Bali will always hold a very special place in my heart.
In February this year, Britt & I took a much needed getaway to explore this absolutely gorgeous part of the world. Bali allowed us to reinvigorate our souls and recharge our worn-out batteries. We felt such sincere warmth from the local Balinese, who completely embraced us and gifted us with the precious window into the depths of their rich history & culture. One of my most cherished moments would have to be when we were stopped on the side of the road by an incredible group of children completely immersed in their traditional Barong dancing. Barong is a lion-like creature, the King of spirits, in Balinese Hindu mythology.
But, all that aside, Bali holds a special place in our hearts for another very important reason.
On our last night in Bali, I surprised Britt with a special dinner for two over looking the Seminyak sunset (you’ll see a photo of that sunset at the very end of this post!). Eventually the tourists returned to their resorts and retreated for the night, and we were left alone, sitting there in the warm glow of the moon and listening to the quiet roar of the crashing waves. I mustered up the courage and surprised Britt by getting down on one knee and producing a ring that I had painstakingly concealed during the entire duration of our trip (I’m also incredibly grateful she didn’t notice the bulging ring box that protruded from my chino pocket all night!). Well, as you probably know already, she said yes from behind a mixture of tears, laughter and shock. As clichéd as this sounds, time really did stand still at that very moment, as both of us became completely engulfed by a radiating joy. This was always going to be a very personal and intimate moment for us and naturally, we have absolutely no photos of that part of the night. We’re fine with that. For us, it was important to fully embrace and hold on to that experience of utter bliss that completely permeated our being. We laughed, cried and held each other for a bit longer before calling it a night, passing by resort staff and people in the lobby on the way back to our room – them completely oblivious to what had just transpired.
Here’s a few photos from our journey through Ubud, Seminyak and the various temples and rice fields through Bali. I would absolutely love the opportunity to get back there, so if Bali is (or will be) a special place for you, too, then I would love to be a part of documenting your own intimate story.
Mamiya 645 + 80 f/2.8 | Fuji Pro 400H | Developed & Scanned by Richard Photo Lab
Bali Wedding Photography by Jonathan David