There was a day, five years ago in Jakarta, when my wife had to sit motionless for 3 hours at 3 in the morning, having her make-up done. Six hours later she announced her wedding vows, and then I drove her really fast to our reception venue, so she could have enough time for her 2 hours touch-up prior to episodes of traditional ceremony we had to be involved in, and then another 1 hour touch-up, to make sure her exhaustion was concealed well while hundreds of guests shaking our hands during the dinner reception.

But that was sensible. Because she was trying to make everyone happy. She dreamt of wearing a white gown on her wedding day, while her grandma, in sweet and fragile voice, was adamant to organise a traditional Javanese wedding for her.

Who could say ‘no' to an 80 years-old grandma with puppy eyes? The solution was to preserve the Western style wedding for the morning, and the Eastern for the afternoon. Which also means enduring more than 5 hours of make-up sessions.

This scheme, however, is utterly irrelevant if you choose destination wedding, especially in Bali. Bali wedding is designed to keep your marriage ceremony personal and intimate. It is to avoid being robotic prince and princess showcased on a decorated stage in a hotel ballroom. You and your guests flew all the way into this pocket of paradise to escape the restless, and to be relaxed in the simplicity of tropical breeze.

That being said, you want your wedding make-up to also look easy and natural, yet outstanding in the same time. One thing to be sure of, you want to look far, far away from being theatrical and heavy.

Furthermore, the pocket of paradise also comes in one package with hot and humid weather that would guarantee the haunting frizzy hair and shiny face. It is important for you to hire a make-up artist who excels in defeating greasy T-zones caused by the midday’s heat and moisture. Make sure he/she is geared well with waterproof liners and oil-free formulas. Try not to go for an indoor specialist that is accustomed to the air-conned occasions. This way you’d be able to lessen the time you need for touch-ups, and even better, skip the touch-up at all.

Why am I telling you this? Because sunset offers the best lighting of the day, fantastic for the bridal party photo session. And where do I usually find the bride during sunset? In her dressing room, stuck in 2 hours touch-up session. This breaks my heart more often than not. It feels like going to Disneyland but missing out its happy parade. It feels like ordering a glass of mojito but letting the limes out.

Lauren decided to skip the touch-up at all, and it made me that day's happiest wedding photographer. She was effortlessly lovely and the only thing that shined out from her face was her graceful charms. Lauren and Milorad turned their simple wedding into a classic event with their elegant attitude and relaxed approach, while so much giggles and laughers echoed during our sunset photoshoot.

Cheers,

Adi.