AXIOO

I have always found traditional Indonesian weddings fascinating. While our country is made up of different ethnic groups with various customs and traditions, we can always count on the same captivating mixtures of colors, joy and solemnity. Traditional weddings are often rich in symbolism and when we absorb the meaning of it all, that’s when weddings become emotional for everyone, not only for the bride and groom and their families, but also for the attendance, as well as the people – such as myself – who are privileged to witness the start of a couple’s new journey together.

Today I’d like to share with you one of my favorite Javanese weddings. It’s of Aryo and Saras.

There are many rituals of a Javanese wedding that I find interesting – such as “siraman” which is one of the first rituals done to prepare the couple for the ceremonies. It means “to bathe” and is meant to cleanse the couples’ bodies and souls; the ritual of “Wiji Dadi” where the groom breaks an egg with his right foot to symbolize that he is ready to become a responsible husband and father, and where the bride cleanses his foot with water mixed with several types of fragrant flowers as a symbol of her dedication and faithfulness to him. But what I especially enjoyed – especially in this wedding of Aryo and Saras – is the ritual of “Sungkeman”. This is an emotional moment where the bride and the groom will ask their parents for forgiveness of their past sins and blessings to marry the person of their choice. Here they express their gratitude for raising them thus far and ask for their permission to be released from their houses to spend the rest of their lives with the good person that has won their hearts. It is truly an emotional moment, for both the couple and their parents. Their emotions filled the entire room as tears filled their eyes and happiness filled their hearts.

I hope you enjoy this video as much I enjoyed directing it. To Aryo and Saras – congratulations! Here’s to your happily ever after.

Cheers,

Garry V.

I've often heard about how amazing Indian weddings are, but I've never had the chance to experience first hand what it was like. That's why I was excited beyond words to hear that I will be shooting Arun & Kate's Indian wedding at the Conrad Bali.

Everything I've ever heard about the awesomeness that are Indian weddings was obliterated because their wedding was, hands-down, one of the most phenomenal weddings I have ever shot for in my life! It was a three-day event, celebrating the union of a beautiful woman to a charismatic man after four long years of long distance relationship. They were accompanied in the celebration by a fantastic bridal party, filled with gorgeous bridesmaids, rowdy groomsmen and a big family who all knew how to have fun!

Celebrations started in the afternoon and carried on till way past midnight. Three whole days, five different decoration styles - all equally stunning - and more than five beautiful dresses, and dancing all night long... it was truly a memorable celebration. Personally for me, this is one event that I'd like to keep playing on a loop in my memory for a long time.

Here is their wedding trailer. I hope you enjoy watching it as I have enjoyed directing it.

Cheers, Yosep

Wedding Organizer: Innaz Communique (www.innazevents.com)

Flowers & Decorations: Tea Rose Decoration

Video & Photography: AXIOO (www.axioo.com)

“Have you ever had a love so real that through your vein you could almost feel a rush of blood to your heart?”

When you’re in love, every lyric in every love songs suddenly makes sense. When I witness couples saying their lifelong vows to one another, as they bond their hearts together towards their future life, these words are what I saw in their eyes. I saw this in Herry and Nia, as they said those words that will join them for eternity. But what was especially romantic and heart-felt for me was the bond shared between Nia and her parents. I’ve always noticed a strong chemistry between Nia and the persons who raised her lovingly ever since our first meeting at AXIOO house. I knew that they were very close and that the relationship they had went deeper than that of parent-daughter, they were friends. And as her father gave her away on her wedding day, I could feel the goose bumps on my skin as my camera rolled to capture his expression as he gave them the obligatory parental wisdom towards their new life together. It was more than just obligatory. It was deeper. It was love.And I have never felt so honored to witness such a beautiful moment.

So, here it is. We present to you, the very tender wedding film of Herry and Nia, in the hopes that you will drift away too in the romance of it all.

Congratulations again, Herry and Nia!

Love, Garry V.

I find the best inspirations for making a wedding video from our clients. I found that when there's a really strong chemistry between two people in love, all I have to do is keep my eyes open and my camera rolling and I will end up with lots of great materials on my hands. And each time I view what I have, brilliant ideas keep coming in, like light switches, but many at a time. It's amazing how inspiring people in love are to me.

Ricardo and Melisa are one of those couples. As young as they are, they've made the bravest decision of their lives to tie the knot, to be joined forever as one to each other. There was no uncertainty nor doubt visible in their eyes. They were just happy. I can see that when they've found the one they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with, they just couldn't wait for the rest of their lives to begin. And that made me smile.

Their youth was the main inspiration for this video. Like Korean teenagers who are madly in love and yet so cute together. Cute is the word here. That's the main idea behind this video. Enjoy!

Congratulations again Ricardo and Melisa!

Cheers,

Garry V.

When I first met Mike and Fei, we hit off instantly. Their craziness about each other overpowered the air around us. They are just so much in love with each other, we can all feel it! So, we planned on heading off to Bali to shoot their great love story (this is only a small part of why I LOVE my job! Woo-hoo!), and we had many great moments there. At sea, on the yacht, horse riding, burning lampions… so many great moments! And just when I thought I couldn’t fall anymore in love with these two, I had a chat with Mike on the yacht. He told me about how he was not an expert swimmer, but if Fei ever fell overboard, he would jump right into the deep blue sea to rescue her, without a single thought. He knew that his desire to save her would be bigger than his swimming skills and he believed that his instincts would, at that moment, override any fear he could ever have. Now that was true love. When you know that someone is your soul mate, you know that you’d walk to hell and back to make sure that she’s by your side and you’d be ready to sacrifice yourself when the time came for you to do it. Salute Mike!

This is their same-day edit wedding video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it all together. To Mike and Fei, I wish you both a marriage that lasts for a lifetime, knowing that you are born for each other. (And Fei, thank you for the gift! I may be used to these kind of cameras that I don’t know how to operate an Instax!)

Cheers,

Garry V.

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!

I always get a good feeling inside when someone mentions about how my wedding work inspires theirs. But I have never imagined how good it feels when a dear friend tells me that my own wedding day inspired his. Tomo was a guest at my wedding years ago in Seattle. It was his first experience at a Holy Matrimony held in a church. Apparently, he felt something different yet good that day that he decided that when the time came for him to tie the knot, it would have to be in a church.