The above is so accurate and really shows the importance of educating the public on the Professional Wedding Photographers vs Amateur Shoot & Burn Photographers.
Keep an eye out on our blog for more articles like this and we will also add a section to our web page.
Peter and Catherine are one of the funniest and energetic couples we have ever met. Their entire wedding was based around a Shanghainess Gangsta love theme, where the ladies wore Chinese traditional dresses and the men wore hats. Peter arrived at Catherine’s home in a vintage Holden along with his Gangsta-themed brothers – I think there were at least 14 of them! Following Chinese tradition, the Groom was not allowed to see his bride until he passed all the ridiculous games that were prepared by the bride’s closest friends and family.
The fun started with Peter singing his heart out to Catherine, brushing his teeth with hot Wasabi paste, picking up Mah-jong pieces in icy cold water using only their toes, and making a love heart using their lips with red lipstick applied. Then they had to form a circle and pass the banana between their legs with their mouths. It was quite a scene and we couldn’t stop chuckling to ourselves as we captured the moment. Eventually the bridal party was happy with Peter’s efforts, and gave him access to see his bride.
Two Chinese tea ceremonies were held at two different locations, which involved the bride and groom kneeling before their parents and serving them tea. It was a way for them to express their gratitude and respect in front of their parents and immediate relatives, and a customary practice for the married couple to say, “Thanks for bringing us up. Now we are getting married and we owe it all to you.” Then both parents will drink a small portion of the tea and say how sweet it is and then give them either jewelry or a red envelope filled with money to symbolise good luck.
Since it was a rainy and wet day in Canberra, the wedding ceremony was relocated from the gardens into one of the rooms inside the Old Parliament House. The building was grand and majestic, which set the scene quite beautifully for the couple to be married in. Formal group photos were taken, but then we decided to mix in a bit of fun with their friends.
Next was the location shoot. Despite the wet rain, we found some great places to shoot - the old Canberra railway museum and Old Kingston Bus Depot. These locations added to their Shanghai gangsta theme wedding and it felt like we had gone back in time! It was also great to have the flower boy and girl join us in the photo shoot because they added so much fun and laughter! They actually wanted a ride in the vintage wedding car, which apparently broke down mid-way to the reception.
The Reception finished off at the newly renovated Ruby Restaurant in Dickson which was owned by the Matron of Honour. She had the night off and joined us for the fun and games throughout the night, served with a delicious feast. There was plenty of entertainment where Peter did a cartoon voice-over for their bride and groom presentation. It was really sweet and cute, and we learned that they had been together for 10 years before they decided to get married. More games were played throughout the night for the Bride & Groom and the night ended off with more grooving on the dance floor.
As a special presentation of the night, we decided to surprise Peter and Catherine, with a same day slideshow with photos that were taken during the day.
We love Greek and Lebanese weddings, and Charles and Diana’s wedding celebrated both cultures! It was one massive wedding feast!
This wedding had it all -
Fantastic Greek music and DJing from Nick Missailidis
Awesome singing from Lebanese / Arabic Idol Winner - Ahmad Masri and team!
Delicious food at “The Manor on High”
And of course plenty of dancing with friends and family! It was an amazing celebration and testimony of love and faith. One thing that impressed me the most was their reception bridal entry. Charles and Diana danced their way into the reception hall to the awesome beat of the drum and to singing voice of a famous Lebanese (Arabic) Idol winner, Ahmad Masri. Soon after, their family and friends held hands and surrounded Charles and Diana while they flirted with the music. It was so surreal to watch. I keep weaving myself in and out and under their dancing circles to capture their energetic dance moves from all different angles. I had to keep up or I’ll get lost in the crowd! One stage, they even lifted Charles and Diana in the air and carried them around as they danced!
Please find some photos of the memories below and also a video snippet!
What a hektic month, after completing our 2 weddings in Canberra, we had 1 wedding in Sydney and 3 in Melbourne.
With the Sydney weekend, we actually woke up Saturday morning 5am and then the next day had to wake up 5am again to fly back to Melbourne for a big fat Greek / Lebanese wedding.
But as everyone will know us both, we were full of energy as always and just ran around like Energizer bunnies and had great fun!
We have seriously fell behind with the updating of our web page, so if your new to our web page and looking for a wedding photographer for next year. We highly recommend organising an appointment with us to check out our latest and greatest work.
We promise to do a massive update very soon, so we can show you some of our latest stuff.
One update we have been working on is Peter and Catherine’s wedding slideshow, look out for that in the next week.
This Shanghai Gangsta theme wedding had lots of action! Lip Stick, Trains, Old Canberra heritage building and of course lots of Loving and Dancing!
Actually while thinking about dancing, also look out for Charles and Diana’s wedding. A Greek marrying a Lebanese, there was NON stop dancing all night!
In the mean time, here are some random updates we have done to our flickr account recently at http://www.flickr.com/akwoo.
Click any of the photos for a larger photo.
Special Thanks to Helena for assisting us on the weekend with Brad & Huong’s wedding!
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