We met in 2015 when I was waiting (in the wrong bar!) for my friends. Josh came over and started talking to me. He made me laugh a lot and we realised we had a lot in common as we both used to live in London. A few days later, we connected via Facebook and had our first date five weeks after that. Josh proposed in Beijing. We were on the Great Wall of China when, on the pretext of taking a timed photo of us, he dropped down on one knee and produced a beautiful ring. I was so surprised, I burst into tears. He caught the whole thing on video and we played it during our wedding reception at the Puri Mas Boutique Resort & Spa’s Presidential Suite. A stunning venue in a beautiful country, I had complete faith in Sara Sanders, the general manager, who, together with her staff, assisted me and sourced all that we wanted. This calmed my nerves as I was too far away to arrange everything myself.
Josh and I worked hard to accommodate everyone because it was important to us to include both our cultures in our ceremony. As it was going on, I felt pure joy – and a little worried about Josh as he got so emotional, he couldn’t even speak. It was a very relaxed affair. The light from the setting sun was really pretty and everyone was in good spirits from the drinks and canapes. Another highlight was watching my 78-year-old father-in-law owning the dance floor. Seeing him dance with our friends as well as my dad was just surreal. I’m relieved it went so well and excited to be embarking a new phase of life – one that I never thought would happen.
Wedding of Jo Upcraft & Joshua Chong
Photography Budi Harsono, Buddy Shooting Videography
Venue Puri Mas Boutique Resort & Spa, Lombok, indonesia
Gown Anna Sui
This story was originally published in Female Brides Lookbook Issue 14.
