One of the best things about being wedding photographers is the lovely couples that Henley and I get to meet and build friendships with through our work. You get to share and be part of their journey to being married, but rarely get the opportunity to work with them again; so it was wonderful to receive and email from Ashley telling us about her second wedding ceremony and asking if Henley and I would photograph it for them.
Ashley and Alan had originally booked us for their wedding ceremony at the Holland Park Orangery in London back in 2012, and as Ashley is from Singapore, she wanted a traditional Chinese wedding back home so she could celebrate with friends and family who were unable to attend the wedding ceremony in London. Having never been to Singapore before, we were both struck by the beauty of the city, the iconic and modern buildings mixed with the colonial designs of Raffles Hotel and the symbolic Merlion to give a unique feel and ambience.
On the day of the wedding, Ashley and Alan prepared for their ceremony together in their suite at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and Ashley got to wear her custom Stewart Parvin wedding dress again and looked just as beautiful and glowing as she did at her London wedding. The Mandarin Oriental is a luxury hotel with a unique oriental design, allowing us to use it as a gorgeous and striking backdrop for couple photography.
The Singapore skyline is filled with glittering lights and iconic buildings, and as the pool at the Mandarin is near the top of the hotel, we took full advantage of the views. We also knew how much the couple loved the Holland Park fountain shot we tool at their London wedding and wanted to create a Singapore version for them.
A Chinese wedding has a few different traditions compared to English weddings, firstly there is the tea ceremony where Ashley and Alan presented tea to their family. After the tea ceremony, there was a change into to a traditional Chinese wedding gown for Ashley followed by a cake cutting, champagne toast and an eight course Chinese wedding banquet. The video and photos of the London wedding were played to all the guests throughout the meal which we were also invited to experience. We were so blessed to have been able to spend a second wedding day with Ashley and Alan, and look forward to catching up with them again soon.
– Laura
Wendy Wong - Impressive! Your shots are artistically executed, making full use of lines, angles & lighting that our buildings, foliage & ambient light offer. I love all your photos! Your photos help me in my ongoing journey in photography as a favoured hobby. Thanks!