Time to ditch prewed photos?

Prewed photos and videos are now a multi billion rupiah business, providing proof once again of humans’ propensity to elevate the ridiculous into a semblance of something meaningful.

The height of ridiculousness of pre-wed content, of course, is the photo/video shoot at Bukit Teletubbies at Mount Bromo.

In some misguided notion of romanticism, the couple or the producer of the content, thought it cool to have a shot of them, decked as if they were somewhere cold, waving a smoke flare against a background of tinder-dry grassland.

The resulting fire has caused huge damage to property and nature in the area and result in the indictment of the manager of the wedding organizer company.

This was a case of something going terribly wrong but even it it didn’t it should serve as a reason to relect on the folly of prewed content.

We’ve all had to go through the agony of experiencing them in the weddings we’ve been invited to.

It starts at the reception area. You are assailed by photos of the couple in some instagrammable setting. Oh look there they are dressed in retro clothes walking through what looks like the old Dutch town of Batavia as they stroll down an alley in Kota Tua.

Or there they are, terribly basking in love with each other as attested by the soft filters in some cool location. What is not seen is the couple sweating profusely as the crew creates an illusion of a cold country amid tropical heat. The fluffy sweater didn’t help.

But those are for plebs. The well-heel spend lavishly to fly to exotic locations, paying for the airfare and fees of a noted photographer or videographer.

And all for what? Social signalling that they are so much in love? An immortalization of made-up idyllic moments in their lives and courtship when they are full of love – before filing for divorce papers three years later?

Then there are the victims – the friends, family and contacts of the parents who have to ensure that treacly time machine transporting them to a time when the couple, so in love, spent their moments in perfect love.

Think of how they feel. Do they react with: “Ooooh! What a lovely couple who had such a fantastic courtship?”or do their thought bubbles go like this? “Who are they kiddling? “ ” So romantic in that old town setting with a camera crew on tow?” or “Show offs. Just because you have rich parents you can go to that exotic location, hire a crew and look like that….were you really that in love and happy?”

Preweds are a strange take on what causes happiness. Arguably they do not contribute much to the couple’s long-term happiness. They cost a lot – you’d think that the money would be better spent if the couple spent it on upgrading or extending their honeymoon.

So perhaps the Bukit Teletubbies incident is a good time to reflect and review those prewed plans?