[personal] New Year, New Beginnings...

Dear 2013,

...What can I say?
It's been a big year for my boyfriend Nek and I. We both started our businesses (officially of course, not counting the months prior which involved lots of planning in preparation) in February and it's been a roller coaster of experiences to say the least. We've had ups and downs and round and rounds haha! I'm proud to say that we've both been successful in our ventures, hopes and dreams and in this year we have grown together more than our first two years together ;) Love you, babe!

I'm so grateful to all the lovely clients and friends I've made and had the chance to photograph and I can't wait for what 2014 has to offer ;)

Through this journey so far I've met some amazing industry colleagues and made great friendships with wedding industry professionals as well as other photographers and I'm so happy to be lucky enough to be doing something I love so much. Now that I've started I can't imagine doing anything else! I love the freedom of working for myself, meeting and getting to know these amazing women and men I get to call clients and I love photographing them and creating and capturing those great memories during our photography sessions!




It's been a big year and I want to improve on myself next year in business and in my personal life. I find that I've been keeping myself too occupied with work and I want to keep in touch with my family more often... :)


I hear that you have more of a chance of your dreams coming true if you just let them be known to others.. who knows who might be able to help you accomplish them one day...

So, here goes...  :)
    
      Goals for 2014
  • Get PUBLISHED
  • A Destination Wedding (!!!) 
  • Get fit & live a healthier lifestyle
  • Be a better girlfriend, daughter, sister and aunt!!

 *Photos off Pinterest and my instagram :)

To end this little story I wanted to let you know about what I want for 2014...
I want to let this blog be more personal, more of a journal of what I'm doing, my thoughts, travels and ideas. Who knows what the future holds and I'd be happy having a place to document my journey in business and in life, sharing what I'm doing with family and friends might be the key to no more Christmas homesickness in 2014 haha!




Happy Tuesday, Happy LAST DAY OF 2013 and HAPPY NEW YEAR for tonight everyone! xx



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[personal] Merry Christmas... (Thai Style)

It's a time when I hate to say it... but I get homesick. I miss my family, being all the way over here in Thailand.

I send presents

and we put up a tree

but somehow it's just not the same, you know? (Well, clearly with a tree made out of books! I'm ashamed to say that this year this December has been too busy [which is great in a way, don't get me wrong] for us to put up our real tree... yep, I guess there's a first for everything!)

Nek and I have started a Christmas Day tradition of our own in a way, and we've spent the past few Christmases as a beach day :) It's fun and we're still pinching ourselves that this is the year we are lucky enough to run our own businesses and give ourselves a day off

I love it. 

Here's some of the 2013 Christmas Day fun we got up to.....



Now, I'm off to photograph one of my last & beautiful 2013 couples for the sunset this afternoon!

Happy Friday! xx




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[honeymoon] Jess and Steven, Sareeraya, Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui

Jessica and Steven married in Hong Kong in style with 300+ guests... and I know this because I've seen some of their gorgeous wedding photos! They chose Samui as their honeymoon destination, and it turned out to be the perfect place to wind down and relax. We were up early morning for their gorgeous sunrise photography session on Chaweng beach, where the sun rises just right... over the water and kissing everything it touches softly as it goes. We laughed, and had some great fun during the session as we had already met at Mini Bar the days they arrived. 

We met in the early hours of the morning at Sareeraya and started by taking a walk down the beach together...


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I love that Jess brought some of the props from their wedding with her! What a cute touch to add the their photographs!

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I love that Jess's 'J' has a veil! How cute!!

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How beautiful is Jess?? Seriously, this lady is stunning :)

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Chaweng Beach in the morning is beautiful, and nice and quiet, perfect for a walk a long the beach. 

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Haha, Jess later told me Steven isn't an early riser! Well neither am I haha, I think he did great! We all had fun anyway, that was the goal of the morning :)

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It's when moments like in these next two photos happen that I just stand back and sigh while it happens... I love capturing my couples' love for one another!

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Jess made this prop for her wedding herself! How creative is that?!

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And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the sun did this....

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I love, love love this photo...

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Then we headed back to Sareeraya to get some photographs there :)

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I love getting detail shots like this... I love how they help tell the story of whats going on during the shoot and bring it all together nicely :)

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For the next two photos, I'm sort of lost for words... they are just too gorgeous! I didn't have to say anything either! Jess and Steven made these happen all by themselves! :)

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I'm going to end on this photo because I love it so much and I think it's a great representation of Jess and Steven laughing and loving each other. I love capturing fun moments like this with my clients :D

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Hope you're all having a lovely Friday!!! xxx


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[proposal] Brina and Rafael, Hansar Samui, Bophut, Koh Samui

When Natalie told me she was working on a wedding proposal for a lucky lady I could hardly contain my excitement... Now contrary to most clients, I didn't get to have any initial prior contact with Rafael, or Brina as they were both in Spain and Rafael had a hard time multitasking between planning the proposal in Samui and keeping it a surprise from Brina!

On the evening of the big surprise Natalie, Ad and I all huddled up at the Hansar bar... and I must admit the adrenaline made me feel like I was a spy... Especially when Brina and Rafael arrived early and got a drink at the bar right opposite us before they went to sit down at dinner! haha ;)

I got some photographs of the beautiful setup Natalie and Rafael had prepared... gorgeous roses and orchids everywhere, candles on the table and in the sand, torches to light the way... What girl would not squeal at the sweetness of it... :)


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I loved these candles in the sand... such a simple touch but it made their 'dinner' all the more special :)

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How beautiful is the setup... Brina told me after the proposal that the first thing she said to Rafael was "this would be a nice spot to propose"... little did she know those were his exact plans!!
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The holes in the sand for the candles were in heart shapes! <3 <3 <3

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GAH... just look at that! Such a gorgeous setting!

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At seven, Rafael took Brina to sit down to 'dinner', and they enjoyed a lovely first course of soup... and once their plates were cleared -boof- this waterfall of light started going off! At first Brina was unsure what or who it was for and turned to look left and right to see if someone was getting proposed to or if it was just a really special hotel firework display :)

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Annnd I think this was about the moment when Rafael started telling her what he'd had planned for weeks...

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Clearly Brina was just as ecstatic as he was!


Ohh, and I forgot to mention one tiny detail. When the waterfall of lights ran out, the words "Marry Me?" in fireworks lit up behind Rafael...

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How adorable is that?!

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Then they got to let off a lantern for good luck... Brina is one happy, glowing woman :)

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Brina and Rafael, I wish you all the luck for your wonderful future together xxx



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[wedding] Elizabeth & Jim, Ama Lur, Thong Krut, Koh Samui

Getting married in Thailand was the obvious choice for Elizabeth & Jim, they used to live here in mainland Thailand between Hua Hin & Pattaya 7 years ago. They chose to have a beautiful intimate ceremony with their close family at Ama Lur in the small fisherman's village of Thong Krut in the South of the island. Elizabeth & Jim being Scottish blended their special day between the Thai and Scottish cultures and traditions perfectly. I loved everything about being a part of their day and feel so lucky to have been a part of it!

Elizabeth & Jim,THANK YOU so much for letting me capture and share these special moments with you!

They chose to have their intimate celebration at Ama Lur a stunning villa in Thong Krut a small and quaint fishermans village on the South of the island.

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Elizabeth had her dress tailor made out of Thai silk as she loves everything Thai. The simple elegant design suited her and the wedding day perfectly.. I loved it!

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I think saying that Ama Lur is a beautiful villa is a total understatement... I mean check out these amazing views and gardens!

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Lovely hair and makeup for Elisabeth and her bridesmaids by the very talented Dany of Samuihair.

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Natalie and her team did an amazing job of setting up and decorating the villa surrounds... Elizabeth's choice of yellow and white suited their beach ceremony perfectly... look how great these colours go together!

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The ladies and I had a few moments of calm before walking down the aisle... :)

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Elizabeth and Jim wanted to tie in their Scottish traditions with the Thai ones, so all the boys wore their kilts!
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What a gorgeous setting to be married in! On a stunning -almost private- beach while the sun begins to set :)

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Eliszabeth was so happy she was cracking up and having giggle fits the whole way through their ceremony :)

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After the ceremony lots of Champagne toasts were had ;)

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Elizabeth gave each of her bridesmaids a pair of barefoot sandals as a present!

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While the men all gathered around to check out Jim's shiny new ring ;)

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We just had enough time for some great sunset photos with the bridal party... I love this one, Becca's laugh is gorgeous!

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I love these sunset photos ;) We had this gorgeous beach all to ourselves too!

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I love how happy these two make each other... you can tell it's meant to be :)

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Natalie did an amazing job of getting these stunning details to come together for the dinner reception.. these Jasmine garlands hanging off the chairs smelt amazing! And how cute is the mini fisherman's boat centerpiece?!

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How beautiful is this lighting setup and design... Samui Dream Lights organised it :)

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Elizabeth had Thai musicians playing classical Thai music all through their ceremony until just before dinner,  it created a lovely atmosphere.


These two were so cute together... the romance never stopped!


I love this shot of all the women's shoes... they all kicked off their heels after the ceremony and walked and danced the night away barefoot... my kind of women!

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Elizabeth had handmade chocolates left on everyone's pillows with a thank you note written in Thai... such a sweet little detail to add to a wedding in Thailand!

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Jim LOVES fireworks... seriously. He told me he has space in his garage to keep his spare firework collection.... and during the meet and greet once he found out that their firework display was going to last approximately 2 minutes, he decided he wanted more and got this display instead :)

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They also wanted to have a lantern release for all of their guests...  to the Thai people releasing these lanterns is a symbol of good fortune.

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Elizabeth and Jim's first dance as husband and wife was so romantic... how beautiful is this moment!

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I'll end with these two... Elizabeth's daughter, Jess and her man, Doug... happy as ever and drawing hearts together. Here's to a love like this! xxx

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If you'd like to see more of Elizabeth and Jim's beautiful day feel free to click here or watch below;







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