Bali is one of those magical places that makes it on everyone’s list of places to see, so it brings me no end of delight to catch a glimpse of what all the fuss is about, with this lovely, tropical wedding from Vicki Grafton Photography. Wonderful setting aside (not to mention beautiful photography), this affair also stands out for the way these two lovebirds manage to seamlessly weave in their rich and diverse cultural backgrounds, as they celebrate their elegant soireé with loved ones.
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From Vicki Grafton Photography: Mary and Jeffrey’s wedding, in Uluwatu Bali was full of touches which reflected Indonesian culture, such as, an Indonesian shadow puppet as part of their centerpieces and figures on their paper products. A photo booth with a cool vintage bike and other Indonesian cultural props were included such as Batik chair ties for the bride and groom chairs, custom figures dressed in Indonesian attire for their cake topper, and ginger roots to attach the rings to for the ring bearers to carry. Their adorable ring bearers also wore Filipina shirts called Barong shirts.
The union between these two was truly and international phenomena bringing together heritages from Indonesia, the Philippines, Sweden, England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. Mary and Jeffery’s family backgrounds and international travel has given them a deep appreciation of cultural diversity and this was shown throughout their ceremony which consisted of readings from the Bible and the Koran, and even included the Apache blessing. As a child Mary lived in the Philippians and did her law degree in the Netherlands. Jeffrey grew up in the US and also lived in France and in Senegal while in the Peace Corp. before moving to Indonesia for work.
From the Bride: For our wedding, we decided to bring together our interests in the environment and nature, as well as our culture (Jeff’s background is Irish, Scottish, French, Swedish and my background is Indonesian and Filipino).
The ring box with roots, the table numbers made from wooden logs and the guest place settings on stone were inspired by nature.
We included the Wayang (shadow puppet), Loro Blonyo doll and Batik, which all represent Indonesian Culture.
Wayang was derived from Javanese word for shadow and is most often associated with the puppet or puppet theater performance. In every wayang performance, the dalang (puppeteer) tells stories about good and bad- a lot of philosophy which is influenced by Hinduism’s epic stories. In our wedding, we chose the characters of wayang – Krisna and Shinta (love story from Ramayana). You can see Krisna and Shinta wayang in our decoration and the symbol of Krisna and Shinta in our wedding invitation and save the date.
Loro Blonyo can be translated as ‘inseparable couple’ and is representative of family life between husband and wife as a beautiful relationship in harmony. We had Loro Blonyo statues and a Loro Blonyo cake topper.
Batik is a part of the heritage of Indonesian culture. In the past, Batik was the highest art form, because it’s handmade – it was haute couture and a symbol of status. Nowadays, people in Indonesia wear Batik for any occasion. Batik was used a part of the chair ties and incorporated into other aspects of our decorations.
Our photo booth also reflected Indonesian culture with blangkon (a Javanese traditional hat) an old bike and Batik for guests to use as props.
The ring bearers wore traditional Filipina shirts called Barong. My wedding dress was designed by American Designer, Sophia Tolli.
We also tailored our wedding liturgy together with our celebrant who is a Quaker priest. In the ceremony, we took readings from the Koran and the Bible as well as our favorite poets (Antoine de Saint Exupery – Little Prince and Kahlil Gilbran – the Prophet). At the end of our ceremony, our celebrant gave “The Blessing of the Apaches.”
