“We would be honored if you would shoot our wedding.” That is the most glorious sentence a photographer / videographer can ever hear from a friend. I mean, to get paid for your services from total strangers is a great thing, but to have a colleague - a fellow wedding photographer no less - hire you to shoot his own wedding? Now that’s just the highest honor anyone can bestow upon a photographer.

I flew to Jakarta a few days before Jan and Della’s wedding. (In case you didn’t know, the fellow photographer I was talking about is Jan. Yes, that’s right - this is the wedding video of our very own Jan Engelbert.) I felt slightly nervous, which was not such a weird thing, considering this would be the very first time I’d be shooting professionally for a friend who is a professional in the same field. I think that I let the immense pressure get to me a little bit. So, I made it a priority to meet up with the bride and groom earlier than I was scheduled for. In the moments I spent talking to them, any anxiety I felt instantly vanished. Anxiety was replaced by excitement. Any nervousness with motivated because I knew that I was “home” among my peers, and I had found the courage to shoot with my head high that day.

Who would have guessed that I would have seen a side that I had never seen before from my friend, the groom? He is a romantic. (And wow, what a romantic he is! Let’s just say that I finally understood what Della saw in him all this time! J/K.) Della, on the other hand, was like a breath of fresh air. She was gorgeous and breathtakingly beautiful, like most brides are, but she had a certain air of calmness around her that I very seldom see on brides. She actually looked like she found and was enjoying every little bit of the joy of getting married. That was a sight that was beautiful to see.

Even though that I might have started the day worrying about how it will turn out, I ended it with a grateful heart that I have been chosen to capture this wedding. It is truly a privilege. To this Totoro-loving couple, thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. Enjoy marriage life… and may you soon fill your homes with little “Totoro” of your own.

Cheers,

Robb.