Epic weddings and fake Rolexes

Last week was whirlwind of double weddings and pre nup shoots. I had this particular couple who drove all the way from Poipet, near the Thai border who tried several photographers but somehow, couldn't get the drama they wanted on their photos. 

So when they met me, they only had one request... for their photos to look epic and cinematic... as if they have stepped into a film set. They liked the look of the classic photos of yore.

So here's what we did for them... 

Black and white. It never gets old.

 This didn't actually start well at first. Call time for us was 4 am, because they wanted sunrise shots but they didn't show up until 7 in the morning. I guess they had the same Rolex watch supplier as Lady Gaga. I was a little pissed (you know me and waking up early!) but as soon as the shoot started rolling, the fun began.

Shooting in Angkor Wat is a moment in itself.

The groom turned into my assistant director. He was really excited with all this and ended up coaching his bride-to-be on all the proper poses and smiles.

What was originally a 4 hour shoot turned into a 12 hour production! After each session, they would come back and say... "we loved it... let's do more." 

So what was supposed to be a simple shoot in the temples almost turned into a citywide thing. But at the end of the day, we all went home very happy. 

forevers and louis vuittons

Four years ago, I married the girl of my dreams.



Being a penniless, starving artist that I was then, I had no means to give her the wedding of her dreams – a flowing white Vera Wang or a Vivienne Westwood dress, a sunset ceremony on a deserted beach, wedding rings by Cartier or Tiffany, a theatrical reception with a string orchestra, chocolate fountain, free flowing champagne and designer canapés and a dinner whipped up by three-star Micelin chefs from France.


Instead, I married her in our little house garage in Iloilo. She wore a fifty peso ($1) long skirt which she converted into a dress from Landmark in Makati. Our rings were bought for 200 pesos ($4) from Divisoria’s Tutuban Mall and our reception was catered by my own mom who cooked everything from scratch. Our entire wedding cost us 10,000 pesos ($400) which I got as payment for designing the uniforms of Club Noah Isabelle in Palawan. Our plane fares were free, as we’ve accumulated enough points from the loyalty program of Cebu Pacific, back when they still had the Summit Club. I also got some extra money from selling two paintings for only 5,000 pesos ($100).


Since that was all I could offer her at that time, I vowed to myself to MAKE IT UP to her as soon as I am financially stable. Through time, I have learned to keep myself abreast with the thing that has gripped my wife’s fancy into a growing obsession since time immemorial… LOUIS VUITTON.


I remember seeing her face light up every time we pass by the LV flagship store in Greenbelt IV when we were still living in Manila. Her cheeks would gush at the sight of the monogrammed canvas, and when Marc Jacobs, creative director of LV, took bolder steps in collaborating with more artists in designing new bags and reintroducing the classics, the fire became unstoppable. Being introduced to the blog of another LV fanatic Cecile Zamora Van Straten (chuvaness.livejournal.com) didn’t help at all.

So after a successful exhibition in Manila last April, I took her LV shopping. But as much as taking Cocaine and a woman’s Louis Vuitton obsessions are the same, they will always crave for more. Lately, my wife has been bombarding me with not-so-subtle hints (see a comment on my last post!) of what she wants for her birthday.


So as my love for her is growing and getting stronger each day, I have no choice but to translate that love into a silly, materialistic, consumerist, capitalistic symbol of desire to spend forever by her side…. I AM EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY OF LOVE – a long, six hour drive from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (it actually took me 23 hours on the road as my rickety Toyota Camry's transmission system broke down!), and a seven hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Saigon (the nearest Louis Vuitton store) to buy another LV bag for the woman I am dearly enamored with.

How far will you go for love?

the wedding photographer

I can never imagine myself being a wedding photographer. Back in the Philippines, my training in photography has always been photojournalism - from frontline news to socially-sensitive awakenings, I've always imagined my photographs to have substantial meaning.

But actually, I discovered that in shooting weddings as well...

I never thought there is so much joy and meaning in recording other people's happiest moments and the beginnig of their journeys together - even though without assurance that they are going to be together forever or not. But capturing that very essence and force that have brought two tides together as one ocean is a fulfillment I never thought I will enjoy.

Also, it helps that my clients are not demanding at all... as a matter of fact, I am the one dictating everything... from the locations, poses, and props!


After their traditional Khmer wedding ceremony, there was a shadow puppet performance done on a 17th century pagoda for the couple and their family. After the show, I asked the bride and groom to play around with the large leather puppets...


This was a rain-soaked photoshoot as it rained the whole morning in Angkor Wat, but instead of ruining the shoot, the weather added more to the mystical mood of the temple...


The Japanese couple in ful traditional Cambodia garb...


In contrast, this shoot was done on an ultra humid day in summer - we have to wipe the couple's faces every five mintes and retouch their make-up! We were all melting in the heat of the sun! But we couldn't complain though... the sky was gorgeous and the colors crisp and amazing...


Goofing around at the poolside of Amansara - the former holiday residence of the Cambodian king in the 1960's...

Prelude to a blissful life....

Don't you wish they all end in happy-ever-afters?