Langkawi, here we come ...

Well, the last few weeks have just flown by, and all of a sudden here we are packing for our destination wedding in Langkawi! As the wind picks up in the UK and the the rain starts to fall sideways, my thoughts turn to luggage. (OK, I lied - my thoughts turn to sun, sand and beautiful beaches, but luggage does come first!)

For some, the headache now may be, "Which clothes to pack?" I am not sure Regan has the problem, given that I have noticed a pile of beachy-looking-clothes in the spare room, steadily increasing in height over the last week or so.

No, for me the clothes will be the last thing I think about - Sunday, probably, as I start to fill my suitcase. The biggest issue I have is trying to work out just how on earth to transport all the photography gear. When we went on a Photographic Safari to Africa a couple of years back, the camera gear alone weighed in at 20Kg. Given that the internal flights allowed us a combined weight (hand luggage & hold luggage) of just 15Kg, it was a miracle we made it there and back without any complications.

As I write this, I am awaiting delivery of a Think Tank Airport International 2.0 carry-on camera bag, which should do the trick. After much research and a long chat with Helen at Snapper Stuff, she agreed to loan me the bag for a real life field test, in return for some "bag in action" shots throughout the trip. I am sure the gear will all fit, it's more a problem of how heavy the bag will be once full. With the wild variation in luggage allowances (read "restrictions") from airport to airport and airline to airline, planning this trip has been a challenge. Whilst Heathrow Airport allows 2 items of hand luggage through security, Malaysia Airlines restricts you to one piece only, and that must not weigh more than 5Kg ! The bag alone weighs more than that ... thankfully, we're travelling in a party of 22 people - "Hi, pleased to meeet you, we're photographing the wedding ... er, can you carry this for me please ?"
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Well, isn't it a small world ? I recently discovered that Debbie, a good friend of mine who runs a wonderful luxury travel / honeymoon company Travel By Design, actually knows Jamie, the General Manager of the Datai. It seems that Jamie is one of the most friendly hotel managers around, so I am sure he'll be able to point out the best spots for some promotional shots of the hotel and surrounding locations, which Debbie hopes to use to promote the venue back here in the UK.
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This will probably be the last post until we get to Langkawi on Tuesday morning, so please keep your fingers crossed that our party of 22 get there safe and sound, and with all our baggage too! Thankfully we're flying Malaysian Airlines from Terminal 3 and not BA from Terminal 5! Can you imagine ... no, actually, let's not even go there ...

Shot of the day
I'd like to try and make sure that every post has a photograph, so whilst the rain hammers the window panes and makes you feel like staying indoors all day long, take a step back and see the art :

It's the little things that matter.

Every now and then, during the quiet periods, I like to make sure I keep my hand (and eyes) in the game. I take all the opportunities I can to assist other photographers at their weddings, either as second gun or just helping out with lighting and attention to details.

Yesterday I helped my good friend David with a wedding at Gosfield Hall in Essex. There wasn't much call for me to actually shoot, as my main remit was lighting and keeping the kids entertained (read 'distracted') whilst David did his stuff.

I do think that sometimes, however, it's the kids who can make or break a wedding - oh, sure, the Wedding wouldn't be happening in the first place without the lucky couple's involvement, but it's often the smaller details that can get forgotten.

Yesterday, we were fortunate (in my opinion) to have quite a few children attending the wedding - for the most part they did what many kids do when they get overexcited, and spent much of the day running around screaming and playing.

The weather was pretty cold and grim, with unpredictable and intermittent rain. However, even during these times, the magic is still possible. I managed to collar a couple of the children and calmed them down enough for a very quick timeout ... and this is what they gave me:





They may have been mad and loud for most of the day, but you wouldn't want to miss having them around. Everybody knows it's the little things that matter ...
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Selamat Datang!

There comes a time in your life when lovely things happen, which make all the hard work and perseverance worthwhile.

Exhibiting at the National Wedding Show was hard work - very hard work. The preparation alone is exhausting, as is the setup and breakdown of your stand. At the end of each day all you want to do is collapse into a hot jacuzzi and then sleep until the next day!

Despite this, however, the exhilaration of meeting prospective couples and sharing ideas and thoughts about upcoming wedding plans can't be beaten ... well, actually it can - by being there on the day itself and being chosen to document and share the wonderful occasion.

In the case of Tijen and Neal, who we met at the show, it's going to be less 'on the day itself' and more 'for the week itself'. Tijen and Neal have chosen to celebrate their wedding on the amazing island of Langkawi, Malaysia and we are thrilled to have been asked to document their week away. We will be staying with a small intimate group of 20 friends and family at The Datai, "Situated on the northwestern tip of the Langkawi Island, The Datai is nestled inside an ancient tropical rainforest, with a secluded white sandy beach facing the calm Andaman Sea."

A few days ago I received a small package in the post, and had no idea what it was. Even after opening the outer wrapping, I was still intrigued:



On opening the box however, a wonderful surprise awaited me!



Still somewhat bemused though, I opened the "Message in a Bottle" to reveal all ..



What a brilliant touch - our Official Wedding Invitation!



Complete with a sprinkle of golden hearts ...

We'll be blogging whilst we're out there, to keep friends and family updated with our amazing week, so make sure you check back each day to see what we're all up to.

We are very excited, as you can imagine, and our clothes shopping and packing plans have already started.

We leave in less than three weeks (31st March), which doesn't give us much time to get beach fit, but I think we can live with that, don't you ?

National Wedding Show - Thank You!

Well, for our first post, i’d like to thank everybody who came to visit us at the National Wedding Show, Olympia at the end of February. What a great show we had. Even more thanks to all of you who booked us for your forthcoming weddings. We do still have some dates left for 2008, so please call for a chat if you are still thinking about it.

We wish you all the very best with your wedding plans, and hope to hear from you soon.

Before I sign off from the first post, i'd also like to thank our gorgeous bride Kate, for helping us out at the show on Saturday and Charlie from Signature Days for your help on Friday. We could not have done it without you!

Kate Looking gorgeous ...

... and the other half of Team W.