Vietnam | Thailand | Bali | Wedding Photographers » Engagements

Helena & Ade in Saigon

doctor447 — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:31:34 +0000

With both Julian and Aidan already on assignment, associate photographer Dominic flew down from Hanoi to photograph Helena and Ade in Ho Chi Minh City.

“At the beginning of June I photographed Helena and Ade, a lovely young couple from Jakarta, in Saigon. The two of them were great subjects, had lots of ideas for style – from classic to street to traditional – and had chosen some beautiful locations. We started early one morning at Notre Dame Cathedral, visited a few more places around the centre, and then finished up in the evening at the Fine Art Museum and Jade Emperor Pagoda. I wish them all the best for their wedding this November and for their future together.”

You can see more at Dominic’s blog Needs Cheese!

Style Unveiled

doctor447 — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:50:20 +0000

Aidan: Judy and Gavin’s wedding has been featured in Style Unveiled’s wedding planning website. Both wedding photographers from LA, I photographed their engagement session in Binh Duong last year. We had a great day and yes I did even try Durian. Once!

Neyumi in Sapa preview

doctor447 — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 08:38:28 +0000

Aidan: Sapa is a frontier town in the Lào Cai province in northwest Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where many ethnic minority groups such as H’mong, Dao and Tay live. On a sunny day the stunning view stretches for miles but on a cloudy day you cant see your hand in front of your face!

Although not clear visibility, we didnt have any rain and a couple of hours break in the weather allowed us enough time to get some fun shots. Starting out from the stunning Topas Ecolodge in Thanh Kim, Sapa, we made our way down to Ban Ho Village at the bottom of the valley. More coming soon…

Hong & The Anh: Hanoi 1000 years

doctor447 — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 07:07:46 +0000

Aidan: Hong is the cousin of a good friend of ours, Mr. Vinh from highly recommended travel agency, Handspan Tours. When she got in touch with us for a pre wedding shoot we knew as she was part of his family it was going to be fun!

As Hanoi is approching it’s 1000 year celebrations, much of the city is in a state of repair and many of the sites we wanted to visit were unapproachable. But not to worry, Hong and The Anh were up for anything and we made our way from Hoan Kiem Lake to Bai Da by the Red River, Long Bien Bridge, The Old Citadel and finished the photo shoot at sunset by West Lake.

The day had brought up quite a thirst and Hong announced she wanted to go for a Bia Hoi (large drinking establishment frequented predominantly by men). Undeterred, in full wedding gown, she gracefully made her way through the spitting and profanity and knocked back a couple of cold ones to recharge from the long day!

What a great couple. It is their An Hoi this weekend and their wedding is coming up very soon. We wish them all the very best!

Bi & Ygal : Hue engagement

doctor447 — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:44:57 +0000

Julian: Bi and Ygal are manga comic librarians in Belgium. But when night falls, they fight crime on the mean streets of Brussles…. OK, that second part isn’t true, but the first is. I didn’t know such a cool job existed – and Bi and Ygal are definitely cool. They wanted something a little different for their wedding engagement shoot, and we went back and forth on a list of locations until we agreed on Hue. This was great for us, since we’d never shot an engagement session there before, and it’s always exciting to head to a new town, scout locations, and make some magic.

Image by Julian

I’d been to Hue several times before. It’s a really wonderful, mystical place. It makes you feel nostalgic for the pace of life that used to be more common in Vietnam’s cities. It is changing, much like the rest of the country, but at a slower pace. People there seem don’t seem to be in as much of a rush to trade in bicycles for motorbikes, motorbikes for cars, telephones for iPhones, or even ao dai for jeans. Hue is aso home to the old Imperial City, and the tombs of emperors who used to rule these parts. There’s an endless supply of traditional design and architecture to frame images, and we would absolutely love to come back again to shoot. I feel Aidan and I could easily have done a two or three-day shoot there with Bi and Ygal, and never run out of fresh ideas. That had something to do with the amazing location, but more to do with them. They have so much fun together, and it shows.

Image by Julian

Image by Aidan

Image by Julian

Image by Aidan

Image by Julian

Judy and Gavin: Engagement at Dai Nam Park

doctor447 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:49:51 +0000

It was a real privilege and pleasure to photograph Judy and Gavin as they are established wedding photographers themselves in Los Angeles and Orange County. Judy’s family are from Binh Duong province, an hour North of Saigon and we took the day out at the near by Dai Nam Park.

Despite the blistering heat, they kept laughing and playing all day and were even good enough to process the images afterwards!

You can see more of their work at: www.gavinphotography.com and www.judytran.com

Duong Thuy Linh & Andy Nguyen Viet Thang : Hanoi Dam Hoi

doctor447 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:57:20 +0000

Julian: I had a wonderful day last week photographing the dam hoi (it’s the traditional Vietnamese wedding planning ceremony) from the perspective of the bride-to-be: Thuy Linh. They had hired another photographer to follow the groom, so I was able to spend all my time following Thuy Linh around as she prepared for the ceremony in the morning, donning a simple-yet-stunning red ao dai. I mean that dress was just radiating red, I don’t think I’ve seen anything more vibrant, and having that color to work with for pictures was really fun. Especially as the sun came out of the Hanoi winter gloom and colors began popping out all over. Beautiful.

We’ve got their big wedding reception coming up this weekend, so stay tuned….

I only noticed after that the above images made a lovely diptych. On the right is Thuy Linh, and on the left is her 91 year-old grandmother.

Donna & Steve : Khao Lak wedding

doctor447 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:36:29 +0000

Julian: Last week I flew to Thailand to photograph Donna and Steve’s wedding in Khao Lak, a gorgeous beach area near Phuket that was flattened by the tsunami five years ago. I spent three weeks covering the tsunami aftermath there five years ago, and it was a bit emotional getting back there. It’s great to see that Khao Lak has recovered so well, and appears to be thriving.

Donna and Steve live in London, and decided on a small destination wedding in Thailand for various reasons, though I’m pretty sure that the weather this time of year in London was probably the deciding factor. The setting at the Sarojin resort could not have been better – lush yet understated. We had some spare time in the morning to fit in an impromptu engagement session and take advantage of that gorgeous blue ocean and green grounds, and in the afternoon I had lots of time to capture Donna and Steve preparing in their separate side-by-side suites.

And, for the first time in many many months, I was able to shoot a wedding bathed in stunning late afternoon sunshine. I finally know what it would feel like to shoot a wedding in southern California.

One of the advantages of photographing such a small wedding party (9 people in all) is that I got to spend a bit more time than usual getting to know everyone. And getting to know Donna and Steve was a genuine pleasure. They are one of the friendliest, fun couples I have met, let alone photographed. To have been allowed to be part of their intimate wedding was a real privilege, and a definite highlight of my year.

Last week I flew to Thailand to photograph Donna and Steve’s wedding in Khao Lak, a gorgeous beach area near Phuket that was flattened by the tsunami five years ago. I spent three weeks covering the tsunami aftermath there five years ago, and it was a bit emotional getting back there. It’s great to see that Khao Lak has recovered so well, and appears to be thriving.

VWP, another year older….

doctor447 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:06:52 +0000

It is just over a year since we photographed together as VWP, and to celebrate this we have a wedding photography exhibition at Highway4 Restaurant and Bar, 5 Hang Tre, Hanoi. Running from 7th to 28th October we are displaying hundreds of images in collages on their ground floor.

Every single wedding has been a pleasure to be involved in, from China Beach in Danang to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Hoi An, Halong Bay and Luang Prabang; The Metropole and Inter Continental Hotels in Hanoi and the privilege of photographing The Prime Minister’s daughter’s wedding at The Caravelle in Ho Chi Minh City.

Upcoming dates include new venues for us; Khao Lak in Thailand, Siem Reap in Cambodia and the stunning Six Senses Hideaway near Nha Trang, Vietnam. This month we will be at The Park Hyatt in Saigon and The Sheraton in Hanoi.

Vietnamese wedding fashion show

doctor447 — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:11:05 +0000

Weddings are big business in Vietnam. The global economic meltdown hasn’t deterred young couples in Hanoi and Saigon from spending money on lavish affairs. These images are from a wedding fashion show in Hanoi, where industry vendors showed off their latest wares for the 2009 wedding season. And if the designers are to be believed, Vietnamese brides will be walking down the aisle wearing rhinestone-studded bustiers and feathered skirts….