Matt Pereira Photographer - Surrey Photography - Wedding Photographer - Children's Photographer » Destination Wedding

Nick & Maryse’s French Affair

Matt Pereira — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Well, continuing the French theme … Nick and Maryse were married in Capvern les Bains in the South of France recently. I was most pleased to have been chosen to fly out with a big selection of friends and family to cover the weekend.

Much fun was had all weekend and many new friendships were made. A selection of my favourites from the weekend follow.

We had the most amazing sunny weather all weekend, and apart from me driving the hire car into a random Frenchman’s irrigation ditch, the whole weekend went without a hitch!

This was the view of the church (small spire, smack bang in the middle) on the night I arrived. Just amazing:

The day before the actual wedding saw the official registration, so we took the chance for some shots. Using reflections for effect:

The newly “registered” couple:

On the day itself, the shoes and flowers:

… and of course, the most beautiful bride:

Dad, looking more like a bridesmaid (Sorry Bob!)

In a car park of all places!

And what better place to hang out with some great new friends than on the top of a mountain, the following day!

I’m hoping for some more destination weddings next year so if you know anyone who needs a great wedding photographer with the experience, you know where to send them!

Monkey Magic

Matt Pereira — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:15:00 +0000

One of the things I was looking forward to when we went to The Datai, was a meeting with the famous monkeys! Unfortunately, we were on the “wrong” side of the hotel and so whilst most of our friends were receiving daily visits, it took until Day 5 for us to see any monkey action.

We had seen them in the trees and on other balconies, but never on our own. However, one lunchtime we spied one close by. He looked rather cute from afar :

and even played a touch of hide and seek:

However, when he got closer we realised that, just our luck, he was scabby and not very cute after all – possibly an outcast who had had a recent fight, which might suggest why he was on his own:
Now, we had heard about them stealing food if you left your doors open, but thought that we would be ok if we were in the room. Probably our fault for walking around eating when he arrived because suddenly he spied the fruit bowl:
and before we knew it, he helped himself:
salivating at the thought of more banana:

When it seemed that he was starting to make plans for another raid, I tried to shoo him away, but I think he took that as a challenge and started to mock charge me with his teeth bared:
Eventually we got rid of him, and he skipped away to find some new friends:
I guess the lesson learned was to hide the food when he appeared – as with all animals in “public places”, once they know food is available they will keep coming back. The situation is only exacerbated by us making it easy for them.

Still, on the whole, they are really cute and this encounter was another tick in the box for me!
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The Frog Blog a.k.a “bom, Bom, BOM … aah-ee-aa!”

Matt Pereira — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:18:00 +0000

Those who know me well will know that I have a real keen interest in animals and nature . That’s really where my serious photography began. Our trip to Malaysia, therefore, treated us to so much more than just wedding photography.

To set the scene, the entrance to the Datai is rather impressive indeed – it’s hard to get a good understanding from this small image, but to give you a good idea, the horses are pretty much life sized:

Just beyond those three slim pillars at the end of the path is a lily pond, something like 20 foot square. By day, it’s a beautiful green and pink pond, with the occasional dragonfly buzzing by and a few small frogs (see the post for day 1). The beautiful flowers would open and close a various stages of the day:
During the night, however, the place would come alive with frogs! They were everywhere … up the walls, down the stairs … and the noise is amazing! Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s not like they run (hop?) around in packs terrorising the guests – but we were, to all intents and purposes, in a rainforest, and so you have to expect wierd and wonderful things when it comes to the animal life.

Given that I have such a fascination with the wildlife, and many of these amphibians seemed tame enough, and I always had my camera to hand, I figured it would be a great opportunity to get some shots that I would not normally have the chance to shoot.

Strangely enough, many of these little rubbery fellows seemed to have their own characters too …

The “Standing to Attention” Frog:

The “reminds me of Bagpuss” Frog:

The “free ride home” Frog:

The regular “Rebbit” Frog:

The “talk to the hand” Frog:

The “eyeing up your dinner” Frog:

The “thinks he’s Spiderman” Frog:

… and my favourite of all, just because of the gorgeous green-ness:

A truly amazing variety of sizes, colours and characters … to be able to get so close was just marvellous. A bottle of champagne to anyone who can tell me all the latin names for the different species here !

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 6 – Post Wedding Shoot

Matt Pereira — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:09:00 +0000

With the registration and ceremony now complete and the party over, there is time for everyone to unwind and relax – including me! After the beach party last night, many of us ended up at the bar for a chilled out drink.

This morning it was late breakfasts all round and then straight down to the beach for a snooze and ice cold drinks.

Now that we have some free time and all the official stuff is over, it’s great to be able to take some time out for a nice chilled shoot. It doesn’t take much to get dressed up again, and the hair and make up are not as important today – with far less to worry about in terms of keeping the dress clean and pristine, we can all relax about location, and get some of the shots that really count.

This afternoon, as the light turned golden, Tijen and Neal brought their wedding attire down to the beach and, with the help of Andrea, Vincent and Regan, donned it all again in the shade of the rainforest canopy. A quick whip-off of the bikini top…

… and we were ready to go.

Some of our friends were still on the beach and jumped in for a quick shot:

… and back to the pool, for the “finale” …

The question is: did you guess correctly ?

Yes – she jumped!

A quick cuddle to warm back up again:
… followed by a kiss in front of the hotel entrance, just for the record:

… and a thoughtful 5 minutes at the bar before heading up for a shower, in time for dinner.

Another wonderful shoot under our belts.

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 5 – Ceremony

Matt Pereira — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:23:00 +0000

Ok, ok, I know ! It’s a hard life out here you know! So sorry that i didn’t post again yesterday, but I was exhausted and just couldn’t bring myself to sit at the laptop for long enough to do this.

The wedding was simply AMAZING! Tijen, as you will see, looked absolutely stunning … and Neal was a right old hunk. There was rushing around, there was panic, there were tears and there was laughter .. and that was just the photographers! It was a perfect day in absolutely every way … Even the post-ceremony gusts of wind and torrential rain didn’t ruin the mood – nothing could have spoilt that day …

I would just like to add that all of the photographs you have seen from this week have not been properly processed for print, and are pretty much straight out of camera – so everything may not always be perfect … time considerations this week have meant that I could not do everything I wanted to do.

… and so, to the images …

Tijen was in a wonderfully playful mood, despite the pressure to get ready on time:

Theresa was a superstar and worked to a very tight deadline:

Allison was at hand for the tie-up:

The setting was beautiful:

But the girls were even nicer:

… and still playful:

As the string trio played, the wonderfully beautiful Tijen made her way down the petal-aisle … and at this point there was hardly a dry eye on the beach:

All of a sudden we started to lose the light, and the clouds moved in – we could see the rain coming, so it was a mad rush to get the photos done:

… and, Oh My Gosh, just before the rain hit, we had 3 minutes of pure glory:

… and then, simultaneously, we lost the light, and the rains hit. Gusts of wind blew the petals off the tables and blew the candles out and the rain started pouring in between the three adjoining open-walled marquees – it was like walking through a waterfall every time you went from one to another. Some of the more resourceful were fine:
… but despite the weather, we really didn’t care, and just got on with it:
We ate exceptionally well, the cake was cut and the speeches made:
The rain finally stopped, almost as if on cue, and the bonfire was lit for the first dance:

… and then it was PARTY, PARTY, PARTY round the fire – WOOHOO!

… even the staff joined in, which was wonderful!
Sometimes my job is just TOO GOOD!
Electric kisses all around from Freddy:
… and then you always get that one guest who thinks that they can do a better job than the official photographer )
…and as the night drew to a close, the exhaustion became just too much for the ever-so-proud fathers:
So, there you have it … an amazing day for an amazing couple.

As I write this, sadly, many of us have started the very painful process of packing. There will be no more posts for a day or so as we start the physically arduous and emotionally difficult journey home – away from what can only be described as paradise …

Once home, I will post the remainder of our images which will include the “Frog Blog” as well as Tijen and Neal’s Post-Wedding shoot … and to whet your appetites, can you guess what happened next ?????

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 4

Matt Pereira — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 08:30:00 +0000

Apologies for not posting yesterday – it was hectic, to say the least. I’ll try to get two posts done today to make up for it!

We spent most of day 4 lazing on the beach, before I took Tijen and Neal off for their post-registration-pre-wedding shoot. My first shot of the day was a huge scary flying baby eater:

Elbert was in a great mood today, much the same as every day, actually:

There was supserstar on the beach today:

… and even the rich and famous can show their emotions.

Freddy frolicked …

… and the view remained stunning:

I spotted this little fellow on the sand, just before I took the happy couple of for their shoot:

.. and then the shoot went something like this:

After the amazing shoot, we all showered and changed and met up at the Pavillion for dinner – this restaurant is suspended on huge stilts up high in the rainforest canopy …

Just before we went in, the photographers made a rare appearance on the other side of the lens:
Elbert was almost kidnapped ..

But Neal tackled the abductors to the ground and rescued our little mascot, so he could have a go … and what a good job he does too:

.. and so, the day drew to a close with thoughts turning to the most important day so far … the wedding ceremony on the beach. Come back soon for a peek at the fun and festivities …

Finally, my arty shot of the day:

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 3

Matt Pereira — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:42:00 +0000

Today’s blog is going to be very short on words, as I have less than 30 minutes to get the images posted and back down to the beach for Tijen and Neal’s post-registration-pre-wedding-shoot! I know … it’s a hard life … however, less words means more pictures, so here we go.

On what was to be an excruciatingly hot day, spirits were high at breakfast. Tijen was the only notable absence, as she was at the Amderman hotel having her hair done – and very lovely it was too! For someone who has spent months planning the perfect few days, she was amazingly calm this morning.

It was all going well until … “Hello, yes, can you send someone to the room and retrieve the rings, and can they please drive at 100mph to meet us at the registry?”

The answer, apparently, was “Yes!!”

And there you have it, a wonderful, wonderful day despite a ring hiccup (we didn’t need the rings afterall either!!!)

Tomorrow, the pre-wedding shoot and some fun on the beach!

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 2

Matt Pereira — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:30:00 +0000

After a good night’s sleep, we got to experience our first wonderful Datai breakfast this morning. Sat at one of the many open air tables, and listening to the calls of the rainforest, we sampled the delights of fresh fruits, yoghurts and pastries, as well as a nice selection of fruit juices and coffee. The cooked breakfast was also too good to miss, and many of us now felt charged and ready to meet a new day.

A few of us, driven by Tijen’s secret mission to find perfume, went on a cable car ride to the top of the highest point of the island. Half way up, Tijen made a new friend:

Whilst the view was spectacular….

… not everybody enjoyed the ride – Les was certainly not impressed:

Once we made it back down to Terra Ferma, the girls darted into the duty free shop whilst I met a few more of the locals:

The afternoon was spent snoozing and lazing idly down on the beach again, with much talk of the upcoming wedding registration tomorrow. Neal, ever eager to pose for the lens, decided to practice his “not looking at the camera” pose:

But soon, given 5 minutes to himself, his thoughts turned to tomorrow’s ceremony … deep in thought :

The evening meal was a hoot, with Matthew as the centre of attention – just how he likes it. Here he is supported by the lovely Teresa and Alison, who incidentally, were NOT the first to bed this evening:

The beaches here are stunning – everywhere we drive we see more water and beautiful scenery. Just before dinner, I took some time out to try and capture the mood of the evening sun. Tonight was certainly not as good as it gets, and fingers crossed that we get the best on Saturday night … but here’s tonight’s sunset:

Finally, my arty picture of the day:

Tomorrow, we’ll be shooting the day of the official wedding registration. Find out if anyone cries, and who remembers (or forgets??) the rings …

Tijen & Neal’s Wedding – Day 1

Matt Pereira — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:39:00 +0000

After an exhausting 12 hour flight, followed very closely by a second one hour flight, we have arrived safe and sound.

Once the aircraft doors opened on the Langkawi Airport tarmac, we were hit with a wave of intense heat and humidity – the short walk to the terminal was an indication of what was to come, and the terminal air conditioning was rather welcome. We were met by several drivers from The Datai, who had luggage labels prepared for us. Each bag was tagged and whisked away to be loaded onto the waiting vehicles. We all jumped in too, and 25 minutes later we arrived at the hotel to a warm welcome from Tijen and Neal.

Without a doubt The Datai has to be one of the most amazing hotels I have ever seen. The staff are well presented, very polite and exceptionally attentive – every guest is made to feel like royalty, which serves to ease you nicely into a comfortable and relaxing stay.

After 20 minutes relaxing in the bar, with ice cold drinks and cold face towels to cool us down, we made our way to our rooms – which are simply exquisite:

This is the view from our bedroom window:

We all had a shower at that point and then several of the party shot straight down to the beach, whilst the rest of us hit the sack for a few hours. After some well earned rest, Regan and I went to meet a few of the locals:

We took a stroll down to the beach and then along a jungle path where two enormous wild boar ran out in front of us and darted off into the bush – i was far too stunned to even think about taking a photograph of those two, choosing instead to just stand there, mouth agape, in total wonderment!

After another shower we all met up in the bar for our first evening meal together – the sudden thunderstorm meant that we were unable to eat under the stars, although the covered area where we sat was just perfect in any case.

At one point, Tijen was concerned she had spinach in her teeth, but Albert did his best to reassure her with a positive gurgle:

One by one, the party gave in to the exhaustion and the group petered out – Alison and Teresa, the obvious lightweights in the party ) headed up first, whilst Tijen continued to practise for future motherhood:

So, at the end of the first day full of sun, heat and wonderful new friends we all finally went our own separate ways and got a much needed full night’s sleep.

More tomorrow when some of us take a cable car up to 710m above sea level … and some of us wish we hadn’t …

Langkawi, here we come …

Matt Pereira — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Well, the last few weeks have just flown by, and all of a sudden here we are packing for our destination wedding in Langkawi! As the wind picks up in the UK and the the rain starts to fall sideways, my thoughts turn to luggage. (OK, I lied – my thoughts turn to sun, sand and beautiful beaches, but luggage does come first!)

For some, the headache now may be, “Which clothes to pack?” I am not sure Regan has the problem, given that I have noticed a pile of beachy-looking-clothes in the spare room, steadily increasing in height over the last week or so.

No, for me the clothes will be the last thing I think about – Sunday, probably, as I start to fill my suitcase. The biggest issue I have is trying to work out just how on earth to transport all the photography gear. When we went on a Photographic Safari to Africa a couple of years back, the camera gear alone weighed in at 20Kg. Given that the internal flights allowed us a combined weight (hand luggage & hold luggage) of just 15Kg, it was a miracle we made it there and back without any complications.

As I write this, I am awaiting delivery of a Think Tank Airport International 2.0 carry-on camera bag, which should do the trick. After much research and a long chat with Helen at Snapper Stuff, she agreed to loan me the bag for a real life field test, in return for some “bag in action” shots throughout the trip. I am sure the gear will all fit, it’s more a problem of how heavy the bag will be once full. With the wild variation in luggage allowances (read “restrictions”) from airport to airport and airline to airline, planning this trip has been a challenge. Whilst Heathrow Airport allows 2 items of hand luggage through security, Malaysia Airlines restricts you to one piece only, and that must not weigh more than 5Kg ! The bag alone weighs more than that … thankfully, we’re travelling in a party of 22 people – “Hi, pleased to meeet you, we’re photographing the wedding … er, can you carry this for me please ?“
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Well, isn’t it a small world ? I recently discovered that Debbie, a good friend of mine who runs a wonderful luxury travel / honeymoon company Travel By Design, actually knows Jamie, the General Manager of the Datai. It seems that Jamie is one of the most friendly hotel managers around, so I am sure he’ll be able to point out the best spots for some promotional shots of the hotel and surrounding locations, which Debbie hopes to use to promote the venue back here in the UK.
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This will probably be the last post until we get to Langkawi on Tuesday morning, so please keep your fingers crossed that our party of 22 get there safe and sound, and with all our baggage too! Thankfully we’re flying Malaysian Airlines from Terminal 3 and not BA from Terminal 5! Can you imagine … no, actually, let’s not even go there …

Shot of the day
I’d like to try and make sure that every post has a photograph, so whilst the rain hammers the window panes and makes you feel like staying indoors all day long, take a step back and see the art :