Suburbian Wedding Dinner

My cousin J got married and had her wedding dinner last night at open-air Suburbia on Sentosa. It was a lovely place to have it, particularly since it was as cool and balmy as Singapore weather is capable of being. It was also a thoroughly modern way of throwing a wedding dinner, being buffet-style at long tables. No traditional Chinese eight-course banquet at round tables, which was pretty much inevitable at mine, as there were so many elderly folk to please. It would have been nice to have had mine like this – so much more relaxed and familiar. But I cannot complain. The wedding is a small detail when compared to the married life that comes after, and I am having a good one. I hope J and her husband have a long and happy life together ahead! 

Post-Photoshoot Pain… & Photographs

After the rigours of yesterday, I woke up at noon today with abominable aches in my thighs, shoulders, arms and even hands. Wedding photography can be pretty hard work. 

Another painful thing about a wedding photoshoot is the editing that comes after. I actually love using Photoshop, but it easily eats up hours and days, and is not very good for my obsessive tendencies.

Here are a few samples I’ve done today.

The bride's bouquet

The lovely bride

Torments for the groom and his men, devised by the girls

The church ceremony

Back to reality

Wedding Photoshoot

It has been a crazy busy day. Mr. Manx and I woke up at five this morning in preparation for our friends’ wedding day – let’s call them Toms and Pepper. Toms and Pepper were our classmates in university and have been together for a really long time (but not as long as Mr. Manx and me, heh).

As this was not our first time being amateur wedding photographers, Mr. Manx and I followed our usual protocol. We split up first thing in the morning – he to Toms’ home and I to Pepper’s, to catch the preparatory rituals on both sides.

I love taking shots of brides being made-up for their weddings. The transformation is charming to observe, and I feel privileged being the person to record the event. Some families have their own customs, in accordance to their dialect groups, that may involve certain food, prayers and adornments. Christian parents will drape the bridal veil. People tend to have rather strained, quiet, unusual expressions at this point. I think it’s because they’re still accepting that the time has come for these rituals to be done for their girl.

The peace is ruptured once the ‘sisters’  - typically bridesmaids and best girlfriends - appear, and chaos soon erupts with the noisy arrival of the groom and his ‘brothers’, as the girls put the guys through ridiculous torments before they are permitted admission to the bride’s home. This is the point that Mr. Manx and I reunite and take more pictures than is good for our own mental health.

After that, we all went back to Toms’ place for the Chinese tea ceremony. Traditionally, the couple serve tea, in dainty little cups, to the groom’s parents and senior relatives, who take their turns sitting down in pairs. In return, the seniors give the couple good wishes, red packets and/or gifts. I always fantasize about witnessing the presentation of a car key or a title deed at this point, but it has never happened. Depending on the size of the family, all this can take some time, and must be properly done, in order to avoid omitting or offending anyone.

Then everybody headed back to the Pepper’s home to repeat the same ceremony with her folks, then ate and chilled till it was time to head out for the wedding ceremony.

Toms and Pepper, being Christians, had their ceremony in St. Teresa’s Church. By this time, I was pretty much pooped and running on autopilot. Flowers – check. Pastor – check. Rings – check. Smiling guests – check. Oh yeah… bride and groom – check.

And then they were married.

By the time the wedding dinner rolled around, I was totally pooped. The rest of the evening drifted pleasantly by my sozzled eyes and now I am finally home with Mr. Manx after a very long, but quite wonderful day.

God bless you, Toms and Pepper! May you know every happiness together.