Lovely. Down to earth. That’s how I would describe Fariz and Nadia. Johan and I were glad that we were given the honour and privilege to capture their special moments from their berinai ceremony to their akad nikah and finally to their grand dinner reception.
Their love story began as a chance meeting – two strangers enrolled as classmates back in 2001 during their A-Level studies.
“Aldrian was just hanging out with his cousin, Johnny, and refused to enter the classroom on his first day. – no pretty girls lah – he said. Minutes later, I brisked by with a friend, feeling truly nervous about my first day of college. As I passed Aldrian, I noticed that he was quite handsome too – but you don’t say these things out loud of course! Not long after, Aldrian sat next to me in that class…. and we have always been side by side ever since. Throughout the years we have truly become each other’s best friend and soul-mate.
After college, we came to the UK together to further our studies. Finally, after 10 years – after completing my PhD and all that hoo-ha of trying to settle down in London, we thought that the time was right. And it was just perfect.
We now live together in our very own love nest in Canary Wharf with our baby rabbit, Bijoux. Bliss :)”
– Mei Mei –
I got to know Aldrian and Mei Mei through a friend of mine, Adelene, who was Aldrian’s sister. I had never met them before, and all correspondence was done online, until they came back for the wedding itself. Since they were not in KL, it helped that they had a wedding planner to coordinate everything. I first heard about the winter wedding theme from Mun Tzin of Milestones… and I wondered how it would really look like. Frankly, I was a little hesitant at first, as coloured lighting in a ballroom can either work for you or against you. I have photographed some events with extremely strong multi-coloured lighting shining on stage, and the results… well, let’s say I was less than pleased with it.
Some colours tend to bleed onto skin tones, making people look overly purple or green. I was quite concerned that the light would be too strong and we would end up with shots that look like we were at a Smurf convention (sorry, Mei Mei!). But when I arrived at the ballroom that day, I was pleased to see that the blue light was not direct lighting, and that the stage had yellow light, which added warmth to the skin tones! So I loved the end results!
Be prepared, this is a super long post with heaps of photos! Sorry if it is taking too long to load, but I can’t help myself!
Everyone claims that they are not good in front of the camera. I don’t blame them, because most people would not have taken professional photos of themselves prior to their wedding day. Studio photos of you blowing your 1-year-old birthday cake candle doesn’t really count!
It’s the job of the photographer to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera. To make everything look natural and not posed (even though it was!). To make it seem as if the photographer was non-existent, because the image should be about the couple and the moment they are sharing, not drawing attention to the person behind the camera. There are times when I ask the couple to look at the camera, but most of the time, their eyes are on each other. Just as it should be…
I totally enjoy photographing couples in love. Connection is something that cannot be forced. Of course, living in an Asian country, where most people have some ‘issue’ with public displays of affection, it’s normal to feel awkward initially kissing in front of a photographer! In every pre-wedding or engagement session, I tell my couples that it takes a bit of time to warm up, but once they do… they end up having a great time!
Debbie & Chee Onn:
Debbie didn’t really sleep the night before the shoot because she was really excited! It was kinda awkward at the very start because we are both not really the photo taking type. Grace, it was good that you were around to get us warmed up! We did not know what to expect on that day so we were just following your lead which was very good. After the shoot, we were pretty anxious about the pictures. We were afraid that we didn’t prepare enough for the shoot.
But after seeing the pictures, all worries were gone because it was good and you captured the right moments! We loved the black and white photos too, cause it gave a very retro feel to the pictures which we like a lot.
Thanks once again, for making the shoot memorable for us. :)
Photographers: Grace, Johan & Weiming
Make Up: Khir Khalid
Flowers & Decorations: Flora Etc
Cake: Delectable by Su
Videography: Manggis
Dinner Reception: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, KL
A few months ago, I photographed Adam and Dalilah’s engagement event, held at her beautiful home. Considering the engagement event was done really tastefully, I could not wait for the nikah and wedding reception to see what they had planned. I was not disappointed, for on that day, I was greeted by beautiful decorations that satisfied my taste buds and my shutter happy finger. Adam and Dalilah were surrounded by friends and family who were extremely warm and who obviously loved them very much.
I felt a little sad for them though that Adam’s mum was not able to attend the wedding as she fell ill during that period. Luckily for her, the videography team recorded every moment and she even witnessed the event online as it happened.
The dinner reception was held at the Mandarin Oriental for a large group of 800 people. There were royalty and VIPs present for the dinner that night. The ballroom was transformed into an elegant and grand space – the entire ballroom was covered with dark purple curtains. I love the colour theme and I think purple just looks great in every wedding! (That was why my wedding had a purple and white theme too!).
Photographers: Grace, Johan, Weiming & Ben
Bride’s Wedding Gown (akad nikah): Wan Zakaria
Bride & Groom’s dinner attire: Calvin Thoo
Make Up: Eric (akad nikah) & Naseeb (dinner)
Cake (nikah): Truly Scrumptious
Videography: RF Media
Dinner Entertainment: Orkestra RTM
Dinner Reception: Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
When Shirah first approached me to enquire about our wedding photography services, it never crossed my mind that I would be photographing my first royalty group photo a few months later. We had a good conversation then… she told me she teaches French in Sri Cempaka school, which amazed me! It was only on her wedding day that I realized she had a YM in front of her name. :)
Fahrizal & Shirah’s story began during their university days in London 9 years ago. They were on different paths of their lives and even though they didn’t show any interest in each other at the time, there was always an underlying chemistry between them.
Here’s Fahrizal & Shirah’s story from her perspective:
After graduating and moving back to KL, we became closer and eventually started dating in 2006. Back and forth dating for over four years and at the end of 2010 we decided it was the right time to get married. Our families were eager for us to be married quickly hence only 5 months preparation till the wedding day in May 2011!
I couldn’t be more delighted with the way the wedding ceremony and reception went – a complete success despite the typical unplanned and last minute difficulties a wedding presents, such as rain! Grace, Johan and the rest of the Stories team were so great in accomodating all of these issues and were incredibly professional in dealing with all the formalities and protocol. The sneak peeks of the photos have been beautiful and I would highly recommend anyone looking for a fun, happy and eager photographer who knows what they’re doing to hire Grace and her team!
