Honestly, I’ve not watched a single episode of Mad Men. But the images are so iconic of the 60s and styled so well that it encourages photographers all over the world to do Mad Men-inspired shoots. When Jon and Jacinda mentioned about doing a Mad Men-styled shoot, I excitedly said yes. With a few challenges ahead of me (like for example, both Jon and Jacinda are Asian, we photographed at the Westin, KL), I had to figure out how to pose and create a mood that would portray the look we wanted to achieve. Thought of some ‘parody’ shots too and discussed with Jacinda’s wedding planner Mun Tzin about the types of props that we would need.
So here’s my little take on a Mad Men-inspired shoot for Jon and Jacinda. Hope you like the images!
It all began six years ago, when Philip and Claudia met each other at an Asian party in Claudia’s hometown Malmö, Sweden. They started to chat with each other via sms and from there it went on to chats over coffee. Claudia had just returned to Malmö after her MBA at the University of Mälardalen and Philip had also moved Malmö for work. He was initially living in a smaller town about an hour away from Malmö.
They started dating that July, on his birthday. Three years later, Philip proposed to Claudia in front of the Fountain of Trevi in Rome! One of their biggest passions (aside from each other) is traveling and trying all kinds of new, exotic food. In Claudia’s words, that’s one of the biggest reasons they chose to have a beach wedding abroad instead of a traditional “big-fat-Chinese-wedding.” :)
What a great choice.
Enjoy these beautiful images taken by Ben & Weiming.
When you get to photograph a baby as cute and smiley as Arianna, it kinda gets your female hormones working a bit more… “Aaaww… I think I want to have another kid!” At 6 months, she is so sociable and super adorable. Naturally, it took her a while to warm up to Diane and I, but after a while, she was laughing at our silly songs, noises and whatever strange antics we had to do to get her all pumped up.
Matthew and Pooi San were really easy going and chatty too. It was nice to be able to connect with them and to spend some time photographing their family. I love how they described what they wanted out of our photo session… “We really want the photos to portray a tastefully done paparazzi shot…meaning it’s like someone is spying on our good times together and everyone is just enjoying each other’s company.”
Matthew and Pooi San, I hope I managed to capture the essence what you hoped for in our session!
One of the things I love about my job is the ability to connect with my clients. Photographing people is such a personal task, and making them feel comfortable and look confident in front of the camera is a challenge I take to heart. Just knowing that I have managed to capture the essence of a person through my images makes me really happy. That’s how I keep going on and on, year after year, even though physically, the job is really tiring.
En Ruey and Jas Min, I am really glad that we could connect and get along so easily. I love all the random locations you brought me to, and of course, all the fun ideas you had! My two photography sessions with you and your family made me feel like long lost family members; I feel so welcomed. En Ruey, thank your mom too for the brunch after the shoot! I am looking forward to your wedding this January!
By En Ruey (Henry): Having done a family shoot with Grace a few weeks before, I was confident the indoor shoots would go relatively well. I was however very worried for the two outdoor shoots as we didn’t opt for the usual outdoor pre-wedding locations and went guerrilla instead. One of the locations we scouted was a piece of undeveloped land full of lalang, trees and was very secluded. To make matters worse, I heard a rumor the night before that a couple and their photographer got robbed at the exact location so I was quite stressed for everyone’s safety. But it was all for naught as nothing untoward actually happened on the day of the shoot.
The first shot of the day was a walk-by in front of some steel structures and vines with the morning sun hanging low in the background. Being directed by Grace on how to stand and where to walk while being engrossed in each other made it so easy. After taking a few shots, she walked up grinning and showed us the shot on camera and it was absolutely beautiful. To me, that really set the tone for the day and we really got into the shoot after that and went all out.
Ian and Vinn’s wedding was one brimming with creativity. After all, Vinn is a fine art artist, with a degree in film and animation, and Ian himself appreciates art and photography. Vinn DIY-ed almost everything in her wedding. She even painted the huge backdrop at her wedding… 2 large painted canvases combined together to make a beautiful backdrop. Her paint was displayed next to the backdrop, and guests were invited to sign on her pre-painted big canvas guestbook.
The doorgifts were soaps with lemon grass oil that she handmade, and all the photo booth props, invitation cards were also designed by her! (including hand made wedding seals!). Wow, I was so amazed.
Their theme, Draw, Pray, Love with a hint of rustic, vintage feel and french blue, gold, beige and cream colour tones felt so apt for this creative couple. During the dinner, the cast of the SIBKL musical, Everworld did an amazing performance and entertained all the guests. Unfortunately, we could not feature every performance in this highlight as there were way too many of them.
Ian & Vinn, I hope you like this video that Felicia edited… we spent many days in the edit room, deciding what to include and what not to! There were just so much to show from your wedding. But I am sure you’ll have fun reliving the day when you receive the rest of the edited compiled footage from us. Congratulations from the Stories team!
Ian & Vinn’s Story
I met Ian at the age of 19, at a lobby of a building. He was 26. I was by myself, drawing on the couch, when he approached me and started talking to me. I thought, he has a strange British accent, but looks Asian! Anyhow, we had a great chat and before I left, Ian handed me his name card.
Yup I didn’t leave him my contact (I was a little cool towards him!) but I was the one who texted him first, and that’s how our love story began!
We got together speedily on the second date after two months. 8 years of courtship, and now we are married!
Ian is the greatest gift from God and the greatest gift from Ian is bringing me to know God. He is smart, lovely, gentle, kind and romantic (although he denies this) but at least in my heart he is. He always surprises me- from beautiful candlelight dinners (he made me the most delicious tiramisu!) to surprise vacations as a birthday present (I later found out after I boarded the plane! And I thought it was a working trip!).
The proposal happened last year. It was Valentine’s Day, but my father was admitted to hospital so we stayed up late which messed up his plans, so he didn’t get to cook me dinner but we still managed to buy some food and had a candlelight dinner at his house. I couldn’t hold back my tears after i got my ‘Valentine’ gift which was a ring…there’s no one there except the two of us, but I got too excited and I popped the question before he even opened his mouth. HAHA!
We’ve been through so much together… poor or rich, sick or healthy…we had the best times together. Ian definitely knows me better than I know myself. He is not just my mentor and my support, he is my best friend.
Credits:
Videographers: Stories team (Nick, Yih Wen & Felicia)
Location: Holiday Villa
Make Up & Decorations: Bride’s own
Dinner Entertainment: Everworld, the musical cast & thoughtful friends
