The dinner reception was at the Grand Hall, Empire Hotel & Country Club. At this point in time I had been on my feet shooting for about 14 hours straight… just surviving on adrenaline. :p

Here’s the couple being driven to the reception from their hotel room… Marilyn is looking quite anxious.

The couple make their entrance… the patterns on the floor pop quite nicely.

There was lion dance…

The lions then presented these banners to the couple with their names on it.

Grabbed some detail shots on the fly… since I couldn’t be at the reception beforehand.

Allen re-enacts his proposal to Marilyn.

Father-Daughter dance… I’m not sure why they both looked at me and posed at this moment, but it makes a really nice photo that I’m sure will be treasured in the years to come.

Allen and Marilyn getting funky on the dance floor.

They pulled off some pretty impressive moves! Love the colours in this one.

The shoe game… the MC asks questions about the couple’s relationship. E.g. Who is the boss of the house? Maz has to either lift up her shoe or Allen’s shoe depending on what she thinks the answer is. In this case, a confident Marilyn lifts up her shoe while Allen is a little bit more tentative. He cheats by looking at the big screen………

The putting game… the ball looks like it going in here, but it doesn’t…

And now Allen suffers the consequences… he raised quite a bit of cash for charity from this though! Well done.

The bride and groom seeing their guests off.

While all that was happening, there was plenty of photobooth fun!

As you can see, Allen joins in the fun at the end.

Congratulations again to Allen & Marilyn!

After the church ceremony it’s off to Allen’s place. I thought this mailbox was quite interesting.

Allen & Marilyn make their arrival.

Plomp-ing onto the bed after a tiring day! We’re not even halfway through the day yet!

Serving tea to Allen’s father. Another photographer I admire once said, “the story and the emotions are all in the hands”.

Marilyn and her mother-in-law share a happy moment.

We’re now at Marilyn’s place.  Maz looks over at Allen as he’s served tea to her parents.

The smiles, the hands, say it all as Mrs. Yap gives her blessing and shares her happiness with her daughter and son-in-law.

Here are a couple of shots I’ve left until the end – these were taken outside Allen’s house…  Jeff and I just had to have a few shots of the couple with the vintage Mercedes Benz that was their bridal car for the day. Hope you’ve been enjoying the story of Allen & Marilyn so far! To be continued!

Congratulations to Allen & Marilyn! I’ve never had a longer, more fast paced, hectic wedding that I’ve shot… but to be the photographer for this couple has been one of the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had!

Allen Lai needs no introduction, and Marilyn is one of my dearest friends… This post covers preparation at the bride’s house and the church ceremony. I hope my photos will tell you the story of a day that was filled with lots of joy and laughter.

I was telling Maz that the big hair really suited her. :p

Make-up artist: Josephine

I love how all the subjects in this picture just seem to fit into one another.

The Maid of Honour, Yolanda, helps Maz with her shoes. The proud and happy father is waiting his turn to put the veil over his soon to be married daughter.

In the bridal car… off to the church!

The first photo in this post and this one here was shot by Olivia, my ever helpful assistant for the day.

Is Allen making a break for it, or maybe he can’t help but run to his bride?

The ring bearer was a little shy.

Marilyn’s father gives the sermon. All I’ll say is, he’s got a good sense of humour.

They have really found true love, don’t you think?

I’m not sure where that shaft of light came from… God shone down on them that day, perhaps?

The newly married!

To be continued! Stay tuned.

Isn’t this cute?

Here’s my quirky taste making an appearance again. Wedding favours are always something unique at weddings, but I also try to find a unique way to shoot them.

Kelly, Cyndi and Guan watching as the parents make their entrance into the ballroom first.

Final adjustments to Kelly’s dress before they enter…

Laughs as Guan makes a speech.

First exit… I processed this a little bit more heavily than usual. Just loved the background colours of orange, green and a dash of purple, so I added more pop to them.

Kelly’s friends prepared a very entertaining slideshow for the couple.

Two of the entertainers…

These four really put on a good show for us.

So did these four, it seems. :p (taken by Livie)

Congratulations again, Guan and Kelly! Wishing you both all the best in your new life together.

I shot this wedding with Jeff, and a huge thanks also to Livie who helped me with a lot of behind-the-scenes shots.

It was the earliest I ever woke up for a wedding… got up at 4am and I got to the bride’s house at about 5am!

No eye bags despite only getting a couple hours’ sleep! She’s on the phone making sure her groom to be is awake. :p

Portraits by the window, the last quiet moments before the groom barges in…

Shot by Olivia, my assistant for the day.

Kim Guan and Kelly making their way into their new home for the first time as married couple.

After a change of clothes for the tea ceremony.

They had this flower arch thing that was really pretty.

On to part 2!

Pany is a close friend of Rena’s since her University days. When I heard that we were going to Bangkok for her wedding, naturally as a photographer I was quite excited at the thought of it!

It was a very simple, yet beautiful wedding. As a guest, I didn’t take as many photos as I normally would – champagne in hand as opposed to my camera is plenty of fun too. :) Nevertheless, here are some of my favourite grabs.

It was a very blue theme… Nui’s real name starts with an “M”, but Thais usually have a nickname that completely different from their real one.

The cake was the highlight of the room. Here are two different takes. Similar vantage point, two different lenses, two different techniques, two very different results. In the first, I included the ceiling lights which had these really pretty hanging features – they almost look like white christmas trees to me!

It was a cocktail reception as opposed to a sit-down dinner. More weddings should be like this! Guests get to mingle, and we got to eat as soon as we walked in!

The food ranged from delicious pastries to kolomee! Imagine that – I had kolomee at the Four Seasons… it was surprisingly good.

There was a band to entertain the guests, even the lead singer was wearing blue, I wonder if it was a coincidence?

The couple make their entrance accompanied by the flower girls.

As the couple make their way to the stage they are showered with orchid petals.

The happy couple on stage.

The groom’s father places flower garlands around the newly married. Garlands are a common sight around Thailand and they are often given away at ceremonies for good luck. I’ve read somewhere though, that for the Thais, in addition to rings that represent eternal and never-ending love, the flowers represent the fragrance of marriage and the beauty of life. I’m not sure if that was just one person’s interpretation, but it does sound more romantic!

I managed to catch everyone smiling as the groom’s father makes a speech.

The couple pose for photographs after they’ve cut the cake.

I really like this photo. Our eyes are immediately drawn to the bride at first but as we follow her eyes we discover, in the very corner of the frame, the excited flower girls clamouring to grab the bouquet. The smiling guests in the background, the cake, the “christmas trees” and the Thai art all come together in a single frame.

Congratulations again to Pany & Nui. Wishing you the best in your new life together – looking forward to catching up with you guys the next time we’re in Thailand!

The dinner reception was at OGH – a familiar place, having shot a wedding there recently… I suppose there are only so many options in Brunei. First things first, I went to get shots of the details.

7D + 50L… love how the confetti’s colours pop. The 7D’s focus tracking wasn’t perfect, but at 8fps I got plenty of usable images. Right before this I chatted to Liz and Hua to walk a little bit slower as they made their entrance… many times the couple just marches right in and it’s over before the guests get a chance to have a good look at the newly married!

The Master of Ceremonies, Donny. He did a great job entertaining us all that night.

These ladies performed a number of dances throughout the night. In fact, there was plenty of entertainment as you’ll see.

She’s a familiar face! Oh and the 135L reminds me again why it’s my favourite…

Liz & Hua enjoying some of the performances.

I can tell you the crowd loved her! :p

The couple shares a light moment – and I got a shot of the little accessories on her hair that I hadn’t noticed before.

On to the toast…

Soon after, the couple and their parents make their way to the exit in order to say goodbye to guests.

Another HUGE congratulations to Liz and Hua!

December’s going to be a busy month with two weddings, but in a way I’m looking forward to the rush. And for those that know, the “Epic” is coming…

Congratulations to Liz & Hua and I wish you the very best in your life together as husband and wife!

I shot this wedding with two bodies, the 5D2 and my newly acquired 7D. Lenses used were mostly 16-35mm on the 5D2 and a 50mm on the 7D for just that little bit of telephoto. We don’t get a lot of working distance when it comes to chinese weddings!

I took a few images of their wedding invitation and I really like how these turned out. In case you’re wondering about the first photo, the invite had a heart cut-out which I used to create that effect.

I wonder if this is in chronological order from left to right, but if I had to guess I’d say the centre photo was taken first.

Liz did her own make-up, but a friend helps her put on the finishing touches for her hair.

The first attempt at this, the flowers weren’t in the frame, I just waited for Hua’s smiling face and flowers to be aligned in the little gap and grabbed this shot.

After the tea ceremony and family portraits, it’s off to the groom’s place – a 1.5 hour journey from KB to Bandar!

Upon arrival, one of the first things is to pay respects to ancestors.

Hua serves tea to a proud father.

His mother is very happy too.

A couple of quick portraits with the couple using window light. I’m quite proud of these – no fancy poses, compositions or complicated lighting setups – just simple photos of Liz & Hua on their most memorable of days.

To be continued in part 2 – the wedding dinner. Stay tuned!

The dinner reception was at OGH. Jeff and I worked from one of the hotel’s room to prepare a slideshow of shots from the morning… Initially we had not arranged to shoot the evening getting ready part, but when the make-up artist came, I couldn’t resist but to pop over and grab the obligatory mirror shot. :p

Caryn’s brother helps her try on a couple of necklaces…

Went to get shots of the cake. Apparently it’s real – note… no artificial slot where you would put the knife into. Oh and I love that 35L bokeh.

First entrace. The shot is out of focus, but they look so happy here, it’s one of my favourites.

Caryn has a moment with her niece before they make their second entrance. If you’re on facebook, check out Jeff’s take on this shot.

Wonder what that photog in the background is taking a pic of…

The MC entertains the couple.

Hungarian Dance No.5 – the whole song! I was really impressed.

Jeff in action.

BFFs…

Once again, I shot this wedding with Jeff, and go check out his coverage here. Shot with one body, my 5D Mark II swapping between 16-35, 35 and 135. Here are some of my favourites from the morning…

When Caryn saw this photo, she remarked that she could see her pores… 135L goodness.

Square crop – I’m not sure it works, but I like her expression.

Haha we got them to pose just like in the picture in the background.

On to Part 2 for the dinner reception.