In 2014, we photographed many different families and couples, and we’re so glad to have made new friends through all those sessions. Now that it’s already February (where did the time go!), I can’t believe I still have a huge number of images that have yet to be blogged! So I am going to attempt to share more posts starting this week.
I met Meng Hwa and Celine at the Ibu Tots Fair that we participated in last September. They booked a family portrait session with us that day, and in no time at all, I was over at their home, photographing their two little adorable children. I loved the family dynamics and how Amelie loved Aiden. Now that I have 2 children of my own, coaxing an older sibling to kiss the younger one is sometimes a huge task on its own! The reaction ranges from willing participation to outright disagreement (which usually ends up in the younger one being pushed away a bit too roughly). But isn’t that the joy (and frustration sometimes!) of parenting toddlers?
Anyhow, I had a good time with this family, and even their extended family came to join in the shoot. I am sure the kids have grown since I last saw them! Hope to photograph this family again in the future. :)
To all our wonderful blog readers, clients and friends, we would like to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year as you usher in the year of the goat! We look forward to another good year ahead, trusting God for His provision in our lives.
For someone who works in the hotel line, Yuko knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding. Since she works at the Four Seasons hotel in Shanghai, Yuko decided to have her wedding at another Four Seasons hotel… but in Langkawi! It was Nigel and Jamie’s first wedding shoot at the Four Seasons so they really enjoyed going around the resort, taking portraits for the couple before the ceremony. Beautiful venues always inspire creativity!
One of the challenges they faced though was language! Everyone was speaking Japanese, and unfortunately, Nigel and Jamie’s vocabulary was limited to “Arigatou gozaimasu” and “So! So! So! So!” Good thing for them, they could converse with the couple in English.
Honestly, language has never been a barrier for us in creating beautiful images. For someone like me who can only speak English and Malay even though I am of Chinese heritage… almost EVERY single wedding in Malaysia has bits and pieces of conversation I cannot understand! There is one language that is universal though, and that is the language of love.
That gentle touch… a smile… hands lightly caressing each other… two people just sharing a moment together.
For Masafumi and Yuko, those moments were captured on camera and yes, it made us smile.
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.
Sarala’s story is one of heartbreak and triumph. She understands what it means to go through the lowest of valleys and then being picked up again so she can soar above the mountains.
Everything happened in a year. 2012 to be precise.
She was happily engaged to a man who had promised to be with her for the rest of her life. Except that 2 days before the wedding, he called it off. She was utterly heartbroken and was so distressed that she left her job in the ministry of health and joined the private sector, thinking money was all she needed at this point. So she threw herself into her career.
Coincidentally, at that time, an online matrimonial portal called Tamil Matrimony had a special offer for free registration in Malaysia and so she listed her name in it for fun. It was there that she met Suryain for the first time (who claimed to have made a contact request while falling asleep on the laptop!). So it was in October 2012 that Sarala first met Suryain and it was a great first meet!
But there was a problem. Suryain works offshore on a ship and often times, he would be away for months. So Sarala’s parents were a little hesitant about the relationship. I suppose parents being parents, were naturally concerned about whether his job would affect the family and his responsibility as a husband to Sarala. But eventually, they accepted him and gave their blessings to the marriage.
On hindsight, Sarala says, “I am thankful that the first marriage didn’t happen because it is better that it happened then than after the wedding. I am really happy now with Suryain.”
We’re really glad too that everything turned out well in the end! Now that Sarala’s expecting her first child, we’re also excited at the growth of their family and can’t wait to meet the baby some day!
Enjoy their wedding photos, held in KL’s oldest Hindu temple, Sri Maha Mariamman Temple which was built in 1873.
For someone who works in the hotel line, Yuko knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding. Since she works at the Four Seasons hotel in Shanghai, Yuko decided to have her wedding at another Four Seasons hotel… but in Langkawi! It was Nigel and Jamie’s first wedding shoot at the Four Seasons so they really enjoyed going around the resort, taking portraits for the couple before the ceremony. Beautiful venues always inspire creativity!
