Often, things that are meant to be come together in amazing ways, such as how we came to photograph this destination wedding in Thailand at the Shangri-La Chiang Mai. Back in Los Angeles, one of our former wedding couples suggested that their friends contact us to schedule an engagement photo session, which they did.
During their engagement shoot, the couple was having a great experience and loving the images they saw on the back of the camera. At one point, they said, "It's too bad you can't photograph our wedding in Thailand!", to which I replied, "We've got passports!". No joke, their reply was, "Really? Awesome. Done!".
The monks in Chiang Mai determined that the couple's wedding would take place right around the same time as Loi Krathong, the annual festival in which lanterns are floated on the rivers and released into the sky accompanied by parades with ornate floats, fireworks and an atmosphere of celebration and happiness. To say the least, we were thrilled to experience so much culture and to document all of the fun for our clients.
We were fortunate to have our daughter join us on this trip to Thailand. Our incredibly welcoming and generous clients even invited her to participate in the sai sin portion of their traditional Thai wedding ceremony in which guests tie yarn around the bride and groom's wrists and wish them well. In addition to all the beautiful wedding photographs we created for our clients, we are thrilled to also have photographs of our daughter participating in this experience of a lifetime.
New places are always inspiring to me as a portrait and wedding photographer, whether in Southern California, other regions, states or countries. When photographing in a new environment, or a photographing a new traditional ceremony, everything is being observed for the first time, with fresh eyes, and nothing is taken for granted. Destination wedding photography is a beautiful, exciting experience and we are grateful for the opportunities it presents.
