The beauty of traditional design elements combined with a modern touch. In design school, we learned that beauty is meaningless without a concept or reason. Designs with meaning impart something to the people who encounter them. The great thing about Asia is our rich culture. We take it for granted sometimes, but Mary and Jeffrey have breathed new life into it for us.

Mary grew up in the Philippines, but did her law degree in the Netherlands. Jeffrey grew up in the US, and lived in France and Senegal while in the Peace Corp before making the move to Indonesia. We are privileged to get to see this lovely couple’s wedding ceremony at Villa Ambar of Semara Luxury Villa Resort, Uluwatu, through the camera lens of Vicki Grafton.

Mary: “For our wedding, we decided to bring our cultures together – Indonesian, Filipino, Swedish, English, Scottish, Irish and French – as well as our interest in the environment and nature. Besides the ring box with roots in it, the table numbers were made from logs and the guests’ place settings were little stones.

“’Wayang’ (shadow puppet), ‘Loro Blonyo’ dolls and batik represented Indonesian culture. ‘Wayang’ is most often associated with puppet theater performance. In every wayang performance, the ‘dalang’ (puppeteer) will tell stories about good and bad things, with a lot of philosophy that is highly influenced by epic Hindu stories.

“We chose the characters Krisna and Shinta, who are from a love story from Ramayana. You can see Krisna and Shinta ‘wayang’ in our decorations, and the symbol of Krisna and Shinta on our wedding invitations and save the dates.

“We also had a ‘Loro Blonyo’ (inseparable couple) cake topper and statues. ‘Loro Blonyo’ represents family life and the husband and wife as a beautiful relationship in harmony.

“Back in the day, ‘batik’ was the highest art, because it’s handmade – haute couture and a symbol of status. Nowadays, people in Indonesia wear ‘batik’ for any occasion. ‘Batik’ was seen in our chair ties and other aspects of our decorations.

“The ring bearers wore traditional Filipino shirts called ‘Barong’ – representing Filipino culture. I wore a white wedding dress that was designed by the American designer Sophia Tolli. Also, we tailored our wedding liturgy together with our celebrant, who is a Quaker priest.

“For our ceremony, we took readings from the Koran, the Bible as well as our favorite poets, Antoine de Saint Exupery (‘Little Prince’) and Kahlil Gilbran (‘The Prophet’). At the end of the ceremony, our celebrant gave ‘the Blessing of the Apaches’.”

MARY & JEFFREY {Indonesia}

Photography by Vicki Grafton Photography / Venue Semara Luxury Villa Resort in Uluwatu, Bali / Wedding Planning by ASMARA Events / Bridal Gown by Sophia Tolli / Groom’s attire ZARA / Flowers Ambience Flowers & Occasions / Catering by Bali Good Food Catering / Wedding Cake by Ixora Cakes Bali / Entertainment by Ricky & Co

{Read more about this in the magazine}