AXIOO

When describing a piece of our work, most of the time we'd describe them from our point of view. How we felt on that day, what we saw and feel and what memories we left behind on that special day with that special couple. However, once in a while we got lucky and find a bride who volunteers to write for us.What better way than to have a first hand description and thoughts of the special day from the bride herself?

In this wedding that we shot in Paris, we are honored to have Serafin, the bride herself to write for this post. And here it is:

I was out of words throughout my wedding party. Therefore I am so delighted to be given the opportunity to say a few words here. To be blunt, I was physically and emotionally overwhelmed that weekend. Since Aldwin and I landed in Paris a week before our wedding date, we hardly got any rest. I am pretty sure my eyes were only half-opened on my wedding day because I remember our photographer, David, continuously screaming “Sera! Eyes!” between every click and flash from his camera. 

I wished I had the clarity to express this during the reception, but apparently it took some time, distance, and a lot of recovery sleep first. Looking back, I feel so incredibly blessed and endlessly grateful for the trying wedding planning phase because it simply revealed the truths in my life.

1. No matter what happens, no matter how difficult it gets, Aldwin will stand by me and fight alongside me till the storm subsides. He is strong for me when I am weak, he rescues me when I am falling, and he stays with me through the dark silences. I love you deeply, darling, and I strive everyday to be a worthy ‘ezer kenegdo’. 

2.  We have a loving God who answers prayers, even if that prayer is about the weather. Not only did the rain come uninvited to my outdoor ceremony, it brought its friend the wind and together they knocked out my wedding gazebo and several large vases. But by the time we said ‘Amen’ to the opening prayer, the sun was out.

3. The unceasing love and generosity of our parents continues to amaze me. They let us ‘elope’ and freed us from the traditional Jakarta ballroom wedding. It is thanks to them that our dream wedding was enormously upgraded and realized.

4. Aldwin and I are surrounded by awesomeness. We did not have to actually elope to Paris because ninety-five loved ones flew their awesome bums to Paris to witness our union and celebrate with us (this includes you, Axioo team!). Additionally, the bridesmaids created handmade hula skirts and invented the first-ever gummy bear bra, while the groomsmen convinced some poor guy to print fake money look-a-likes for the pick-up-the-bride games. C’mon. What more can I say?

Aldwin and I went crazy with our planning because we wanted to honor and pamper all our guests. We are so thankful for all your support and guidance through our ups and downs. We hope that message came through during our wedding weekend and we look forward to future adventures with you all!

For those of you who could not make it, know that we appreciate all efforts made to be there with us (especially the creative and funny ones to escape work). Here is the trailer and photos (http://www.axioo.com/blog/2012/12/05/aldwin-sera) as promised.

Cheers!

Sera

The Bride

I consider myself a lucky filmmaker. While other movie directors may struggle with finding the perfect script and story to make a good movie, I just have to open my eyes and ears to a couple's love story and capture what I see. It is always interesting to me how a couple found love, how they overcame their differences, what obstacles they stumbled upon on their path towards the altar, and how their love grew in the midst of the difficulties and doubt. Following this journey moves me. And it should be the main focus of Same Day Edit videos such as these, so that the guests who come to celebrate the couple during the reception may share in the love story. Same day edits should be, in my honest opinion, realistic, cinematic, believable and yet romantic, and everlasting.

For Henly and Vera's video, we journeyed to Bangka, accompanied by Jakarta's own uprising photographer Jan Engelbert. He said he missed the original taste of the original Martabak Bangka and he's already friends with the bride and groom anyway so we decided to bring him along. (Ha!)

We had a fantastic time shooting on Paray Beach for 3 days and 2 nights. Big thanks to Mother Nature who delivered the wind that made everything pretty much alive. Huge thanks to the happy couple who shared their story, who showed their romantic sides at every turn (although it might have been harder for someone *wink at groom) and for being so completely natural in front of the camera. It is easier said than done, I know, and I truly appreciate that.

Congratulations again to the newlyweds. May all your wishes come true. And as for our viewers, thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video. (English subtitles available)

Cheers, 
Garry V.

I believe that every wedding is unique. It can never be the same from one to another. Each always has its own unique story to tell. Personally, I'd like to consider myself a candid videographer. I let things roll out as they are and put extra attention into capturing the details that surround me. Because it is these details, big or small, that make up the series of mini stories that are scattered throughout the day. When they are combined together, these details present themselves in the form of a powerful message.

Filming Jeffrey & Yohana was such a joy to me and the team. I personally loved to see how passionate Jeffrey is to his bride, Yohana and found his speech during the dinner reception especially touching. The chemistry between them is just magical and when it happens in front of my very eyes, well... that just simply cannot be ignored.

I hope you enjoy this short clip as much as I have filming it.

Cheers,
Dimar

JEFFREY & YOHANA TRAILER from Axioo on Vimeo.

This was the first wedding that I had to shoot outside of my home country, so to say that I was excited is a little of an understatement. I was stoked!

I'd like to think that wedding videos serve as more than just a mean to remember a day love was celebrated in a grand setting, because more than just recording a series of planned events, it captures an important decision two people made to be joined as one for the rest of their lives, regardless of the state they may be in in the future. But when a storm comes passing through - and it most likely will - and leave two people wondering how they got where they are, I'd like to think that looking back at their wedding video will remind them of a promise to stand strong and plough through. Feelings may come and go, but promises last a lifetime. So, because of that importance, those promises should become the focus of their wedding videos. That's what I think, anyway... and that's why I like to center vows and official statements in the videos I direct. Well, that and pretty dresses. The bride apparently put a lot of thought into that, and sometimes it really deserves the spotlight. 

So press play... and click "like" if you enjoyed it. 

Merci,
Jimmy

Time flies. Daily rushes take control over our lives and leave us wondering where the days have gone. Busy schedules. Endless meetings. Quick lunches. It's hard to find a free second to stop and smell the roses. To see to beauty that surrounds us. To love.

I often ponder on this. I often ask myself what I have done with my day. When by body aches from tiredness and my eyes can barely stay open and my warm bed is the only one I want to be with, I want to believe that the day has been productive. But was I happy? Did what I do that day made me feel proud of me? Did I want to make the day loop on repeat because it was just so great?

A wedding day is one of those days that should be taken slow. Slow and easy and filled with joy in letting the day take us with its flow. Slow enough to give us time to soak in all the love there is to find and the savor the moments and to create snapshots of the day to revisit on any given time, because the day will be gone before we even know it.

I liked the slower pace of Enry and Angelica's cinematic trailer. I loved hanging on to every word they said during their wedding vows. And I absolutely loved taking the time to focus on their gaze and their smiles and getting a glimpse of what love is. 
Rushing through days are natural to us. Stopping for a moment to appreciate how things make us feel may take a little bit of effort but it is absolutely worth it.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Yosep

The people that I shoot for my trailers are not actors. How their day went were not scripted. Every kiss they share is real. That truth never fails to put a smile on my face.

Sure there are times whereby we help to direct them on what to do for picture purposes, more often to loosen the nervousness of being in front of the camera. But chemistry, there is no hiding it. Every embrace, every glance, every touch, every laughter... those are the expressions of love that just shines through, creating memorable moments. There is no hiding it. When chemistry is undeniably and unmistakably present, those are the moments I love shooting most.

I hope you enjoy watching these moments of Felix and Irene as much as I had enjoyed shooting them.

Love,
Garry V.