A Bulgarian/Punjabi wedding dinner at the Perhentian Island Resort

The jetty at the Perhentian Island Resort

Recently I travelled up to Perhentian island off the east coast of Malaysia to cover a Bulgarian/Punjabi wedding. It was a pretty intense  5-6 hour trip as I ran from one wedding in KL to the airport for my flight, land travel then boat to get to the venue which was the Perhentian Island Resort. Within minutes of arrival I was able to set up my gear and get shooting the walk in for the sumptuous barbecue wedding dinner. There were a number of interesting Bulgarian traditions including the wedding bread dance, which features a loaf made by the mothers bride which is later fed to both the bride and groom. They also break the loaf over their heads which you will also see below.

It was very dark, yet one of the things you will notice is that the photos are not. One of the things I do is bring remote controlled lighting to all shoots as it makes a massive difference. One of the photographers jobs is to evaluate, modify and control the lighting of the images. There was almost no available light during the dinner, yet in the background of some of these photos you will be able to see my remote radio controlled strobes triggering away. With more wedding venues using the “new” green and purple LED lights to add to the mood I think more photographers will eventually gravitate to this system. Believe me, no one wants to look like Barnie the dinosaur. Using this system protects you.

Portraits the following day were on a private beach. Only including a small sampling but it was a very nice shoot.

Regarding cameras, I am becoming more and more impressed with Fujifilms X-T1 camera system. I have never owned a camera that captures what I see as well as this camera does, and in doing so I now spend a lot less time editing than I do with my Nikons and Canons.

bulgarian wedding traditional bread dance malaysia

In Bulgarian weddings the brides mother traditionally makes a special loaf of bread

bulgarian wedding traditional bread dance malaysia

Two of the ladies dance with the special wedding bread

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Please take note of the remote controlled strobes in the background. I am one of the few wedding photographers who use these in Malaysia.

bulgarian wedding bread dance malaysia

Time to share a bite. Mum feeds the bride and groom

beautiful wedding cake perhentian island resort malaysia

The beautiful wedding cake

bulgarian wedding traditional bread dance malaysia

Breaking the bread by the bride and groom is another Bulgarian tradition

wedding barbecue perhentian island resort malaysia

Sumptuous wedding barbecue

bulgarian punjabi wedding barbecue banquet dinner at perhentian island resort malaysia

Party on

bulgarian wedding dance perhentian island resort malaysia

Traditional Bulgarian dancing

punjabi bhangra dance at wedding perhentian island resort malaysia

Everyone enjoyed the Bhangra

punjabi bhangra dance at wedding perhentian island resort malaysia

The dancing went on all night

cutting the wedding cake perhentian island resort malaysia

Time to cut the wedding cake

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The beautiful bride

beach wedding portraits in perhentian island resort malaysia

Portraits on the beach

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After the portraits were done there was one sure fire way to cool off!

bulgarian bride wedding portraits on perhentian island malaysiacooling off with watermelon on a hot day at the perhentian island resort malaysia

Cooling off with watermelon on a hot day at the Perhentian Island Resort

perhentian island resort malaysia

Later in the evening I took this 30 second exposure of the Perhentian Island Resort

The jetty at the Perhentian Island Resort

The jetty at the Perhentian Island Resort

Property of Grant Corban Photography Sdn Bhd (666138-V)