It was the evening before the wedding. Kevin’s parents had flown in from China for the wedding, and everyone was excited about the event. Unfortunately, a huge drama unfolded that evening itself. Sadly, the groom’s parents were robbed right outside their service apartment in KL. It really saddens me that Malaysia is no longer a really safe place to live in. A substantial amount of cash and passports were stolen. Kevin reacted like how anyone would, and gave chase…but they got away. Other than the physical items that were missing, he injured his hands as he fell during the chase.
But that whole incident didn’t stop Kevin and Jasmine from having a good time the next day at their wedding. I truly respect them for not letting bad circumstances affect their mood. Kevin and Jasmine, I am glad the day went really well. And Jasmine, yay, you survived wearing contact lenses for many hours! Hope you had a good honeymoon and are back safely in Australia now. Lots of love from Malaysia!
“On this date, I will marry my best friend…..the one I laugh with, live for, dream with & love”
On 16 October 2012, he asked me to begin this crazy life together as husband and wife. God beautifully scripted our romance approximately 10 years ago. Ours wasn’t the usual love story. Not love at first sight or fancy romance. Instead it was steadily slow and it gets more beautiful year after year. Dating for 10 years certainly didn’t feel as thou it has been 219,000 minutes!
We met because of fishing! He convinced my all weather friend Lydia to fish at a pond nearby my home. Halfway thru it rained heavily. To seek shelter, she asked him to stop by my home. He stood outside and analyzed the fishes in my pond. He introduced himself and said nothing else. Once my friend got changed, they left. That was our first hello. Frankly, I laughed after he left…what a name!
3 months later, we met at Taylors Subang Jaya. Different streams but same pre-uni programme. As we had common friends, we had lunches as a group. After class I had to walk home and one day, he offered to take me home via his daily taximan. A woman never hesitates a free ride! (moreover it was hot that day). We started talking on the phone; once a week became twice, twice became every other day.
6 months later….
Ch’ng Toh : Do I have a girlfriend?
Evelyn : I think so kua….
(Who on earth asks in this manner?)
And yes, that was 10 years ago….
I furthered my studies in Sydney whilst he stayed here. Thereafter, he came over for 3 years to complete his studies. When we got back, I practiced law whilst he worked with his dad. I switched career paths and joined the retail scene a year back. To date, I’ve left my job and opened a Hong Kong dessert place; Tong Pak Fu at Mid Valley & Paradigm Mall.
We are H.A.P.P.Y! Can’t ask for more and we don’t cling to each other like cling wraps!
His love for fishing has multiplied 10 folds since. He travels just to cast his rod into the ocean, pond and pool. (anything that contains water)
As for me, Scrapbooking is my passion…& whilst in the midst of preparing for my big day, I found a new love for weddings and thus found Moments together with Tricia. The Lord is my rock, shopping is my obsession and I love human interaction.
10 years now and everyday we’re still learning new lessons. Our relationship isn’t perfect. However, despite the idiosyncrasies, we choose to stay in love and take each step and hurdle as it comes along as a steppingstone for us to live the rest of our lives appreciating each other.
He has taught me to love with all my heart and take care of each other. Thou he’s not Mr. Romantic, never given flowers or made anything but he surely makes up for it with every smile, every song, every hug and kiss. He thinks of my in everything that he does. He brings me fishing lures to brighten my day, he calls me a thousand times just to say hello and he stands by me truly in sickness & health. Therefore….
“On this date, I will marry my best friend…..the one I laugh with, live for, dream with & love”
It’s time for another feature on one of our longest serving Stories family member… Johan Sopiee! Years ago, I got to know Johan through a photography workshop. We didn’t know each other very well, so it surprised me one day when he emailed me to ask if he could shoot with me. Honestly, I had just started out in the wedding photography business, and wondered why would anyone want to shoot with an unknown photographer like me who was still trying to define her style? (also, we didn’t have too many confirmed bookings at that time).
So for reasons unknown to me then, Johan and I started photographing weddings together. We had to adjust to each other’s shooting style and colours (I was with Canon and he was with Nikon, until one day, he said, I will switch to Canon if it made your job easier! Hurray!). Eventually, an unlikely partnership turned out really well.
Johan is one of the most humble persons I know. He always says that he is learning, but he has more experience in photography than anyone else in my team. I really admire that spirit of his, always desiring to do better, and always wanting to learn from others, even if the person he is learning from is the most junior in the team.
He always contributes ideas to make things better, which I appreciate a lot. Johan has shot so many weddings, so he is well versed with all sorts of cultural traditions from many different wedding ceremonies. Initially when you meet him, he seems like a really serious person, but he does have a wacky side to him (which usually surfaces during shoots!).
Johan, I am really happy to have you as part of the Stories team. You are indeed such a blessing to us, and we really love you very much.
I like shooting weddings because every event is a new experience, with unique challenges and filled with joyous moments to capture. And they’re such fun too!
3. What was your most exciting / memorable experience with Stories
Photographically, the most exciting time for me was when I discovered how nicely flare can engulf and yet gently caress the loving couple in the photos I capture. The best weddings are when the newlyweds and their family are so happy with their photos that they are lost for words. Sometimes we can even see them “say” it with their smiles and it shows in their eyes.
When I was studying for my A-levels in KL, I was attending a brethren church called Melawati Gospel Centre and was involved in the youth ministry. I attended a few inter-church activities where Abel’s church was involved too, but we never met. In Sept 2007, I went to Uni of Hertfordshire, UK to study. Before that, in a church activity, I bumped into a family friend who told me that a friend’s son was coincidentally also going there, and that if I needed any help, I should give him a call. Somehow, the contact exchange did not happen and I didn’t pay too much attention to that either.
I visited a Christian fellowship in university on the first week of my arrival and that’s where I first met Abel. He was very friendly to me and I think it was especially since we were from the same church background.
We spent a lot of time together in university, mostly due to involvement in church and fellowship activities. We were both in relationships when we first met, so we were just friends. Abel treated me like a younger sister all the time. Looking after me, watching out for me and saving me from any trouble I’d get into. The first valentines’ gift he gave to me was a spatula and 12 silicon cupcake cases with a handmade card (I had a baking thing going on then and that was what I needed which I told him during one of our casual chats)
The first thing that attracted me to him was his smell, which I later found out, was actually the smell of the washing detergent he used. At that time, I thought it was extremely lucky if his girlfriend was able to smell it all the time. (I do have a thing about smells!) I also love it that he was such a caring and sacrificial man too.
I started developing feelings for him when I was in my final year of university but nothing happened then. When my parents came for my graduation, during one of our trips, I told my dad that I had feelings for Abel. He encouraged me with some positive advice and prayed for me. He was quite fond of Abel so that was a relief. It was such a blessing to get to know Abel through different groups of friends as that would have put me at a good start of getting to know him as a person. I later discovered Abel had mutual feelings for me and the chase started.
Remembering what the family friend told me before I left for UK. Life sure has it’s surprises.
Abel Says:
When I met her in UK, Liz just looked cute and adorable to me. Just felt like pinching her cheeks! We became closer in the next 4 years and as we grew closer we started to have feelings for one another. One thing lead to another and we became a couple.
It was a huge milestone in her life. She turned 40, was pregnant with twins and about to embark on the wonderful journey called parenthood. When Akash and Isha were born, Li-Hsian left her high-flying job in corporate communications to be a full-time mum. I personally think a full-time mum’s role is even more challenging than any corporate job out there! (especially when you have twins!). Li-Hsian now writes for this really cool online mother’s portal for urban Malaysian mothers called Makchic. Here’s one of her articles on how to survive breastfeeding twins!
I was privileged to record two very important moments in Li-Hsian’s journey of life… her maternity images and family photos after the twins were born. They are now about 3 months old and are developing really well (I love how they’ve filled up with chubby cheeks!). Li-Hsian and Srihari, thank you for sharing your life with me. I hope we’ll be able to do more photos with the twins when they are a little older!
Isha and Akash about a week after they were born. Babies change so quickly, it’s so easy to forget how they looked like when they were born. Akash says, “What’s up, sistah!”
