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 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.
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.
Forget the swollen legs, water retention and the fact that your walking sometimes resembles a cute penguin. Pregnancy does make you beautiful, and it’s not just the glow on your face or the lucious thick hair that you’ll experience for those few months. Perhaps it’s the thought that a small little person is being formed inside your womb right this very instance. That soon, those tiny little fingers will grab yours, fully trusting and loving you. That this new life will be totally dependent on you, her mother.
Melanie and Steven, I wish you all the best as you embark on this amazing journey called parenthood! Coming from a 6 month old mom, I can tell you that this is probably one of the most amazing things that you can experience in life.
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.
In 2013, Vut and Yan Yan tied the knot on the beautiful beach of Hua Hin, Thailand, witnessed by close family and friends.
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!
When Linda emailed us to enquire about our services, the very first line said, “I’ve been following your blog closely for a couple of years now…it’s saved as a favourite on my desktop and I check out the latest photo uploads every few days!” Naturally, she was already familiar with our work but she shared that she wanted the outcome of the photos to be romantic, simple yet glamorous, classic, bright with vibrant colours. One thing I remember clearly was that she said, “No lalang (weeds) as I have hayfever!” Her keywords helped me understand her as a person even further and that made my job easier.
My first impressions of Zach and Linda when I chatted with them over Skype was that they were a really smiley and sweet couple. They met at work while living in Canberra, Australia and this November, they will tie the knot in Malaysia.
Congratulations, Zach and Linda. Thank you for making it so easy for me to photograph the both of you! You looked stunning that day, and I know for a fact that Zach couldn’t keep his eyes off you! :)
