Starting off as classmates in Singapore back in 2009, Vanda and Sho made a promise to each other that wherever they are, they'd always find a way to be together as they were about to enter a long distance relationship for three years. To avoid separation, the two took this as an opportunity to travel the world together. Having to meet each other halfway around the world made them world explorers, where together they have visited 24 countries and 54 cities. They have witnessed the beauty of the world next to each other, hopping from one destination to the next.
When the happy couple went back to Singapore in December 2017 for Vanda's birthday, Sho popped the question to her and was thrilled to hear her say yes. Vanda's love for her culture and country made her decide that she wanted to get married in her country of birth, and chose Bali. She wanted a paper plane crane with a mixture of Scandinavian color palette and Indonesian touches as a theme. Why paper plane cranes? Vanda explained that she had always adored planes because she grew up in the aviation world and it also represents her and Sho's love journey.
Vanda and Sho held their holy matrimony at the Glass House by Tirtha Uluwatu, and the recption was held at the Plenulunio Villa. The villa has a beautiful Indian ocean view, with matching color palettes with what Vanda had in mind, and an additional beauty from the exquisite wooden buildings of Joglo that gave the venue an Indonesian traditional touch.
The wedding was also a mixture of Japanese and Indonesian culture, because Sho is from Japan. The ceilings were decorated with senbazuru, which are 1,000 origami paper cranes. The senbazuru comes from an ancient Japanese legend that says a wish will be granted from 1,000 origami paper cranes and is also a symbol of eternal good luck. In this case, Vanda and Sho wished the presence of senbazuru will grant them their wish of a happy life together.
For the holy matrimony, the two lovebirds chose to wear their own traditional attires to express their love of each other's culture. Vanda wore a classic kebaya which made her look graceful and Sho wore a monstuki, which is a black formal kimono. The talented team from Cosa arranged Vanda's exceptional hand bouquet that had orchids in it, because orchids was the meaning behind Vanda's name. The wedding was coming together perfectly, and the couple kept each other from being too stressed out by the preparations by always trying to spend quality time together.
Before the wedding ceremony started, Sho said something to Vanda that was incredibly romantic and that she would always rmember: "Even after you are married to me, you are still Vanda. You are not my wife, nor the mother of my children, you are Vanda. Don't let the titles of wife and mother change who you are!"
