When Bob Hodas, convulsing from the pain of a herniated disc, stepped into the office of his physical therapist, he never imagined how this impediment would change his life. The time it took Pien to get him back into shape was just long enough for patient and therapist to fall in love.  

Both were married before and when they started to plan their wedding, they knew that this time around it should be their own special celebration. Pien, a native of Holland and a Buddhist by heart, dreamed of a wedding ceremony on the Indonesian island of Bali. Bob, a Unitarian - Universalist mix, liked the idea. So why not combine ceremony and honeymoon? For their friends, they would have a wedding party later.  

To avoid the hassle and the paperwork of getting married in a foreign country, they said, "I do," with Bob's friend as witness in the beautiful rotunda of the San Francisco City Hall. Two weeks later the two boarded a plane to the Indonesian Island. Pien found Bali Weddings International on the Internet and booked a Buddhist priest for a religious ceremony.

The wedding took place at the Buddhist Temple in Vihara Darmayana in Kuta, on the west coast of Bali. In order to explore the island Pien and Bob hired Jaya, a wonderful tour guide and driver, who showed them the unbelievable scenery of the island, the many temples, museums, and colorful markets for shopping. After the Bali visit Bob and Pien spent one week in Wakatobi, a "green" beautiful and luxurious island diving and snorkeling resort.

Close to their Berkeley home, they found the perfect venue for their wedding party at the Lawrence Hall of Science, particularly when they learned that the exhibit at the time of their party would have the theme: "Circus - Science under the Big Top." "It was much more difficult looking for the right caterer," Bob told me. "We are wine snobs and wanted to supply our own favorite labels."  They finally found Blue Heron Catering which provided a mostly organic fare consisting of local produce and sustainable seafood. "We selected them because they offer organic, sustainable food and were open, easy to deal with, and had reasonable prices." The company used disposable cutlery and plates that could be completely composted or recycled. Most of Pien and Bob's guests were vegetarians and so was most of the food. Among the delicacies were appetizers of wild mushroom puff pastry spirals and smoked mozzarella puffs with sun-dried tomato. Ricotta feta torte with pine nuts and rosemary, baked bao filled with mushu vegetables, salmon cakes with ginger and scallions were a few selected items on the buffet. A dessert station finished the menu.

Pien bought flowers from the flower market and distributed them around the party area. She used large, colorful, exercise balls to fill empty spaces and, at the same time, had them serve as anchors for the balloon bouquets. Blue Heron repeated the primary color theme of the circus ambiance in table cloth and buffet draping of bright silk cloth and organza. Pien's colored exercise balls instigated part of Blue Heron's buffet decoration. Clear glass fishbowls, filled with blue, red, and green water and illuminated with small white lights, served as stands for the platters of food.

"I can't even begin to tell how much fun it was at the Lawrence Hall of Science," Bob told me. "There were all kinds of circus exhibits. You heard the noises of the animals and smelled the whiff of food vendor carts. There was tight rope walking, and all guests could dress up in circus costumes, and there were clown noses and wigs. We knew a circus theme would be fun, but never imagined how much it helped people to interact with each other."
 

What made this wedding party sustainable?

The hall had so much decoration already we did not need much to dress it up. The pictures were taken mostly by the guest on recyclable cameras. All vegetarian fare was organic; the seafood was sustainable. Plates and plastic ware were composted; everything else was recycled. Some flowers could be reused, others were composted. The exercise balls went to Pien's office.