[destination love story] Miren & James, Sha Ha Beach, Sai Kung, Hong Kong

Ahhhhh..... THIS session has been a long time coming (in sharing it on my blog that is!)... It just makes me so happy every time I look at these pictures because THESE TWO.. they are great friends of Nek and I.

Let me pull back a bit and tell you some more.

I first met Miren (pronounced Mee-den) -one of the most gorgeous + beautiful people I know, inside and out- and James, who is friendly in the best way and you can just fall into conversation (about anything) with him so easily... more than 3.5 years ago when Nek first introduced them to me.  They used to live on Samui with us, teaching English (and Spanish) at Samui International School and we used to go Stand Up Paddleboarding (see my guide of things to do on Samui, featuring Miren in the photos and James behind the camera, he's forever documenting their travels & adventures) together and enjoyed the island lifestyle together for a while..

August last year, they moved to Hong Kong. We were sad to see such good friends go but knew we would see them again. So when my yearly visa ran out this year in June, we contacted them to see if it was a good time to visit... and luckily it was!

They offered to let us stay with them in their gorgeous apartment in Sai Kung (one of the most beautiful areas in Hong Kong, Nek and I agreed) for the whole of our 6 day stay, so we are forever grateful to these two and I felt like some photographs of the two of them together might be a nice gift :)

After the boys had gone Stand Up Paddleboarding in the bay, James went to change into his 'photo outfit' that we had picked out earlier. Nek left us to go back and start cooking up a yummy Thai dinner for us all while I spent some time on the shores of Sha Ha Beach, Sai Kung with these two beautiful people....

It was foggy and so beautiful at the time, the beach businesses were closing up for the day while families still played in the water. 

 

I was so excited to hear Miren & James' happy news when she told me they will become three this year! It was amazing to see my friends so happy in a new way, Miren was so bubbly and joyful in everything we did together, you can really see how excited they both are to welcome their little boy into the world.

The whole time we were taking photos, James was so nervous, haha... he kept saying 'Ooooh, I've never been photographed by a professional photographer before!' So I just told them to talk, be with each other & enjoy the moment ;)

It was a tough experience for me to go through too, you know... friends can tell it like it is, and when we got back after the session (all staying in the same apartment), James wanted a preview of the photos straight away!! I had to go all 'HEY, this process is secret!! None of my clients get to see their photos like this!!' on him ;D

Miren still has her Thai 'sai sin', to protect from bad spirits... You can get these at the temples in Thailand, monks bless them for you and women are to wear them on their left arms, men on the right, until they naturally fall off.

James started recalling all these memories from their travels together which made for some cute reactions!

Can you believe these two have been to 20 different countries together??! Yes. Twenty.

James is English, Miren Spanish, their little boy will be born in Hong Kong... how cool is that?

They also have their own love language... Spanish, which James speaks fluently. They love whispering to each other in it <3 or maybe that's just them trying to organise something in secret, like my brother and I did when we were kids and our parents couldn't understand us speaking Thai. ;)

I can't wait to meet their little one, one day. I just know he will be a wonderful little person, just like his parents!

Uhhh, I LOVE these two photos!

While we stayed in Hong Kong with them, James and Miren took us out to dinner at some of the most delicious dim sum and market style restaurants... ohh, so GOOD! We went to see the Symphony of Lights together, and they took us hiking up in the Sai Kung Country Park which was so beautiful!  All in all, they made our trip.

I can't wait to watch my friends grow together, and hear about their travels (which are constant!) and see Jame's photos... I know their adventure is just beginning ;)

We'd spent enough time on the beach, so we started heading back in the direction of their apartment...

I love how rustic & local Sai Kung feels, it's really such a nice area of Hong Kong.

Can't even describe... I love these photos. It feels so good to capture your friends, and see them, and their personalities in something I've captured :)

I also wanted to print off a photo for them and this is what I chose in the end, we left it on their dining room table with a card summing up our gratitude & LOVE for them as we left on a weekday while they were both at work, teaching.

I hope you just love these photos, as much as I do. These guys mean a lot to me!


Happy Thursday!

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[holiday] Elke and Terry, Inter Continental, Taling Ngam, Koh Samui

When Elke started contacting me for Terry and her holiday photography, I instantly liked her. She had such a nice personality and talked about Terry like he means the world to her.  We planned to meet before their photography session to chat and get to know each other and I couldn't wait for it!

I walked to their hotel one night and took them to Mini Bar as they were coincidentally staying near there, and we all clicked right away. Terry is clearly a gentleman and I can see why Elke is so smitten! This is actually their first overseas holiday together (if we don't count Macau, said Terry), and I loved hearing about all the fun they got up to.

Elke and Terry, if I ever get over to Hong Kong I'll surely be sending you an email. It was soo fun to get to photograph you two, and I can't wait to catch up next time I see you. In Thailand or Hong Kong!

 

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[wedding] Sarah and Hagen, Beach Republic, Koh Samui.

Having met Sarah and Hagen the day before their wedding to talk through the events and get to know them  helped calm my nerves leading up to the day as it was my first wedding working as the official photographer. After the meeting, I seriously knew I couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous couple, inside and out. At the end of their wedding day I really didn't want to leave. I felt like I'd just made two new really great friends :)

Sarah's family travelled from Hong Kong, Hagen's from Germany to meet on Koh Samui. The Beach Republic has a special place in their hearts as well, as they spend a couple of weeks a year there at their apartment if work allows it. Not only is Sarah a very smart woman, being a doctor in Sydney, she is crafty and creative as well! She hand made all the cute metal signs you see in my photos, mostly in the plane on the way here!

Sarah & Hagen I wish you all the happiness and love in the world and I hope to bump in to you both on your next holiday on Samui :)

I was very honoured to shoot as Anne Sophie Maestracci's associate photographer in March for Sarah and Hagen's wedding.

I really couldn't get over all the gorgeous details Sarah had brought with her for her special day.

 

Sarah's stunning lace dress was from Amsale. Also note the cute hanger signs she made :)

You can imagine how I swooned when I saw her Jimmy Choo box and opened it with excitement to find these gorgeous girls ;)

 

I love this.

  

 

 

 

See how creative she is?

 

They had an empty tree with coloured stamps for their guests to sign with thumb print leaves, I thought this was adorable.

I loved all the fairy lights and tea lights the Beach Republic had set up for her day, it made for a magical evening for friends and family.

 

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