Kota Kinabalu, beautiful location, lovely people. I first met FanJean when I was the wedding photographer at City Harvest Church (CHC) in Subang Jaya several years ago, and when she contacted me to be her wedding photographer back in her home town of Kota Kinabalu I leapt at the chance. Her family were very welcoming and showed me where to get the freshest seafood in KK the night before the wedding.
Next day I headed to Jean’s house whilst Selvam, one of several professional photographers I work with, headed over to Lee’s house. The plan was to meet up at Jean’s for the bargaining and then out into the garden for the wedding ceremony. Garden weddings work well in Malaysia but can sometimes be tricky to photograph as our sun is a bit merciless. For the keen photographers out there who are faced with the challenges outdoor shoots hold, make sure you shoot in RAW as the contrast range is well beyond the capabilities of jpeg processing in current cameras.
From the photos you will see there was very much an England theme, and I think you will agree the boys look striking in their Union Jack aprons! After a fairly fun bargaining session, where we learned all about chickens and eggs, it was on into the garden for a small and intimate Christian wedding ceremony performed by their pastor. A quick change and then the tea ceremony followed.
During the early evening we headed down to the beach and were lucky enough to catch the last rays of sunset for some portraits and then on into the Shangrila Tanjung Aru for the wedding dinner. I have included a photo of how Jean and Lee helped their guests find their tables. I hope you get some ideas from it. The end of the evening featured the Sumazou a traditional dance in East Malaysia which I happen to like quite a bit.
All in all a great wedding in East Malaysia.
Special thanks to my colleague, photographer Selvam Shanmugam for accompanying me on this trip. work review
