I think I panicked and gasped at the same time for a whole 1 minute.

Actually, Yee Xing’s sister Yee Ming had contacted me a few weeks before the ROM and asked if I was available to shoot the event and also some family portraits on that day. I was mentally prepared for a family shoot but wasn’t prepared for such an elaborate event. What made matters interesting was that there were 2 other videographers hired on that day, plus one other photographer from Singapore. Can you imagine all of us trying to squeeze on that tiny platform in the middle of the pool, including the bride, groom & wedding officiant? I had to do a lot of creative framing on that day . :)

In the end, everything turned out well and I am pleased with the outcome of the images.

Colin & Yee Xing, I hope you like these images and I look forward to your wedding banquet!

Yee Xing was one really calm bride. While we were getting ready in the room, her zip actually broke and we couldn’t zip up her wedding gown! Her make up artist and my assistant Yih Wen was busy trying to sew up her wedding gown, and everything was delayed by 45 minutes. But through it all, she was smiling, completely unfrazzled! Of course, that gave me more time to take portraits of Colin!

Some family photos before the ROM starts.

Before she walked down the aisle, Yee Xing actually sang a beautiful song for Colin. So sweet!

Another family photo for the road.

Credits:
Photographer: Grace, assisted by Yih Wen
Location: Capella, Singapore 

What a totally memorable wedding this was for us and for Alvin & Melissa. It was at this wedding that I am reminded, at the end of the day, what matters is the marriage, not the wedding event itself. It is at weddings like these where I confirm my conviction… that being a photographer is one of the best jobs one could have. Capturing love between two individuals, helping them remember the day, how they felt… it makes me truly happy. I am overjoyed.

You see, this wedding day started very differently than most other weddings I have shot.

It started with Alvin being sick, and landing at the hospital…

But the good thing for them is that the day ended very differently…

If you have seen Alvin & Melissa’s pre-wedding photos, you’ll know that they are a totally fun loving couple. From the time of our shoot, we had a special kind of bond. :)

You’ll also know that Melissa has a great eye for detail and beauty.

Melissa had planned the wedding months in advance… everything was meant to be perfect…

But on the morning of the wedding, Alvin fell ill. A really worried Melissa insisted he that he go to the hospital to get a jab, even though that would mean everything would be delayed. Alvin had awesome guy friends who supported him all the way, and accompanied him there.

So did Mark, who took a few photos at the hospital.

Eventually, Alvin made it through… and finally reached Melissa’s home. Good thing he only had to sit down, while the rest of the guys went through the whole ‘torturing’ process…

The words Alvin read to Melissa totally sums the mood of the day.

Today’s the day my life begins.
All my life I’ve been just me.
Today I become a man.
Today I become a husband.
Today I become accountable to someone other than myself.
Today I become accountable to you.
To our future.
To all the possibilities that a marriage has to offer.
Together, no matter what happens, I’ll be ready.
For anything. For everything.
To take on life, to take on love.
To take on possibility and responsibility.
Today, Melissa Chew, our life together begins.
And I for one can’t wait.

In some amusing way, this hospital theme runs through their relationship…

Mel’s Story:

We met at a friend’s birthday pool party. I came late and Alvin was half naked and in yellow board shorts. I thought he was gay! And we asked the same girl to introduce us at separate time during the party. I was taken aback by his persistent and forwardness because I wasn’t ready. And it didn’t help that all our friends where pushing and playing match-makers. When our friends left for a vacation, that’s when magic really happened. We went out on our first date and our second date the very next day less than 12 hours after!

Just after a week of starting a relationship, I had to fly to Manila for work and ended up in the hospital for a liver infection! My first time being admitted to a hospital and I was far from home and comfort. Alvin flew over just to be at my side! And they say… the rest is history. When he proposed, he didn’t even have a ring but I said yes anyway

Alvin’s Story:

When we 1^st met, I had my eye on the new gal that came late n asked to be introduce. We had our 1^st date at mezze and the next day again. That’s 2 days in a row. Mel gave me a Fuji instant camera on our 2^nd date n that was a shock to me. Hmmmm…..not bad! Brownie points indeed. As Mel mentioned, I flew to Manila to be with her when she was admitted. I wasn’t sure at first but when I got in and saw her, I knew she was the one. (even though she had “chankles”). The rest is history as they say but she really did swept my heart with her smile even from the first day we met. I can still remember that day at the pool party.

I love it when couples include personal items into their decoration list.

Alvin & Melissa, after being there for your wedding and seeing the love you have for one another, I am sure you will be able to stand through any storm that comes your way. Life will never be perfect, but what matters most is that you have each other to walk through it. I am honoured to have been there to document your love.

Hugs!

I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays though, as that will be the first break I am getting in many months. I will be planning for next year and also trying to sort out everything for the new office… we will be moving into SS2 mall early next year! Once the studio is opened, we will have some promotions, so do keep a look out on this blog!

Just as a little teaser, here are some images I took yesterday at the gorgeous Capella Hotel in Sentosa, Singapore. Definitely one of the prettiest outdoor locations I’ve seen so far!

Have a great Christmas season and happy shopping!

Howard & Seok Poh have been dating for almost 10 years ever since they got to know each other through the Malaysian Society in Imperial College, London where they were studying. A long distance relationship was inevitable but eventually, the both of them ended up working in Hong Kong.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of city life in a huge metropolitan area where the human density per square kilometer is one of the highest in the world, both Howard and Seok Poh decided to come back to Malaysia and have a wonderful wedding ceremony and dinner amongst close friends and family. Not only that, it was held on the beautiful island of Langkawi.

What more can you ask for? Beautiful white sand for a beach wedding, a huge tent by the seaside for the dinner and great friends and family to celebrate with. That is definitely a dream wedding come true. The atmosphere was perfect, the wind was blowing and both the couple were so relaxed that they decided to have fun and games before the ceremony. So much so a group of them decided to have a water polo match!

Housed at the beautiful and new Danna Hotel in Langkawi, it was great fun shooting and capturing their moments. Even through the weather and rain, both Howard and Seok Poh continued on with the events and everything turned out beautifully including the after party party!

Have a great marriage!

- Mark -

“When you wish upon a star… your dreams come true”

Just like the lines quoted in the famous Disney film Pinocchio, Stephen & See Wan’s dreams came true. Ten years ago while they were in secondary school, See Wan caught Stephen’s eye. Even though they were from a different class, but they got to know each other better while performing their prefectorial duties. Before they graduated, Stephen’s heart was already captured.

In May 2007, See Wan said yes to becoming Stephen’s girlfriend.
1080 days later, she said yes to becoming his fiance.
In September 2010, they signed on the dotted line.
And on the 17th of September 2011, they said their vows on the beach at Avillion Resort, Port Dickson.

It was obvious to me that Stephen absolutely adores See Wan. He planned a surprise for her during the dinner reception by releasing balloons followed by fireworks in the sky!

Stephen and See Wan, thank you for your generosity in putting our entire team up at Avillion, PD! The both of you are extremely warm and friendly – caring for your vendors just like friends. I pray for many years of fireworks for the both of you! All the best for the future!

Redang is an island paradise. It promises turquoise seas that meet deep blue skies, soft sand under your feet, and lots of friendly fishes that eat from your hand. It’s also a diver’s den, because there are loads of beautiful dive sites around Redang Island and Perhentian Island. I have fond memories of Redang because it was there that I did my first ever snorkeling trip – almost 8 years ago now. I was just amazed at the beauty under the sea… I couldn’t help but feel in awe at God’s creation! Though I came home sunburnt (my butt was more burnt actually… it was quite buoyant haha), I told myself that I must visit those islands again some day. That experience drove me to get my diving licence a few years later.

In August, I received an email from Frank who said he was going to have a beach wedding in Laguna Redang Island Resort. Though my calendar was already quite packed, I couldn’t resist shooting another beach wedding. Frank & Demi are from Chengdu, China. I was a little concerned about the language barrier since my Mandarin is worse than kindergarten standards. But after a few conversations with Frank on the phone, I said yes, packed my bags, and went to Redang with Alex. When I reached there, I found out that Demi doesn’t speak much English but somehow with loads of body language, a smattering of English and my kindergarten Mandarin, we managed to communicate. (actually I just said piao liang most of the time!)

During our first meeting, I asked Frank how many guests would be at the wedding. And he said, “Just the 2 of us.”

I was surprised. He must have seen that look on my face for he then started to explain about how Demi had always dreamed of having a beach wedding. This wedding ceremony at Redang was just for them. Their family and friends would celebrate a month later in a grand banquet in China, attended by 700 guests.

Frank must really love Demi because he made her dream a reality.

And so to date, Frank & Demi’s private wedding is the smallest wedding I’ve ever photographed in terms of number of people.

Since we had a lot of time on our hands, we decided to do some extra portraits around the resort. Demi bought this beautiful cheongsam a few days before the wedding when she touched down in KL! She looks stunning… thanks to the wonderful make up by Grace Wang.

Frank works in the airline industry in China, whereas Demi is in Public Relations. They met through their godparents – basically they share the same set of godparents who introduced Frank to Demi!

At 4pm, the decorations went up. After shooting some portraits with the cheongsam, Demi changed into her wedding gown, brought all the way from China.

At 6pm, Frank and Demi walked down the aisle. A celebrant from the resort (who interestingly is the deejay at night!) conducted the simple ceremony.

Since they didn’t bring any guests from China, Frank and Demi told the hotel organizers to invite anyone they wanted to the wedding. They wanted guests of the resort to celebrate the event with them – even though none of them knew the bride & groom!

They were waving to this huge crowd that gathered to witness the ceremony! Actually, it was rather challenging for me to photograph this wedding as so many people were walking around the ceremony area!

I did my best to crop the people out of the photos. :) Haha…

Another shot of the crowd who wanted to photograph the bride & groom too.

Group photo with the guests – us! :) Left to right… Kenny & Grace (make up artist & husband) and then me! Alex could not be in the photo cause he was the one shooting it.

After the ceremony, we continued with some more portraits on the beach. Love the veil…helped that it was windy too!

Some of you may know the movie More More Tea, a HK movie shot in 2000 on Redang Island. A replica inn was built at the resort to remember the film that was shot there. This heart shaped floating flower was also used in the film. I had never heard of the film before but thank God the resort screened the show on TV, so I saw a few scenes from the movie. Demi wanted a shot there, so we did it!

Sunset. The ceremony location was transformed into an intimate dinner setting for two.

After a few photos, we left Frank and Demi to enjoy their private dinner together without the presence of other people. Frank and Demi, even though our trip was short and we came from completely different backgrounds, I felt that our souls connected those 2 days. I wish the both of you many years of wedded bliss. Hopefully you can come back again to Redang island and perhaps we can do a 10 year anniversary shoot!

I distinctly remember my first encounter with Andrew & Cze Mien months ago. They came to the office to have a chat with me and to assess whether we were suitable photographers for their wedding. As with most couples, they took one look at me and said I was much smaller than they anticipated (I am rather petite at 5 feet). At the end of our consultation, Andrew asked me, “How do I photograph grooms like him?” You see, he towers over me with his 6 feet frame.

“Will I get low angles of myself in every wedding photo?”

“Do I need to provide you with a step ladder?”

I promptly told him I’ll bring my own ladder to the wedding. :) And said that at my height, I’ll give him a ‘unique’ perspective most photographers can’t give.

Andrew and Cze Mien, from that day on, I knew we would have a good time together.

Just as my first encounter with Andrew & Cze Mien was completely memorable, so were their encounters with each other. They met each other for the first time through a dating agency. They were both each other’s 3rd date and they had both complained previously to the agency about its services!

Cze Mien’s first impression of Andrew was that “He’s BIG!” Andrew thought Cze Mien was seriously cute, and couldn’t resist googling her. He found a serious looking photo of her in a law firm’s website (which Cze Mien claims she looked as harmless as a poodle).

Their first date was lunch on a working day, and despite the fact that Cze Mien hadn’t showered and had little sleep due to a demanding deadline that required her to work through the night, they hit it off instantly.

Well, after a few beers, that is.

Andrew took advantage of my lack of sleep and got me drunk! Ok ok, I was the one who wanted a beer (hey one should celebrate after pulling an all-nighter!), but still, no reason to egg me in my sleep deprived state to match him drink for drink. (even though I did mention that I was training for Oktober fest in Munich in 2 month’s time). The date was an unqualified success with each having drunk 3 pints of beer at the end of a few hours!

That was in July 2010. We went steady in October 2010, got engaged in December and here we are, married in August 2011! It wasn’t love at first sight, more like on third sight.

- Cze Mien –

I like this idea – the guys enjoyed themselves in the jacuzzi before going to pick up the bride in the morning!

Good thing they had fun earlier… they were in for a different kind of ‘fun’ later. You can tell someone got Andrew’s bra size wrong.

There were a lot more graphic images, which I’ll save for Andrew & Cze Mien’s personal consumption.

Cze Mien’s father escorting her down the stairs to meet Andrew for the first time that day.

I love the way Cze Mien’s uncle announced the start of the tea ceremony…

They obviously love each other. Obviously.

I love small, intimate weddings like these, especially at such a gorgeous venue like Ciao Ristorante.

Love love love the look of anticipation on her face…

Family photo…

Congratulations, Andrew & Cze Mien! I hope you will continue to have many engaging lunch dates for the rest of your life!

She waited 3107 days for him to propose. And propose he did, on the 18th of September 2010.

3338 days since they started dating, they officially registered their marriage at the Old Chelsea Town Hall in Kings Road, London.

And precisely 3388 days since their first date, Wilbur & Helen were married on the beautiful beach at Four Seasons Resort, Langkawi.

Helen was new to London. She had moved from Coventry to start her new job at KPMG London in 2001. Wilbur was new to KPMG too, and since both needed to look for a place to stay, it was fate that connected them together via a simple email. Wilbur asked Helen, “Are you still looking for a flatmate?” Helen had already sorted her accommodation by then, but they continued communication via email and MSN.

Two months later, she was surprised to discover that Wilbur was in the same department and team as her! Wilbur was kind enough to bring Helen around London, and soon, love developed.

Wilbur & Helen love traveling, especially if the place has a gorgeous scenery. There’s only one other place apart from Venice that they have been back twice, and that is Langkawi. They love this charming town (I love it too!). Because of their love of traveling, they decided to name their reception tables according to the places they’ve visited and had many happy memories – Maldives, Venice, Santorini, Hallstatt, Mauritius and Cornwall.

The other theme at their wedding which was really apparent were the butterflies and cats. Helen sourced all over UK and Malaysia for this particular shade of pink, and also custom made this wedding invite. I love the little kitty stamp too! I was told that the black cat looks pretty much like their beloved cat Milo, who had to be left in London while they came to Malaysia for the wedding. I was amazed when I heard that Wilbur drove 45km away from his home to put their cat Milo in a special cat hotel – the only one that had a webcam and internet connection! So while in Langkawi, I had a peep via the internet at Milo, who was sleeping in his little hotel room.

I found out that Helen is a detailed and meticulous person the moment she met me for the first time months ago. As she opened her folder with cut outs of images that she liked, she shared with me the plans for her wedding. I knew it was going to be a wedding filled with lovely details. On top of that, I found out that there were only 50 guests, which is absolutely small by Malaysian standards! She said that she wanted the wedding to be an intimate affair, attended by the people dearest to them. These guests flew all the way from KL, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austria as well as London to be there for the wedding!

Helen was introduced to me by a personal friend Wayne and his wife Anna. It was really nice that Wayne officiated their wedding ceremony as well. Thank you, Wayne for your recommendation! By the way, your daughter looks so adorable here, like a china doll!

This was my 2nd time at Four Seasons, Langkawi. I love the resort here… if the bathroom alone looks like this, then you can imagine the rest of the resort! Yes, I shot portraits in the bathroom!

Everyone who desires a beach wedding always hopes for the sun. It had poured on the morning of the wedding, and Helen was frantically praying for the sun to make an appearance! In her own words… “I’ve never prayed so hard before for anything in my life!”

But the sun did come out… and the ceremony carried on as planned, on the beach next to the Rhu Bar.

Guests were given little bubble blowers, and they made full use of it, at the start and end of the ceremony!

All the 50 guests who were present that day.

Before dinner, we walked around Four Seasons for some portraits. It was getting dark by then, and we didn’t have much time before the sun set.

The dinner reception was held at the Lower Serai Pavilion.

Wilbur & Helen, I am sure that life will hold many more exciting adventures for the both of you. Lots of happy memories to be created in so many places, yet unknown. Thank you for choosing us to be there on your wedding day. We are truly honoured.

Phong & Laura’s story felt as if it came directly from a romantic screenplay. The setting: San Francisco.

Laura had traveled to San Francisco to be with her sister, Lisa who worked there. It was during this two month visit that she met Phong, who was Lisa’s colleague. Laura thought he was rather fun to hang out with and so they exchanged contact details and communicated via MSN. Fast forward a few months later, Phong had the opportunity to fly to Indonesia for work.

Perfect timing, as Laura needed another break from work too… and so she flew to Indonesia to visit him. From there, love blossomed and it was the most interesting weekend for her. As fate would have it, one week after he returned to San Francisco, he found out that the company he was working for was relocating to Singapore!

From then on, everything was history – and according to Laura, Phong loves to tell their friends that he flew halfway across the world to be with her.

During the wedding, Phong’s family flew in from Australia & Vietnam – and he was even reunited with family he hadn’t seen in years! I was really excited when Laura told me about this story… and also when she mentioned that her wedding would be held in her family home garden! It’s so meaningful when you say your vows in such a personal environment. There were so many elements that made this wedding a memorable one for me. From the Vietnamese car decorations, to the personalized popcorn box, to the massive trees in the awesomely pink ballroom… everything was just detailed so beautifully.

The other thing that made my heart skip a beat too was Laura’s Vera Wang gown. I instantly thought of the line from the movie Bride Wars… “You don’t alter a Vera Wang to fit you, you alter yourself to fit into a Vera Wang” (something to that effect).

I don’t know how much alteration Laura had to do, but she looked absolutely amazing in that gown that day.

I couldn’t resist doing a ring shot in the popcorn box…

I love the Vietnamese touches to the decor!

The girls were pretty creative when it came to the games session…By the way, Laura ironed on these prints onto the t-shirts herself!

Love love love the sign!

Love the fascinator and hat theme going on here… just like the Royal wedding!

Family portraits…

That night, the ballroom at Four Points by Sheraton was decorated beautifully – all thanks to Laura’s ideas and execution.

Congratulations, Phong & Laura! It was evident that your friends and family absolutely adore the both of you to bits. Thank you for treating Mark and I like family. Our first time meeting the both of you felt more like meeting old friends. Enjoy married life, both of you!

My response is simple… I make time for it.

When I think back about it, I am amazed as well. Of course, there are days when I am overwhelmed with the workload. Since I started running my own business 3-4 years ago, I discovered that time is such an important asset. Everyday is a rush to complete the backlog of work that somehow manages to miraculously pile itself on my desk. Before I know it, a day has gone by, a week, a month, a year… where did the time go?

I am still learning the art of prioritizing my time. There are certain things I know I need to do, and those things are high on my priority list. Blogging is one of them. I feel it’s so important to have fresh content on the Stories blog, that no matter how busy I am, I must make time to blog. In my mind, blogging = marketing the Stories brand. How can I neglect something as important as marketing?

So yeah… I make time for it.

Here’s a simple update to what’s been happening the past one week:

Noel & Hui Yi’s pre-wedding shoot in Putrajaya

I love Pullman hotel for pre-wedding photography. The ambience is beautiful!

Kevin & Katherine’s pre-wedding shoot in Nikoi Island, off Bintan, Indonesia

With an amazing beach like this, you can’t help but feel soooo blessed at having a job that brings you places.

Kevin & Katherine (also known as Feng & Shan), would prefer to have their pre-wedding photos posted after their wedding in October, so it’ll be a surprise to the guests. So yeah, you’ll have to wait for it. It’s worth the wait. A hint… it’s filled with yummy-licious props in the shades of blue & white! Also, lots of love + blue skies.

Here’s the view of the chalets we stayed in (it’s super luxurious considering it’s one couple per chalet)

And here’s a view of the couple that enjoyed the chalet…

From Nikoi, Alex and I traveled by speedboat, ferry, taxi, bus, van and plane to Kuching, Sarawak for Phong & Laura’s wedding. (it’s a long story on why we needed to do that). Mark met us in Kuching for the shoot.

Phong & Laura’s wedding in Kuching, Sarawak

Meanwhile, on the same day, Johan & Ben were in KL, covering Jonathan & Germaine’s wedding dinner (since I just got back to KL, I haven’t collected the photos from Johan so no image here for now).

After Phong & Laura’s wedding, I stayed on in Kuching to do a personal video project with my church friends. It involves the recording of Christian testimonies in Sarawak. On one of the days, we traveled to Serian village to do a video recording with this family.

Overall, a really hectic but fruitful week. That’s all for now! Hope your week was a good one too!