Bangkok Wedding

It is possible to have a very strong emotional attachment to a place and country. I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world thanks to a father that travelled extensively as a civil engineer. One of the countries that I have an incredibly strong emotional attachment to is Thailand. I lived and worked there and if you want a better understanding of my previous life in Bangkok please refer to the ‘About Me’ section of my web site. Whilst living there I experienced massive emotional highs and lows and it marks a changing time in my life. I made some very good friends whilst living in Bangkok and one of those friends is Fredi. When you live in a foreign country you form close bonds with anyone that helps you cope with the culture shock and shift in lifestyle. You come to rely heavily on people you can trust and consider as new family as your old friends and real family are many thousand of miles away. Despite having left my life in Bangkok some years ago I am still in touch with my old buddies. When I heard that Fredi had finally fallen in love (I only discovered the news by seeing a group of young pretty Asian girls crying in a bar and asked them what was up) and was planning his wedding there was no doubt in my mind that I had be the one to record this union. I wondered who in the great ‘Land of Smiles’ with so many countless beautiful women could have finally captured Fredi’s heart. I recall wandering around Bangkok with Fredi on many a night out and watching every girls head turn to stare at him and smile. Girls would reach out and openly chat him up and flirt shamelessly. A combination of Fredi’s charm, generosity, mixed race good looks and kindness makes him one of the most popular guys I’ve known. Women and men all seem to all adore Fredi.

My wedding present to Fredi was to photograph his wedding to his beautiful bride Dada. It was as expected an evening of vibrant colour, beauty, glitz, lights, sequins, pretty gowns, lips and false eye lashes. The best man performed an impressive dance routine with the bride’s flower girl wowing the audience with their ballroom skills. The cake was without doubt the biggest wedding cake I’ve ever seen and I would challenge anyone to show me a photo of a wedding cake larger. The little bridesmaids were cute, adorable and cheeky. When I lived in Bangkok I used to speak Thai daily and I have annoyingly forgotten much if it but I did my best to remember the language to communicate my needs. The wedding venue was a short walk from my old condominium and an even shorter walk from my father’s old office. It was all so emotional and strange to be there that night and it was one of mixed emotions too really.

I met up with Fredi and Dada the very next day for dinner. Dada promptly asked me if the pictures were ready. Thanks digital, thanks.