LOVE CHASE: GWEN & BERNARD

I was so excited to hear from Daren of Daren Chong Photography and see his work, and I’m thrilled to get to share it with you today. He sent over these sweet engagement photos of Gwen and Bernard, and in addition to adoring his photography, you know how much I love breeze! I have never posted these many photos before but all of the photos that Daren gave are just so lovely. I just couldn't resist highlighting here!

I love these photos – they just make me smile! It’s just so obvious from these photos how happy and relax Gwen and Bernard are – and isn’t that exactly what your engagement pics should show?

A charming engagement shoot from the talented Daren Chong...


THE COUPLE
Gwen and Bernard

The Inspiration
Gwen and Bernard have signed up a bridal package in one of the bridal house in early 2010, felt disappointed with the gowns condition and the photography skills offered. But all they want is just a simply easy, relaxing shoot with cool photographer and Gwen's dream wedding dress. Gwen is a sister of a friend of mine in Taylors College, Graece. They decided to have another set of bridal portrait session with Daren not long after the first one with the bridal house.

The Bride wore
Fluff me up! That's the word to describe Gwen's dream dress! She loves the idea of what Kate Hudson wore in Bride Wars. Thin straps and pretty bow at the front side. But I would say it's total different design in the end because it is supposed to be created to suit Gwen and not just any other bride! She chose black for the bow. The front top is a sweetheart strapless embellished with Swarovski crystals and tiny little pearls. The back of the top is layered with a layer of tulle and decorated with lace applique. The skirt is fully fluffed up and pleated with thousands of pleats and layers and layers of tulle to create the translucent effect.

The Groom wore
Bernard wore a black tuxedo for the day, by Bespoke.

The Photographer
I met Daren for the first time in a photographer's gathering in December 2009. And not long after that, Gwen told me that he is engaging Daren for her bridal portrait. The first thing I did was, I quickly googled and found darenchong.com. I viewed most of his posts and fell in love with his work instantly. His work are generally vibrant and if you look at his photos, you can feel that the couples are not faking their smile of their pose. The happiness is just "In Your Face"!

Thanks so much to A Bryan Photo for sharing Gwen and Bernard’s love shoot and with us! 

Happy Saturday!

xoxo

I ♥ Green, 2011...

Here we are, the first Wednesday of 2011.. Something strikes me today. It's the green color. I have been always wanted to convince my bride to consider green as they look pretty cool and glamorous, depending on which green you choose. So I decided to have this crazy idea of giving a flat rate for my bride who is going to try on the Greens this year!

The Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2011 features commentary from fashion insiders and leading retailers discussing the geographic locations currently influencing fashion and design. Industry gurus highlighted in the report include: Cate Adair, costume designer for "Desperate Housewives"; India Hicks, creative partner at Crabtree & Evelyn; Simone Legno, chief creative officer at Tokidoki; Lanie List, chief merchandising officer at Iconix Brand Group, Inc.; Collier Strong, celebrity make-up artist; and Essie Weingarten, founder of Essie Cosmetics, Ltd. Contributors from Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Macy's also weigh in.

Citing exotic destinations like Africa, India, Peru and Turkey as inspiration for spring 2011, designers continue to satisfy consumers' need to escape everyday challenges with intriguing color combinations that transport them to foreign lands.

Spicy, gregarious and persuasive describe Coral Rose, a sophisticated orange that, much like Beeswax, a warm, honeyed yellow, conjures up feelings of faraway lands and locales. Pair either of these piquant hues with a cool, refreshing color-wheel opposite like Regatta for a vibrant color combination that will add zest to any wardrobe. Romantic, fanciful Lavender implies sensuality with its subtle hint of red undertone. Combine it with Beeswax or Coral Rose for a unique counterpoint.

Trans-seasonal neutrals ground this season's palette and provide a stable backdrop for all of the other colors. The so-called "nude hues" are represented in the range of ethereal Silver Peony to dramatically deep Russet. Another dependable background color, Silver Cloud, is the quintessential neutral that consumers can rely on to coordinate with everything in their closet.

Alluring Blue Curacao evokes thoughts of tropical destinations and pays homage to the 2010 Color of the Year, Turquoise. Practical consumers can continue to incorporate enticing Caribbean blues into spring by pairing Blue Curacao with warm, complementary colors like Honeysuckle or Coral Rose. Peapod, a fresh yellow-green, brings an organic element to the palette and is reminiscent of the green shoots that signify change and new beginnings traditionally found in spring. Green!!!

Flirtatious Honeysuckle is a feel-good hue that brings a festive sense of playfulness to this season's palette. This vibrant pinkish-red for both apparel and cosmetics makes consumers feel alive, and is a perfect post-winter pick-me-up. I was thinking, pair with green... Nice ~ :)

In the middle of the color spectrum, green matches well with both rainbow extremes: rich reds, burgundies, and pinks as well as lilacs, violets, and royal purple hues. Choosing just the right green shade for a wedding is more than just picking a pretty color, however. First, the exact shade of green should coordinate with the season. Light, airy hues such as pastel green or mint are perfect for spring weddings, while summer celebrations are best paired with brighter, bold shades or green patterns. Fall weddings can easily be accented with sage or darker green hues, while winter weddings are perfect for jewel tones such as a luxurious emerald. As for the Malaysian brides, I would suggest the green that complement their skin color.

The green you choose should also be coordinated with the theme of the wedding and its location. Informal, casual ceremonies are better suited to light, playful shades, while more formal events demand more somber colors. The location's decorations - wall color, carpet patterns, artwork, etc. - can also affect which shade may be best for an integrated, coordinated look.

 Peapod

 Coral Rose

 Honeysuckle

 Lavender

 Regatta

Russet

 Silver Cloud

 Silver Peony

 Beeswax

 Blue Curacao

Besides the usual green & ivory, green & brown, green & pink, green & yellow, green & blue, I do think the fresh lavender & olive green is quite a cool combination. What  say you? :)

xoxo

A Classic Yet Contemporary Red Wedding

A red wedding dress is a perfect place to start when perusing all the colorful choices available for today’s fashionable bride. After all, it’s a powerful color for conveying the intense passion a couple experiences on their special day. Every little detail counts when planning the color and theme. There’s even wedding jewelry and hair accessories that can be perfectly matched to the bride’s wedding dress as well as the wedding party’s chosen outfitting. Freedom of expression has never been as respected as it is today.


I would like to wrap up this year with a real wedding feature by a photographer whose work I have been secretly longing to feature for a while now. His name is Mun Keat, and today I'm prettying up this here page with one of Mun Keat's most recent weddings - that of Chor Hao and Evonne on the 10th of October 2010.

The Red Wedding Dress 
From the left: Bride's mother, groom's mother, the bride.

The couple with bride's parents

The bride and the bridesmaids

The flower girls are all dressed up with tulle skirt and red sash!




THE COUPLE
Evonne and Chor Hao

The Inspiration
RED is the call of that day! Groom and groomsmen were dresses in red ties while the bridesmaids were dressed in fuchsia and mocha brown. Bride? She's all well dressed in her red wedding dress. Well, the groom has two words in the dress while I was designing the dress. Red & Less embellishment. And here it is the dress of their Big Day on the 10th of Oct. For the evening reception, the reception was decorated with the combination color of mocha brown and green linens, gorgeous centerpieces in lovely silver vase and the isle was  surrounded with tons of candles and lanterns.  The green apples were the gift for the night. Their evening was traditional, intimate, elegant and romantic. Everything I love in a wedding!


The Bride wore
Red duchess satin is the main attention in this design and silver beads finished the top as a peek a boo effect! It is a pleated bodice with an A line bottom that flares out from the mid hip. A red birdcage veil is used to match the wedding dress. Evonne had a white french lace cheongsam during the tea ceremony session followed by a ivory halter evening dress embellished with red ruby crystals and semi precious stones with a long sash down from the neck.

The Groom wore
Chor Hao wore a black tuxedo for the day, by Bespoke. 


The Photographer
I have admired this photographer's work for a number of reasons ~ it's contemporary yet sensual styling, his ability to attract the most amazing couples to work with and his all round niceness ~ yes, he really is that lovely! Did I just said Lovely? I'm usually a fan of the soft focus, vintage photography, all nude palettes and tulle like fabrics, if you read lots of wedding blogs you know the ones I mean. However, I really like Mun Keat's use of colour, and the clean, sharp images. err.. I think they're sharp, No? :P Mun Keat's work is just Sublime, Sensual, Stunning!
x0x0...

A Wedding Photographer's Destination Wedding!

Happy Holiday! Last September 29th, Zach Chin from ZA Gallery got himself married. And Jon Low of Jon Low Studios took the pictures. I look so forward to the future for these two. They are a perfect match, and I know that they will remain not only lovers, but friends, for all of their life. They just seem to have that certain something about them, and I know that theirs will truly be - a match made in heaven. 

I knew Zach through a client of mine and also a photography workshop back in 2008. I love his work, they are just truly genuine. He is a soft spoken, sentimental and creative photographer that reflects his work tremendously. And, as I always say to him, Work, Patience, Love, Self-sacrifice are his only vocabulary in life! It was unfortunate I couldn’t witness your wedding but am pretty sure it was wonderful!

Congratulation, I love you guys!

Have you ever seen a more radiant bride? How about Zach, is he looking good or what? I feel like I’m looking at Bride Magazine when I see this picture perfect couple.

Amelyn + Zach // highlights from Edmund Lee on Vimeo.

THE COUPLE
Amelyn Yong and Zach Chin

In the BeginningZach and Amelyn known each other during their secondary years back in Ipoh and then lost contact once after completion of school. They met again in 2000 in Petaling Jaya night market and were then in touch with one another but have yet start a relationship. After many hurdles and years, they then decided to be together after the Chinese New Year in 2009 and ever since they haven't looked back!

The Inspiration
Zach and Amelyn both love the romantic and exotic wedding, they know Bali is the ideal place to celebrate their dream wedding with their closest family and friends. The couple and their guests stayed at the beautiful Villa Bulan Putih, where they held the civil service and reception. The villa was situated near Uluwatu and the privacy of the place is just splendid for them to spent priceless time with their family and close friends. Zach and Amelyn hired a local wedding planner company by the name Bali VIP which is run by Veronika. Their efficient service

The Bride wore
Amelyn is one of the coolest bride I have ever met! She is carefree, adventurous, and gorgeous in every way! She chose a V neckline, ivory ruffled dress and fabulous pheasant birdcage veil on her wedding day and followed by a short whimsy white dress for the post wedding photo shoot. Both dress were a big fairytale style, but they still showed off her figure.

The Groom wore
Zach wore a white shirt paired with comfortable white pants, both from Island.

The Photographer
The wedding was covered by Jon Low, one of their close peer, and also a good friend of Zach.

The Videographer
I have to say Edmund Lee, from Keng's Cinematography did a brilliant job in this wedding! He's the man!

xoxo

Inspire Ink: Yellow Makes Me Happy!

Yellow. Gold, Latte, Ivory

I'm loving this palette of yellows blended with latte and ivory. It's rustic, warm and full of whimsy! Some of the ideas that I really like are the wooden table numbers, those fun boutonnieres and that adorable flower girl dress with matching sash! And oh, who does not love the look of those bundt cakes! Those look simply divine!

EAT PRAY LOVE

Sometimes you watch a movie and walk away feeling nothing........and sometimes you watch a movie and walk away feeling more than you ever wanted to.

I don't often find movies that reach deep into my soul and shake it to very core, that squeeze my heart and make me think and rethink everything I've been doing and leave me wondering if I'm the woman I am supposed to be.


Eat, Pray, Love!

Simple words, not exactly the kind of title that catches your attention from the get go, but like so many things in life and through so many of my own experiences, I keep learning that in truth, it's the simple things that matter the most, it's the simple things that will usually be the most pivotal in your life.

The movie follows the book written by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know that many like me, will read a really good book and when the movie version hits the screen, we're left with a bad taste in our mouth, they somehow seem to always leave out one of the biggest plot points or add in others that didn't exist, so I'm glad that I didn't read the book beforehand.

I went into this without any expectations, thoughts, wishes or preconceived notions of what the characters should look like and how they should act.


La dolcezza di non fare niente! - The Sweetness of doing Nothing

A sweet Italian expression which in a way perfectly describes me, but that just brought me to the one scene in the movie where they're all sitting in Italy having dinner and coming up with words to describe each major city...New York~achieve. Los Angeles~succeed. Stockholm~conform. Rome~SEX. In their opinion every city has a word. But then Liz gets confronted with the question "What is YOUR word?" and she can't really answer.

As the movie progresses Liz gets hit with revelation after revelation, it's like knowing that everything you've thought was true, is not. You think things work one way, but they don't.

One of the most poignant moments for me was when they were eating Pizza and her friend Sofie didn't want to because she thought she had been putting on weight, to which Liz replied:

I'm tired of saying no and waking up every morning and recalling every single thing I ate the day before, counting every calorie so I know exactly how much self loathing to take into the shower. I've no interest in being obese but I'm just done with the guilt.

It's hard for me to even type that without getting teary eyed because that little dialogue described me to a tee. THAT which she says she's tired of doing, is what I've been doing for many many years, until about a month ago when I finally said NO MORE. I stopped obsessing with the scale, I stopped feeling guilty every time I took a bite and guess what???? I am eating whatever I feel like eating, whenever I feel like eating it and I haven't put on any weight because I'm happy and stress free.

Actions speak so much louder than words. In ending this post, I want to encourage you to watch the movie, even if you've read the book, if nothing else, the powerful performance by Julia Roberts is enough to leave you gobsmacked.

I also leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the movie, powerful, touching, thought provoking and liberating.


If you are prepared most of all to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, the truth will not be withheld from you.

It's better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly.

To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life.

As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff is bad for you.

Have a good week ahead!

Ray LaMontagne

His music are so intricate and infectious...

You Are The Best Thing


Baby
It's been a long day, baby
Things ain't been going my way
And now i need you here
To clear my mind all the time

And baby
The way you move me, it's crazy
It's like you see right through me
And make it easier
Believe me, you don't even have to try

[chorus]
Oh, because
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, baby)
You are the best thing
(you're the best thing, oooh)
Ever happened to me

Baby
We've come a long way
And baby
You know i hope and i pray
That you believe me
When i say this love will never fade away

[chorus]

Both of us had no love before
(to come on promising like a spring to walk on out the door)?
Our words are strong and our hearts are kind
Let me tell you just exactly what's on my mind

[chorus x2]


Hold You In My Arms


When you came to me with your bad dreams and your fears
It was easy to see that you'd been crying
Seems like everywhere you turn catastrophe it reigns
But who really profits from the dying
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you in my arms forever

When you kissed my lips with my mouth so full of questions
It's my worried mind that you quiet
Place your hands on my face
Close my eyes and say
Love is a poor man's food
Don't prophesize
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever

So now we see how it is
This fist begets the spear
Weapons of war
Symptoms of madness
Don't let your eyes refuse to see
Don't let your ears refuse to hear
Or you ain't never going to shake this sense of sadness
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold forever

HAPPY FRIDAY!

xoxo