Duncan's cousin, Sheila, and her husband, Deddy, have a lovely daughter, Laura, who married Ed on 3 September 2016. The ceremony was held at Deddy's beautiful Balinese hotel, Kebun Villas ("kebun"="orchard" or "garden" in Bahasa Indonesia).
We flew from Dili to Denpasar, affording us marvellous views of various of the Indonesian islands in the archipelago
and, after a drink in Sanur,
Next morning, we reacquainted ourselves with the lovely grounds
and admired Deddy's latest acquisitions
From the road, through the Kebun entrance, you walk through the restaurant, and down a gentle stepped pathway lined with tropical plants and flowers, colourful flags and lanterns,
(past our bungalow at the top of the steps, below)
down to the pool,
next to which a pavilion has recently been built
where, with a stunning backdrop of paddy-fields,
the wedding will be held on Saturday afternoon
First signs of the nuptial preparation came in the form of the bamboo weavers for the front of the hotel. A length of pliable bamboo had been shaped into a graceful curve, and bright yellow ribbon was bound around it
It was then further adorned with grasses including rice, a symbol of fertility
until the end was weighted and it was mounted at the entrance gate
Next, the decorations around the door
and waves of plaited grass were strung from the timbers
and last minute preparation down by the fairy-lit pool
The day itself dawned and I set myself up at a vantage point outside our bungalow to watch the comings and goings... The staff ferried down crates of drinks, and tables and chairs,
along with various food stalls which would be set up once the sun went down,
Kate, mother-of-the-groom, and I made button-holes
and the staff lined up for the bridal make-up artist, and put on their glad rags
All was looking well down at the pavillion, and the guests started to congregate for the 4pm service
The bride was almost on time
and the service was beautiful: moving and personal
Contrary to expectation, no one went into the pool during the speeches !
The food was stunning
as was the entertainment; below the gamelan players, taking a break
Unsurprisingly, people were slow to rise on Sunday but Duncan took a stroll in the afternoon to the nearby paddy-fields
to work up an appetite for a farewell dinner for most of the remaining guests
On the Monday, with almost everyone gone, we had the lovely pool to ourselves
and suddenly it was Tuesday already. Time for all of us to head to the airport, our hosts to Jakarta and we home to London via Singapore. Our way to the airport took us past buildings flying the red-and-white national flag in honour of Independence Day last month
and we detoured to Ubud (an excuse, Sheila felt, to visit a favourite restaurant for pork ribs and BBQ chicken)
and to visit to Ubud's pretty lotus garden.
A final treat before the long schlep back to LHR. Thank you Sheila and Deddy, and all the staff at Kebun Villas, and congratulations to Laura and Ed
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