My Favourite things: Ruby & Willow Stationery

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I spent mine harbouring a very sore throat, and nursing a cold which I am trying my utmost best to keep at bay. But Since I am working to get on the mend, I thought I'd spent this monday morning brightening up your day with one of my favourite things - and it is something very pretty for all you brides out there! :)

You see, for years I used to be a graphic designer...which meant that things like fonts, colours, and paper ruled in my life. I lived and breathed the stuff. No, really. I kid you not. We used to stare, touch, and sniff the stuff! Sometimes for hours!

In fact, even to this day as a wedding photographer, while I may not practice the graphic design trade anymore I cannot shake off my love for all things beautiful in the font, colour, and paper department. Which means I LOVE stationery. So if I am staring intently and looking at your wedding invitations on your wedding day, you know it is just because I am admiring your wonderful style :)

Ruby & Willow, are one of my favourite stationery companies out there who do some of the most beautiful wedding invitations! They are a boutique stationery company based in New Zealand who have some of the prettiest set-out collections, as well as custom designs! I just adore how feminine, classy, and vintage chic their designs are! Have a look at some of them! :D

And as an extra treat (which I thought was soooo cool!!), the girls from Ruby & Willow put up this beautiful tag design called "Oiseau" (for your wedding favours) on their site, for free! :D

It's perfect for use on those little gifts your give away to your guests :)

You can download it in RED and GREEN for your use :)

If you want to check out more of Ruby & Willow's work, you can check out their:

Website: http://www.rubyandwillow.co.nz

Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rubyandwillow?page=1

Lastly, my beautiful blog readers and brides out there, don't think that design stops at just your wedding invitations! As a tip from an ex-designer now photographer, let me tell you that it benefits your photos greatly to carry the theme through your entire wedding in your:

- favour tags

- menu design

- place cards

- table number card/tag/sign

- seating plan design

- welcome signage

- your cake design (!!)

- and more! :)

The sky is the limit, and I can honestly say the better and more creative your imagination, and boldness to carry it through your wedding day, the better it will look in your wedding photos! :D Don't believe me? Remember Cindy and Rob's wedding? This is what they did and they got the most AMAZING photos! :D I promise you, brides, that the hard work and effort REALLY does pay off in your pictures :)

Much love from me this Monday morning! I'm off to nurse this cold of mine now!

xox

A growing fetish...

I am going to unleash a secret here today. One that is rather embarrasing, but I figured that since it is a Friday and the weekend is coming, and spring is officially hitting our doorsteps, you'll overlook this tiny piece of insanity from me.

You see, I'm stressed. June - August was an overwhelmingly CRAZY (with capital letters and many exclamation marks) time for me, and if you know me, I can honestly handle a large amount of stress. So when I say I am overwhelmed, you know the anxiety is at a deliriously inappropriate level :P So I do a various number of things when I am feeling stressed. The list kind of goes like this:

1. Sing
2. Procrastinate (:P don't we all??)
3. Eat
4. Eat some more
5. Procrastinate again :P
6. And here is the weirdest one... I like putting on my favorite shoes of the moment and just walking around in them in my house! Yes, that's right... it doesn't matter what I am wearing that day, I'll put them on, and they make me feel ALL THAT MUCH BETTER. Seriously :) I'm weird, I KNOW.

And because I was stressed this morning, I did just that today :)

Oh I have to say, because stress levels have been on the high recently, I have amassed quite a collection lately!! I used to be someone who was only into clothes...but I think the fetish has migrated to SHOES now!! And I have to say they all each have a piece in my shoe lover heart :P That inclues my Steve Maddens (courtesy of the hubby - THANK YOU!!), my H&M pumps, my Charles and Keiths, my Vincci+ , my Kenneth coles, and the like :P

Have a look :)

Don't hate!! :P

So girls, if you see me drooling over your pretty pumps or shoes on your wedding day or shoot, and I can't stop talking about them, you'll understand it's because I just adore your impeccable taste! :D

Girls, tell me what are your favourite shoes?? Or better still, send me a pic or leave an image link in the comment bar! I wanna see!! It will really help to kick start my crazy weekend on a good note! :D

Have a beautiful friday everyone!

Love from the shoe-fetish photographer!
xox

Intimate Singapore Wedding: Joyce and Jimmy

The small, but intimate crowd surrounding the two on that sultry tropical day, warmly applauded. It was then that he gently wrapped his fingers under her chin, and pulled her in, close to him, for their first kiss as the newly minted husband and wife. He then lingered, letting his forehead rest against hers, and they both smiled with their eyes closed for but a brief period, but at the same time both fully immersed in the realization and appreciation of that moment...and it was palpable. So very much so. You could tell that they were delighting in the sweetness of the love shared and the love shown between them, because she then took out the white handkerchief that she has held in between her fingers, and softly dabbed at the tears that were slowly trying to escape from the corner of her eyes while shyly explaining over the lump in her throat, “I have always known he loves me, but I didn’t know just how much….until then”.

And you could see it.

The proof was left lying in the way he would quietly clasp her hands when no one would be looking. It was sprinkled across the intent gaze of pure tenderness that Joyce gave Jimmy when he was giving his thank you speech. It was laced in between the spontaneous embraces he would give her, just because. And it was dotted in radiant transparency, when his ear-to-ear smile did not leave his face, from the moment his bride walked down the aisle til the last pair of feet were ushered out that day.

You could just see it. You really could.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful solemnization with me, Joyce and Jimmy! It was SUCH a joy to witness such a small and intimate wedding, and see the real laughter, the real tears, the real embraces, and the real moments unfold between just you and your closest few J And as fellow wine connoisseurs, thank you for sharing with me your impeccably picked bubbly with you as the celebration came to a close! I hope you two have the time of your life while you trek the streets of Europe. Remember to have a glass on my behalf while you are away!! Much love!!

Enjoy my favourite frames from Joyce and Jimmy's big day, who had a gorgeously elegant and intimate wedding celebration at this beautiful Italian restaurant on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Their taste was impeccable!!

For those who are wondering....
Dresses: Carven Ong, and Lisa Ho
Suit: Giorgio Armani
Shoes: Emporio Armani (Jimmy), Steve Madden (Joyce)

You know you can't have a bad day if you start it with fabulous shoes!!

I love it when brides really think hard about styling their wedding... :)

With only 80 guests the whole day, it was a close knit event... you could tell :)

LOVE the moment felt here...

Then it was off to celebrate at the Italian Il-Lido! It was YUMMY!

This little one caught my eye...










And a quick venture out after for portraits :) I totally LOVED Joyce's french lace gown from Carven Ong!! :D

And how cute are her shoes?? :D

And some ring shots to end... not sure which one I like better... which one is your pick? :D




Here is the slideshow! For some reason, the encoding took alot of the contrast and colour out, so apologies in advance for that!! I'll get my head around this whole online slideshow/video thing someday! :D

London Engagement Session: Wendy and Laughton

It has been a month of drought here at JSP. Those who know me, or have been following me for awhile, will know that I am a blogger AT HEART. So when I am not blogging, or if this space is looking rather empty and anorexic, you'll know that something isn't right or that I am so busy and up to my neck with work, that even first loves like blogging have had to be put aside :( But with the help of my awesome team, and now some decent sleep back in the pocket, I think I am ready to come out from hibernation to breathe, smell the fresh wintry air, and share the journey I've had in the last few months with all of you. It's been a crazy ride, and I am so thankful that you have all been keeping me smiling on a cold winter's day with your beautiful comments on our facebook page, and that we have been able to keep in touch that way! :D Plus, I think a few (ok, ALOT) of sneak peeks have leaked there! haha :) So all that needs to be done now, is to get me to a facial ( - apparently the freezing, dry, windy Australian air hasn't agreed with my face this winter, and it is in need of some serious saving! ;) ) and get these posts happening! Here goes!

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Summer always ushers in a pleasing and amiable essence that shows itself in lingering scents of lavendar, balmy evening air, long walks after dinner, warm sand in between the toes, cool drops of lemonade on the tongue, laughter that echoes into the dusk, indelible impressions of romance and long long days that give birth to the watching of the sun going down during your bed time hour. I honestly love summer and all its golden goodness... in fact, if I didn't adore autumn colours or the virgin blossoms of spring so much, I'd happily sit in summer's state all year round.

So when I was in London recently, during its summer, I soaked it up. All of it. I'll probably digress in fuller verbosity when I post my travel photos from this place, but I have to say it was delightful to be able to walk down the cobblestone streets of this character-filled city, sit myself down under the canopy of the large overhanging trees while the sun rays glistened through the leaves, and just watch the world go by in the form of summer dresses, bicycles, and the gulping of ice cream cones.

That's why it really wasn't a surprise when I was happy beyond words to have Wendy and Laughton in front of my camera while I was in London :) We totally lucked out with weather and they took me to such pretty places!! :D Thank you SO much Wendy and Laughton for inviting me into your lives and letting me document this piece of your walk together. But more so, thank you for your hospitality and friendship - I have really warm and fond memories of the cakes, and picnic sandwiches we shared on the hill after your shoot, and the girl chats we had about fun things like hair accessories and makeup! :D I'm sorry I couldn't be there to imprint to photos the memories of your big day, but I hope you enjoy these as a momento of your love for years to come! I can't wait til our paths cross again! much love! xox

Just a preview of the honey dripped light we had that day :)

I'm not one to usually shoot wide or put architectural elements in my photos, but I couldn't pass up the European feel to the following shots :) Yay for cobblestone streets! :D

There's that pretty London sun again!

Oh and I have to say, I really loved Wendy's hairpiece from Topshop - it was uber cute and french! :D

And we even managed to stumble upon some lavendar!

And to end, this was my favourite part of the day... golden light and all :)

And because all of you have been super patient with waiting for these posts, here is an little something extra in the form of a slideshow for you to enjoy until our next post! Don't think this is the last of the shoots I did in London by the way! Another fabulous couple coming soon! :D