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Weddings

Beach Wedding, Andaman: James & Brielle

It was the perfect setting for a summer romance. The venue: Penang. Two families from 2 different continents – James from UK and Brielle from Australia happened to meet by chance at the very same resort. They were 15… young, adventurous and naive. From the moment James said hello to Brielle by the pool side, they were inseparable for the week of the holiday.

What started out as a teenage holiday crush, turned into keeping in touch regularly as pen pals. Naturally, they took every opportunity to meet up whenever Brielle came to the UK to visit family as she was growing up. Soon, the teenagers grew up, and after a backpacking trip to the UK when Brielle was 21, they both realized that their teenage crush was more than just a crush.

It was then that they started a relationship. Their first holiday as a couple was in Langkawi, and so Malaysia was a place where many memories were born.

Brielle returned to Australia and James to UK…and 6 long months of being apart made things really difficult for the both of them. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite work out. But circumstances changed in 2008, when Brielle returned to the UK to live there. With some persuasion from James, they met up and rekindled that teenage romance once again.  From that moment on, they went on from strength to strength, and in 2011, he proposed.

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Beach Wedding, Andaman: John & Tiffany

He was there to attend his ex-roommate’s birthday party. She was fashionably late. A stranger to John. But the moment she walked through that door, his heart literally dropped. John had no idea who she was, how she was related to the birthday girl or what ethnicity she was, but all he knew was that he HAD to meet this girl. Throughout the night, he tried to be as close as possible to her so he could initiate conversation with this mystery girl. That was all he needed to motivate himself to ask her out on a date the next morning, at 6am when he got home!

Over the next few months, they went on numerous dates, but though they were really comfortable with each other, John never worked up the nerve to hold her hand till 4 months later. But after he started, he knew, from that day onwards, he could never let go of her hands.

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I only met John and Tiffany on the day of their wedding. They had flown all the way from the US to be wed at The Andaman, Langkawi. Some of their family members came from Hong Kong to witness the ceremony. When I walked into the room, Tiffany said to me, “Tell us if you need anything…Do whatever you need to get the shots.”

Yes! To me, that was like a free ticket to move furniture in order to get better photos, and the freedom to control timing so that I can give them the best possible coverage in the time we have together.

That day, I witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets I had ever seen in Langkawi. John and Tiffany, the day couldn’t have gone any better. Enjoy the wedding video highlight below, and the photos in this post!

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Church Wedding: Rayson & Yee See

I do wish we could feature every single wedding or portrait that we have ever photographed or filmed on this blog, but I know that it’s just feasibly not possible! In between shoots, managing enquiries, meeting potential clients and replying emails, there’s just so little time left. Throw into that equation, work-life balance – trying to bring my little 6 month old for swimming classes, shopping for groceries, going to church, and actually having a life… I suddenly realize that half a year has passed! Recently, the Integricity family (FYI to those who are not aware, Stories is part of a larger group of companies) went on a company holiday to Phuket! More on that later!

So phew, back to Rayson and Yee See. I first met Rayson years ago when we were working on a corporate project together that required our animation services. That was the vague image that I have in my mind. I could have met him through another friend, but that’s how most friendships are… after a while, it takes a bit of memory-jogging to try and recall the finer details.

So Rayson and Yee See were married this February. Their wedding was photographed by Johan and Weiming (I was on maternity leave then!). Though it’s been a few months since their wedding, I’d like to share these images from their church wedding and their story with you.

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Excerpt from their wedding blog:

He says…

It was only 4 years ago that I met Yee See. It was not love at first sight as most tend to believe. We met at my ex-college mate’ bridal party meeting. I remembered the first time I saw her… it wasn’t a very flattering picture, oily skin, messy hair, runny nose and not to mention the weird dressing.

Totally not my type.

We were paired up pretty quickly for the wedding dance practices. I remembered the awkward moments when we held hands. I thought,

“This girl… dunno how to hold hands… never had a boy friend before issit? -_-” 

It wasn’t until a couple of more dance practices that she opened up a bit. I could see that she was starting to feel a lot more comfortable, but still, we didn’t talk much. I thought the epic age gap was to be blamed as there wasn’t anything much that we could talk about. If you’re looking for any chemistry at this point in time, there’s zero. Besides, I wasn’t interested in her romantically. Well, not yet at least.

I thought to myself, there’s no way am I going to go out with this girl even if there was any slight interest. It’s just impossible and of course, not practical. We’re talking about a 7 years age gap here. Pretty scandalous to date a college kid, won’t you say?

Who knew that God had an awesome plan for the both of us.

After the wedding, we kept in touch through Skype, Facebook and Twitter. It wasn’t until she followed me on Twitter that I got interested. I mean, back there not many people heard of Twitter.

That piqued my interest a little. 

I also got to know how close she is with her dad and the amazing relationship they have.

That piqued my interest a little more. 

Off and on we’ll be in contact over the phone, SMS, Skype … but most of the time she would be the one initiating them. Well, I was only interested in being friends, nothing more.

There was this one occasion that I was driving out for a meeting and I got an SMS from her saying that she had prayed for me. That action was all it took for me to decide that this girl was worth pursuing.

God really opened by eyes. I began to see her differently. I think she prayed very hard hahahahaha … Seriously, everything about her suddenly became attractive. Things that I’ve never noticed, I’ve began to notice. Everything that I had secretly prayed for in a life partner was in front of me all along.

We’ve had our ups and downs, but every experience was worth it. Looking back, I could had missed this girl, glad I didn’t.

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Beach Wedding in Hua Hin, Thailand: Vut & Yan Yan

He was known as the “Thai guy” at church in Melbourne. There, Vut was almost like furniture, since he’s been there for ages. Yan Yan didn’t really know too much about him personally, though she heard that he liked soccer and food. Rumour went around that Vut once ate dog food because he was too hungry (which she later discovered was indeed a rumour!). It was only towards the end of her 3rd year at uni in 2009 that she got to know him better through gmail chat.

And so, a Malaysian girl fell in love with a Thai guy on Australian shores.

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In 2013, Vut and Yan Yan tied the knot on the beautiful beach of Hua Hin, Thailand, witnessed by close family and friends.

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One of the things I really enjoyed about this wedding was that it was really windy on the day of the wedding. It didn’t feel humid, like most beach weddings I have photographed. The wind did make it challenging to change lenses though! I was a little concerned about the fine powdery sand going into the camera and how I’ll need to get it cleaned after the wedding! That thought didn’t last too long though, cause I totally enjoyed the cool sea breeze as we photographed the ceremony that evening.

It was also a special trip because it was Weiming’s first trip to Thailand. Alex and Krysta also tagged along on the trip, so that was really nice to go back to my family after a long day’s work. Of course, the Thai food was awesome too! I could eat Thai food almost everyday!

Thanks Vut and Yan Yan for your hospitality and thoughtfulness. We were touched when we received little cupcakes from you after the wedding too! (The entire studio enjoyed the cupcakes!). Just like your awesome wedding favours below, I wish your marriage a spoonful of devotion, a heap of perfection, a dash of kindness and a pinch of bliss… except that may it multiply a hundredfold beyond what you can imagine!

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Myanmar Wedding: Bobo and Catherine

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

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