Wedding Photography in Taiwan

I have always been a cynic when it comes to wedding photography. I never get the notion of why brides and grooms to be would go through the arduous tasks of posing in a fake manner in their elaborate gowns when you could have just worn a simple shorts to the beach. However, going through these tasks in a foreign country has taken out the skeptic in me. In fact, wedding photography has become a process that I will always remember fondly as part and parcel of the wedding.

Stepping into the scenic country of Taiwan has made this experience all the more memorable. I had to wake up at 5am to arrive at the make-up place at 6am as we were supposed to travel for hours to one of the recommended place for photography with a beautiful infinity pool against the scenery of a lake called Miaoli. However, as the national flowers which we were supposed to use as backdrop did not bloom, we changed our destination to other magnificent places like Yami Mountains with a really beautiful line of flowers and trees, Shen Ling forest where I can see flowers blooming among the trees and Yeh Liu with multiple colored rocks lining the green sea forming a formidable sight.


I donned what was supposed to be the million dollar wedding gown promoted by the bridal centre, Elegance Wedding to take my indoor photos. It was incredibly heavy with diamonds and precious stones enveloping the top of the gown. Did it make me feel like a million dollars? Maybe not, as it was too heavy for me to even walk around.


I particularly enjoyed the sights of other brides and grooms dressed in the wedding attires of their choice taking photos in the same spots as us. Some came with incredibly beautiful and pictureques gowns in pastel and bright colors, I wished I could wear them too. I liked it when a gown goes well with the settings one is in like a flowy, billowy dress for the beach where the tail can be blown against the wind or a naturally pastel with green ribbons for the scenes in the jungle. I truly admire the selection of gowns by a few of the brides while I was busy posing for my photos.

Never have I expected that I would wait in anticipation to view and select the photos. When the day finally arrives, I smiled in joy seeing how good the photos turned out to be. Both I and my husband were radiating with joy in almost all the photos which makes it hard to finalise 20 photos out of the hundreds. One of the best photos I thought was taken when we were at our natural self, including one photo in which he was whispering to me while we were playing water by the beach. I felt really good when I heard the comment from the store assistant that I looked very happy in each of the photos. Maybe it is my smile (hehe, perasan!).


Moving on, I was also introduced to a very good wedding photographer who took wedding photos in a more artistic way which I am more fond of than these commercial ones. He is called Patrick . I really like the uniqueness of the subjects and the colors he used as it really felt classic to me.

All in all, I admitted it was a tiring but memorable experience. Would I do it again? Anytime!

Weddings Worth Tearing Up Over

Amidst the doom and gloom that has been happening in the world, the appearance of good news even snippets of them makes up for what has been one of the worst downturn since I am born. Affected negatively as well as positively by this downturn, I was pleased to see a photo of smiling faces in the front page of the newspaper today. It didn't made the headline but was a welcoming sight in light of the other more serious news like the drop and rise of the stock market and the increase in unemployment.

The news was about the imminent wedding of one of Singapore's most famous celebrity couple, the gorgeous and shapely, Michelle Chia and the boyish and charming Shaun Chen. I rarely tear up and thus it is with suprise that occasions like these that made me do the unpredictable. I actually teared up twice this week alone and both happened during wedding ceremonies. One is when I was listening to my friend, Shirrene Koh the bride, relating how she appreciates her parents for giving all they can despite being poor and retrenched from their job so much so that even when he only has RM2 left in his pocket, he buys noodles and milk for his 2 children when they complained that they were hungry even if it means no food for him. To me, there is no greater sacrifice than the sacrifice of a parent for their own children. Thus, it is without a doubt that I will do all I can to repay and appreciate them now that I make my own living and stand on my own two feet.

The second wedding that touched me was the wedding of this celebrity couple, Shaun and Michelle merely by watching a video of their speech on the stage of the glitzy Ritz-Carlton Hotel. When the groom was asked to speak, he could not hold back his tears and thus the bride took over the microphone to tell the audience on what made her choose to marry Shaun Chen. "My family and friends are the most important things to me. So, when I found someone who not only loves me but loves and takes care of my family and friends, I know I have found the one." This was followed by the groom's speech who thanked not only his own parents but his in-laws for accepting him into the family and his friends who travelled all the way from Malaysia in a bus to attend his wedding. I don't know which part touched me but without realising it, I felt tears streaming down my cheeks and maybe it is because I could feel the warmth and love from their relationship which is so tightly knit with their extended families and something I do not have now as I am living alone in a different countries from all my families.

No matter what, love forms a foundation of my life. Reason why I would choose love comedies over action movies and watch chick flicks over McGyvers of Knight Riders. I feel alive when I am loved and can love someone. A lot of actions I take are due to love, not money, not fame. It might look like I am chasing money and status on the surface but if you do not see what is deeper, I guess you do not know me at all. Regardless, I am glad I attended and saw 2 beautiful weddings that merged two opposites into one. One day, it will be mine :)

Travails of a Career-Obsessed Married Woman

As I walk ceaselessly across the tarred roads as I have walked past the bus stop to catch the bus to my next appointment, I watched aimlessly as the buses I was meant to take passed me by right in front of my eyes. I could not board them as I have not arrived at the bus stop yet. The last 2 weeks has been like this for me. 'Missed opportunities'. Some missed opportunities will affect me for the rest of my life. Call it luck, call it timing, when it happens it sucks.

Recently, I have taken the step to release myself from singlehood and stepped into the married altar. However, the actions I am taking now contradicts the expectations of a married woman. In this society, a married man can still take up a job opportunities overseas if the offer is good enough. This might not be true of a married woman. What happens if it is the woman who becomes the breadwinner of the family? What happens if the female is the go-getter and have goals and dreams in life while the male lives in comfort zone? Should the female let go of everything? I do not know the answer but I have summed up my problems in this quadrant: