He was dying. She loved her Dad more than anything. All she ever dreamt of was to dance with him during her wedding. The problem? She hadn’t found a groom yet.
This heartwarming story tells of an ingenious plan that was devised by Rachel Wolf so that she could fulfil her dream ahead of time, in light of the short amount of time remaining she had with her cancer-afflicted father.
Grab some kleenex and read on…
One of the most cherished items I have in my house are the canvas prints of my family photos, hung beautifully on the wall of my living room. The photos were taken at various locations and at different times. But I remember each moment as if it was just yesterday. Recently, I started a wall of photos for my little girl, Krysta. Later, I hope to build a staircase filled of memories from various family events… some images could be as simple and routine as a meal at our dinner table.
Compared to our parent’s years when you’d only be taking photos at special events (film was expensive and not everyone owned a camera!)… images now flood every single moment of our life. I know of friends who would shoot burst mode on their phone cameras to capture that one moment where their kid is smiling at the camera. Unfortunately, those images stay in their phone (and the blur ones, if they are like me… sometimes NEVER get deleted… until, you are left with no choice when one day your phone tells you that you are running out of space).
But even with image technology getting better and better over time, it’s pretty rare that a family gets together for professional portraits (How often have I heard of comments by moms who say… The husband is behind the camera…somewhere!). And I know what it’s like to have your photo taken by Mr Tripod. It’s pretty dull and uninspiring.
So I do hope that we will have the honour of photographing your family and building your wall of memories. May each image be a small piece of the puzzle which tells a story of your life.
Recently, we photographed the Hui family. Mark and Mun Tzin are dear friends of ours. Mark is one of our resident photographer and Mun Tzin is an efficient and creative event planner, running her brand Milestones. Here’s a little story about her family.
Someone wise told me, the only asset that is truly valuable is time. I’ve always been a person who waltzes through life, never really having any set goals, but now, as I am in my mid-30s, having been married for 7 years and as a mother of a 7 month old daughter, I realize I cannot just let life pass me by.
All the more so as I see my sick, ageing parents who are approaching their 80s. I am a little sad that my dad, with his Azheimer’s, will never know his grandchild. My mom, who suffered from stroke in the past, cannot carry my 7kg daughter in her arms.
But I am glad that I had the photos from when Krysta was a newborn, and my mom could still manage to hold her, even though it was for a short period of time.
Or those images of my family when my dad still had traces of his personality intact. (Or that video of my dad singing at my wedding… even though he had forgotten the lyrics to the song… he was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s then).
I know that I can never turn back the clock to experience these things again. So time is truly precious to me.
Relationships matter.
That’s why we would love to help you record these memories with the most important people in your life. This July and August, book a pre-wedding or lifestyle portrait shoot with us and you’ll not only get to immortalize these moments, but enjoy a discount on our packages.
Do email us for a full list of our services and discounted rates. Photography must be done within the months of July and August 2013 (subject to availability). We hope to see you soon!
Hey dad, it’s me, Krysta! I just want to let you know that you’re the most awesome, super dad I’ve ever known in the past 6 months of my life. I love you soooooo much…Cause you carry me when I’m tired and cranky. You wake up many times throughout the night to feed or pat me back to sleep (especially on nights when mum has to wake up early for a shoot the next day, or when she’s away in Langkawi!).
You brought me for my first dip in the pool at Phuket, and my swimming lessons have been fun because of you! Even though I was afraid to go underwater, you held me tight and comforted me after that.
I love bouncing on your lap or your shoulder and playing with you every morning. We’ve traveled soooo far together (to Thailand 3 times already!) and I love every moment together. You’re really fun, dad. You let me sit on the sand, drink water from a straw, we’ve been on boat rides and tuk tuk rides together…I can’t wait for more adventures with you!
Thank you for loving mum too. She’s amazing. Please remember to buy her gifts and bring her for holidays too at least twice a year. (No, she didn’t pay me to say this!)
I love you dad.
Your darling daughter, Krysta Myra Lam
Catherine and Bobo are in their twenties and in love. They are youthful, enjoy life, love the Lord, and dream of a future together. Pretty much with the same dreams as any average young adult Malaysian. The only difference is that they are living in Malaysia as refugees. When Catherine traveled thousands of kilometres by land from her Myanmar home to Malaysia years ago, she had to face many uncertainties, fears and hardships as she made the journey here.
She moved to Malaysia because she wanted to help her parents who are pastors in Myanmar to support their younger siblings through school. Even though she didn’t know anyone in Malaysia then, she left the comforts of her home to a foreign land, alone. Somehow, God connected her to some other Myanmar nationals who were also seeking refuge in Malaysia. And it was there that she found a church to belong to – a church that spoke her language and were filled with her own countryfolk.
Interestingly, Catherine got to know Bobo at church, but only got to know him better at another Myanmar refugee wedding we photographed 2 years ago. When I asked Catherine what attracted her to Bobo… she answered without hesitating… “I love how he loves the Lord.”
Since most of their friends (including them) work at restaurants or boutiques in shopping malls that close after 10pm, it’s natural that the only time they can conduct a wedding is at midnight.
How our paths crossed
One day, I got a FB message from a girl named Sheryl asking if I could recommend a place where Catherine could get a wedding gown for under RM400. This girl Catherine also had in mind to send the gown back to Myanmar to her father’s church after her wedding so that it could help other girls who couldn’t really afford a gown. After a few messages, I told her that I had my old wedding gown which I could give to her if she was keen on having it (since we were both petite at XS size). I met her in church one day, and gave her 2 of my wedding gowns to choose from. It fit her to a T! It was really special to see that my gown went to someone who appreciated it so muchI also want to thank the team of people who came together to make this wedding memorable for Catherine and Bobo. They include:
Make up & hair for bride: Michelle Touche
Make up & hair for bridesmaids: Shinny Ong
Photographers & Videographers: Stories.my (Ben, Diane, Grace, Wee Liem and Johan)
Wedding Cake & Catering: Makanlah Now
Church: DUMC
