La FLora Resort made a glorious setting right at the beautiful golden sandy beach of Bang Niang in Khao Lak. The girls got ready in their sister property Casa de la Flora just along the bay before the ceremony between the pool and the sea. One of the most memorable sunsets I have ever seen was followed by a candlelit dinner on the beach and dancing and partying in the resorts club.

I heard many of her friends saying they wished it had been their big day! And rightly so, it was just the perfect wedding…

Aidan

We took a boat from the resort through the rolling countryside to ‘The Golden Triangle’  before carrying on to Chiang Saen to visit the local market and temple. The afternoon was spent at the resort elephant trekking through their picturesque grounds before ending the day at ‘Sundowners’ bar.

The Four Seasons Tented Camp lived up to their high expectations and the staff were superb. Billy and Viv had a very memorable experience and thank you for inviting me to be part of it!

Aidan

The next day we headed down to Faraway Villa on Lipa Noi Beach; Danny was brought in with a Long Drum Procession which  which wound its way through the villa’s gardens to the beach front. Shortly after Tracey appeared in a spectacular dress and the ceremony was conducted right on the shoreline.

It really was a perfect wedding and thank you to Danny and Tracey for inviting us to be part of their big day.

There was so much emotion throughout the week. Although everyone saw each other everyday, each time they met, they embraced like long lost brothers. There was dancing and singing at every opportunity, and everyone had to get involved! And there was eating, lots of it, i dont know how Sandeep and Tarun managed it! And everyone dressed up for evey occassion but Sandeep looked truly stunning in her colourful wedding gown. An amazing experince that I will treasure for a long time and I thank everyone for making me part of it.

I’m flying to India for the first time in 9 years next week, 13 hours transit in Delhi on route to a wedding in Ontario, Canada…and now I cant wait! There are many images from the week and Ill be doing a full post when I return but for now here is a preview.

Aidan

Fast forward one month, and here I am on the 16th floor of the Peninsula Hotel, overlooking the riverboats ferrying across the way to the Oriental. I have to say, I love these Bangkok riverside hotels.

Ann and Jun held a pair of beautiful traditional Thai wedding ceremonies at the Peninsula. One was indoors, attended by saffron-robed monks blessing the couple. The other was outdoors in a gorgeous little wooden pavilion by the river. Which, for a photographer, was fantastic.

Thanks to Ann and Jun and their families for inviting me to participate in the ceremonies.

They had a holiday coming up in Thailand, I was working in Koh Samui at the time, so the stars aligned and we met in Chewang for an early morning stroll along what is, I have to admit, a pretty tired looking main drag. But we were on the hunt for images that were a little bit different, so backing off the beach and into the rundown parts of town actually worked really well for us.

We had big plans for the afternoon session, which were completely derailed by an epic car ride getting lost in the mountains (roads had been washed out by severe flooding the week before), and then a hike up a waterfall that severely tested my ability to breathe. Both Kelsey and Travis are, shall we say, just a tad fitter than me. I had to stop and catch my breath a few times as they bounded up the sheer slopes.

So, we decided to make up for the lost afternoon by having another late afternoon shoot at a great secluded beach area on the north side of the island the next day. And it couldn’t have worked out better. Plus, we got to hang out for an extra day, which was pretty awesome. Hopefully they’re moving to Phuket this fall, and it would be great to be able to see them from time to time. Maybe Travis can help me with my backhand.

But in the end, it turns out the hotel was just an afterthought, a nice backdrop to the main event. Because in Boom and Chris I found possibly the sweetest, most down-to-earth, friendly and generous couple I’ve worked with yet. And that’s saying a lot. It’s nice to know that they’ll be staying on in Bangkok for the foreseeable future. You can never have too many cool people in the neighbourhood.