S1 E7 - The celebrants role in your wedding

Let's say, like, we're human, like we ride scooters. What happens if not to? Then cut some wood. Your celebrants, a week before your wedding is driving along the highway and gets hit by a bus and ends up in the hospital. What do you do? You have no celebrants. Now what? Panic. Just sheer panic.

I've heard from many brides where they've been to another wedding and they saw someone else, a family friend, whoever, do the wedding and something was just catastrophic and they're just trying to avoid it. Because when you're there in a professional capacity, you are approaching it differently than a friend who's like, well, I'm here to drink.

You know me.

Yeah, I can say that it's okay. Never to me. It's like the bride and groom, like start talking dirty to each other up there. They're like whispering and it's like spicy.

We love that.

And it's like I'm like, I have to put the mic down.

What are they saying?

You know, they're just like, doesn't matter.

If they're getting paid because what they are doing is now that you've got that celebrant, we're not hiring here. We're not hiring them. We're not hiring Brady, who has done the right thing, gone out legally, got a work permit to work here legally spent thousands of dollars. The boys are local. You're taking the job away from a local person and giving it to a foreigner who is on a tourist permit and is not allowed to work. It is completely illegal. It's not allowed.

Hi and welcome back to another episode of Bali Weddings Unveiled. My name is Tristan and as always, I am joined by my co host.

Hi, welcome back. Today we are going to be diving into one of the most important parts of your day is your celebrants.

Absolutely. Celebrants are probably one of the first things we recommend booking in your wedding. They are going to lead your ceremony and they're literally going to make or break the first part of your wedding day. So super important topic to cover and we're very lucky because today we are joined by three of our amazing celebrants from my Bali celebrant. We've got the boys in today and also the co owner of my Bali celebrant. Yeah.

So we have got Brady, Min and Pierre and also the co owner, surprise.

Shock, horror, Tristan.

Me. So a lot of people don't actually know that I do co own my Bali salad and we try to keep it that Way at the beginning, I guess, because we didn't want other wedding planners not using the company because they were scared that I was a competition where this is a completely different business. Yeah. So a little bit about my Bali celebrant we've been running for. Gosh, it's been about eight or nine years now. I don't even know. A little while. A little while, yeah. So basically, I co founded my Bali celebrant with Heather, who all of us here know and love. Unfortunately, Heather did move back to the States last year, but she's still working from afar. But I'd been working in the wedding industry for a little while and we didn't have many options for celebrants. And I don't know if you boys know this, but back in the day, 10 years ago, well, 10 and a half now, when I started, we didn't have any options. I found Heather online and then I had two vocal celebrants. Heather was amazing. She's always been amazing. But the local celebrants of people wanted another option. One of them just thought he was the funniest person alive and would make people clap as the bride was walking down the aisle. And it wasn't very celebrant y. It was like a professional. Professional, That's a good word. It was more like a comedy show. Like, I will never forget. Cringe moment. A bride actually booked the celebrant directly after we co founded my Bali celebrant. And I will never forget, he announced the first kiss and then as she was doing her cute little dip and it was a photo moment, he goes, put your tongue in her mouth. And I was like, I can't believe he just said that.

Didn't he said he was going to.

Throw the rings over the cliff? Yep. He said something along the lines of, like you say I do after me and if you don't, I'm going to throw these rings into the river. That was accentuated.

And I was like, I want to steal that.

Yeah. So I guess the options back then weren't good. And even though Barley Brides has grown a lot over the years, I didn't. Besides Heather, I didn't find celebrants I like. And I was like, well, this is what I want. I want a professional standard. I want them to follow, set things, little things, get out of the way of first. Kids, like, do not stand in the fucking background because it annoys me and you're going to ruin their photo. So there were these certain standards. So I had an idea that I can train people because the weddings are not legal here, which we'll dive into later. I was. I just need to train people into doing what I want them to do, basically. And I didn't want to step on toes. I'd already been working with Heather, so. How did you meet Heather? She did my mum's wedding. So that was one of the first unofficial weddings Bali Rides did was my mum's wedding to my now past stepdad. And Heather did her wedding and then we started using her from there. So, yeah, I sat down with Heather, we had a chat and like, two months later, My Bali Celebrant was born. And we've still got videos of the early days of us in the office holding fake weddings while me and Heather are holding hands, pretending to be the bride and groom and trying to make the celebrant laugh or saying awkward things just to test. And over the years we've grown and now we have a team of amazing celebrants that are so professional, they, you know, follow all the correct steps, they get the bride and groom ready for the photo moments, they work well with wedding planners and, yeah, that's kind of how it all started. So one of the biggest things that we do pride ourselves on, which you're not going to get from any other celebrant on this island, apart from our company, is something called the My Bali Celebrant Guarantee, which all you boys are aware of.

And what is that? What does that give you?

So basically, when you start a business, you should have a unique selling point, right? You can't just start a business and do what everyone else is doing. So when we started it, I said we have to have a unique selling point. So the My Bali Celebrant Guarantee basically guarantees you are celebrant for your wedding. So let's say, like, we're human, like we ride scooters. What happens if, God forbid, touch them wood, you're celebrants a week before your wedding, is driving along the highway and gets hit by a bus and ends up in the hospital? What do you do? You have no celebrant now what?

Panic.

Just what do you do? I mean, Covid. Like, what if you celebrant comes down with something infectious and can't come to your wedding? What if they have a family emergency? Like, there's so many things that can go wrong and the celebrant is so essential. So the My Bali Celebrant Guarantee means that doesn't matter what happens if something happens to your celebrant human nature, you know, whatever. We will guarantee you a celebrant for the wedding. So for behind the scenes, we have an admin team and it's like, right, that celebrant can't come. Who's available? Here's your options. And we just moved the script in the questionnaire to the new celebrant introduced. And it's just seamless. And it's something that we have had to use along the years and quite recently, actually. Min, who's with us today. Min, you can attest to this. You had a bit of a medical emergency late last year, and we had to clear how many months worth of weddings for you?

Two months. It was almost 20 weddings that I had to.

Find a replacement celebrant for.

Yeah.

In the very last minute. But thank God to this, the NBC guarantee program, that all of these fell into place quite seamlessly. And, you know, it places no burdens on everybody because of the system that's already in place.

Yeah. Amazing. And I know that I had a couple of clients that were a little bit stressed out because, you know, some of them were only a few days out from the wedding.

Exactly.

But you just did straight away, hand over to the new celebrants.

Yeah. Because when it happens, it just happens suddenly. And I had to be hospitalized, and then, you know, clearly I couldn't be out and about. And everything was taken care of pretty much instantly. And, you know, in the end, everyone's happy and I'm recovered.

Yay. Yeah. I think I had four clients in October, I think. But you are so onto it that everything was already done for them. So it was just basically a pickup drop to who was available. And it was seamless.

There was a lot of work in the background, but that's what we do anyway. I mean, between us and NBC and. Yep. So as seamless as it was, there was a lot of work, but the system allow us to be able to do it efficiently and really make sure that all everybody's involved is taken care of, that you, as the couple will have little, you know, worrisome about, you know, what may happen. Because everything is taken care for you.

Yeah. Which makes it a lot easier. Did you have any issues with couples? Like, I got an experience. Going to talk about this in the next episode, but I recently had a medical emergency and I had couples that were, like, not happy with me and insisting that they still have their book full. And I'm like, no, I'm literally in the hospital. Nicest way. Bugger off. Did you have anyone that wasn't really.

No, I think everybody was pretty understanding, I guess, like, initially they are a little bit unsure, but once they got the recommendation of the replacement celebrant and then they got the assurance by the wedding planner, say, this celebrant will work well with you, so you got a double assurance and then they're pretty fine to take on with that and then run with it. So pretty much initially, yes, when you tell them you can't because you have spent so much time with them creating a very personalized ceremony script with them, and then it's natural for them to fill up, you know, a bit of. Exactly. A bit of panic setting in. But in the end, yeah, we just explain to them and say, you know, we have a great system going on. And then all they needed to hear is that one more assurance and usually the wedding planner, which we are working closely and just assure them that the replacement celebrant will be worked really well and the script is done, etc. So you will not feel any kind of hitch on the day everything runs as smoothly. So that's what happened.

So good.

Did any of you two take over any of Min's weddings?

I did.

Did you?

I did several in December and I think January.

Do you know why they're shaking their heads? Because I had a couple of feedback, like, oh my gosh, men's ceremonies are so big.

That's not.

But it was also the English.

These guys were like champions, right?

They were the English. I mean, you're very native English speaking. Pierre is very good with his English as well. I mean, we don't hire people that don't have a great English, but yours is probably a lot better. So Pierre was like, oh, my goodness.

Yeah, I think Veena came to me, one of the other celebrants, she was like, oh, my God, it's just so detailed.

But this is why you're so sought after, I guess. So let's quickly introduce our other guests. We've got Brady with us today, also from my Bali celebrant. Tell us about you, Brady.

Whoa.

Well, my name is Brady. That's the first start. I'm from the United States.

I'm from the United States and I've been in Bali now for just over two years. And I made my way out here from Europe after spending the last or the previous four years teaching abroad. Kind of Bali doesn't. You don't really find Bali. Bali finds you. And. And so true.

How did you get into wedding? Like into the wedding industry from teaching.

Actually, because I was in Europe. I had a lot of friends at the time that were getting married and they wanted me involved in their wedding. But because of the flights and we're still battling with COVID and all that, it was very hard for me to be involved in anything that required multiple trips to the United States. And so I started doing weddings for him. I actually did my first wedding for a friend. It was around 2014. They wanted a very quiet wedding. And so I went and got licensed in the United States.

You can conduct official legal weddings in.

The US I can do official legal weddings. And we hiked to the top of a mountain in a national park. They wanted it to be small, and so the only way to do that was to get really far away.

And so that's clever.

That's extravagant.

So it was a.

It was a four day hike.

Would you, would you hike the mountain here to do a wedding?

Oh, absolutely.

Let's go to Kizamani.

Yeah.

Let's go to Rinjani. Let's do a real mountain.

Oh, no.

Wedding planner involved in that one.

And so when it came time that more friends were getting married, they kind of called me and said, hey, we want you involved. Do you want to do our wedding? Absolutely. And so kind of as a teacher and as a celebrant, you're. You have to learn how to speak.

I'll say. You're used to talking to people already.

Yeah. Dealing with it and kind of reading the crowd and understanding the vibe and, you know, kind of adjusting on the fly. And I think a lot of those skills merge well and it's been seamless and I love it. It's fantastic.

Well, I think it's an industry that you need to love to be in because honestly, it can be very stressful. A lot of things can go wrong and you generally need to love the job to stick at it. How did you fall into the wedding industry in Bali? Because it's not easy one to get the visa for which Brady's very legal. He's allowed to work your weddings.

It was by happen chance I happened to meet someone who worked in the wedding industry and I was touring Asia to find a new teaching job and they said, well, why don't you stay here and do weddings? You've done them before. And I thought she was joking.

Was this Daisy?

It was one of Daisy's.

Employees.

Oh, wow.

And so she put me in touch with her and then she put me in touch with a former celebrant of yours. And then he put me in touch with more people and then I started to realize, okay, there's actually this is. This is real. Like, I thought it was a joke and I didn't know that there were that many weddings on the island to begin with.

It's a very rare market to get a Westerner like Steve, who referred you, he's moved to Hong Kong now. He used to work with us, but he was the only Western male at the time that actually had the correct work permits and visas to be able to legally do weddings here. So finding you, I think was just such a win for us.

It went from a, you know, a two day layover to two years later.

And so you had no intention of actually living in Bali, you just.

No, I had interviews in Korea and Vietnam and I was on my way out. I had a. I had an out ticket. Because you can't come here with an out ticket.

Yeah. You must stay here forever.

You know, the island chose me and I'm not gonna fight it.

I feel like that's so true. Like Bali chooses people.

So true.

Like, and some it spits back out.

Yeah. Thankfully, I think, like, we touched on that, like in one of the other episodes. It was like I was going home. It was like six months and I was heading home and then by chance, I just fell into Tristan's arms.

Yeah.

Come back.

She nursed me back to health.

It was ready to spit you out. And then I was like, actually, we'll keep this.

You're a good one.

Amazing. And then we've had a quick chat to you min, about obviously your medical issues and things. Tell us a little bit more about you and your journey.

Yep.

My name is Minh, so I'm Indonesian and I.

Well, I mean.

How I get into doing the celebrant as a celebrant is that I ran into Heather, who was the co founder of Myvalley Celebrant. So she was a member at the gym that at the time I was working at. So I was like, what were you.

Doing at the gym?

Well, I was at a time when I was young and fit. That would have been about, probably about eight years ago. So I was always.

You were our first, actually. You and Uyem were our first father.

Yeah. So at the time, Heather always came into the gym daily getting super fit. And then she's always coming in the morning. Obviously she's got a lot of free time in the morning. And I said, I'm going to get ready to go to work. I said, what are you doing Celebrant. I'm doing celebrant work. And at the time, I couldn't quite understand what she was doing exactly. So then one day I just asked her and I said, okay, this is what I do. I officiate weddings for couples. And then, you know, then that. That kind of went by. And then after a little while, and she said, min, you. You speak very good English.

That's how we started.

And he said, like. And, you know, you articulate well and have you ever thought about maybe, you know, dabble into the job that I'm doing? So I thought, okay, you know, this sounds like. Why not?

Thought it was a joke too, didn't you?

Yeah, well, at the time, you know.

It'S like a hobby, you know.

So I did one weekend here. I pop in, and that's when I met Tristan. And then we had the little training session happening in the office at the time, and we had to do our own pretending bride and groom standing there underneath the stairs. And, yeah, so we. That's how it got started. And at the time, I was also teaching classes. For me, standing in front of a crowd and speaking publicly also came second nature. So for me, it was kind of like. Like, you combination of all of the skills coming together, merging really comfortably into this one profession. And, you know, I haven't looked back ever since. And, yeah, no, I love what I do. And I think, yeah, it's something that the industry huge in Bali. So anybody with great English and you feel you're great with talking in front of people, come and contact through sin.

Come and join the team.

You need to put him on the recruiting team.

I know. Yeah. You know what's funny? I was about to say something and then I was like, I can't say that. But for anyone that is still looking for a celebrant, we sell min, which is the part I wasn't sure if I could say sell, but we sell min as a Western Indonesian celebrant. Can you explain why we do that, Min? What's your background?

Because I spent 20, 26 years in. Living in Sydney.

Yeah.

So I did part of my study uni over there, and I worked there for some years. And then when I returned to Indonesia, I was on my way back to Sydney when I had friends who were actually working with me in Australia who's been commissioned to bring their brand of fitness into Bali, and I used to work with them. So I came to Bali to visit them and came and saw and I stayed. Again, Bali chose me. But the fact is One thing more surprising than that is that I am Indonesian. So for me I don't need ketos, but I guess I can speak the language well. So then that all kind of fell into place and I was lucky in that sense.

Yeah, absolutely.

You don't have Australian accents. That's a good thing.

Well, I think living, I think living in Bali you become internationalized because you are have you hear so many accents all around and then, you know, I can. If I'm with real Aussie, the twang can come out.

Really? That'd be fun to see. Maybe we do need to go down to the brewery after.

Exactly, exactly. So it can come out. But I think right now I am international with my accents.

Wow. And Pierre.

Oh yes, tell us your story.

I'm Pierre, very well known to both of us.

I met one of the co founder of my Bali celebrant in one of a gym, Australian gym. I trained both of them.

You guys are working out a lot?

Yeah, not lately, but yeah, I've been doing well. The last two weeks I was doing well, but then emergency, I've been off.

For a few months. They're working out sometimes.

Back then I was coming like five, six days a week.

I still have personal training sessions.

Yeah, they're pretty good. They're pretty good. And then I asked Tristan I want to side hustles. And then Tristan offered me come and try celebrant and then. Which I did try and then have a little training. A bit nervous, but I did it.

So you're probably the newest celebrant on our books.

Yes.

Yeah. How are you finding it so far? I mean, you are such a everywhere person. You know, pt, we've just opened a barbershop. You had a basketball thing. Now we're moving into the weddings. How are you finding it?

I just found out celebrant is something that is a very special moment. It's very. To be part with some someone moment and then share with them and then you feel there was so much love around and then good energy and I think it's really, really helping me to get a bit more balance in life, you know. So to be around a couple that really in love and then saying all the good things and very patient about each other, I think it's really cute and lovely. Yeah, I think to be part of the team. Obviously it's no brainer. You will love the job.

Do you know what I've just realized? So my Bali celebrant does obviously celebrants. We used to do legals but we're not really doing that right now because I don't know if you guys have heard, but there was a big issue with the chaplain civil last year. The person retired. Legal weddings with no notice got scrapped. They have now come back. But as a company, we have decided that we're not going to do them for now because I had the legal wedding in August and it took five months for me to get certificate. It came through like a week and a half ago.

Wow.

So, yeah, that's too unknown for me. And we want it to be a process that, you know, we can have within four weeks. So for now, we're not doing legal weddings, but we also do mcs. And I'm pretty sure you're the only mcs in the company. None of the no one else MC.

Does been an mc. Yes.

I used Chrissy last year.

Oh, did you? Yeah.

She's amazing. She was like.

I think it's because we only kind of put that little fishing line out. Like, does anyone want to embassy weddings as well? We normally do encourage a family or friend member. If you have a very good public speaker, family or friend member to MC because it's personal. They've got to talk about you. They've got to introduce the speeches. But we've seen a lot more MCs work this year, guys like, who can tell me, like, Brady, you do emceeing quite a lot. Why do you think it's better to have a professional MC than using a friend or family member?

Well, it's hard. You obviously want to involve as many family members into your special day as you can, but it kind of detracts from their experience with it as well. Because there's so many moving parts behind the scenes and you have to be constantly aware of everything that's kind of shifting.

And you're removed from engaging in that moment of celebration and joy that you're only doing once. And so now you're having them kind of have to step back and take these different roles and be kind of there at a different level. It's almost working.

Yeah.

You know, and everyone wants.

You gotta be aware.

Yeah, everyone wants to help because it's your day. And if you ask me, absolutely, I'm gonna help you. But at the same time.

It makes the experience different for them. And I think a lot of couples are starting to kind of see that or they've had a bad experience. I've heard from many brides where they.

Were talking about this earlier, been to.

Another wedding and they saw someone else a Family, friend, whoever do the wedding and something was just catastrophic and they're just trying to avoid it. Because when you're there in a professional capacity, you are approaching it differently than a friend who's like, well, I'm here to drink.

They know me.

Yeah, I can say that it's okay. It's like, no, it's really not.

Like, I think I've had quite a few clients recently. They are looking into hiring an MC just because they don't want to stress someone else out on the day. Like they want their family and friends to enjoy the day. So that's kind of where they're coming from.

And it's a lot of work. It's not.

It's not following, is it, when you have a wedding planner? Because if you were just emceeing a wedding, I understand, but if you had a wedding planner running the wedding and you had to emcee, is it still a lot of work?

Well, see, that's it. As a professional, you've done it and you've worked with these planners. So you know the rhythm and flow. But if you step in for the first time and all these different pieces are moving and it's b. So time's not real.

Yes, that is the best description I've heard of balling time. Time is not real.

So like, you were like, oh, it's 6:15, we should be doing this. It's like, we're not even close.

I had a wedding run an hour late and I was like, you know what, the bride is never late. Everyone else is simply early.

Yeah, it was our wedding that we did.

Yeah.

And so I think again, for the professional, it's much easier because again, we know what you guys are doing. We know what's happening, we know the progression, the flow. Because of the consistency as a first timer, it can be intimidating. And then again, you're removing yourself from that celebration by having to be engaged at all these different mental capacities that you probably weren't expecting when you.

Yeah, see, I've emceed a wedding for a friend in Australia and I've emceed a couple of weddings here. And my friend in Australia blessed she was supposed to get married in Bali, but the venue that she wanted would not work with an outside wedding planner. And it was non negotiable. I had to plan her wedding. So we ended up doing a venue in Australia and I planned it and I emceed it. I didn't, I didn't. I didn't even think I danced. Because in Australia, it's a very different concept. And obviously, I'd also planned the wedding, but the MC's in charge of the timeline in Australia. So I was running to the kitchen. All right, how long to mains? I'm like, great. Speeches are going to start here. So I was like the show manager of the scene as well as mc. And I did not enjoy that wedding at all. Like, it was beautiful, don't get me wrong. But I was too busy making sure all the timings were done and. Okay, right with. Are you almost ready for your first dance? Because I had to manage that here. The first wedding that I emceed was, again, a friend. This is the one that got me pulled into immigration. And Yanti had planned it. So literally, it was the same process as our wedding. She just handed me the microphone and was like, time to do speeches, Tristan. I was like, great. So there wasn't as much to worry about. But I do feel because I work in the industry, I found it so easy. But family and friends, the one thing we always have to explain to them is if you're emceeing a wedding, don't worry about the times. I'm going to come give you the microphone when I need you to talk, and I'm going to say, time for speeches, and I'm going to tell you who's talking. Like, I've got it all under control. Just speak. And I think a lot of the MCs that are coming here, as for the clients, they don't realize that they don't have to manage any of the timings yet.

I had an emcee that I was. I wasn't the emcee. I was seeing it. And they disappeared. They didn't. They didn't tell anyone. So it's time to start doing the next thing. And we can't find this person. And I was assisting in a different capacity there, but it was like, okay.

So.

One of my weddings, before I went out to the emcee, it was like, okay, time to do a speech or whatever was up next. They were like, I don't want to do it anymore.

It was wonderful. Okay.

Getting.

Trying to find one of the locals because I'm not allowed to do it. So I was like, al.

And I'm pretty sure that I have taken over from the MC more times than I can count because I'm like, little things like the family photos. You've only got a certain amount of time until sunset. And if they're like, hey, family photos, everyone over here. And people are still at the bar, it's like family photos. We're running out of sunset for our time. Like, hurry up, come over here. Cut the bar off. So it is, I think, great if you've got a good public speaker. Yeah. But I think otherwise. Professional MC this year. That's, like, my vibe this year. Just get a professional, because, again, like, I love working with you boys because you know that we're running late, we're running early. Things are going to change. Cake cutting is not there anymore. It's over there. And I'm not getting any, like, arguments about it because I'm in charge. And I've already cleared it with the bride and groom. They're fine with it. So, yeah, that's a pretty fun thing as well.

Please use amc. Please use your family.

No, we're ready and available for work.

Yes.

Now, we have had eight years together. Min. Pierre, you're new. We've had a year, so we want the tea. Like, what is the craziest wedding story? Spill the beans.

You've been here longer, so you probably have more than I do.

Yeah.

Well, this is.

Okay, I do have kind of a hairy moment. So I had to do this wedding.

In a villa on a clifftop. So usually when I went over to meet the bride and groom just before the procession begins is that I would collect the vows and put it in the sleeve of my book. So I will always have the vows in the front sleeve. So then comes the moment I just pull them out and give them to the bride and groom. So then in this particular instant, we were already deep into the ceremony, and I was standing there. And then comes the moment. It's now time to hear the vows so and so, written for each other. And then.

I pull out the guy. The guy one was perfect. It was out and there. That's one. And then by the time I give it to him, I saw, like, there was only one in there, and the second one was nowhere to be found. And then he's already halfway reading through his vows, and then I'm thinking I'm flipping the page very subtly, very subtly. Nobody kind of noticed. There was no traces of the vows from the bride.

Look at Brady's face. He's like, whoa.

Okay.

Nightmare.

So I can imagine you two are going white. All right. So that's exactly what I was trying to keep calm.

And then when he finished, the ghost came along. And I very suddenly whispered to her, I said, I'm sorry. I don't know what has happened, but I cannot find your vows. Do you want to wing it and then she said, no, I don't know. I've written that for a long time already. I can't remember what it was. So all of this happening in real time, people are sitting there watching, and I was. I'm pretty sure, you know, I was trying to keep a very calm face. We were doing a very whispering, but even though I don't think it was that long, maybe 20 seconds, but it felt forever.

Super long.

It felt like you could hear the pin drop. So. And then she started crying in the.

Middle of the ceremony.

In the middle of the ceremony. And then she looked away. She's crying. And then the groom just tried to calm her down. And I was just trying to. I tried to reassure her to say, you've got it in you. Just speak from the heart. You have it. Don't give up so soon. So these are all happening while everybody's sitting there, probably still wondering there's something going on. Maybe they were trying to do an act or something. So then in the end, after that little coercion, she agreed to take on the microphone, and she did a fantastic job. But again, for me, as a celebrant, that was a big failure.

Did you find the valves? What had happened to them?

Up till now, I did not know what happened to the vows, because normally when I collected straight in the front sleeve, but it just disappeared. And it's my practice until this day, so that kind of thing can happen. But I think, like, it goes back.

To an error, though. Like.

Yeah, and it goes back to. This kind of thing can happen, but able to think quickly on your feet. Yeah, I guess. And then to try to lessen the impact of the situation and make it flow smoothly. Ultimately, when the ceremony finished, I apologize probably 3,000 times and wrote them a really long email. They were really fine. They were. They said, no, everything went so beautifully. No, it's okay. I mean, in the end, she did a good job. But I think that became such a learning lesson for me now, every time I grabbed vows from double check, quadruple check to make sure, like, yeah, you.

Need to make errors before, you know, like, once you make mistakes. And I think, Pierre, when you were learning, there are a few little mistakes you made, but you'll never make them again because you will remember that, and they will be ingrained.

Yeah.

And this is the thing, like, with our team, if they make a mistake, I'm like, yes, you've made a mistake, but we can fix it. It's human error. You're allowed to make mistakes with people.

So thank goodness. That was the only time I'm generally pretty good, but that was the only time that I was in a very hairy situation. But I'm glad that became part of the learning lesson to make me a better celebrant.

Handled it like a pro. Now, speaking of pros, what's the kind of process? Because I know the process from our end as a wedding planner. I mean, I know the whole process because I obviously co own the company. But the process for clients is typically first step. We will say we need you to select a celebrants. Here's the website for my Bali celebrant. This is the company we recommend. Of course they can book other celebrants, but as I said, there are things that I look out for. One, you have to speak good English. Two, you gotta be professional. You gotta be well presented, dressed on time. You've got to be able to pivot with all the changes that are going to happen because time doesn't exist in Bali. There's so many things that we look for before onboarding a celebrant. So we send them to the My Bali Celebration website. Have a look, they go, great. We're going to book Brady. What's the next steps from there for the client? Brady, like what do you work with them on and what's the process that goes into the ceremony?

I first start by just sending out an introductory email because.

Weddings are so stressful that I don't want to bombard them with too much all at once. So I try to just start out real nice and easy and just kind of let them know that when you're at that mental space to have a conversation. Here's some things that we want to talk about as we start to craft your ceremony. And I send them a Min has an incredible questionnaire. That's like multiple pages.

That's our questionnaire, isn't it? Don't you have that?

I use a different one. I summarized it a little bit lighter.

Min has. That's the company question.

Heather.

Yeah, that's aggressive.

The co founder.

Yeah, that's aggressive.

That's aggressive.

Note to self, like training.

No. And I've taken a lot of the same things. That's how I know about it because I saw it and it. I like to have a little bit more conversation and get it because it's very hard for them to sit down and write all of this out and get it accurately. So I kind of take the big points from there and then I'll schedule a phone call or a video Chat and then touch on the rest of them in person so that I can ask and get those follow up questions. Because I've also seen where they'll write something down and then time comes for the wedding and like, no, we don't want that. It's like. But it says, yeah, and so. Or maybe they misinterpreted the question or whatever it is.

Do you write the full script once you've kind of spoken to them?

Yeah, I'll start putting it together with the information they've given me and then I'll confirm that once I've had that conversation. Hey, this is kind of the tone we're taking and the direction. Is there anything else that you want to add? Special moments, things like that. And then.

I just make myself available to them. I've had brides call me the day before their wedding and say that everything needs to take change and wonderful.

Min's had that before. Yeah, I think everyone's had that.

And so. But weddings are crazy. Everything leading up to the day.

Yeah.

I'd actually say right after they kiss and they walk back down the aisle, then things get less crazy.

Yeah, that's when we breathe out.

Yeah, that's the big exhale. And so I think.

Just being that flexible and letting them know that hey, nothing you're going to throw at me at this point is new. So try me.

Yep.

And they, they still do. It's. That's incredible. And then, yeah, we, we craft the ceremony and I always meet with the bride and groom right before about 30, 45 minutes just to make sure that we don't have any last minute changes which still happen.

Surprises.

Yeah, well, whether it be Bali Belly or, or something, I've removed them from my wedding.

Stage fight.

Yeah, yeah, we've had that. And, and yeah. Then we make our changes and then it's time to get the show on the road.

Amazing. And the, the celebrant process normally starts, I want to say about 60 days out from the wedding because you're obviously minimal. Yeah. At the moment. You'd obviously be working on the next couple of months. So we're not going to introduce you to a bride for December right now because we need you to be focusing on the weddings upcoming. Are there any tips or things that you guys wish couples knew before you.

Met them what they want?

Yeah.

Because some of them, they, they'll have an idea and then they'll talk to a family member and it's like, oh, well, we want to include this and this and this and this. And suddenly the ceremony isn't about their vision but someone else's influence on them. And I think that's very hard both for the couples and the celebrant to. Well, what are they envisioning then? Because you've sent me your vision but now you've sent me all these changes which are in stark contrast to what you've just said.

Yeah.

And I think it's hard, I. I can't imagine the position they're in to have to try to juggle that. But it makes it hard for us. How can we deliver your dream if we're not sure what your dream is?

Yeah, I think we have that on our questionnaire. If you, if you do obviously using my Balicella brand. We have those on the first questionnaire. That how you like your wedding are.

Yeah.

You want to be very short and sharp or sweet and. Or religious and stuff like that. Obviously it's all kind of modificated.

Yeah. And hopefully, I mean this is probably just applies to our clients but when we do our calls with the clients, the very first call is key suppliers which we're actually going to cover off on our. Not next episode, the one after that. But we will always ask them about the ceremony in advance and you know, do you want a male or female celebrant? What's your vibe? Do you want funny? Do you want serious? And we kind of go through a questionnaire so by the time they've booked you we're like these are our top two recommendations, these are the ones you want. So hopefully we already know that they're going to be your kind of people because we obviously know you and your guys personality so it's a lot easier for us to guide them to select someone that's going to be perfect for them.

I've got one tip that I've noticed for particularly brides or groom who are getting a bit stage fright. So they let the occasion became too much and overtook them and they're becoming standing there almost like worrying about anticipating what the next thing like even having to say their vows. They're getting too nervous. My advice for that is like you've done the work and don't forget to be in the moment and enjoy every second of this amazing celebration. And I think sometimes they get too overwhelmed by what's happening around them. The occasion, they forgot to enjoy themselves. So I think like you've done all the work on the day. Just trust yourself and everything will be fine. And don't let your nerves get the better of you. And sometimes again the celebrant will be able to reassure you as it happens.

To get you to stay calm, etc. And just, you know, just, just go through with the process. You've got it. And I think.

Just a double reminder, like, really have faith in yourself that you are able to do what you need to do and don't anticipate and don't let everything else clouding your enjoyment for that particular moment, because you've got it.

Good advice. Yeah.

For me, I think breathing, just breathe. They forget to breathe because again, like they say, it's just so many things happening.

Like we obviously for us as the planner, we send the bride down the aisle and we're normally like running around the back way so we can kind of watch once she gets to the end. But I always see all of the celebrants off mic having a bit of a chat to the bride and groom. When they get to bride, what are you saying to them? Like, can you share your little sneaky chips?

The boys there get obviously very nervous. They're very in that moment. They're just waiting for the brides came out and then the anticipation and then everything around you run like very slow. And so they're very nervous. And then they really. Not really talking much in microphone on the daily life. And then so to put the microphone in front of their face is already quite frightening for them. And so I just told them to breathe and then just relax and then enjoy the moment.

What are your little things you say to them when they get in?

Like, Kim, Just reassurance. Just this is the moment and take it all in.

Yeah.

And you have each other to give you, you know, give you calm if you need it. And I just say, like, just be very present and let's begin just this.

Reassurance because you do have probably, I want to say a good. It doesn't sound like long, but when you're standing up there, it must be like you've got a good five seconds once the bride gets there, before she hands her bouquet over, the bridesmaid fixes her dresses and they get in position. So I guess that little pep talk's probably.

It's the reassurance.

Yeah, I feel like you do it as well.

I pep talk before they walk, just.

Before the bride walks down the aisle. Once the bridesmaids and flower girls and everything, once they've all gone, that's when I just pull them into the middle and I'm like, all right, take a breath.

Sometimes they forget also.

You go so fast.

If their father Doing the father handover, they forget to walk and pick it up. You're just going to go shuffle there from the back.

I had a wedding where I literally. Because we always brief them and we say, you know what we're going to do depending on the couple because everyone's different. But you're going to walk to the very end of the aisle, stop. Their groom will walk down, dad hands over, hug and kiss, walk back together. Bridesmaids fix the dresses. And I will never forget I had a wedding and the dad and the bride stopped at the back of the aisle just as the chair started and just stood there and I'm like, what are they doing? What are they doing? And they just stood there because I don't know why they assumed that's where.

The groom pick it up.

So the groom then came down and picked her up from there and then they walked down together. And I was like, I don't know how more clearly I could have explained play that. I felt so bad. But they were happy. Yeah, you must have seen some things out there. I will never forget. And I'm. Heather was the celebrant before she moved back. But we had this beautiful wedding. Pandala Cliff state, gorgeous venue. And because there's a couple villas there, our team was quite spread out and we obviously have walkie talkie so we can talk. And I will never forget, there was a groom's father and I was standing with Heather, talking to her and just off to the side. And then last minute, bride and groom, they want to switch, right? So I'm conveying that to the right. Girls are now going to be on the right, Boys now going to be on the left. It's too late. Family said that we can't move them. It's done. Talking on the mic to the team. Hey, guys, can I confirm that we're switching? And the. The dad gets up from his chair now, the dad was very good looking. The whole team was like swooning over him. And he gets up and he gets.

Did you just say we're switching? And I'm like.

And I'm like a meter away from Heather. And I'm like, excuse me. And he's like, don't tell me you haven't done it before. And I'm like.

And then Britt is in my ear saying, we're coming. I was like, right, boys are coming. He goes, yeah, we're coming. And I'm like, oh, my God. Some of the things like have you ever had bridesmaids or groomsmen say inappropriate Things when you're trying to be professional and be up there and be like in front of people. Because I wasn't in front of 70 guests and I'm like, what to do right now?

Does the bridesmaid running off to the side and Chuck, does that count?

Because two seats.

That was my wedding. That was in the paper.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Do you know why? So, yeah, Min had a bridesmaid at one of my weddings. Had to run off to the side and vomit. So we were like getting her water and stuff. But thank gosh, I didn't realize that the wedding couple were actually like, he was high profile. A high profile, high profile footy player. So kind of famous. I don't live in Australia. I haven't lived in Australia for 10 years. So I don't know who people are. And thank gosh, because I probably would have been a lot more nervous, but I didn't realize even on the day. And then a couple weeks later, the bride, maybe it was even a week later the bride messaged me. We made the paper. And I'm like, what? And it's like all about the bridesmaid vomiting. Bridesmaid had to run off sick at wedding of this person. And I was like, oh, my gosh. I sent it to minute.

It was Daily Mirror.

So it made papers and things. Have you ever had an awkward moment at the altar that you were like, how do I stay professional in this situation? How do I handle this?

Yeah, I've had it so many times. Never to me. It's like the bride and groom, like, start talking dirty to each other up there. They're like whispering and it's like spicy.

We love that.

And it's like, I'm like, I have to put the mic down.

What are they saying?

You know, they're just like talking and it's like you would say like, oh, do you. Will you take this man? And she's like, oh, I'm going to take them.

And it's just like, please, there are children here. You know, it's like, how.

You know or just like, just, I mean, raunchy. I. I had to like, flush it out because, like, you don't want to be thinking about that the next time. Like, I got to be careful not to say it like this.

This time that'd be me. I feel I would make an inappropriate comment.

Yeah, well, they were loving it. They had so many times I've had couples that they're like that. But what's cool about that though is that you really see why they're so good together. Because if they're able to, in this time of stress and anxiety, just relax and laugh and enjoy the moment, it's like, wow, they really do, like, love each other. And there's that beautiful fit. So there's a part of me where it's like, that's so adorable. And then the other part is like, please, I'm trying to do a job.

But I'm also up there with them cracking jokes.

Yeah. Things.

And, yeah.

Weddings aren't funerals, so they should be.

Fun, a little bit lighthearted.

The only thing that I personally can't stand is, like, the clapping as the bride walks down or when they've said the vows. I'm like, it's not. I don't know. I just.

That a show.

It's like such a nice, special moment. And I feel like when people start clapping, you ruin that. Yeah.

I had a bride who was like, all about it.

Yeah.

When they were clapping and she was all about it, and she was one of the fanciest people I've ever seen. And she. I thought she was gonna lose her cool when people started clapping and she was.

Yeah.

And I was like, okay, cool. Because I was about to say, like, no, no, don't do that. And then it was like she starts dancing down the aisle for it.

And I was like, okay, well, what's the funnest bridal entry you've had? Like, normally they're like, not, you know, bridal will, but very slow. Have you ever had one that's like just. You're like, whoa. Wasn't expecting that.

Yes. I think a few couples who's going, like, even when I get the questioner back, they already say, we want funny wedding. And obviously it's just gonna be just jokes for the whole weddings, but. And obviously they. They both is actually very funny.

Yeah.

They all cracking jokes in the middle of their wedding. So they even make a little secret of the forget about where the ring are and stuff like that.

So was that my wedding where we had to hide the wedding rings? That gave me a.

That one is also one of it. But yeah, the other one, different one.

I had to hide the wedding rings at a wedding last year, and they wanted them like. So when it was like, can I have the rings? It was like, oh, we've forgotten them. And they wanted me to hide them under the chairs, and then everyone had to look for them. It was going to be a bit of a game, and I wasn't comfortable putting them on the chairs, so I put them in a Little bag and put them under the cushions on the chairs. But after I'd done it, I was like, oh, my God, we don't move them. I was so anxious about it.

You're watching the chairs the whole time.

I mean, two guys standing there with a machine gun.

So I went to the florist and got a bit of ribbon and I actually wrapped a bit of ribbon around the back of the chair leg just so I knew exactly where I'd put them as well. Just in case.

I think one of your other weddings as well, the bridal party, wore sunglasses down the aisle.

The bride did.

The bride did.

She was just about to walk and she goes, do I have to take my sunglasses off? It's your debut. She's like, oh, right. And she just strutted down the aisle. Such a vibe.

Yeah, I think, I think it's a little bit harder for the brides to do fun things like fun entrances like the grooms, just because of the dresses and the outfits.

But it doesn't mean they haven't had fun and just like, you know, dancing and strutting and, you know, they're high fiving people.

But normally the grand entry, the fun bits. Yeah.

But I think the wedding dress is just a little bit prohibitive sometimes to really let that full character show.

But different, different client, I think. Different. Different.

Different vibes.

Different vibes. Some of them really want a serious. Some of them really want a romantic and.

Yeah.

Some just really want to just party.

Yeah.

I've done some weddings where they have, like dogs involved.

Oh, yeah.

Dogs are the ring bearers.

Yeah, yeah, I have that too.

Yeah.

I was going to say how they must live here for the dogs to be ring bearers.

Some of them were from the United States.

One borrowed our puppy to be the ring bearer, but then she was too tired. She was sleeping.

Oh, poor puppy.

And then she's just had another booking.

Yeah, they saw it in one of our wedding videos and like, can we get the puppy for the wedding? Okay, fine.

Limited time on that one.

Well, she's a toy poodle, so she's. I think she's fully grown now. I don't know if she'll grow much more, but we're friends right now.

I had a greyhound.

They just got a space.

Small.

Yeah. Labrador.

Yeah, Yeah.

I think the funniest one that I had. That was an entrance and it was an accident. They walk in holding the kid and they were supposed to set the kid in a nice little wheelbarrow or not a wheelbarrow wagon.

Yep.

And pull the kid. And they were just forgot all the instructions. Even though the wedding organizer said, put the baby in the thing, carried it in. And I had to be like, okay, we're going to do this entrance one more time. Back it up.

These are good though, that you guys can think on the fly. And I think that's so important about hiring professional celebrant because you are able to, when things go wrong, they don't go to plan. You're able to kind of swap and change and you know what needs to be done, which was one of the things I wanted to just touch on. We obviously bring you a lot of business, but you also get direct bookings from clients that may be working with the hotel directly or they don't have a wedding planner. I don't know how common that is in Bali, because you kind of need one. Pierre, you've got a bit of a horror story last year and you have insisted that we only book you to places that have a proper wedding planner now. Yes. What happened at the venue where they used a hotel coordinator? We won't name the hotel.

Yes. I think it's just a part of that. You guys taking behind the scene. You know, it is a huge part of running everything smoothly and becoming seamless. And then when you don't plan that or you. You're not actually like wedding. Wedding planner, you have no clue what idea. You have no queuing. And then it's just me as an emcee or the celebrant there and I try to queuing stuff. And then it's just becoming double job. I should get paid double, but I get paid single. So.

So what happened at that wedding? Because I remember we had the conversation afterwards about not going back there and please make sure that my weddings have a wedding planner. Something happened with the music and the timings and they didn't have a playlist. What had happened.

It's a very interesting wedding concept.

I'm intrigued. I'm deeply intrigued.

So it's a mixed couple. The guy is actually from Kazakhstan. The ladies, all right, From Japan.

Okay.

They hire me while they know that their both parents doesn't speak English. So actually the parents of the grooms is basically speak Russian. The family from the bride is Japanese. So they only speak Japanese. They both family doesn't understand English. I don't know why they hire me. They say they want to be look the wedding look like a normal wedding with the English speaker. And they have their friend translate while I'm speaking English. The friend after that translate In Russian. Then the grooms translate in Japan, Japanese.

So the wedding, can you imagine the wedding, is just stretch the times into unlimited time. So it's a long, long, long wedding. Long night for me that night. And then plus the. Like I said, if they don't have, like, a wedding planner to be behind the scene and then, you know, moving things out, it's just a lot of job, to be honest.

Okay, fair enough. So would you prefer working with couples directly or you prefer to work through a wedding planner?

Definitely through wedding.

Yeah.

That's definitely. That's not even a real question.

Because a lot of people are trying to plan their own weddings here. Like, we don't need a wedding planner, but I don't think they understand the logistics of just what we do.

I'll tell you what went wrong one time. And this bride, lovely lady, but she booked everyone individually and kind of just said, okay, well, you're in charge to one person. But that person had never worked with many of these other.

Vendors. Thank you. And then on the wedding day, everything is disjointed, and the bride is the point of contact for all of this. So not only is she trying to enjoy her wedding, she's now trying to manage everything. And then where are these people? And how is this? And are we. And it's like, you should be doing photos right now and just relaxing with your gal pals.

Yeah. And it wasn't. It's not. We're not talking astronomical numbers of savings. We're talking just a little here or there. But you get that certainty, that guarantee, that.

Comfort of knowing. Yeah. And they know what they're doing because the vendors have. And they know each other. When I walk into one of your weddings, it's like, I know all of the vendors because we've all worked together. All of the planners know everyone, and everything just works seamlessly, and it's just smooth. For what.

It's very huge. Different, though.

Yeah.

To be honest, I will rather prefer to work with wedding organizer rather than just random weddings. Yeah, but. Except it's really romantic. Small wedding. It's only like five people. Six people, it's okay.

But like, six.

Yeah.

But if it's like, big two families and more than, like, 20 people, it's just.

They can manage six. Maybe we bring back allotments by my Bali celebrant.

Yeah, no problem.

We'll try not to take up too much more of your time. But we do have two last questions.

I think we need to touch on a family member being a celebrant. Versus yes.

Yes.

Which is a very.

Oh, the funniest one I saw was this friend got up there and she made the whole ceremony about her and her relationship to the couple where nobody else had any clue of the story she was sharing because her and the bride were best friends since 5 years old. And so they're sharing all of these stories where they're great stories, but not ceremony stories, they're speech stories. Let people drink before they hear these.

Yeah, I've edited scripts before that have come in from couples and said like, that is definitely speech time, not bow time.

Yeah. Or it's so short, it's like, wait, didn't the bride just walk up there?

Yeah. So I guess one of the key things that we this happens, I want to say, at least once a month. I either get a message from a celebrant, I'm going to be in Bali for a month, can I work? Or we get on a call with a client and we're like, great, key supplies, but my friend's going to be the celebrant. Long story short, can they do that? Britta, why?

They don't have a work permit.

They don't have a work permit. Now, we have touched on this previously on other episodes. It is illegal for you to bring a friend or family member here and be a celebrant. And it doesn't matter if they're getting paid because what they are doing is. Now that you've got that celebrant, we're not hiring here. We're not hiring Min, we're not hiring Brady, who has done the right thing, gone out legally, got a work permit to work here legally spent thousands of dollars. The boys are local. You're taking the job away from a local person and giving it to a foreigner who is on a tourist permit and is not allowed to work. It is completely illegal. It's not allowed. However, there are some gray areas and Min, you're probably my go to person for this. On how we can incorporate family members into a ceremony, what is the best way for someone to get their friend or family member involved?

Well, what you can do is what you call.

A combined celebrant friend. So you always have a professional celebrant here, local or anybody with kitas that has the qualification and also have your family member to work into the ceremony with you so you can share the workload. But at the time of the ceremony, it will be you and the family member that you nominated to do part of the readings, all of that. And then all the formalities, normally the celebrants will have to do it. And then all the things in between, like, you know, the formalities meaning the vowel exchange, the ring exchange, the welcoming, the kiss, and all of that needs to be done by the celebrant and then the rest of it in betweens. Your family member that you nominated wanted to, you know, you want to present to take part of the ceremony, then can do that. So I think we have had quite a few last year that worked really, really well. And that would be the only way you can incorporate a family member into your wedding celebration.

And are you happy to work with friends and family members to write the ceremony with them?

Yep, yep. Always, you know, we, like, we touch base again few weeks beforehand and pretty much normally, like, then, you know, as I say, like, this is the part where I need to do.

Yeah.

And then the part that they, they, they need to do, then they can tweak it if they want. And then pretty much on the day we come together and we are, you know, in sync and then, yeah, we deliver.

I think there is a very, like, big lesson here as well. And the reason why we have to do the key parts is because that's your role, that's your job. You're the celebrant. But I will never forget, we had a client a while ago and they just didn't reply to, like, they booked a local celebrant and they said, oh, no, she's just their decoration. She's not actually doing anything. I said, no, you can't do that. It's illegal. And if immigration come in, not only, not only are they in trouble, but I'm going to get in trouble because it's my, like, my business. So. But I will never forget they finally agreed on the day of the wedding, met with the celebrant who was oyin. She was such pro about it. And she said, look, they're being really difficult, so I'm just going to do bits and pieces. But they're insisting that their friend do these parts. I'm like, all right, fine, whatever. Like, I'm. I just was done with arguing with them about it, to be honest. And I will never forget, I'm standing off to the side and then the friend announces them husband and wife, not oyen. And you know what the friend does after he's announced them husband and wife, you may kiss. Stands there in the back of their photo. And I was like, that is karma. If you'd had Uyun, Oyun would have said, you May now kiss. And she would have got straight out of that way. And I will forever in my memory. I'm like, that person's in the background of your first kiss photo.

We always gonna get out from the picture. We're not gonna be in the middle of your picture.

Well, you guys, like, you must get out of the way for that. When you're doing like the vows, you stand off, you try and hide and get out of the way. When you're swapping rings, you turn their hands so the photographers can capture it. You communicate with the photographers. So I think having that professional celebration, I don't even bother with a friend or family member. Just get the professional.

Just get them. They can tell your love story and everything.

Nice. I mean, we're not filming this podcast and trying to do it ourselves because we're not podcasts. Like that's the team at Lighthouse's job. Why would you try get a friend or family member to celebrate it unless it's their full time job.

What I like to. When couples bring that up when we're talking, it's like, okay, let's find some area that they can do. Do they have a specific passage? And I had one wedding couple that had their family sing a cultural song. And it was awesome because then, great, now you're involved in it. We have this moment and you're not gonna stand in the middle of the photos.

So just before we close up, what is one? Let's do a power round. Favorite venue to work at.

Oh, that's.

Oh.

New ones. What's your favorite venue?

Obviously I think I like the Gianyar around Gianyar Park.

That's an area. What's the venue?

The venue. Like.

The venue of.

I like working in New city. Well, the venue.

Venue for the wedding. Yeah, yeah, you got to say the name.

Yeah.

I think I like Jiva Zaba.

Oh, beautiful.

I like Taman Bhagawan because I can walk there. I live on the road.

It's so underrated.

I was going to say one out by my house because I can walk there too.

You don't remember when you live, do you?

Unfortunately, I only get to do like three there a year.

Where do you live?

We'll go from there in Sabah.

Oh, Saba.

Is that near Jiva Saba Hotel Commune.

I'm too close from.

I'm by commune. I commune's cool. But it's.

But it's not that venue.

It's weird to. But Jivasaba is awesome, right? That one is across the street from me.

Okay.

But there's a couple there that are hotels there that are. That are cool. It's just different.

I love Rumalui out that way. Everyone's beautiful.

It's just a different vibe. Like that whole area when you're out there.

Yeah, yeah.

And some of the problems that you have at some of these venues is all your guests are scattered across the island because you can't have all of them. So you're waiting hours for them to get to this wedding. And the guests are always late, and then everything gets late, and then photos get delayed and it's like. And if we had just, like, been in an area where all of you could stay a block away.

Well, leading on from that, I guess. What would be the number one tip if you could give couples a tip about getting married in Bali? The ceremony, anything. What would your number one tip be?

Add lots of time to get around anywhere.

I would say definitely hire a wedding planner.

That's number one.

Unpaid as well. Unpaid sponsorship by men.

Hire right wedding planner and wedding planner and then hire the right celebrant or embassy. Obviously not.

Or.

And hire me, obviously. Or Brady or Min.

What about our girls? We've got so many more people on the team. We are going to get the girls on the teams.

They're gonna have. Oh, sorry. They're gonna have another episode with the girls.

Yeah, we'll do that later in the year.

We have a girls team. They are also amazing. They're really, really cool. We actually have a big team.

We do have a very big team.

Very lucky. Got the choice, I think.

Yes.

We always need more. So if anyone's.

If anyone's listening and you speak good English and you are local, because western is very difficult here. As we said, we've really only got Brady and Chrissie. Please get in touch with us.

And you love public speaking and you love public.

Will teach you how to love public speaking. You'll be fine. So, guys, thank you so much for joining us today and being on the thing. Now, I do need your help. Yeah. At the start of the episode, Britta, you want to lead off with what's going on?

We had a giveaway for our. For an iPad and.

IPad.

Yeah, iPad and AirPods. Yeah. So we have written down everyone that has entered in number form. So we are going to get the boys to pick a number.

Now. This was supposed to be done a couple weeks ago. Thank you, everyone, for your patience. But we'll go delve into this an episode, the next episode. Um, I did have a bit of a medical Emergency. So my whole couple of weeks got thrown out and we were going to have this all prepared, but I've only just literally gotten home and been able to do things. Okay, we've got a list of names. I'm going to pre warn. A few of our staff members entered that you were disqualified. Sorry, I had family enter. You were also disqualified. And my beautiful staff member that had all of their friends jump on. No, sorry. So I have a list of the legitimate names. I have a list here of 57 names in total.

Who commented on our.

Podcast, who basically followed the instructions. Depending the platform you followed on, the instructions were different. So I don't mind who does it. Boys, pick a number between 1 and 63.

Each of us or just one collective number.

All right, all think of a number and then Britta, you pick the person to call it out. Okay. In your number and you have think of a number. We were going to draw it, but this just seems easier right now. All right, ready for the pick.

Brady.

Wow.

We have to go with the best number out there and it's His Airness number 23.

23.

All right, so we have Beth. Paul. Is that Paul? That's my messy room. Beth. Pool. Beth, if you are listening to this, you have seven days to claim your prize from the day that we release this episode. If you don't claim your prize, we know that you're not listening to so you don't get it. So, Beth, congratulations.

Hurry up, Beth.

Hurry up.

Don't lose this.

An iPad and AirPods coming your way.

How does Beth claim the prize?

She just needs to contact us. We know obviously the name now. We know the email. So, Beth, congratulations. Thank you for following along. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for watching. We appreciate you. We appreciate you and thank you everyone else for joining us for another episode of Bali Weddings unveiled. On our next episode, we are going to be covering up our end of year recap. So we're going to have most of the wedding planners in the studio and then after that, we are going to get started on 2025. So stay tuned.

Fighting.

Giddy up. Yay.