Definitely one of my most memorable weddings for 2011.
And an absolutely incredible story of love and faith in God. With only RM1,000 in their bank account, they started their wedding planning despite the huge financial commitments organizing a wedding would bring.
More of their story coming soon… but for now, some casual portraits, taken the day after the wedding. Random unplanned locations. Love it!
The One
When the one whose hand you’re holding
Is the one one who holds your heart
When the one whose eyes you gaze into
Gives your hopes and dreams their start,
When the one you think of first and last
Is the one who holds you tight,
And the things you plan together
Make the whole world seem just right,
When the one whom you believe in
puts their faith and trust in you,
You’ve found the one and only love
You’ll share your whole life through.
I love this poem that Kenneth and Marie chose for their wedding. It reminds me that marriage is a journey we go through together. The path seems uncertain, but what makes the whole journey exciting is the company of the person holding your hand as you discover life.
Sometimes, you also discover that the person you initially disliked is the one holding your hand. You know the old saying, “Never say never?” First impressions can be misleading and Marie never imagined going out with a person like Kenneth. But good things happen to those who wait patiently… and to those who are persistent.
Rolling hills, dodging golf balls, beautifully kept lawns, little lakes… what a great location for a pre-wedding shoot! I’ve always wanted to shoot in a golf course, but somehow it never happened…till I met Kenneth and Marie. They shared with me their idea of shooting their pre-wedding at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) and I absolutely loved it! On top of that, they wanted to head to Carcosa as a 2nd location, and I was excited about that too! (as you can tell, beautiful locations make me do a little skip & jump every now and then).
The other thing that makes me excited is the ability to connect with my couples. Kenneth & Marie, I completely enjoyed our time together, getting to know the both of you better prior to the shoot and on the shoot day. This includes our little incident at a certain cafe where we discovered a six-legged creature on our table! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and I wish you many years of hand holding!
Since we’re all still in Chinese New Year mood, I thought I’d share some tips (from a photographer’s perspective) regarding the tea ceremony that happens at every Chinese wedding. Hope it helps you plan for your tea ceremony!
1. Please prepare a list so you are well organized during the ceremony. You don’t want to accidentally miss that aunt who travelled all the way from Ipoh to attend your wedding. It also enables the ceremony to run smoothly as the next person can prepare their gifts and ang pow before it is their turn.
2. In the past, we’ve photographed a tea ceremony with a large group of about 100 people. And that was only one side of the family! Instead of taking 2 hours for the session, you could speed things up by preparing additional seats – while one couple is being served tea, the next couple is already seated on the 2nd set of chairs, waiting for their turn! One couple we photographed actually created a semi-circle of about 10 seats. Everyone was seated, and the couple made their rounds in an orderly manner.
Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends and clients who have become like family! I am truly sorry for the lack of blog updates the past few weeks. Every time I think of starting a blog post, 5 million other things call out my name. Not to mention I am now a few months late in terms of blogging some weddings. I am rather tempted to just start afresh and share from the last wedding I shot… which I might do in the next few weeks. So don’t be surprised if the weddings are not in sequence.
I hope you are having a great time with your family members this Chinese New Year, and for those who are not celebrating, hope you are having a good holiday. I want to kick off the dragon year by sharing the wedding of Saw Wen & De Way.
Now, Saw Wen & De Way had come to enquire about our services more than a year before their wedding. At that time, my business was just starting to bloom, and I was stoked that someone wanted to book us that far ahead.
Saw Wen & De Way’s story started 11 years ago while they were still in school, meeting at the sweet ripe age of 16.
That girl in the Calvin & Hobbes t-shirt
De Way: I remember, 3 girls. That was in a tuition class for Bahasa Melayu when I was in Form 4. 3 fine looking girls from SMK Seafield, 1 tall, 1 pretty and 1 nerdy. Fast forward to SPM year, I noticed her. She was generally louder than other students during class, gave opinions when not asked for, irritatingly completed the teacher’s sentences every now and then etc. Oh yes, she wore a Calvin & Hobbes t-shirt to class, just like me.
Saw Wen: De Way was a perpetual sleepy head and seemed like the quiet type. At the beginning, we hardly spoke to each other until form 5. We got to know each other better during our after BM tuition yum cha sessions, went cycling and hung out in a nearby park together with a bunch of friends. As the months went by, I found De Way to be charming and had such “beautiful eyes”. He made me laugh (he still does) and I found myself to be falling for this guy.
De Way: She used to tell her stories when we met at a mamak for drinks after tuition. This went on for a while and it felt normal spending time with a girl, no special feelings I dare say. Then, one fateful rainy evening, I had to send her home with my bicycle, with her holding the umbrella. That was when something felt odd…good but odd. Since that day, I made it a point to accompany her home after our mamak session.
Happy New Year to all our blog readers! I do apologize for the lack of updates lately. One week without a post feels like an eternity of silence! Truth is, we’re really swamped with year-end shoots and edits. It’s been really tough juggling so much work, but we’re moving along! Every year, I try to make and keep my new year resolutions, but at the moment, my new year resolutions look a little like this:
* What the Duck is one of my favourite comic strips!
So yeah… part of my new year resolution is to not be overly nerdy, keep a good work life balance, and to be more up to date with my blogging! There are many weddings which are still sitting patiently in my hard drive, waiting to be blogged.
Here’s one that I absolutely have to share with you. Top 3 reasons why I love this wedding:
1. It’s a fun fun fun wedding! It all started when I read their wedding invitation card…
Seven years ago, in the faraway land of Cyberjaya, Ian met Joanne at a Christian Fellowship gathering and was smitten ever since. Thankfully, Mr & Mrs Lee Kah Meng and Mr & Mrs Chow Cheng Hock approved of their relationship and they didn’t have to elope. So come and witness the union of these two souls on 5 November 2011. They will profess their love and commitment to each other at Good Shepherd Church at 11am, and share the rest of their story with you over food and drinks at The Bankers Club from 6pm onwards.
2. The groom uh, looks a little unconventional.
3. The bridal party were dressed in our Stories’ theme colour! (light blue & brown!) Hip hip hurray!
