Category Archives: wedding

Dan’s Hong Kong marriage proposal

light rail station marriage proposal, kissing

Some time ago, Dan moved back to Hong Kong from the US to spend more time with his family. While in HK he volunteered in community service where he met his girlfriend, Eros. Last month I received an inquiry from Dan to photograph one of the most intimate moments between him and Eros – he was going to propose.

Although I was excited about the assignment right away, I have to admit that the task became more than it seemed, since Dan wanted everything to be a surprise – the proposal, the photos – everything. So we spent several hours walking through location scouting, vantage points, timing, and even strategically placed roses before the big day. I started to appreciate the significance of the moment and the responsibility I had to capture it.

When the time finally came – I was in position, my 2nd shooter was in position, and Dan and Eros sat casually on a bench just as we had choreographed. Dan was cool as a cucumber (did I mention he was a pro poker player?), but I on the other hand, was overwhelmed with anticipation, emotion, and of course pressure to get the shot while staying unseen. It was an incredible moment to be a part of. Here are the photos =)

Dan chose to propose at the light rail station platform where they had first kissed…
Lung Mun light rail station

Dan takes a knee to propose
Hong Kong marriage proposal one knee

She said yes =)
HK marriage proposal, say yes
Hong Kong marriage, say yes crying
a carefully placed red rose (you can see it hiding out in the earlier shots)
HK marriage proposal grabbing red rose
HK marriage proposal red rose
HK wedding proposal red rose
Looking forward to the wedding =)
Hong Kong proposal on steps

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Wendy and CK’s wedding in Hong Kong

HK wedding bride in white dress

Last November, in the middle of last year’s Hong Kong wedding season I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Wendy and CK. Wendy and I first met over drinks – we were introduced by her piano teacher who is also a good friend of mine. CK, the groom, has been a film photography enthusiast for years, but now he shoots with a Nikon D700. So yeah, we get along well =)

Wendy has been one of those invaluable supporters of mine that I mentioned in an earlier blog post, particularly with tidbits of legal advice as I was rummaging through paperwork to get my business started. So I really wanted to get a ton of great shots on her wedding day. Fortunately, the bride and groom choose some beautiful venues for their wedding day: prep at the Upper House, ceremony at Union Church and reception and tea ceremony at China Club.

 

The Upper House, Pacific Place
wedding prep at Upper House in Admiralty, Hong Kong

Hong Kong bride getting readyHong Kong groom getting ready

Hong Kong wedding bride wedding shoes under dressChinese bride putting on wedding dress
Hong Kong wedding bride leaving to chapel

Union Church, Midlevels
Hong Kong wedding flowers at Union ChurchHong Kong wedding program at Union Church

Pre-Wedding prayer at Union Church
Hong Kong groom waits for his brideHong Kong wedding, father gives away daughter

Hong Kong wedding exchange of ringsUnion Church wedding in Hong Kong, Pastor Greg Anderson

Union Church wedding, group photo

China Club, Central
China Club, Hong KongChina Club staircase in Central, Hong Kong
Bride and father at China Club wedding banquet
HK China Club wedding banquet, family smiling
Chinese wedding couple at Hong Kong banquet
HK wedding couple at China Club, in front of stained glass 1HK wedding couple at China Club, in front of stained glass 2
Hong Kong newlyweds kissing in the library room of China Club

…and one more portrait at Upper House before the night ended.
HK wedding couple kissing at Upper House boutique hotelHK newlywed couple kissing at Upper House boutique hotel

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Stéphanie and James’ wedding in Hong Kong

photo of bride and groom dancing with a spotlight backlit lens flare

The first time I saw James was in 2008 when he was performing “hand filter” jokes on the stage of Hong Kong’s TakeOut Comedy club. He was one of several awesome comedians that night serving up good old fashioned American humor. Little did I know that behind the funny man was an equally hilarious girlfriend named Stéphanie, and that they would eventually ask me to photograph their wedding which was last October. I also later learned that James is not only quite the romantic, but he does not easily shy away from public singing or lewd dancing.

You’ll see what I mean in the shots below from their wedding day, which conveniently started down the street from the studio in their Causeway Bay apartment before moving to the American Club in Tai Tam for the ceremony and banquet =)

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James proposed at an art class with this painting
painting with marry me proposal and wedding bands

Chinese bride putting on make-up in mirror

Chinese bridesmaid putting on make-up

the wedding party walk from Victoria Park
Wedding party crossing street in Causeway Bay

James sings “Nametag,” a song he wrote for Stéphanie
Chinese bride in her bedroom waitingChinese groom singing and playing piano

The American Club
Bride and groom at the American Club, Hong Kongbride and groom in the mirror at the American Club Hong Kong

Wedding at the American Club terrace

the cracker jacks wedding ring box
the cracker jacks wedding ring box

Kissing the bride

tea ceremony
Chinese wedding tea ceremony at the American Club

wedding cake
wedding cake shoved in groom's mouth

first dance
wedding first dance at American Club, Hong Kong

wedding family's dance at American Club, Hong Kong

best striptease at a wedding ever
wedding groom striptease at American Club HK

dance floor is open!
wedding dance floor, bride and groom

Officiant Thomas stocks his shopping cart
wedding dance floor shopping cart

mini slideshow of the wedding photobooth!

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Yvonne and Michael’s wedding in Montreal, Canada

interracial wedding couple holding umbrella on docks

As part of my trip back to the US earlier in the year, I drove up to Montreal to photograph a wedding for Yvonne and Michael (you can see shots from the engagement session in New York in an earlier post). Yvonne and I first met when we were both young, bright-eyed and bushy tailed interns at the NY firm that would eventually hire us for our first full-time jobs. Several years later, she left the firm to pursue education and eventually teach grade school in the South Bronx. She has been an absolute inspiration to me.

So I was excited to be able to shoot her marriage with Michael, while also being able to revisit one of my favorite cities in the world, Montreal. The rehearsal dinner was held at a traditional Quebec maple sugar shack. The following day we shot some prep and portraits at the Chateau Vaudreuil before driving to Au Vieux Moulin for the reception and dinner.

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rehearsal dinner at the Sucrerie de la Montagne
Sucrerie de la Montagne in Montreal

Wedding bride and groom at rehearsal dinner

sugar shack wedding rehearsal dinner at the Sucrerie de la Montagne

wedding morning
wedding shoeswedding bands

bride holding her hands over her wedding dresswedding bride dress

bride in the hotel room mirror with wedding dress

Groom getting ready in hotel room

Wedding couple walking in the grass

the Vietnamese áo dài
bride changing into Vietnamese áo dài dress

yvonne and michael wedding photographed

Michael’s friends show us how its done in Germany
wedding german dance

wedding guests dancing

the “Shoe Game”
yvonne and michael wedding shoe game brideyvonne and michael wedding shoe game groom

proud parents of the bride
bride parents snap a camera phone photo

interracial bride and groom wedding dinner kiss

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Yvonne and Michael’s engagement – Central Park, New York

pre-wedding photo of Yvonne and Michael in New York's Central Park

Before heading to Montreal to shoot Yvonne and Michael’s wedding, I had a chance to grab both of them after work in New York on a Friday afternoon to take some engagement session photos. We decided to walk around what is probably one of the most photographed areas of the city, Central Park. But since I started my photography professionally after my move from New York, I never really had a chance to properly photograph it. So I was particularly excited to get some pre-wedding portraits with the green foliage background and various architecture that is much harder to find in Hong Kong.

We hung out around the Bethesda Fountain area, where Yvonne and Michael showed off their ballroom dance skills (I later found out that the waltz was rehearsal for their first dance)!

More to come from the wedding day shortly…

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engagement session photo taken on a Central Park bench in New York City

pre-wedding photo of couple under arches in Central Park

pre-wedding photo of a wedding couple dancing in front of Bethesda Fountain arches

Engagement session photo of a couple on Bethesda Fountain steps

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