If you find yourself caught in love...
Everytime I hear the Belle & Sabastian song "If you find yourself caught in love", I'm reminded of the most romantic event I'd taken part in this year... Nope, it's not a Valentine's day thingy... (If you remember, I had quite a bad Valentine's Day...)... It's not a very good romantic movie... (They don't show foreign shows in the cinemas here...) It's not even a good romantic novel... (Never been big on romance romance books...)
It was my sister's wedding... =)
The webgallery for their wedding day finally came out last week... www.36frames.com/webgallery/ycyh ... and I spent the entire day looking at their pictures... It left me in tears at times… It was a really really beautiful event...
We did the usual things… The Groom goes to pick up the bride and brings her home… They give tea to the parents and relatives… The bride changes… Then they go back to the bride’s home to give her relatives tea… And everybody eats a lot… Of cos… No one ever makes it easy for the groom to get to his bride…
My dear brother (think it’s easier to call him that than brother-in-law) got a mini Amazing Race… (One of their favourite shows… It’s a good thing they didn’t do Fear Factor though…) He had to go to Jalan Kayu to buy breakfast… Imitate a Shah Rukh Khan MTV… Recite an original poem in 7 steps… And, we pulled a “Runaway Bride” trick… My sister was placed in the loft… (And not in our room, where she was supposed to be…)
The actual solemnization and wedding was held at the Ritz Carlton… So you can imagine… The glitz… The glamour… It was a dizzy, dazzling place… A place you can really call “Romantic”… 90 tables… 900 guests… Theme of Tiffany’s turquoise… White feathers… White roses… A luscious warmly lit banquet hall… Soft music… Gives you the mood of being in love all over again…
I was pretty swept up by the whole event too… That evening, I was wearing a pretty strapless pink dress with a poofy skirt… 3 inch heels… An elegant purple crystal bracelet and necklace to match… Made by my mum’s dear friend Aunt Lay Kian… My hair was swept up in a pretty bun with braids at the top, and white flowers pinned in it… My nails were manicured… My eyebrows were plucked, and my lashes curled and laced with mascara… The make up was put on like an elaborate painting… (yup, I felt like a canvas…) I could hardly recognize myself in the mirror… The Nightbirds met me that night and they were stunned… Ivan said that was Gwen as he had never seen before…Mark asked me how it felt to be a woman…
The VIP table was the largest I’d ever seen actually… Think there were 19 people… My brother’s family is pretty big… He has three sisters who are all married… One of them with a little toddler called Ethan… My uncle and aunt from China were there with us as well… But even though the table was so big, most of the time, everyone was missing… My sister-who-was-getting-married and my brother were missing most of the time… As expected… They had to enter and leave the hall time and time again… (I still don’t get that bit… but they were very cool… They came in on Segways at one entry…) Then there were the other little things they had to do, like make their rounds at all the tables… Pop the champagne… Cut the wedding cake… Make speeches…
The emcees for the evening were my brother’s 3rd sister and her husband… So they were kept busy writing their lines down and scuttling between the table and the stage… My sister-who-wasn’t-getting-married was the main organizer of the whole wedding… the hotel personnel were all taking their cue from her… She had hurt herself that afternoon, but that didn’t quite stop her from moving around… Just slowed her down a teeny bit… (I think she should have used the segway too…) The parents have their own parenty things to do too… Mingle with their guests and the relatives… I’m really not sure what parents do at weddings… Maybe it’s the mixed feelings… they are happy cos one of their kids is no longer under their charge… and they are sad cos one of their kids is no longer under their charge… It must be a very awkward transition…
My job for the evening was to perform a short item… It’s quite an easy job compared to the rest… Save for the nerves that came up before it was my turn… (I was even worried that I might trip over my heels on the way up the stage…) I had intended to write an original song for my sister… But I couldn’t quite fit words into a melody I wrote… So I just stole a melody and fitted in my own words… That was the English song… I also prepared a Chinese song for the benefit of the older crowd… Didn’t want them to be too bored…
Here’s a little information on the Photographer who prepared the web gallery… His name is Rueyloon… And he took really good pictures… He had some very artistic and unique perspectives… and has a knack for making a very chaotic situation look so peaceful… He captures all the little moments... And that makes it special... In his pictures, everything looked so quiet and orderly… It was exactly how I wanted to remember it… Even Jessica was very impressed by his pictures… She was amazed that anyone could take such pictures at a wedding…
The problem about being in the photography circle is, when you show people pictures of your sister’s wedding, you get silly arrogant frens insisting that they can do a better job… In fact, they start fantasizing about going to Singapore to do wedding photography to make it big… For the benefit of all of these dreamer photographers, here’s the facts of the matter…
Exchange rate: S$1 – TK36
The cost of hiring a photographer for 1 Day’s work, inclusive of a coffee table book and web hosting = S$1200
Expenses: (Covered by photographer)
Air Ticket: S$800
Accomodation: S$200
Book: S$50
F&B: S$200
Total Expenses: S$1250
Profit: - S$50/=
If they are interested in doing studio shoots as well, (maybe to earn more?)… Studio shoots range from SGD $1500 to SGD $2500. That is inclusive of the studio with equipment and the final product. The rental of studio and equipment must all be covered by the photographer.
Conclusion: Don’t quit your day job, dude…
Interestingly, the most poignant moment of the wedding was not captured in the web gallery… In fact, it could not have been captured by Rueyloon nor anyone else… It was a private moment when I saw my sister and my new brother cry as I sang for them… and in a magical instance, (as if they suddenly realized that this was the start of their new lives together…) they kissed… No camera could have caught that moment… I was the only person in the position to see it… because I was on stage… and it was so loving and tender… It would never ever be erased from my mind…
It’s strange… That in such a big and elaborate event, it is the small quiet moments that make it truly special… And I think, even if I ever decided to embark on a career as a performer (under the probing of the audience that evening who are convinced I’m gonna be the next big thing… It’s the alcohol really…) No other experience would ever give me more satisfaction than having created that moment for them… =)
It was my sister's wedding... =)
The webgallery for their wedding day finally came out last week... www.36frames.com/webgallery/ycyh ... and I spent the entire day looking at their pictures... It left me in tears at times… It was a really really beautiful event...
We did the usual things… The Groom goes to pick up the bride and brings her home… They give tea to the parents and relatives… The bride changes… Then they go back to the bride’s home to give her relatives tea… And everybody eats a lot… Of cos… No one ever makes it easy for the groom to get to his bride…
My dear brother (think it’s easier to call him that than brother-in-law) got a mini Amazing Race… (One of their favourite shows… It’s a good thing they didn’t do Fear Factor though…) He had to go to Jalan Kayu to buy breakfast… Imitate a Shah Rukh Khan MTV… Recite an original poem in 7 steps… And, we pulled a “Runaway Bride” trick… My sister was placed in the loft… (And not in our room, where she was supposed to be…)
The actual solemnization and wedding was held at the Ritz Carlton… So you can imagine… The glitz… The glamour… It was a dizzy, dazzling place… A place you can really call “Romantic”… 90 tables… 900 guests… Theme of Tiffany’s turquoise… White feathers… White roses… A luscious warmly lit banquet hall… Soft music… Gives you the mood of being in love all over again…
I was pretty swept up by the whole event too… That evening, I was wearing a pretty strapless pink dress with a poofy skirt… 3 inch heels… An elegant purple crystal bracelet and necklace to match… Made by my mum’s dear friend Aunt Lay Kian… My hair was swept up in a pretty bun with braids at the top, and white flowers pinned in it… My nails were manicured… My eyebrows were plucked, and my lashes curled and laced with mascara… The make up was put on like an elaborate painting… (yup, I felt like a canvas…) I could hardly recognize myself in the mirror… The Nightbirds met me that night and they were stunned… Ivan said that was Gwen as he had never seen before…Mark asked me how it felt to be a woman…
The VIP table was the largest I’d ever seen actually… Think there were 19 people… My brother’s family is pretty big… He has three sisters who are all married… One of them with a little toddler called Ethan… My uncle and aunt from China were there with us as well… But even though the table was so big, most of the time, everyone was missing… My sister-who-was-getting-married and my brother were missing most of the time… As expected… They had to enter and leave the hall time and time again… (I still don’t get that bit… but they were very cool… They came in on Segways at one entry…) Then there were the other little things they had to do, like make their rounds at all the tables… Pop the champagne… Cut the wedding cake… Make speeches…
The emcees for the evening were my brother’s 3rd sister and her husband… So they were kept busy writing their lines down and scuttling between the table and the stage… My sister-who-wasn’t-getting-married was the main organizer of the whole wedding… the hotel personnel were all taking their cue from her… She had hurt herself that afternoon, but that didn’t quite stop her from moving around… Just slowed her down a teeny bit… (I think she should have used the segway too…) The parents have their own parenty things to do too… Mingle with their guests and the relatives… I’m really not sure what parents do at weddings… Maybe it’s the mixed feelings… they are happy cos one of their kids is no longer under their charge… and they are sad cos one of their kids is no longer under their charge… It must be a very awkward transition…
My job for the evening was to perform a short item… It’s quite an easy job compared to the rest… Save for the nerves that came up before it was my turn… (I was even worried that I might trip over my heels on the way up the stage…) I had intended to write an original song for my sister… But I couldn’t quite fit words into a melody I wrote… So I just stole a melody and fitted in my own words… That was the English song… I also prepared a Chinese song for the benefit of the older crowd… Didn’t want them to be too bored…
Here’s a little information on the Photographer who prepared the web gallery… His name is Rueyloon… And he took really good pictures… He had some very artistic and unique perspectives… and has a knack for making a very chaotic situation look so peaceful… He captures all the little moments... And that makes it special... In his pictures, everything looked so quiet and orderly… It was exactly how I wanted to remember it… Even Jessica was very impressed by his pictures… She was amazed that anyone could take such pictures at a wedding…
The problem about being in the photography circle is, when you show people pictures of your sister’s wedding, you get silly arrogant frens insisting that they can do a better job… In fact, they start fantasizing about going to Singapore to do wedding photography to make it big… For the benefit of all of these dreamer photographers, here’s the facts of the matter…
Exchange rate: S$1 – TK36
The cost of hiring a photographer for 1 Day’s work, inclusive of a coffee table book and web hosting = S$1200
Expenses: (Covered by photographer)
Air Ticket: S$800
Accomodation: S$200
Book: S$50
F&B: S$200
Total Expenses: S$1250
Profit: - S$50/=
If they are interested in doing studio shoots as well, (maybe to earn more?)… Studio shoots range from SGD $1500 to SGD $2500. That is inclusive of the studio with equipment and the final product. The rental of studio and equipment must all be covered by the photographer.
Conclusion: Don’t quit your day job, dude…
Interestingly, the most poignant moment of the wedding was not captured in the web gallery… In fact, it could not have been captured by Rueyloon nor anyone else… It was a private moment when I saw my sister and my new brother cry as I sang for them… and in a magical instance, (as if they suddenly realized that this was the start of their new lives together…) they kissed… No camera could have caught that moment… I was the only person in the position to see it… because I was on stage… and it was so loving and tender… It would never ever be erased from my mind…
It’s strange… That in such a big and elaborate event, it is the small quiet moments that make it truly special… And I think, even if I ever decided to embark on a career as a performer (under the probing of the audience that evening who are convinced I’m gonna be the next big thing… It’s the alcohol really…) No other experience would ever give me more satisfaction than having created that moment for them… =)
posted by thebemusedphotog @ 3:00 PM
4 Comments:
wow, you're at Drik :) I love that booming voice of Shahidul.
wow, how did you get to my blog? and how did you get to know my big boss?
From the site statistics of my server, saw a link and it lead to here. Shahidul was in Singapore about 2 years ago, he was here for an exhibition on migrant workers and I was helping out that's how I got to know him. :)
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