugged me so tight and when he let go I twirled around to show him my dress. If I ever was to see pure love and happiness through someone’s eyes it was in that moment with him.

We made our way out to the cliffs and exchanged our vows as the sun fell and the air began to cool –  to read more about that you can click HERE

The sky fell darker and darker as we walked out to the other side of the cliff and set our lights on the ground by the edge. I grabbed my phone and we decided to use the shuffle to pick our first dance since we couldn’t land on a specific song, and of course the one I loved started to play from the speaker. We stepped into the ring of twinkle lights and began to slowly sway with the music. The sunset had turned into a glowing night sky and there were stars above us, and when the song ended we just kept dancing as if we didn’t want it to end. I would have danced with him in that moment until my feet couldn’t hold me anymore.

 

The next morning we woke up as if on a cloud of daydreams. We relived the moments from the day before and I wrote out every possible detail I could think of in the notes in my phone so we would always remember. We started our journey inland and checked into our tree-top suite at the Hanging Gardens Resort, in the jungle outside of Ubud. The infinity pool on the tops of the jungle and candles everywhere made it feel as if it was something out of a dream. The next morning, we woke up for sunrise both totally forgetting that it was Peter’s 31st birthday! (AHH!! Epic wife fail in the first 2 days, haha!!), halfway through the morning Peter said “hey, I think it’s my birthday!!” – haha oh man we laughed, but I’ve never felt so bad! There was just so much going on and with the full-day time change, for some reason I thought it was the next day. Either way, we spent the day exploring rice fields, chasing waterfalls and dancing in light-ray’s after what seemed like it was going to be a bust with rain clouds everywhere, but of course, we decided to go anyways, and that is always when the magic happens.

   

And then we ended the evening like this. Turns out I wasn’t such a bad wife after all and weeks before had made these plans with the hotel to set up this candlelit dinner in the middle of the pool for Peter’s birthday:). I’m so grateful for these intentional moments we got to spend together without distraction and I really believe it is such a beautiful way to start a marriage. What an experience getting to be on the other side of what we share with couples every week!