My first ‘destination’ wedding – already I knew this was a special kind of job, we were having a wedding consultation in Bangkok for goodness sake! Despite having not met before, the bride, Joyce and I hit it off straight away, and it was fab to see Andy again who had worked for a charity client of mine in London. Despite the couple’s stress about the flood situation in Thailand, they were pretty relaxed about the wedding photography itself and we spent much of our consulation meeting, over dinner, talking about Thai travel, pondering ideas on how best to keep shine-free during the ceremony, as it was due to be a scorching 35 degrees, and their work over there. It was actually Andy who stopped us ladies chattering away and reminded us of our reason for being there – we needed to sort out the photography agenda. There I was already relaxing into holiday mode and being whipped straight back into line!
So on October 29th 2011, I checked into the rather stunning Koh Chang Ramayana Resort, where I was to stay during the wedding weekend. I’d already got to know some of the guests at a lovely restaurant and a firefly boat trip as well as an elephant ride through the jungle pre-wedding, so when I turned up on the day I already knew some of the people. Luckily only a small number had curtailed their trips due to the flood warnings and everyone else had simply chanced it. The weather was perfect, dry and not a puddle in sight. There had been a brief storm during the night, but luckily the wedding canopy, flowers and everything else looked perfectly intact. And so the celebrations begun:
There was a lot of attention to detail, no doubt at the hands of Joyce who seems very much like a thoughtful person. In particular I loved the little bags each of the guests had on their tables. Here mine:
I went to check on Joyce – and found her to be in air-conditioned bliss in her little preparation room, looking cool and elegant, with her sister helping to pin her hair up. She vowed to stay amongst the cool for as long as possible…..
…I on the other hand had work to do and headed into the 90 degree heat. The surrounding mountains didn’t seem to help and for a short while it appeared that maybe everyone was melting……luckily my camera was fine and so long as I kept myself out of the picture it didn’t really matter that I was shiny and red! Luckily by the time a very cool and elegant Joyce started to head towards the ceremony area, the sun was dipping behind the trees and a little breeze had kicked in – a reprieve for the waiting guests.
At this point the light over the wedding canopy had been nicely filtered by the trees and the sun had dipped to a flattering angle – I was able to shoot freely and capture some lovely moments.
Photographing Andy and Joyce was a real pleasure, they were relaxed and realistic about their expectations – my favoured kind of clients! The staff, food and atmosphere (fairy lights were strung up, flowers everywhere and the wonderful wedding canopy, which the couple wed under) were fantastic and with the exception of the earlier heat and the early sunset, (in Thailand despite the warm weather the sun sets by 6pm) it was a stress-free shoot. Joyce and Andy posed for some lovely photos around the resort – they had opted for simple and fuss-free style shots – and their family had some photos with the mountains in the backdrop. Beats a white wall any day.
Before the party went into full swing Andy and Joyce took part in a traditional Thai candle ceremony;
The rest of the evening went well, and then someone persuaded me to put down my camera – I realised it was nearly 10.30pm. My arm felt a little empty with the weight gone, so I had no choice but to replace it with a glass of rum – and so the party commenced………
After a decent lie-in, the next day, a trek to a waterfall and a snooze by the pool, I was energised enough to grab Andy and Joyce for some post-wedding ‘engagement style’ photographs on White Sands Beach. After all no wedding in Thailand can be complete without some great sun-set shots…..
I wish Andy and Joyce great luck in their life together, for now in Bangkok and who knows where in the future. I am sure our paths will cross again. I’d also like to say thanks to some of the lovely guests who I met at the wedding and included me in the celebrations. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to everyone as we all scattered at different times, but they were a great crowd. The staff at Ramayan were great too, and the wedding food was “aroi mak mak” (delicious).
