Sri Lanka

Mel & Rabin: A Sri Lanka Wedding

January 29, 2013

With a destination meeting, and an international courtship, it was only fitting that Mel & Rabin would choose an exotic location for their wedding. They met at the Monaco Grand Prix when Mel had gone to meet some mutual friends, and Rabin turned up early to join them. A few drinks later and they had a head start on getting to know each other. This soon blossomed into romance, and both growing up in Singapore meant the couple already had a lot in common.

Planning a wedding from afar wasn’t an easy task as Mel will attest….the culture in Sri Lanka is very different to the UK, and things tend to happen rather last minute….but I think you’ll agree it was all worthwhile in the end. The wedding took place at the Lighthouse Hotel on the South West Coast of Sri Lanka in the ancient Dutch outpost of Galle.The Jetwing Lighthouse Hotel hugs the coastline and stands atop a rugged stretch of rocks. It was designed by the famous Dutch architect Geoffrey Bawa, and is minimal, spacious, and grand in a modern way.

You can actually marry legally in Sri Lanka if you have a British passport, and you only need to be there for 4 days prior to your wedding. Personally I adore outdoor ceremonies (I had one myself last year), and the setting by the beach under a beautiful canopy of leaves and tropical flowers was an absolutely picture-perfect setting for Mel & Rabin to say their vows.

Mel had her heart set on an elephant and I absolutely loved seeing her perched upon the top in her dress! Add into the mix some Kandyan dancers and drummers, fresh coconuts for refreshment and a absolute feast of a banquet (laced with chillis! Chilli hiding in everything….)….and then in the evening some traditional Singaporean brandy toasts…..fireworks and a ton of dancefloor action, and you have one BIG party. The merriment was assisted by the Marryokes (‘marry-o-key’) team from Ireland who make wedding day pop videos with a lot of audience participation…. this was just hilarious to watch and a lot of fun for the guests. Almost as much fun as watching steam come from American Billy’s ears as ate his way through a mountain of food…. and tried to temper the heat by adding some of that ‘cooling’ coconut chutney….which turned out to be laced with extra chilli….

Another memorable moment was turning round in the midst of shooting the couple’s portraits on the beach and seeing my colleague Aneta out at sea with water up to her knees, but our beloved cameras held safe and dry…that tide sure did come in fast. Thanks for going that extra mile & keeping the kit dry whilst you got wet!

Palm trees, coconuts, fun guests, dancers, sunshine, great speeches, a meaningful ceremony……chatter, laughter, a feast of food, music and dancing, good friends and family….the recipe for a fine wedding.

To Mel & Rabin, congratulations & may you have a lifetime of happiness together….. xxx

Bride’s Dress: Jenny Packham, Bride’s Shoes; Jimmy Choo; Venue: The Lighthouse Hotel Galle; Wedding Planning: Janice at Kairos Events; Wedding Logistics & Travel: Dipan at The Barefoot Traveller; Videographer/Wedding Film – Marryokes;

Sri Lanka Post Wedding Shoot

January 22, 2013

A couple of days after Mel & Rabin’s wedding, we jumped in a tuk tuk, and headed out to a few different locations for some more portraits…… a post wedding shoot is a great chance for some intimate beautiful portraits of you together without the time constraints of a wedding day. When you have travelled tens of thousands of miles for a wedding, it makes sense to capture some images of you outside the wedding venue…..and that’s exactly what we did……

Come back to see the main event on my blog later this week….

January 21, 2013

I was completely blown away by Sri Lanka when I visited last month…well I just didn’t expect it to be so unspolit….well, so very lovely really…… it was like India without the poverty and stress. An easier, cleaner, more chilled out version of India.

I had chance to shoot a little personal work whilst I was there and I will let these set the scene for the wedding coming up tomorrow….. this is the West Coast of Sri Lanka, Galle and the surrounding beaches. I am amazed at how quiet it is and I really think they deserve more visitors, post tsunami, although not too many as that’s part of it’s appeal. I stayed at a wonderful place, Leijay Resort, which deserves a post of it’s own, and had a rather unexpectedly sweet time. There were chillis in everything, I travelled everywhere by tuk tuk and spent the best part of 6 days being very ex-pat, drinking tea on the veranda and talking non stop with my fellow photographer Aneta Mak who came along to assist. I saw a snake charmer, a dancing monkey (I couldn’t bring myself to be photographed with it, I’m way too much of an animal lover….but snakes…well snakes are snakes aren’t they?! I like to think they enjoy the music and are kind of dancing or something…..but then I do have an overactive imagination…..) and sea turtles. Oh, the sweet sea turtles….more on those later.

Let’s just say I immediately looked up buying property in Sri Lanka on the web on my return: always the sign of a good trip isn’t it?! Sri Lanka is one of the few places where you can, subject to certain conditions, actually own property as a foreigner. And it is incredibly affordable by Western standards. But I have my hands full with living in 2 countries at once, let alone adding a third into the mix so this is one idea I will be keeping firmly locked up in the fantasy box!