I’m always excited to photograph a wedding, every occasion brings a lot of happiness, expectations and emotions into my life. Although I do love all of them, I have to admit that I have some favorites. This year I photographed the wedding of someone who had had a profound impact on my life. There wasn’t a way I could repay him for how much he helped me and no words could convey my gratitude. Since I’m not good with words, photography was a language I knew could channel and express my vast thankfulness.
The year got off to a slow start (which was quite alarming), but now I realize why. The universe was giving me the space to re-group. In this time I got to know myself a little better, identify where I was headed and what I wanted for my business. Also the kind of experience I wanted to create for my clients and re-evaluate my photographic style. This lead me (finally) to switch camera systems. It has been something I’ve been wanting to do for a few years now, but have been quite apprehensive about. I am in love with my new tools and the experience they give me!
The couple, living in Australia, chose the beautiful Youngsanjae Hanok Hotel in Mokpo, for their destination wedding. They wanted something very unique and with Solbee’s family living in Korea, it was the perfect choice. Although they chose a traditional Korean wedding ceremony (with a number of their guests from Australia and other countries), Glenn and Solbee included some western style and tradition too.
In the late fall of last year I traveled up north to the town of Andong, famous in Korea for its tradition. In a beautiful ballroom of Andong Grand Hotel, Byeong-yeop and Ae-ri would be married in front of their loved ones. Never have I felt so welcome and so appreciated than with this couple and their families! It was going to be a beautiful day!
While many Korean brides plan their wedding at least a season in advance, Mina contacted me about a month before her wedding. She was originally not going to have a wedding because she didn’t like the idea of having the ordinary proceedings of the typical Korean wedding however she said she came across my photos of Pete and Sanha’s traditional ceremony, and the photos convinced her otherwise.
On a magnificent fall morning, I made the trip down to the quaint county of Gochang where I was to photograph a lovely traditional wedding. Close friends and family came from all parts of the country to celebrate the marriage of Seong-cheol and In-hye. The couple have been together for years so this was really a just formality. Even so, it was a lovely celebration enjoyed by all!
On a crisp autumn morning I embarked on my journey to Jacob and April’s beautiful wedding. The wedding was held at Island CC Resort near to Ansan. On arrival at the resort I was so excited because not only was it a beautiful day, but the resort had really pretty architecture and was surrounded by mountains. It was the perfect setting!
Nick and Amy… Where do I begin? They are one of the warmest, sincerest couples I have ever met. Most people always say that they want their weddings to be about them and having fun but it mostly never turns out that way. And understandably so. It’s a big day with many traditions to honor, guests to entertain and things to do but somehow Nick and Amy got it right. They were all about having fun and truly celebrating their decision to live the rest of their lives together.
The couple were surrounded by all of their close friends and family and Nick’s family all flew in from the U.S. They filled the room with so much love and happiness that I had to remind myself that there were other guests there too that need to be documented.
Yong-gi, a doctor from the blissfully laid-back island of Jeju and Hyeon-ji, an elementary school teacher from the busy city of Busan got married on a beautiful autumn day on Jeju Island. Friends and family from around the country flew in to partake in this elegant celebration. The entire day was filled with love and laughter from the morning when I met the couple while they were getting ready to the final Gombae [cheers in Korean] between the family members, just adding to my already amazing memories with this beautiful couple.