Paul and Katy, a couple overcoming tragedies, celebrates life and gives the ultimate gift of a traditional Chinese wedding to their family.  Paul and Katy’s wedding becomes more than just the union of two people in love.

Their love for one another is very apparent; from the way they hold hands to the way they feed each other food. I can’t believe my eyes that in this day and age of fast food, fast paced and fast everything that I can still witness such an old fashion gesture of TLC between a young couple. These two will grow old together and have many children and grandchildren along the way. I can feel in my heart that this is what Paul and Katy want.

We created a wedding guest sign in book from their engagement session in Central Park and from it you can see the love between Katy and Paul for yourself.

Katy and Paul had wanted a more westernized wedding and reception, since they are both ABC (American Born Chinese), but they conceded to their parents wishes and went with a traditional Chinese style wedding. Which means they will have to perform the traditional rituals of picking up the bride, paying respect to the ancestors and gods by offering incense and burning paper money, and paying respects to their parents and elders through a *tea ceremony.

A traditional Chinese wedding maybe a challenge to a photographer.  With most traditional Chinese style weddings, all the rituals are performed at home and most first generation Chinese immigrant homes are not clutter free (my parents are no exception, they give a new meaning to pack rat).   As a photographer my goal is to make my clients look terrific by capturing the emotional moment in the most natural and beautiful way.

My motto to myself is to always have an open mind in all situations, don’t judge and let the beauty of the moment reveal itself to me. When we judge with our own tinted vision, we can not see what’s naturally beautiful. As a storyteller, I am hired to not only document the day in the life of a couple, but also to make beautiful images to cherish for generations.

On Katy and Paul’s wedding day we were given rain, wind, and snow. When it was time for us to shoot some outdoor photographs, the rain and wind got together to test our ability to adapt. We had to change our plan because of the limitation of time and the inclement weather. Instead of going to Dumbo to shoot against the beautiful New York City skyline; we ended up at Brooklyn’s Eighth Avenue subway station. The Eighth Avenue station is a symbolic place for Katy and Paul. It’s where waves of Chinese American and other immigrants pass through daily. It’s also where Paul grew up and near where he and Katy celebrated their wedding that evening at the Pacificana Restaurant.

Once again we’ve found beauty in a less than expected beautiful setting; we embraced what was beautiful within all of us at that moment.

Katy and Paul’s unselfish and filial gift not only brought closure to the past, but brings with it hope for a beautiful and fruitful life ahead. With love, all is possible. Katy and Paul, I look forward to photographing your children and seeing the smiles on you and your family’s faces.

The fabulous Monika Broz, one of the most unbelievable and energetic photographer I have the pleasure of knowing, second shot with me that day.

Katy’s wedding day hair and make up  by Jina and Carol of JAC Beauty.

*Chinese Wedding Tea Ceremony
In Chinese culture, the younger generation always shows its respect to the older generation by offering a cup of tea. The tea ceremony is considered a significant event in a Chinese wedding. The groom and bride are formally introduced and welcomed into each other’s family through the tea ceremony. After the drinking of the tea, gifts are presented to the bride and groom. Gifts are usually in forms of “lucky” red envelopes that contain money or jewelry.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

For family photographer
in New York, NY

No matter how open minded I think I am; I am still a human being who has preferences. Even though I vowed for no preference as an artist and especially as a photographer on a wedding day with a mission to capture the best photos possible in any given situation, but during a moment of weakness I sometimes prefer certain locations over others.

Please forgive me for what I am about to say.   Flower lovers; especially the ones that prefer the manicured and well groomed variety ones like cherry blossoms and tulips neatly planted in a garden, etc.. I can’t stand these cherished, pampered, and privileged garden flowers, for they reeked of arrogance and wealth. Sorry, I was not born rich and never had the privilege of growing up with fresh cut flowers at home. I was so deprived of this that I used to sneak flowers home after a wedding and kept these symbols of wealth long after they have dried up. Excuse me, I have digressed.

Well, going back to the best locations for engagement photos. Now, let me say this if you have not figured out; I prefer wild flowers over manicured ones. Give me a wild daisy or dandelion anytime over a well groomed rose full of pesticides. On the same vibe, I prefer Central Park proper over the Conservatory; Prospect Park over the Brooklyn Botanical Garden; and the Kissena Park over the Queens Botanical Garden or any park that does not require payment or a permit is better than the ones that do.

There’s a reason for this madness, I meant passion.  It is freedom! You are always watched in the permit required places and they are also filled with rules and regulations of what you can or cannot do. For example, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden where Anna and Steve, who did not know of my peculiar attitude towards BBG (at the mention of this garden; my liver heat rises, therefore I need my dandelion drink to calm me down), have chosen to have their engagement photos taken. Yuck, I did not sleep the night before thinking about it. I have digressed again…

We were stopped by men in uniforms riding in their little green cars, now how is that going green? They should be walking instead of wasting energy. We were told to stop because we had professional equipment. Which meant we should have pay lots of $$$ for a permit.  When they were nice to let us off; they stop us from using our small reflector. Their reason: “It distracts people”. Bottom line, it’s the $250 fee that we did not pay.

Sorry, this sounds like ranting and raving, this is unlike me; but thanks to Anna and Steve for giving me the opportunity to learn once again to not judge.  A familiar phrase of Shakespeare rang in my head once again, “There’s nothing bad or good, but thinking makes it so”.

So what are the best places to take engagement photos again? You should know the answer, it’s inside you.

I want to thank Anna and Steve once again for enlightening my vision and also went along with me to satisfy my love for the wild at the end of the session. I had the chance to shoot in the wild of Prospect Park!

For family photographer
in New York, NY

I’ve been documenting weddings, engagements and other celebrations since the turn of the century and have not shot a wedding or engagement photography session on the Brooklyn Bridge itself, but always with the Brooklyn Bridge in the backdrop from afar.   Is it just like being a native New Yorker who has not been up to the Empire State building or the Statue of Liberty?

It’s easy to make things look beautiful from afar and always a challenge at close distance.  I faced that challenge when I met Mikaela.  The challenge, of course, is the Brooklyn Bridge and not Mikaela and Brian.

When I first met Mikaela in my studio she was coming straight from yoga class and was carrying her yoga mat. If I could have taken a photo of her then, I would say that she was enveloped in light!

Two weeks before their wedding, Mikaela and Brian wanted to do a pre-wedding (engagement) photo session on the Brooklyn Bridge and in Dumbo.  The best way to capture both locations is to start at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge and walked across the bridge to Dumbo.  And the best time to do this engagement photo session is in the morning, sunrise to be exact.

Some of you may already know that I am not an early riser, but I will wake up and will stay up any time and every time for a photo shoot.   Mikaela and Brian rewarded me handsomely with beautiful images and on their wedding day they received enthusiastic compliments on the sunrise engagement photos we did on the Brooklyn Bridge and in Dumbo.  Of course, my artistic skills count for the stunning results of the engagement photos; but a huge part was truly that of Mikaela and Brian.

It did not hit me until later into the shoot why they choose to have a photo session so darn early in the morning! If Mikaela is the light, then Brian is the Greek god Helios who chariots the sun across the sky.

When I finally met Brian that early morning, I saw why they are in each other’s life. They are both so happy and couldn’t stop smiling. I had to tone them down for some of the shots; so that we may have variety of expressions!

I later learned from a friend of Brian’s at the wedding that it’s a hobby of Brian’s to take sunrise photos every where he travels to. Well, they are a couple that brings the sun up every morning!