Hi everyone! We’re involved in a really cool, upcoming project and we’d love to get you involved too! It combines 2 of my favourite topics: Travel and Weddings.
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!
What a week it has been! From a gorgeous jetty-by-the-sea wedding (despite the rain!), complete with a groom & groomsmen in kilts to our highly anticipated Bloom Workshops over the weekend, everything went by like a whirlwind. I will blog about these things later, but as of now, it’s time to post some images from Roshan & Janis’ wedding. I know it’s been months since their wedding, but I would still like to share these images here.
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.
Years ago, when I was still a student at Multimedia University, Melaka, I heard about Justin from the MMU Christian Fellowship where he used to be president. Since I was in a band too at that time, I particularly noticed that Justin was in a band (named PG165) together with Vijay (whose wedding we also photographed!). I also heard about Audrey then, as she was the president of CF MMU, based in Cyberjaya.
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 -
Most couples about to be married, fuss and fret over many details that organizing a wedding would bring. Fancy decorations and gorgeous gowns aside, all it takes to make a wedding absolutely memorable is the love shared between the couple, family & friends. I must say that this was one of the most touching weddings I have ever photographed. And it wasn’t only because Vijay and Stefanie committed to marry each other even with a mere RM1,000 in their bank account. Ultimately, it is a story of love and faith… faith in God that He would provide for their every need, down to the last detail.
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!
Videographer & Editor: Weiming
A week ago, I posted some photos from Aaron & Chrystin’s pre-wedding shoot. It was such an elaborate set up that I knew we had to document it with a video. What you don’t really see in this image below is the many piles of cow dung that we had to avoid stepping on in that field. The shoot was done at UPM, where cows graze freely at certain times of the day. Thankfully, I managed to find a cow-dung-less spot to set up our little picnic mat. So hope you enjoy the video and do leave a comment behind!
