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Chinese Weddings

Chinese Ancestral Home Ipoh Wedding: Si Howe & Joanne

Some time back, I photographed some portraits of Joanne for her 30th birthday and it was on that shoot that I met Si Howe. He struck me as a really fun loving, supportive guy who was ever willing to give Joanne a hoist to entertain her ideas of climbing trees for pictures. As we got to know each other more later, it struck me that they were two opposite personalities totally in love with each other. Si Howe, an obvious extrovert, was telling me all about his Ipoh wedding at his family courtyard home (where EVERYONE in their family holds a wedding!) and enticing Nigel and I with stories about giant Tanjung Tualang prawns served during the luncheon.

Needless to say, we were definitely looking forward to this wedding!

We were really smitten with the wonderful classic family home that we had the privilege of shooting in. Since Si Howe’s family was a large one, the tea ceremony took quite a while, serving approximately 180 people! One of the biggest challenges we had was doing a huge family photo that could accommodate everyone. At the entrance of the home (image below), it was hot in the midday sun, so to get everyone to stand / sit there even for 15 minutes would be really challenging. But the worst thing is that everyone would be squinting as they had to look towards the direction of the sun. So we moved everyone to the back of the house instead for the photos. Though it was very warm still, at least people weren’t squinting as much!

20141213_WEDDING_SIHOWE_JOANNE_0743I love this marital bed that symbolises their union. Si Howe told me how he and another cousin  had to painstakingly take the bed apart from another cousin’s home and transport it to this place. And then he had to put it together again, pretty much like a jigsaw puzzle. If you look carefully, you will see his yellow sticker notes on the bed frame which we ‘conveniently’ left in the shot. Tells a story!

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Blue & Yellow Sunflowery Goodness: Wedding of Steven & Marilyn

Steven and Marilyn are such bubbly, fun characters, it’s no wonder they chose a bright yellow, sunflower theme for their wedding. We love how the bright blue pops in relation to the yellow too. Everything from the wedding invite, to the flowers, decorations and even Marilyn’s custom made cheongsam adhered to the theme colours!

Some of their friends also came dressed according to theme. From Day1 of the proposal, both Marilyn and Steven were really involved in the whole wedding planning process. Steven’s one of those grooms who actually ENJOY planning a wedding (not like some other grooms we have encountered who prefer to just pay and let the bride plan the wedding!). He is a meticulous guy, always looking at details whereas Marilyn’s a big picture person. So they complement each other in so many ways.

By the way, a bit of interesting info about Marilyn… her dad used to own the one and only ‘go-to’ photo studio in PJ called Photo Beauty Light. Apparently, everyone used to go there for graduation and family photos from the 70s onwards!

My friendship with Marilyn has gone back quite a few years as we have traveled together spiritually as Christian sisters through our DUMC cell group. I am really happy to have met Steven when they first started dating, and now to see her get married. Congratulations to the both of you, we love you very much!

Here are the beautiful photos taken by Weiming and Jamie.

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Wedding Video Highlight: Jack & Krystal

It is not just on the wedding day that the team works really hard to shoot all the events. True, after 10 hours of shoot, most of us welcome the bed (and probably book a massage for the day after!). But the reality is, our work is far from complete. After every wedding, our post-production team works as hard, if not, sometimes, harder to create a masterpiece in the studio.

Having worked in the commercial film and TV industry for 6-7 years in the past, I know what it means to be anal about every single frame that goes into a cut. Fortunately for our clients, (but sometimes unfortunately for my editors), this quality of mine extends to our editing room. Every single video edit is checked and approved by myself before it gets sent to the client, even if I wasn’t there physically at that wedding. I believe that a good edit can ‘make or break’ a video. It’s these little hidden things that usually go unseen.

But in the case of Jack and Krystal, we’re really glad they truly appreciate and understand all the hard work that went into creating their wedding video highlight. We’re so pleased that you love our work! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to document these moments for you.

Jack & Krystal’s Story

We met through mutual friends during our time in Cardiff University in 2008 when we were studying for our Bar exams (which is a post-graduate qualifying course for law graduates).  We were course mates first, then friends before we took the final step of becoming a couple. In Law School, we were at the opposite ends of a spectrum. I was hardworking and neurotic about studying and Jack was fun loving and thought I was too bookish.

Through conversations, MSN chats and time spent together, we became friends and Jack developed an interest. I was not ready for a relationship but he earnestly and relentlessly pursued me and in the end, I was moved by his persistence, perseverance and sincerity.

We have been a couple for 4 years and have been through 2 rounds of long distance relationship – once for a period of one year when Jack stayed on to study for his Masters in Law in King’s College, London and another half a year when I was on a work secondment for half a year in Singapore.

As a couple, we have talked briefly about taking our relationship to the next step, but when Jack proposed during a trip home to his hometown in Alor Star, Kedah in the living room of the house he grew up in, I was truly surprised and very touched.

The engagement period and the wedding planning process is an extremely stressful period for any couple, and often this is the period that can make or break a relationship. For us, it was a stressful period, sometimes filled with tensions, tantrums and arguments, but we have always managed to resolve our differences and we have had very few hiccups. This period has forced us to listen, communicate better, find solutions that work and compromise.

We have fallen in love with each other countless times along the way since our first meet in Law School and more importantly, we have also grown in love. Our wedding planning journey has also been filled with many wedding planning breaks which have involved a few weekend trips to spend time together, to ensure that we do not lose sight of the most important part of the wedding and also so that we can return to the planning process with a fresh perspective.

We have had many happy adventures together, but getting married and embarking on a lifetime together will be the greatest and most exciting adventure yet. We cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together.

Credits:
Videographers: Stories Team – Felicia, Eugene, Nick (day), Salman (night)
Dinner Reception: Intercontinental Hotel, KL
Shoes: White Label by Wedding Isle
Make up & Photography: Lasposa Bridal Gallery
Flowers: Spring Cottage

St Mary’s Cathedral Church Wedding: Joshua & TL

The evening sun crept into the side of the church, illuminating the pews in this beautiful church that was erected in 1894. 121 years later, it still serves as a house of worship and a place where couples walk down the aisle and say their vows to each other. Joshua and TL’s church wedding was one that was filled with meaningful touches, especially towards the end where they even had a surprise birthday celebration for Joshua’s father, who was the Bishop of the church.

After the ceremony, we managed to take some photos around Dataran Merdeka, which was pretty relaxing for the couple! From the photos, you wouldn’t have guessed that the grass was a little wet, too! Good thing that our reflectors acted as a nice ‘seat’ as well!

As for Joshua and TL’s story… we think it’s best you read their engaging write up below!

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Old Shanghai Themed Wedding: Jason & Kim

20141129_WEDDING_JASON_KIM_096020141129_WEDDING_JASON_KIM_0963Red is the colour of passion… love… strength and beauty. I just love how much red there is in this wedding! If there’s one person whom you’d trust to style your wedding, it’d be Kim. She not only has good taste, but is great at making ideas come alive. From Kim’s unconventional wedding gown and red veil to her striking red Lewre shoes, everything is so perfectly colour coordinated. There’s also a different touch to Kim’s styling with a traditional hair piece added to the look. Not only that, there’s hot pink umbrellas and a gorgeous bouquet too! The colours just pop off the screen!

I remember my conversation with Kim during the wedding, and she told me, if she had to do something, she’d go all the way!

During the dinner, their Old Shanghai themed stage and photobooth blew me away. I love the details that went into the planning of this wedding. One week later, Jason and Kim had a totally different wedding altogether… it was a rustic themed wedding at Tanarimba! It wasn’t just the creativity at this wedding that fueled my energy to be creative too, I really felt the excitement from the both of them, including all the friends who were present that day.

I appreciate how Jason and Kim have extended their friendship to us and that in just a short time, I felt as if I’ve known them for years. Some people just make you feel so loved!

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