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outdoor

Wedding at North Border, Singapore: Sunil & Belinda

20140830_WEDDING_SUNIL_BELINDA_SINGAPORE_475It was a rainy evening, and Belinda had just dropped off her brother at the airport in Singapore. As part of her habit, she headed over to her favourite bar of 10 years… Wala Wala, with her best friend Samantha. The bar was crowded as usual, but by chance, Sunil and his friends had 2 seats at their table, and so, out of courtesy (and maybe because these girls were cute!), they offered those seats to them. Striking a conversation was natural, and by the end of the night, Sunil and Belinda had hit it off and even arranged a first date for the next day.

Love at first sight does exist. For Sunil, anyway. During that date, they discovered they both love the same kind of music and band. Belinda bought Sunil 2 double shot Macallan 15 after losing some bets, which totally impressed him! Needless to say, Sunil gave Belinda a lot of attention that evening.

For their second date the very next day, Sunil brought Belinda to Prive (a romantic restaurant by the water), and they had a great time chatting for a good 3 hours. The relationship grew, and soon, they had already dated for 7 months as a couple.

20140830_WEDDING_SUNIL_BELINDA_SINGAPORE_525Sunil ALWAYS makes Belinda laugh, he always smells good and he can cook. They say, food is a way to a man’s stomach, but it also works for women! Sunil is always feeding Belinda, which she doesn’t complain about! What she loves most about him is that he is extremely filial, calls home everyday and truly cares for his family and friends. He’s always optimistic, genuine and independent. According to Belinda… “I know he will willingly go hungry just so I can be filled! (a metaphor of course)”. Ultimately, he always wants to make her happy.

Sunil proposed to Belinda in Spain early Feb this year, in the oldest restaurant in the world – Botin, after many jugs of Sangria. He took out the ring from his pocket and asked “yes or no?”

Belinda told us… “Would have said no since there’s no kneeling down or flowers or proper question. But I saw the size of the diamond. =) (just kidding)!”

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Family Portraits: Win, Aindra & Edga

Win and Aindra were both medical students from Myanmar who fell in love with each other while studying in Malaysia. In fact, they’ve lived in Malaysia for so many years that it has become home to them, even though they recently made the move back to their home country. With their little one Edga in tow now, they see lots of opportunities as Myanmar has risen up through the years and is a growing country.

I too have fond memories and links to Myanmar. My great-grandfather from my mother’s side moved from Myanmar to Malaysia years ago so part of my family history originates there. I have also traveled to Myanmar in 2008 where I spent 2 weeks around Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan and the surrounding areas climbing stupas, cycling the streets, talking and eating with locals, chasing sunrises, and visiting churches. In Malaysia, I have photographed 2 Myanmar refugee weddings – for Zwe & Stellar and also Bobo & Catherine.

So recently, while Win and Aindra were back in Malaysia for a short holiday, we did a photo shoot for their family. It was a beautiful day in the park, and we had a great time together. Edga, the little man, was ever so happy to be with his parents chasing after birds, being lifted in the air, or just simply walking around. Here are some of my favourites from our session together.

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Beach Wedding at Andaman, Langkawi: Simon & Lisa

“Grace and Nigel were fantastic, both very professional, creative and great to be around on the day whilst not getting in people’s faces – as someone who hates having his picture taken, they were a pleasure to be around.” – Simon

I have traveled to Langkawi many times over the past few years, but every time we head there, it is a different experience. I loved Simon and Lisa’s wedding for a few different reasons… they were a great laid-back couple to work with (despite the fact that Simon hates posing for the camera!), there were lots of cute kids at this wedding which totally made my day, and the guests were just so friendly to Nigel and I. Langkawi is really popular wedding destination location especially for couples from Australia. The only drawback is the humidity, so hugging people at the end of the night can be a very sticky affair!

Simon works in the construction line, so he said being all ‘soft’ and romantic during the wedding was something completely different to what he’s used to! But looking at the way he shed his tears as Lisa walked down the aisle made me think otherwise. I think you have a really soft side to you, Simon!

I hope these images will remind you of your love for each other years down the road when the going gets tough. Come back again to Malaysia for another holiday sometime soon, or perhaps one day, we will meet again, when you celebrate your anniversary, maybe?

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Lovin’ You Like Coffee in the Morning: Chee Kiang & Jolene

A wedding that had a lot of heart and planning in it. From her Pinterest boards to frequent discussions with friends…Jolene gave her all as she planned her wedding. I loved the many DIY details that were present at her wedding and the coffee theme that was very strong (pun intended!) at the dinner reception. People who are coffee lovers know that people who love coffee group together like a cult. It was great that they even had a booth to serve cappuccino and lattes during the cocktail session before dinner.

The outdoor wedding ceremony was held at Holiday Inn Glenmarie. About an hour or so before the wedding was supposed to start, it poured. Even though the wedding set up was shielded under a gazebo, still, the rain poured in through the sides. But Chee Kiang and Jolene didn’t panic. It all turned out well in the end because the rain stopped in time, and there was a cool breeze that enveloped the place as they said their vows.

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Garden ROM at The Club, Saujana: Jonathan & Jacinda

I’ve grown to love this beautiful location. It’s a small little green patch of grass overlooking a lake, but given the right time of day when the sun is setting in the distance, you have gorgeous sunlight falling over this area, which makes for amazing back light. Ok, if you didn’t quite understand this photographer’s rambling, the location looks like this:

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And this is the amazing back light (or hair light) I am talking about.

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One of the wonderful things about small weddings is that you have lots of time for portraits. I enjoy creating images of the couple with their families and also close friends in a gorgeous setting. I photographed Jon and Jac a few months back when we did their Mad Men themed pre-wedding shoot. It was easy to connect with this couple, and from that moment on, I knew photographing them would be a breeze. The week after, Jon and Jac had their Chinese wedding ceremony (photos in the slideshow at the end of this post).

For this post, I thought I’d write a few tips on what I think would make a great garden wedding (from a photographer’s perspective):

1. Choose the time of day well

Considering we live in tropical Malaysia, the best time for an outdoor wedding would be before 10am and after 5pm. The sun is lower in the horizon which makes it more flattering for people photos. Have you ever taken a photo outdoors at 12pm, and seen lots of raccoon eyes (dark shadows under the eyes) staring back at you? Yup, that’s the effect of the sun as it is directly above you. So if you’d like more flattering images of yourself outdoors, opt to have your ceremony start at the timing suggested.

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