In 2015, Singapore model, actress and television host Denise Keller married at Banyan Tree Ungasan, a clifftop resort on Bali’s southern Bukit peninsula. She was 33 at the time. The ceremony was private, and 70 close friends and family attended.
The plan had started out smaller. Speaking in 2015, Keller said she and her partner first meant to elope, then chose a getaway-style wedding with the people closest to them. Bali suited that idea. She has long treated the island as her personal escape.
The people behind the day
Keller is known to Southeast Asian audiences as a former MTV Asia VJ and a travel presenter. She is also a former magazine cover girl, a producer and a yoga trainer. Her husband is an advertising agency co-founder and creative director, and he was at the centre of a celebration that stayed deliberately low-key.
A small team shaped her look. At the time, the credits went as follows:
- Gown: a blush pink Monique Lhuillier “Candy” dress in tulle with embroidered details, from the designer’s Spring 2012 collection and supplied by Trinity Gallery.
- Styling: Jason Coates.
- Hair and make-up: Dollei Seah of Make Up Entourage.
- Photography: Vivian Grey.
Seah explained her approach in 2015. She wanted a look that would cope with Balinese heat and humidity, and she wanted it to need almost no changes or touch-ups during the day.
The setting and the celebration
Banyan Tree Ungasan is a beachfront resort with villas and several wedding venues overlooking the Indian Ocean. Keller’s outdoor ceremony took place by the beach. The evening ended with a first dance and fireworks after dinner.
The palette was gold, peach and blush, which matched the gown. The mood was relaxed, and it suited a bride whose career has been built around travel.
The resort sits on the cliffs of Bali’s southernmost peninsula, about 70 metres above sea level. Its wedding packages include a blessing ceremony with a celebrant at a choice of three venues, all facing the ocean.
What came next
Her wedding was due to be covered in a bridal magazine feature in the September to November 2015 issue, and she appeared on its cover. About four months after the ceremony, AsiaOne reported that married life had done little to slow her travelling. She told the outlet that a Singapore wedding would have felt like any other wedding, which explains why Bali won.
The wedding later appeared in roundups of Asian celebrity couples who married at Bali resorts. Those roundups included AsiaOne’s list of six resorts and Indonesia Tatler’s feature on celebrity weddings on the island. Looking back, Keller said she wished she had spent more time at Banyan Tree, which she called spectacular.
More than a decade has passed since the ceremony (2026 – 2015 = 11 years). The resort still lists wedding packages for couples who want a similar clifftop setting.