AXIOO

Directed by: Yosep Sugiarto

I've seen and shot numerous weddings in Bali. And even though this is the first time I would be shooting in Banyan Tree Resort Bali, I have my expectation on how wonderful this wedding is going to be, because I just love Bali weddings.

What I didn't expect is that I would learn a very valuable and interesting value from this wedding that I was shooting that day. During the ceremony, Kevin, the groom didn't want the clip-on Mic that I had put on him to be turned on. As we didn't have a chance to discuss this before, I thought that he had accidentally turned the mic off or we had forgotten to turn it on at the first place. But when I tried to tell him, he gave me a clear signal that it was okay and that he didn't want it turned on. This bewildered me at first, until I found out the reason behind it all.

It was already arranged during the ceremony that both Kevin and his bride Nathalie would say a private message and prayer to each other that only both of them and God would know, and nobody else. This got me thinking of the real value of a prayer or a vow during a wedding. Sometimes we can be lost in the beautiful scenery of Bali, the wonderful details of the wedding and even the actual event itself, that we overlook the fact that a wedding ceremony is actually a ceremony, a time when both the bride and the groom would bind themselves together, with a vow, a promise that a week from that day nobody else would probably remember, except for the bride and the groom themselves. For it is from this vow, this promise to each other that they would build their journey together, with God as the foundation of their marriage.

So I finally understood what Kevin and Nathalie were doing. A personal vow doesn't always have to be heard by everyone. The only person that needs to hear it, is the person you are saying your vow and promise to, for it is only in each other that you are going to be accountable to. SO cheers to both Kevin and Nathalie. May you both have a beautiful journey together!