There’s a first for everything. Unbelievable as it might sound, I have not shot a single wedding in Singapore in the past 5 years of my wedding photography career. So of course, I was excited to fly to S’pore to photograph Karen & Malcolm, both whom I’ve never net before but recommended by our mutual friend, Chloe.

Indeed there’s a first for everything and thankfully, being the paranoid, ever-ready, always-prepared and utmost professional that I am, I had expected the worst – losing our bags on our AirAsia flight. Beforehand, I had advices Steve to pack all necessary work equipment on our carry-on. I had done the same. And it must be this positive (well in this case, negative) thinking powers I have possess that probably propelled it to happen… We actually did lose our bags. Yes, not surprising at all, AirAsia lost our bags. They weren’t loaded on our plane because we “checked in too early”. What the hell ? We were there 1.5 hours before departure time!

And so, our adventure in S’pore began… We first visited Karen as planned for the site recce and to iron out details for her wedding day. After which, we went to a nearby mall to speed shop for some clothes and other necessities. As we were about to head to our hotel, I made a last call to AirAsia and thankfully, our bags had arrived!

We started off early in the morning as usual, with the chi mui’s prepping for the “chip san neong” games while the bride was getting barbied up in her beautiful tube gown with a super can can skirt which made for fantastic photos! We had learned that the Singaporean Chinese traditions are somewhat different from our Malaysian practice. The tea ceremony did not happen at the bride’s house right after the “chip san neong” games. Instead, we went to his parents’ place before returning to Karen’s. It was probably that way in the olden days but we Malaysians like to cut corners hehehe…

That evening, Karen & Malcolm had an intimate outdoor signing ceremony prior to the dinner reception at the Sheraton Towers. The banquet hall was beautifully lit with colored lights that very much reminded me of the Westin, KL. The “Yum Seng” on stage was especially fun, with ALL the bridesmaids and groomsmen who joined the couple and their family on stage and giving their ton of morale support! Yes, it was a WHOLE LOTTA support indeed!

Congrats to Karen & Malcolm!

My favorite shot of the day!

Derek met Linda at Air Asia. They were colleagues. Emilia, also colleagues to Derek & Linda at that time, had recommended FIFOTO to them! The common love denominator here was Air Asia…

Love would be the perfect word to describe the mood for the day. To say they are very much in love is an understatement. Linda was gleaming and beaming that day and her smile lit up the room! (Later, I found out that she smiles all the time! Even at work! ) Perhaps it was also the fact that the entire day was planned to the very minute detail, from bridesmaids’ individually labeled  gift boxes to decorating the hotel suite with everything wedding-related, to the Swarovski “I Do” studs on the sole of her shoes! How could one not feel the love when there’s so many things to remind you of it! But when she showed me the first lily Derek had folded her when she went overseas, and how he would fold her a lily for each day she was apart from him, I clearly saw why she’s head over heels!

The church ceremony was held in the morning and in the evening, there was a simple garden ceremony where the couple exchanged their vows and released a pair of white doves. I wondered if they ended up flying away together and whether they would live the rest of their freed lives together forever… And I also wonder how they will survive if they had lived their entire lives in captivity, with food served to them on a silver platter, well in this case, a plastic cup. How would they know how to find food?

A short tea ceremony was held in the garden right after and guests were served with popcorn in a little tin bucket! The theme for the evening was “A Night at the Movies” and every little detail planned for the night revolved around this. Movie ticket stubs were given to the guests at registration. On it were table names made up of Love/Romance movies which played while the guests waited for the grand entrance of the bride and groom.Fans and umbrellas were also given to the guests just in case it got hot and humid during the outdoor ceremony. On the contrary, the weather was just perfect. The constant breeze cooled the temperature and of course, what many may have considered to be dark stormy clouds, I saw it as the perfect weather for a Malaysian outdoor ceremony!  Needless to say, and I would like to attribute it to FIFOTO’s luck when it comes to these things, the weather did hold out until everyone proceeded to the ballroom! It poured that evening till late in the night! But as the Chinese believe, that’s just another sign of good  luck for the happy couple!

It was a surprise after surprise for us that evening. Everything just couldn’t have been more perfect! As the couple made their way into the ballroom, they broke into dance to “I’m Too Sexy”, yet another one of my all-time favorite tunes (in fact, it’s one of my caller ringtones and FIFOTO 2009′s crew shoot video!)

Derek & Linda’s wedding was a whole lotta fun to shoot and I was just excited to have had such fun & entertaining night!

Congrats you guys!!!!!

At Cyberview Lodge…

One of my all time favorites played as well – The Wedding Singer and the highlight was of the last scene when Adam Sandler sings “I wanna grow old with you”. That hit the spot right there! But I held back my tears this time!

Bridal Gown: That Special Occasion. Wedding Planner: Natasha Khoo

Months had past since I last shot at Zinc and as always, I looked forward to the night of Feiyue x Steph Cop. If you’re like me and are completely clueless as to what the name Feiyue x Steph Cop means, Feiyue, originally a Chinese brand was bought over by 3 French guys and made popular in Europe. This exhibition was to showcase the collaborated work with Steph Cop, a French graffiti artist, clothing and toy designer.  Not surprising, one of his artworks were sold within the first hour!

It was a good night! Lapsap Dj Xu was on the decks that night and played some groovy house tracks, 2 of which he has so kindly passed to me upon request! Absolut Vodka was there too with some unique cocktails that tasted pretty yummy! I saw quite a number of familiar faces and met some new friends as well! And as with all the other shoots I’ve done at Zinc, it was a good and enjoyable night for me!