Marie & Jake Snow’s Magical Wedding in Bali

Allured by the magic of a destination wedding in Bali, Marie Fe and Jake Snow chose Canggu as the backdrop for their intimate three-day celebration. Emotively documenting their journey since the day they met, Marie and Jake live a life fuelled by wanderlust. They’re a couple that dream boldly and epitomize the infinite possibility that true connection can bring. With two of their boutique hotels nestled on this picturesque island, the couple’s love story unfolded in the heart of the place they call home.

Inspiring a mood of reverie, suspended blooms in an ethereal all-white palette were contrasted with decadent chandeliers. Interiors bathed in white created a dreamy ceremony and reception canvas for a sculptural installation featuring hundreds of white flowers. Bringing guests together, long shared tablescapes and a cascading champagne tower created a magical ambience.

Dressed in Galia Lahav, Marie chose an embroidered, floral appliqué sheer corset and pleated tulle ceremony gown. For the reception, a textural beaded gown in dramatic bell sleeves, followed by a mini strapless dress and lace embroidered veil fit seamlessly with the whimsical surrounds.

Our Story

Names / Marie & Jake Snow

Location / Canggu, Bali

Wedding Date / August 16th, 2023

Guest Numbers / 70

How We Met

We met in 2016 in Thailand, and we immediately fell in love with each other. Two weeks after we traveled to Bali together and fell in love with the island.

Our Engagement Story

After we had been in a relationship for one and a half years, we went to Cappadocia together where we went to the rooftop of a hotel with the hot air balloons in the sky behind us. Initially, I thought we were creating content for the hotel when, suddenly, Jake went down on one knee and showed me the ring. I was so surprised that it took me a moment to understand that he was proposing to me. As my dad had passed away a few years before, Jake asked my mom for her blessing.

What we love most about each other…

Jake: I love that she has a wonderful balance between being very attractive and beautiful but also being very humble, caring, funny, and respectful. It’s that balance that made me fall in love with her – she is very beautiful but also down to earth at the same time.

Marie: I had never met anyone before that I was so attracted to and simultaneously gave me the feeling that I was safe and secure. He is also very smart and ambitious, and has a great vision. This mix of being a funny person who makes me laugh but also building a business with me and taking care of me simply blew me away.

wedding in bali

The Setting

Wedding Location

Jake and I fell in love in Bali, very close by where our boutique hotels Maja Canggu and Belajar Bali are located. We always dreamed of having our own home in Bali. Eventually, with the opening of our hotels, it was evident that when the time came our wedding in Bali would happen. Both hotels allowed us to combine the clean white aesthetic with the traditional Balinese flair. As both hotels are also right next to each other, it was the perfect choice for us.

The aesthetic in general was white with a lot of white flowers to make it look like a fairytale. We wanted an elegant yet simple style.

I, Marie, had always wanted a wedding in Bali or Greece, so when we built our hotel Maja Canggu it was clear that we wanted to have a timeless, beautiful, clean, and white aesthetic. Belajar gave us a tropical and dreamy flair, which was the perfect combination for my wedding inspiration.

Preparation

I spent the night with my sister, while Jake slept alone as we wanted to keep it traditional. The bridal party (Jake’s mother, Marie’s mother, Marie’s four bridesmaids) and I got ready together while having breakfast and had our first drink to celebrate the day in our Maja suite.

wedding in bali

Photography

Maddy and Daniel are friends of ours and Sarah is a German photographer based in Australia whose style we really love.

Videography

We chose Polina Grebenik and Gaspar Empatraas our videographers as we already knew them from a wedding brand shoot in Paris, and we really liked their video style.

“We created a website where everyone could let us know if they would attend the wedding, which song they wanted to listen to, and what kind of food they wanted to eat.”

Style Notes

Ceremony Décor

The design was clean in a white aesthetic, with modern details yet elegant and fairytale-like as a large amount of white flowers were used as decoration. Our ceremony was held in our Maja hotel.

Reception Décor

The vision was a fairytale-like wedding in Bali with a lot of flowers as decoration, and beautiful crystal chandeliers. We also used a very white and beige aesthetic.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

We worked with Global Weddings. They planned the whole wedding in Bali and assured us that our vision would come to life.

Flowers

All our flowers were white using white roses and as many local flowers as possible.

Stationery

We created a website where everyone could let us know if they would attend the wedding in Bali, which song they wanted to listen to, and what kind of food they would like to eat.

Cake

Our cake was white and decorated with flowers and vegan. As we wanted a small cake, we also offered cupcakes in different flavors such as passionfruit, chocolate, and vanilla.

Food & Beverages

We had cocktail carts with self-service offering seven different cocktails. Before heading over to Belajar, we served appetizers. We served a three-course menu with cocktails, wine, beer, and soft drinks.

“The vision was a fairytale-like wedding in Bali with a lot of flowers as decoration, and beautiful crystal chandeliers.”

Fashion & Beauty Notes

Bride’s Dress & Shoes

I had three dresses by Galia Lahav, the one for the ceremony was a princess dress with flower applications, for the reception a lace dress with wide sleeves, and a white cocktail dress for the party. I paired my dresses with veils from Harta. I chose Jimmy Choo for my wedding shoes. Our bridesmaids’ dresses were by our brand Mirah Maja in the color champagne. The bridesmaids wore their choice of jewelry and shoes.

Wedding Rings, Jewelry & Accessories

Our wedding rings were classical Cartier rings engraved with our names and our wedding dates. My engagement ring is a very simple golden ring with a diamond in a moon shape. I had always wanted something that I could wear daily, especially while traveling. All my jewelry was by Bruna. I was only wearing two different sets of pearl earrings.

Hair & Makeup

I was wearing my hair down with soft beach waves. For the second dress I combed my hair to the side, so I only had the waves on one side. My makeup was very natural in earth tones. Jake had a man bun styled by our hair specialist.

Groom’s Attire

Jake wore two suits from Suitsupply. The first one was in a cream tone to match my dress. The second suit was white.

wedding in bali

The Details

Honeymoon

We went to Thailand for our honeymoon as this was the place where Jake and I met for the first time. We stayed at the Four Seasons as we wanted something relaxing and their hotel is absolutely beautiful.

Wedding Songs

While Jake was walking to the altar “A Thousand Years” by Piano Guys.
As the bridal party and groomsmen were walking in “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Dorothy Kwon.

While Marie was walking down the aisle “Canon in D” by California DJ.
As we were showered in roses after the ceremony by our friends, the song “Better Not” by Louis The Child & Wafia was playing.
Our first dance was to “True Romance” by Oh Wonder.

wedding in bali

Entertainment

We had a violinist who was playing during our ceremony. For the party, we had a DJ who played reggaeton and each guest could choose one song they wanted to listen to.

Celebrant

Heather from My Bali Celebrant was our celebrant, as she is very soft-spoken, and has a lot of experience and we had a very good connection with her. We were very pleased with her and had a wonderful experience.

Readings

We wrote our own vows. I was giving a welcome speech, and Jake gave a speech at the end. Additionally, Jake’s brother and father both gave a speech as well.

wedding in bali

Our Advice

A memorable moment…

When my brother was walking me down the aisle, it was very emotional for me. Especially, as he looked like a younger version of my dad. My brother giving me away to Jake was also a very emotional moment for me as he told us that he was very proud of us.

One thing I wish I knew before I started my wedding plans…

I would say that you should be clear from the start what you want your wedding to be like and trust that everything will turn out that way. It is also important not to forget that the wedding is about the couple. If I could give one piece of advice it would be to not let yourself get too stressed. Enjoy the process.