Dear Diane, Mark & Johan,

I meant to send this earlier, but I didn’t expect the week post-wedding to be equally as hectic as pre-wedding. I actually just wanted to drop a quick e-mail to let you know how awesome it was having you guys as my photographers.

I thoroughly enjoyed the times on-camera as well as off-camera. (Chewah, mcm celebrity, liddat!) Seriously, though, I’m so glad & grateful for how (unexpectedly) easy it was to get along with you, right from the start -  tbh, I didn’t expect that having photographers around would be such a pleasant experience. I was surprised at how comfortable I was with you & how much fun I had just hanging out with you guys during those brief moments after the ceremony/during the luncheon/dinner.

It was a genuine pleasure for me to have you around, so much so I felt as though you were actual guests at my wedding. Having said that, I can understand how you might not share the same viewpoint, seeing as the cameras would’ve been a weighty reminder of the work at hand. All the same, thank you for being such great company.

Thank you, Diane, for all the chats & e-mails, and for all those gentle reminders – yep, I know we’re due to think of that extra song :) It was great to finally meet you in person – I’m so happy you came to photograph my wedding! :D :D – & you are just as nice as you sound over Gtalk. True story. I bet most brides say this, but we really should hang out sometime. Any friend of Switchfoot is a friend of mine & Aaron’s :) (Btw, I’ve got Vice Verses on repeat in my car – that’s probably going to run until I get the new David Crowder album.)

Mark, thank you for enduring my numerous rants regarding the breakdown of my precious system & my “Y U NO [insert appropriate bridezilla expectation here]?!?” Despite how the photo-session went up in flames – in FLAMES, Mark – I was actually present in each moment of my day & enjoyed it, from the chilled-out make-up session, to the ceremony (thank you SO much for giving me no cause for concern during the Mass – I personally thought you did a brilliant job of being unobstrusive & yet the pictures still turned out fabulous ;) to the dinner.

Btw, one of my overseas guests was particularly impressed with the slideshow you put together, esp. considering the limited amount of time you had. As was I: Thank you so much for highlighting what, or rather, Who was & is at the centre of Aaron’s & my union, and I noticed that the pictures came together beautifully at the chorus, so well done :)

Johan, we saw those great shots you’d taken from the balcony. My mother-in-law also made special mention of how you’d subtly (hehe) grouped the guests during the toasting & the different angles you used. Thank you for the efforts you took to to get those quirky & candid shots that I was hoping for, esp. at the main table. (LOL-ing at how you had to recall me from the meet-and-greet for the slideshow during the dinner!) It was a real pleasure encountering you & your sense of humour, and I know my sister was happy to put a face to the gentleman who was so impressed with her Gantt chart, haha!

All in all, I thank God the actual day went the way it did, and that He made our paths cross the way He did. Thank you for being a part of our wedding & I hope you enjoyed yourselves in our company as much as we did in yours. Looking forward ’til we next meet again. In the meantime, take care & God bless!

Yours sincerely,

Sheena

Shooting Aaron & Sheena’s wedding was fun, I have never seen such a cute couple together and boy the wedding day was equally exciting. Interesting things such as the wedding dinner plan laid out in a gantt chart (project managers would probably know what I am talking about) as well as the bride who travels so far away for work because she was posted out of town. In a strict sense, it was beautiful because of two things, it followed the traditions of a Catholic wedding and the wedding itself was held at such a beautiful church. Despite what people might say, I guess deep down I am a traditionalist at heart. Traditions and cultures are some of the few things I see getting lost in this extremely fast paced world.

Surprisingly I found out that I knew Aaron’s brother who was my university mate all the way back in the UK. It really was such a small small world. I consider it a double blessing especially if I find out that I know the couple or one of the couple’s family members.

Congratulations again to Aaron and Sheena. May this new journey in life be a fantastic and fruitful one!

- Mark -

Credits:
Photographers: Mark, Johan & Diane
Location: Church of St Thomas More, USJ & Summer Palace Restaurant, PJ
Wedding Gown: Eva Enchanted
Shoes: Alvin Tay Couture
Make up & hair: YenTan Bridal Make up & Hair Do Service
Stationery: Friend of the bride & groom, Crisabel Clare
Cake: Friend of the bride & groom, Denis Ngu
Flowers: Sprinkled with Style
Videography: Beezworks Productions

For those who have been reading this blog for sometime, you might know that I started out my career in the local film and television line. For many years, I edited TV programs, dramas, films, documentaries… and also directed some episodes of various television programs. Then in 2007, I began to explore the world of weddings through my camera lens. You can read more about my history here.

So how is this relevant to what I am about to say?

Well, basically, we will be involved in a new project involving an international travel channel that broadcasts to 120 countries worldwide. No, this doesn’t mean that we are no longer photographing weddings. Every now and then, I believe in doing new things that will help fuel creativity, and though it’s been a while since I directed a TV program, this is something I’m excited to do.

So… this is where you come in.

We are looking to feature weddings in Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore. For each episode, we will feature one local couple and one couple who are traveling to that destination for their wedding. If you are getting married in these locations within the months of May-August 2012 and would love to have your wedding featured internationally on television, do contact us!

Please email grace.tan [at] stories.my with these details:

1. Your name & your fiance’s name

2. The location and date of your wedding

3. Why you think your wedding should be featured (or perhaps some unique details about your wedding plans)

4. Include a photo of the both of you

And that’s it! This is not a contest. We will select the couple based on the best story that fits our requirements. We are excited to hear from you, so do email us soon!

It was in spring of 2009 that Eric first laid his eyes on Jennie. While I am sure he was praying during the church rosary prayer at Bullsbrook, Western Australia, Eric might have been a little distracted. Perhaps. Jennie was not a familiar face…plus she is a gorgeous girl! Eric soon found out that she was there from Surabaya, visiting her sister Anne for a week or two.

Thanks to social media and Mark Zuckerberg, they started connecting by messaging each other on Facebook, Yahoo messenger and MSN. In Eric’s words, “geek mode on!”. After a lot of prayers asking God for signs, Eric finally plucked up the courage to visit Jennie in Surabaya where she was finishing her medicine degree. That month of February 2010 was a milestone, because Eric and Jennie became boyfriend and girlfriend then.

During Christmas of 2010, Eric visited Jennie’s family in Malang, Indonesia and brought with him a Tiffany engagement ring. Unfortunately, Jennie discovered the ring accidentally in his camera bag, but he was quick to pop the question. She blushed. And then she said yes.

Be warned people, this is a super duper long post! It’s really hard for me to pick my favourites!

Amazingly, Eric has a tiger in his home. Uh, is this real, Eric?

Interestingly, the wrought iron stairs at Eric’s home and the stairs in Hotel Gran Mahakam is pretty similar.

Their ceremony was held at Santa Perawan Maria Ratu, a Catholic church in Jakarta. I love the photos taken by Alex below… before she walks into the church. Their wedding car was a gorgeous vintage Bel Air!

I love the modern design of this church. When Eric told me there’s heaps of natural light streaming into the church, I was really excited! I love photographing weddings in buildings that has lots of natural light. Lunch receptions in locations with large glass windows make me do a little leap too!

The Catholic wedding ceremony in Indonesia differed slightly from the ones I have photographed in Malaysia. It lasted longer (1.5 hours) and there were gifts presented to the bride and groom as well, halfway through the ceremony.

The universal language of love extends beyond boundaries. No matter what language you speak, love is the thing that connects us as humans. Eric and Jennie appreciated their parents and in-laws after the ceremony. I thought it was really meaningful and emotional, and something every married couple should adopt as practice during the wedding.

After the group photos, Eric and Jennie gathered everyone outside the church and released pigeons and balloons into the sky!

Every Chinese wedding is not complete without the tea ceremony.

Dinner was held at the Gran Mahakam hotel.

I love the reception area! Makes me want to pack one of these vintage dressers and bring them home to Malaysia!

Luggage tags is a practical idea as a wedding favour!

The other unique thing about Indonesian weddings is the dinner reception. I was surprised to find out that standing receptions is a norm in Indonesia. 600 guests came for the buffet dinner, stood and mingled in the hotel ballroom and came to the front to take photos with the bride and groom. There were a total of 2 large round tables.

It was really sweet that Eric’s English teacher flew all the way from Australia to attend the wedding.

And finally, the amazing group of wedding planners (including Eric’s sister Elsa) who made the wedding happen.

Eric and Jennie, the both of you will always have a special place in my heart! Thank you for your trust in us even though we did not meet face to face when you made the booking. I appreciate the friendship and kindness you have shown us. It’s clients like you that make our job so easy (and meaningful)! Hugs!!

Credits:

Photographers: Grace & Alex
Wedding Gown: Venisee Couture
Groom’s Attire: Pizzaro Sensation Design
Shoes: Rococo
Hair & Make Up: Michelle Touche
Decorations & Flowers:  Rumah Kampung
Stationery: Red Ribbon Gift
Cake: Clara Cake
Videography: Flawless Pictures
Location: Gereja Santa Perawan Maria Ratu & Gran Mahakam Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia
Wedding Planners: Vanessa & Retno

Yup, it’s every girl’s dream to plan for her wedding. Like waaay in advance. But I wonder if Elaine actually started her wedding planning even earlier than that. You see, she was childhood friends with Kevin ever since she was a 2 year old toddler. I can’t remember a single thing from when I was 2 (could be due to my bad memory). They were best friends till the age of 5, then lost contact with each other for years, until they were reconnected 20 years later! Talk about an amazing story!

So end of 2010, Elaine contacted me again to talk about her wedding and initially she wanted to have it at our old school chapel in our primary school, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Malacca. I was really excited about it because I have fond memories of that chapel, even though I wasn’t a Christian at that point in my life. I always remember it as being serene and ancient.

Unfortunately that plan didn’t quite work out and the wedding was held in St Peter’s Church in Malacca. That church has a 300 year old history, so I was excited about it too! My parents used to attend that church too when they were living in Malacca and so this church was significant to me.

To make this wedding even more exciting, Elaine requested for Smurfette, my vintage VW kombi to make it’s first wedding appearance as the bridal car! Thank you Kevin and Elaine, for making everything so memorable for me. I had an awesome time, and I am amazed at the level of detailed planning that went into the wedding. Elaine, thanks too for the card and gift. It was really sweet and thoughtful of you.

Ok so on to photos from the wedding…

Kevin and Elaine, I hope you are enjoying married life to bits! Continue to charm each other and remain as best friends for years! Am really happy for the both of you. Lots of hugs and kisses!

Credits:
Photographers: Grace, Eric & Weiming
Location: St Peter’s Church & Renaissance Hotel, Malacca
Vokswagen Kombi Rental: Stories.my
Car Decor: Gabriet Florist, Malacca

Roshan and Janis’ wedding was especially meaningful because Janis’ mum passed away from cancer a few months before their wedding day. Janis’ mum was too ill to travel from Perth, Australia to Kuala Lumpur for the wedding in November, but they wanted her to witness the ceremony. So Roshan and Janis made a decision to hold a small wedding ceremony at the hospital chapel, just for her mum. That made me tear, Roshan must have really been Janis’ pillar of strength during such a trying time. The theme of this wedding is based on these little stones Janis’ mum had in her home – Love. Faith. Hope.

2011 was a challenging year for Roshan and Janis, but is was the strength from God, their friends and family, and their love for each other that brought them through it. This post has fewer images than usual, but it’s because I hope you’ll make time to view this slideshow, as we did something different this time round – incorporating speeches into our slideshow.

Roshan and Janis were introduced to each other by a mutual friend and immediately bonded through their love of music. He’s Fijian Indian and she’s Malaysian but they’ve lived in Perth almost all their lives. I always find it interesting to hear stories of the couple’s first impressions of each other…

Janis: My first impression of Roshan was that he is an extremely kind soul and incredibly talented with music and computers!  He’s such a giving, loving and devoted partner. He’s my best friend and makes me laugh every day. Roshan is soooooo patient with me (anyone that knows me will understand how hard this can be sometimes!) and I’m looking forward to the rest of our lives together!

Roshan: My first impression of Janis was that she was a beautiful, outgoing, warm and fun person. I have always admired her passion for the things that she loves and cares for in life, and the fact that she is “ever reliable” for anyone close to her. She is a kind hearted, warm and loving person, and always lights up the room with her presence. I can’t wait to share a future together with Janis and to call her my wife!

From Roshan & Janis: 

We were very fortunate to have been referred to the Stories team by a couple who had engaged Grace and her team for their own wedding. After countless hours of researching photographers, one look at photos by the Stories team and we knew our search was over!

From the very beginning, we dealt with Grace and Diane and they were so committed to our journey through prompt communication and follow up!

When we met up with Grace, my first impression was how warm, friendly and professional she was! Then over the course of the next 2 days, we also met Alex, Felicia, Mark and Weiming. Roshan and I were just so impressed with the level of care, attention and creativity from each member of the stories team!

On our actual day during the chinese tea ceremony, I remember turning to Roshan and whispered that my hands were sticky from the chinese tea! The next thing I knew, Alex had handed me a napkin with water to wipe my hands with! How thoughtful and sweet this gesture was! This is just an example of how our actual day went with the attentiveness from Grace, Alex and Felicia.

For our second ceremony the next day, Mark and Weiming were so accommodating in taking specific shots that we asked for. They really were so patient and creative in getting that perfect shot for us!

Grace’s bubbliness, expertise and vision completed our wedding experience! The feedback was unanimous that the quality and creativity of photos were just outstanding! Our family members and friends consistently told us that they had goose bumps when watching our same day slideshow which was edited to incorporate parts of our reception speech! It was truly amazing.

The Stories team are just incredibly talented and we are so blessed to have been introduced to them. They have gifted us with memories we’ll look back on and treasure for the rest of our lives.

Thanks and big hugs to Grace and the entire Stories team!

Thank you, Roshan and Janis, for reminding me that love conquers all.

Credits: (most items sourced overseas)

Photographers: Grace & Alex, assisted by Felicia
Wedding Gown: Hob Nob
Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss
Make Up: Vanz Lee
Stationery: Starfish Lane
Cake: Tea Room
Flowers: Buds ‘N’ Blooms
Dinner entertainment: Mosaic Entertainment & DJ G-Mix
Location: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, KL 

So 2 presidents from 2 Christian Fellowships, from the same university ended up marrying each other. Despite it being a half day event, it was a big privilege that Johan and I got to document their wedding. I could feel the strong emotion and genuine love they have for each other on their wedding day. And that made it one of my favourite weddings by far.

The wedding was not entirely about themselves but also about their families whom they really love and care for, friends that spent the entire night lending them a helping hand to decorate the church and also about God. What touched me was that they honoured and gave thanks to God for He had handpicked and brought them together. I particularly love the part where Audrey said she sees God in her parents’ lives and wants to be like them.

On behalf of the Stories team we wish both of you much joy, happiness and excitement on your journey together!

- Weiming -

Since Justin & Audrey’s wedding theme is about celebration, the coral and mustard theme colour works really well! We love this line that is on their wedding program:
Please cheer and celebrate with us during the ceremony. It’s not a funeral! :)

A calendar as a wedding favour is not only unique, it’s practical! Featured below is their cool postcard wedding invite with personalized stamp at the back. (same design as the wedding car)

It’s important to have some nutrition before the big task of walking down the aisle.

A Note from Audrey:

We had a really pleasant and memorable experience with the Stories team led by Johan. Justin is usually a bit shy posing in front of a camera but the warmth and encouragement given by the team really helped us relax. :) And of course, they were extremely accomodating to our requests, for which we are super grateful for! We also appreciated that Nigel took time to come by during the rehearsal to ensure that the sound would be captured for the video. Oh and incidentaly, Weiming is our university friend, so it was an extra bonus to have a familiar face in the team.

Our wedding planning experience was all sorts of crazy. Justin proposed on 1 August 2011 and we decided to wed on 2 Jan 2012, which gave us 5 months to pull everything together. So I suppose to sum it up, we would say it was a miracle, starting from the obvious fact that we managed to secure our venues with little trouble. :) we also couldn’t have done it without the love and support from our family and friends. Our team of helpers totally blew us away with their awesome-ness. (we LOVED the decorations! Our friends were working wayy overtime to get it all perfect. And Audrey’s family hand carried the wedding cake and cupcakes from KK)

Most of all it was a wonderful celebration of friendships. Both of us are from Multimedia University, Justin’s from the Malacca campus and I am from the Cyberjaya campus. We love how the day of our union was also a day of reunions!

Thanks Justin & Audrey! Recently, the Stories team has been producing wedding videos. Here’s a highlight of their wedding day . We hope it brings back memories for the both of you.

Credits:
Photographers: Johan & Weiming
Videographer: Nigel Sia
Wedding Video Edit: Weiming
Wedding Gown: L&L Bridal Collections
Make Up: Haze Long
Decorations: Michelle Ding
Stationery: Designed by Charel Ong & Lydia Chew
Flowers: Gabriet Florist
Church Location: Luther Center, PJ

Their story (as written by Stefanie):

Vijay and I first got to know each other in Multimedia University Christian Fellowship (MMUCF) in 2003. We started dating in 2005 and in December 2010, Vijay proposed to me. While all our friends and family had pretty much expected us to get married to each other at some point in our lives, few people truly realized what a big step this was for us. While most people would have been saving money for years with a house on the side, we started wedding planning with only RM1000 in our bank accounts with no other financial support. Crazy? You bet! However, we both believed and trusted in a loving Father God who gave us several promises that He would provide for our wedding and our married life.

In the course of our eleven months preparations, we faced several financial and personal obstacles but we kept praying and trusting in God to bring us through. Many times, we were challenged by God to give towards our church’s (Acts Church) building funds while maintaining our regular tithes to church. Yet, we always had enough to survive and contribute to our own wedding fund.

Despite the overwhelming odds, God’s faithfulness prevailed and 2011 proved to be a year of miracles and breakthroughs. I changed my job and my pay increased significantly. Vijay, who works as a pharmaceutical salesman, achieved every single quarterly sales during our entire engagement period. Our salaries and incentives, combined with several surprise gifts or opportunities enabled us to pay off our wedding. Amazingly, none of our wedding expenses were paid on credit but were always paid in cash. God always provided the money when it was most needed. God even provided a beautiful house at half the normal rental price and provided the furniture to furnish it. God’s faithfulness was evident in every part of our wedding!

From the moment Stefanie walked down the aisle, Vijay started tearing…

During the praise and worship session, I could not help but feel overwhelmed by the energy and excitement from the crowd. It was the first time I cried at a wedding. A lot of tears rolled that morning, not just Vijay’s and Stef’s.

The following crowd shots were taken by Diane. I love how she managed to capture everyone’s candid expression perfectly!

There’s always time for a silly group photo…

And portraits, of course! (quite different from their day after portraits, right?)

I love this awesome champagne shot by Mark!

Stefanie: 

While planning our wedding, we discussed several photographers and settled on Stories. We loved their work and decided to take a leap of faith to hire Stories as our wedding photographers. It was the best decision we’ve made! Not only were our photos simply beautiful, our photographers are the most professional and friendly photographers we’ve met! Stories captured every single precious, emotional, joyous, fun moment. They tried their utmost best to accommodate themselves to our requests and somehow turned us – the most unphotogenic people in the world – into superstars. Their people skills are excellent and we had so much fun interacting with them during the portraits session.

To Grace – thank you for teaching us how to pose and look our best! Thank you also for accommodating to our requests and giving us the best photography experience!

To Mark – thank you for making us laugh while taking all those beautiful shots! It was so much fun working with you and Grace. We hope you enjoyed all that Melaka food!

To Diane – thank you for your warmth and professionalism in dealing with us before and after the wedding! You’re such a upbeat and friendly person and made the whole experience great! Appreciate all your assistance and help!

To the rest of Stories team – thank you for the wonderful editing and lovely shots! Please keep up the great work!

To anyone considering hiring Stories for their event, we HIGHLY recommend them! Thank you again Stories for covering our wedding photography and making it one of the best experiences in our life!

Aaw, thanks Stefanie! :) We are truly honoured! We had an awesome time photographing your wedding! For those who would like to view more photos from the wedding, please click on the same day slideshow below.

Credits: 

Photographers: Grace, Mark, assisted by Diane
Location: Calvary Life Assembly, Malacca & Holiday Inn Malacca
Wedding Gown & Make Up: Increative Bridal House
Flowers: Gabriet Florist, Malacca
Videography: Joshua Chiam
Dinner Entertainment: Cross Fusion

* What the Duck is one of my favourite comic strips!

So yeah… part of my new year resolution is to not be overly nerdy, keep a good work life balance, and to be more up to date with my blogging! There are many weddings which are still sitting patiently in my hard drive, waiting to be blogged.

Here’s one that I absolutely have to share with you. Top 3 reasons why I love this wedding:

1. It’s a fun fun fun wedding! It all started when I read their wedding invitation card…

Seven years ago, in the faraway land of Cyberjaya, Ian met Joanne at a Christian Fellowship gathering and was smitten ever since. Thankfully, Mr & Mrs Lee Kah Meng and Mr & Mrs Chow Cheng Hock approved of their relationship and they didn’t have to elope. So come and witness the union of these two souls on 5 November 2011. They will profess their love and commitment to each other at Good Shepherd Church at 11am, and share the rest of their story with you over food and drinks at The Bankers Club from 6pm onwards.

2. The groom uh, looks a little unconventional.

3. The bridal party were dressed in our Stories’ theme colour! (light blue & brown!) Hip hip hurray!

I had a blast at Ian & Joanne’s wedding! Thank you for inviting us to be part of your wedding day!

The guys in super hero outfits and the girls just looking stunning!

Actually, we had heaps of fun with the games session… Ian had a bagful of expressions for us!

And the funny thing was that he snuck into the Sekeping Terasek room through a window! (Tip for all brides who are planning on having their wedding there, please make sure the window is barred!)

He got the bride, now off to church for the wedding ceremony!

Parents of the bride & groom…

Love this gown by That Special Occasion! And I love Joanne’s cute expression!

Custom made flags by a friend…

So let me expand on the little intro chapter of how they met. MMU Christian fellowship is a great place to make friends, encounter God and… well, meet girls. Joanne was rather cute, so she immediately caught his attention. Soon, Ian found out that Joanne needed transportation to get to church, and guess what? Ian had a car!

But there was a problem. Joanne was oblivious to Ian’s feelings. One day, he asked Joanne about the status of their relationship and that prompted her to start thinking about it. Sadly for Ian, he was given the dreaded answer…let’s remain as friends first.

After that, Ian left for a mission trip in Sarawak and didn’t have a phone connection for a few days. It was then that Joanne discovered she actually missed him! So she plotted a way to get out of this mess. After Ian came home, Joanne created a fake chat ID with the name of Joanna (she really does have a friend with that name), and messaged Ian as Joanna, trying to understand whether he still had feelings for Joanne.

He said yes!

Not long after that, Joanne was involved in a car accident and needed to be brought to a clinic for a check up. She called Ian who willingly came to the rescue. During that car ride, she brought up the subject of a relationship… and sealed the deal by holding his hand!

Every tea ceremony should have lots of laughter like this one!

During the dinner, guests were invited to take photos at Ian & Joanne’s little vintage corner.

Oh, and I absolutely adore this cake! The cake topper is gorgeous!!

Here’s another perspective of the cake topper. See the resemblance with the image on the right?

Great speeches.

Awesome yum seng sessions.

Warm friendships.

All the ingredients you need for a great wedding.

Congratulations, Ian & Joanne! And for those who read my blog regularly, you’ll notice that the vendor credit list has been moved to the bottom (just like the movies, the credits appear at the end!)

Photographers: Grace, Weiming & Alex
Wedding Gown: That Special Occasion
Bridesmaids Dresses: Cordino Creations
Groom’s Attire: Lim Trading Co, Setapak
Make up: Meoki Tong
Decorations: DIY
Stationery: Faith Books & Stationery
Flowers: Denise Flower Shop
Church Ceremony: Good Shepherd Church Setapak
Dinner Reception Venue & Cake: Bankers Club, KL

On the 19th of July, Alex and I received a phone call from Pastor Margaret of our church. It was a call for help. Two Myanmar refugees, Zwe and Stellar were about to start their new lives as husband and wife, and they needed some help with the wedding.

If you did not read the background story as to how Alex and I got involved with this wedding, you’ll need to do that in order to fully comprehend this post.

So at 10.30pm on the 20th of July, Alex and I drove to church for the wedding ceremony. I was elated to see the bride looking so radiant in a white bridal gown, provided by DUMC’s wedding ministry. Amazingly, some months ago, someone had donated a handful of second hand wedding gowns to DUMC. Considering Stellar is a really petite girl (about my size, 5 feet!), it was miraculous that she managed to find a gown that fit her perfectly (ok maybe it is a tad bit long). Now if only my wedding gown was not in a box somewhere, I could have loaned Stellar my gown and the length would have been perfect.

If Zwe had chosen to wear Alex’s wedding suit, that would have been pretty weird, to see someone else in my gown and in Alex’s wedding suit! (not that I would have minded).

But Zwe chose one of Alex’s beige suits instead, and I think he looked smashing in it!

Did you know that in Myanmar, 55 million people speak a variety of 111 languages, but majority of them speak the Myanmar language.(source: myanmar.net). The Myanmar script draws its source from the Brahmi script.

Translated into English, the bible passage featured below talks about love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1 Corinthians 13:4)

I really thank God for Katy (left) and Grace (right) who volunteered their make up services for this wedding. Grace even loaned her costume jewelry to Stellar!

Alex and Monica (below) helped out with the video. But before that, Alex had to help some of the groomsmen with their ties!

So at 1.30am (or ONE-THIRTY-AYY-EMM as Alex puts it), the wedding ceremony started. Since the ceremony was conducted in the Myanmar language, I had to guess what was happening, and anticipate the moment before it actually happened!

The two women featured in the image below were the key people who made this whole wedding happen. Sarah (left) and Pastor Margaret (right) coordinated everything from the counseling session to the wedding planning details. The night before, they were with Zwe and Stellar at church, going through all the wedding details. Sarah opened her home to many of these Myanmar refugees the night before the wedding, and Pastor Margaret availed herself to drive others to church for the wedding.

They have such a giving heart. I truly admire women like these, working behind the scenes humbly, yet contributing so much to the community.

The bridal party.

(Image below) From left to right: Weiming, Alex, Zwe & Stellar, Grace Wang, myself and Pastor Margaret.

After the ceremony ended, our church foyer was turned into a party zone! Really delicious Myanmar food was served and everyone was just having a good time. Some guys even showed off their break dancing skills!

My heart just swells knowing that many came forward to help with Zwe and Stellar’s wedding. I am just glad that I could be there to contribute in a small way. This wedding opened my eyes to see there that they are many refugees out there working amongst us, serving us (I found out one of them served chicken to me before at one of the shops in Tropicana City Mall!)… with the same dreams and aspirations that we have. They too desire love and acceptance. They long to have a place they can call home. For some of them who have lived here for years, Malaysia is their home.

There’s a verse in the Bible that says…

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

If you ever get to know Han How & Lydia, you’ll know that this is one relationship that is strong. It’s strong not just because of the bond of love that glues them together, but because Christ is in the centre of all they do. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Han How and Lydia’s wedding was filled with lots of love, laughter and warmth. The worship session in church was so uplifting and spirit filled, I could not help but sing along as I pressed the shutter button on my camera. Even Johan said that there was something different about this church wedding.

Han How & Lydia, I am so blessed to have been there at your wedding, photographing the both of you. I am always happy to be photographing weddings, but more so when the couple are personal friends of mine. Keep this strand strong between the both of you and God. All the best for the future!

Here are a selection of my favourite images from their wedding.

The heng tais looking pweetty.

They had to go to a coffee shop near Lydia’s home and ask strangers to stick little heart-shaped stickers on their faces…

At Lydia’s home, the girls blindfolded the guys so that they won’t see what’s coming…

As you can tell, some guys lost more hair than others.

Getting past the chee muis to Lydia’s room was a difficult task for Han How as he had to answer lots and lots of questions!

Heading to church…

Han How’s nephew is super adorable!

Han How & Lydia met at church years ago while they were both serving in the worship ministry. Han How plays the guitar while Lydia plays the keyboard. During their pre-wedding session, the guitar made a brief appearance.

Some portraits after the ceremony.

Lydia’s relatives from Indonesia surprised her by making these gorgeous bouquets!

Dinner was held at Renaissance Hotel in KL.

Han How’s classic expressions as he tried to pop the cork. Eventually, the cork did pop – and it fell 3 feet in front of him.

We had so much fun that day. By the way, can you spot Alex? :) Thanks Han How and Lydia for everything!