Melissa and Donovan called me from Kota Kinabalu to ask whether I would be interested to fly over to be their wedding photographer for their big day in Sabah. Melissa is Kadazan which is an instant draw card for me. I have been the wedding photographer for a number of Sabahan’s in Kuala Lumpur and I have always enjoyed the traditional Sumazau dance which seems to get everyone up onto the dance floor regardless of race or religion. The church service was in Sacred Heart Cathedral. Melissa’s sister sang beautifully in the church and later the following day at the wedding banquet which was held in the Hyatt hotel. The interesting drink in the bamboo cups is the local rice spirit, akin to Japanese Sake I believe.
Points of interest for wedding photographers reading this are that for this wedding I used FujiFilm’s new X-Pro1 camera which was on loan to me, and for the super wide photos I used Sigma’s new 12-24mm. Both performed admirably. The other thing I hope you notice is how far back we stand from the action. Whilst wedding photographers cannot be invisible (which would be ideal!) we do try to be as unobtrusive as possible. A good longer lens like a 70-200 zoom really helps to achieve this.
Sometimes you just need a womans touch. Mindy lends a helping hand to help John pop the cork!
John and Mindy’s wedding was a fusion of both Chinese and Christian traditions. John and his friends did the traditional bargaining and collection of the bride before having a tea ceremony then off to church. The wedding was held in St. John’s Cathedral in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. It’s a nice church with stained glass windows and an airy atmosphere. Afterward the wedding banquet was planned for the Royal Chulan hotel. The Royal Chulan has several areas for wedding dinners, with one of the popular venues the being the glass roofed central court which is what was used this evening. It is a personal favourite location for me due to its openness. It has a certain “feel” I can’t quite articulate. Photos below.
Mindy’s make up session started early in the morning.
Chilli Padi and Wasabi. Gauranteed to get the heart racing.
Mindy and her parents before leaving for the wedding ceremony at St Johns.
Blow the flour. Find the house key. White faces all around.
Mindy looked stunning. Beautiful gown.
Mindy’s pretty bridal bouquet
Traditional Chinese Tea set
Angpow stands at the ready
St Johns Cathedral in the heart of Kuala Lumpur
Flowers and Stained glass. Gotta be a wedding happening in the next hour.
Mindy waits to head down the aisle
Mindy prepares to walk down the aisle
The flower girl was super cute
Sometimes black and white photography works best for church weddings.
John and Mindy exchange rings in St Johns Cathedral
Mindy was not going to leave church without getting that ring on!
It’s over! We are married!
Bubbles are a viable alternative to confetti
Bubbles and a confirmation kiss. We are married.
Classic portraits
Full length portrait
Simply Beautiful
The wedding cake looked pretty fancy
Interesting table ornaments
Small and tastfull wedding guest favours
I don’t normally put up decor shots but I loved the colour of the chair sashes
Overview photo of the central court banquet area in the Royal Chulan Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
John and Mindy’s grand entrance at the Royal Chulan Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
The grooms mum having a great time
Always mix with your wedding guests. It gives great photo opportunities. Yum Seng!!
Mindy’s second entrance in a gorgeous evening gown!
Mindy looked stunning
Speech time.
Attractive setting for the speech
Sometimes you just need a woman’s touch. Mindy lends a helping hand to help John pop the cork!
Just a quick post tonight. Yesterday afternoon we covered a wedding in St Johns Cathedral. Time was very tight due to evening mass flooding in right after the service so before leaving from church to the hotel we squeezed off a quick set of portraits in less than 5 minutes. A wee bit of pressure but photos at the church are always nice to have! No time for lighting to be set up so these are pretty much straight from camera. Fill lighting was sun light bouncing up from off the floor.
Mark and Pam contacted me to be the photographer for their wedding at St John’s Cathedral in central Kuala Lumpur. Pam looked stunning in her wedding saree and as can be seen in the walk in photos, there was a large entourage of children as bridesmaids, flower girls, page boys etc. The photos below are from their portrait style montage album.
Property of Grant Corban Photography Sdn Bhd (666138-V)
