We’ll be traveling to these locations in 2017, so if you are living in these cities and would like a maternity, family or casual portrait session done, please contact us for our rates. We’d be delighted to meet you!
Emma and Laurence are a British couple that have lived in Malaysia for the past 18 months. Their journey together started at Cambridge university where they met and did activities like row together. That was 10 years ago. Since then, the adventure has never stopped. From eating insects in Cambodia, to enjoying sunrises over the temples of Bagan and searching for sharks while scuba diving, their life is full of excitement. Since they love to travel and with 50 over guests coming all over to the world to Langkawi for their wedding, they decided to go for a travel theme with an orange tone. The beautiful location that the Andaman is in, with the mix of rainforest and beach was the perfect setting for their wedding.
When they first contacted us, they told us that after talking to friends who have already celebrated their wedding day, everyone commented how they wish they had thought more about the photographs. Keen not to have the same regret, and impressed by the photos on our website, they decided to hire us as their wedding photographers! Hurray! And from their comment about our work after the wedding, I think we lived up to their expectations!
Emma says: Jamie and Nigel were amazing. Not only did they put us at ease (there were some worries about ‘photo face’) but they were such good fun to spend the day with. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better. It is hard to pick which part of the day was our most memorable – Between the Mandi Bunga (which was a first for almost everybody there) and our dance at the reception, but I think it has to be the ceremony itself, especially as it didn’t rain and we could have it on the beach.
It’s my fourth day in Japan, attempting to have a somewhat ‘normal’ holiday with my husband and two kids. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy traveling with 2 toddlers, but we were determined! We packed light, left the stroller at home, and managed to fit 1 week’s worth of luggage and toys into a large bag, 1 handcarry size and 1 backpack.
Alex and I have been relatively easygoing when it comes to raising our kids. We are not the super strict type of parent who must get their kid to bed by a certain time or the kind who whips out a hand sanitizer at every given opportunity (yup, we let them pick their food off the floor and eat it, if the floor looks relatively clean).
So I thought that this holiday would be pretty relaxing with not that much of an agenda. After all, I managed a company holiday with my kids when they were much younger… clingy baby and all.
Four days into my holiday, I find myself screaming at the kids… “Eat this… NO, don’t eat that! Don’t roll on the ground! Don’t pull your sister’s hair! Stop pinching your brother!” Yup, I’ve turned into a machine that barks orders every few minutes. (occassionally, the poor husband is also at the receiving end of these orders). Coincidentally, it’s also Mother’s Day today, and my 4th year of being a mom.
But suddenly, these frustrations turn into little moments of joy when Krysta suddenly bursts into random phrases that sound like broken Japanese. Or when Kyle does a happy dance in the middle of a street as he hears buskers singing K-pop.
It’s at these times I realize I need to cherish the litte happy moments more than dwelling on the frustrations I feel. I’m just going to enjoy the next few days, and even if Kyle only decides to eat a diet of white rice and biscuits, I won’t get upset. I won’t complain as well when my needs are not met because it won’t be fair for Alex to deal with 2 toddlers and 1 adult who is never satisfied.
Enjoy the journey, not just the destinaton.
Happy Mother’s Day, everyone.
If you are not a Lego fan, you’ll definitely be one after you see the images from this wedding! I love how Derek and Rachel personalised their love story through little Lego sets. Of course, Derek painstakingly (or should I say, happily?) assembled all the pieces together for the wedding. Everything from the corsages to the ring pillow, to the decorations at the dinner reception… everything had bits of Lego thrown in. Add to that, an element of travel – one of Rachel’s favourite activity… and there you have it… a Lego and Travel themed wedding. Oh, did I mention that a few super heroes made their appearance at the wedding too?
This is the cute but delicate ring pillow made of Lego!
Their Love Story (as written by Derek)
We first met years ago as kids who attended the same church with our families (Trinity Methodist Church PJ) and participated in the same youth fellowship and activities. It was so long ago that we can’t really remember the exact time we both first met, but our earliest memory of interacting with each other is when we attended a camping trip in Kuala Selangor in 2000.
It was there that I first had a crush on her, even with her nerdy glasses and Chinese school haircut. Her parents had a rule at the time that she could not have a boyfriend until she turned 18; which was fine by me since I only had to wait 6 years (*note the sarcasm). But in hindsight that was a blessing in disguise since I would have been too scared to ask her out properly anyway (in my defence, I was really young and awkward around girls!) and it allowed us to get to know each other as friends first. So over the next few years, we grew closer as friends, but we both knew there was a mutual attraction that we weren’t allowed to act upon so there was never anything “official”.
I recently took 2 weeks off and headed south to the beautiful land where orcs, hobbits and dragons reside (if only in movies). It was a good time spent with my husband Alex, daughter Krysta and my 2 elderly aunts, Yan (from Melbourne) and Choo (from Malacca). Our main purpose in traveling to Australia was my aunt Yan’s 70th birthday celebration in Melbourne. But before that, we had a little road trip of our own.
I had a marvellous time driving past scenic mountains, quaint villages and lots and lots of sheep. It was a good time reconnecting with family members and just making time for each other. I spent hours playing with Krysta, moving stickers from the sheet to the floor, to my face… lots of time walking and having long conversations about life and family, jumping on the trampoline with a friend’s 6 year old in Auckland, and playing charades in a picnic with all my relatives in Melbourne (age group ranging from 16 months to 70+). What a blast!
It reminded me that we need to take time off to smell the roses and connect with people around us in the midst of our busy schedules. I read this article recently about 50 reasons why you may be unhappy in life, and one of the many listed were neglecting personal relationships. I believe that with all my heart. There’s this desire in every one of us to connect on a deeper level with other people around us, and if that connection is broken, our lives feel a little empty. Perhaps it is from a hurt or unforgiveness from the past. Maybe it is time to let go, and find out way back again, and reconnect.
On another note, I often get comments on how easy Krysta is as a little traveler. Here are some of my thoughts on how to make life easier while traveling with a baby.
1. Pack light, wash clothes and only bring what is absolutely necessary! (Leave that flask behind… including all sorts of ‘nice to haves’ at home. You can probably make do without some of your usual comforts. We only packed these items for Krysta – some clothes, 2 milk bottles, milk powder, diapers, pacifiers, 2 pairs of shoes, a pack of stickers, a small amount of dishwashing liquid to clean the bottles, stroller, Baby Bjorn, no toys)
2. Find creative ways to keep the child entertained – This includes letting her play with everyday items like clothes pegs found at the apartment where we stayed at.
3. Train the child to sleep anywhere – Ok I guess not every family is like ours, but Krysta has been traveling since she was 2 months old, so she is used to sleeping anywhere and everywhere, including on top of a table at a street hawker stall in Bangkok while she was 2 months old! (I might get some bad rep here for doing things like these by other parents!)
4. Be flexible – Well, don’t be too stressed about planning every little detail for your trip. If it doesn’t work out, or baby is cranky, just take it in stride and be flexible enough to change plans at the last minute.
Hope that helps! Here’s a little smattering of photos from my trip.
The beautiful and most photographed church in Lake Tekapo – The Church of the Good Shepherd.
