One thing we love about the Local Guides community is that it truly brings people together. You all do so much through your shared passion of helping people, so it’s inevitable that like-minded Local Guides will come together at a meet-up, a Local Guides event, or even at a wedding.
Two Local Guides, Rivani Rahmadani and Rahmat Harmat Pulungan, recently tied the knot at a ceremony where they celebrated their love with fellow Local Guides. We first discovered this through a meet-up post on Connect where they invited other Local Guides to attend their wedding.
The couple is from two different areas in Indonesia (Malang and Jakarta), but they were brought together through the Local Guides program. We spoke with @RivaniRahmadani to learn more about their love story in honor of Valentine’s Day.
They first met in August 2017 while Rivani was planning a Meetup in Batu, Malang. She was promoting the event to all Local Guides in Indonesia which is how @RahmatHarmanP learned of the meet-up (and of Rivani). Their primary communication was about the event at first. “We are truly just two strangers who didn’t know each other before,” Rivani said. “The meet-up was the first time we met face-to-face after two months of conversation.”
After the meet-up, the participants all continued to keep in touch and grow closer. Rahmat sent her a message and their love blossomed from a distance. They officially began dating (even though they lived far apart) in 2018. In August of 2019, Rivani moved to Jakarta to be with Rahmat. They got married in December and the rest is history.
“I was in Malang and he was in Jakarta, separated by thousands of miles, but yet we feel close because of Local Guides Connect,” Rivani told us. “Our communication became smoother because we have the same interests, which are traveling, photography, writing reviews on Google Maps, and Local Guides Connect, too. He is always encouraging me to contribute and create meet-ups with other Local Guides because he knows that’s what makes me happy.”
Since the Local Guides program is what brought them together and is such a large part of their story, it seemed fitting to extend an invitation to fellow Local Guides in the area. “The reason why I invited other Local Guides to attend our wedding is because I feel like they are a part of me,” she said. “Their positive energy makes me happy and I want to share my happiness with them.”
We want to wish a very happy Valentine’s Day to this inspiring couple and to all of you around the world. Feel free to congratulate them or share similar stories in the comments below.
, thank you for sharing it.
.
