In the last week of 2009, there were 2 days that had been reserved early in the first quarter of the year, an actual day (AD) wedding photography assignment for a couple, whom I personally know the groom. After some initial discussion, we decided to meet up and had a longer discussion with the couple and finally reached an agreement for me to take on their AD Wedding photography. Their belief and trust in me, taking on their AD Wedding photography is another wonderful opportunity to grow and expand my photography experiences and knowledge.

Due to the number of photographs required for post processing, the selected photographs displayed would not contain any of the couple nor their family, relatives or friends. In this post, selected abstract/still wedding photographs would be showcased. This AD Wedding stretched over two days because we had to travel into Malaysia, whereby the Groom would receive the Bride from her hometown before returning back to Singapore. The Groom’s contingent of best men and helpers went in earlier to prepare and the early adventure started very early in the morning whereby all of us didn’t get much sleep.

0345 hrs – Woke up, washed up and started the AD Wedding Photojournalistic Journey for the wedding couple. Groom was helped on to his jacket by a senior member of his family and after capturing the shots, off I went to the Bride’s home with the videographer.

0445 hrs – Reached the Bride’s home, started shooting the Bridal make up by the makeup artist, putting on the veil by the parents, parents prayers to heaven and preparing to welcome the Groom’s contingent.

0600 hrs – Groom arrived to pick up his Bride and the action goes into full swing ! Photography swung into action and the guys were made to go through different tasks and challenges, “food tasting”, singing, games, giving red packets before reaching the Bride’s room and fetching the Bride. Formalities followed, with prayers to the heavens and ancestors before the traditional tea ceremony to the parents and relatives. Once completed, group photography followed and all of us had the time to rest for food and drinks.

0800 hrs – Departure of the wedding contingent returning to Singapore, a bit of traveling time, everything was smooth except for a bit of morning peak hour traffic.

1000 hrs – Arrival at the Groom’s home, now for the other side of the wedding formalities, traditional tea ceremony, group photography taking before adjourning to the newly wedded room for more photography taking, with the veil being removed by the Groom and more photo taking, along with food and drinks.

1300 hrs – Went to the hotel with the wedding contingent, finalised the schedule for the night before returning home for a short rest, downloading of the couple’s morning and afternoon wedding photojournalistic journey and adventure.

1600 hrs – Returned back to hotel, showed the couple and their family, relatives and close friends in the hotel room the photos on my macbook, apparently the power of digital photography, there were a lot more photographs taken without fear of wastage (a plus and negative point in photography). Glad that the parents enjoyed watching the slideshow of the wedding photography.

1700 hrs – Rehearsals and coordination with Groom, Masters of Ceremony, banquet manager and videographer, final preparation.

1830 hrs – Solemnisation of the Wedding couple, smooth sailing without hiccups.

1930 hrs – Wedding dinner starts and another round of AD Wedding Photojournalistic Journey began ! Once the guests settled down to enjoy, the wedding couple went around to mingle with their relatives, colleagues and close friends, thanking them and I was taking many group/friends photographs.

2300 hrs – At this time, the wedding dinner had wrapped up and everything was great. Chatted with the wedding couple for a while and arranged to meet them soon and deliver their AD Wedding photographs.

Looking back at my AD Wedding Photojournalistic Journey/Adventure with the couple, it was a really wonderful experience since I knew the Groom personally and it dawned upon me that I was more than just a Wedding Photographer, I became a helper too ! The friendly and heartwarming couple makes it easier for me to do my main task on hand, their trust and faith in me.

This synopsis seems to be a lengthy post …… If you are still reading this line …… Thank You for your support !! The portfolio of the AD Wedding Photography is up after approval from the newly wedded couple. Check it out below !

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.