Singaporebrides | Photography
January 2014
Love that Goes the Distance
Long distance relationships are undeniably difficult, but this sweet couple gives us all hope that true love does indeed go the distance. Elizabeth, 22, Architecture Student and Conrad, 30, Accountant, charm us with their Skype “proposal,” his moving across the world to be with the love of his life, and their gorgeous pre-wedding shots amidst the striking architecture of Macau, taken with a splash of fun under an umbrella!
How did the two of you meet?
Conrad: I saw Elizabeth for the first time at a party during Chinese New Year 2009. At that time, both of us were already in a relationship. We managed to meet again in September 2009, when we started playing badminton with a group of mutual friends. I must admit, Elizabeth is good at sports. Her badminton skills caught my attention, but even more, her beauty charmed me.
Elizabeth: I honestly don’t remember seeing Conrad in early 2009, and he keeps teasing me for not remembering our first encounter. Anyhow, when we officially met again at our badminton games, Conrad wouldn’t stop watching me play from metres away. The truth was I had a crush on him too, so I did some research and managed to secretly get his number off a friend’s phone! Conrad is shy so I made the first move, and that one message led to today.
We heard that you had a long distance relationship. Elizabeth made the first move that started everything, and Conrad made the across-the-world move that brought you two together again! Tell us the story.
Conrad: We are both from Mauritius. In 2011, Elizabeth went to Hong Kong to pursue her tertiary studies. We decided to go with a long distance relationship, but as many may know, it is one of the hardest things to do! After two years, I had enough of it and decided to leave my business in Mauritius to join Elizabeth because she means the world to me.
Elizabeth: During our long distance relationship, Conrad and I would meet once or twice a year, and each time we had to leave each other again only made it more difficult. One day, Conrad promised me that we would never have to be far from each other again. That’s when he decided to leave everything in Mauritius to come join me. I know that was so sweet but that also meant a huge sacrifice for him and I would never be thankful enough to him.
Aww, that is so romantic. Was the proposal just as moving?
Elizabeth: Awkwardly enough, there was no proposal. In fact, we decided to get married over a Skype conversation!
Conrad: When I promised her that I would join her in Hong Kong, our conversation eventually ended up being about weddings and that’s how we decided to get married.
How cute! When you commemorated your decision with an engagement shoot, did you have a concept for the shoot?
Conrad: We wanted our pre-wedding photos to have as background something different from the very familiar landscape of Hong Kong. We really wanted the shoot to be in Macau because of the European architecture. After looking at over 20 photographers, we narrowed them down to three, and in the end chose Jerome Goh because of the package he offered and because he knows the places around Macau. But even more, he is fluent in English (yes, I can’t speak any Chinese).
Elizabeth: Apart from wanting to shoot in Macau, we were very easy-going on the rest. In fact, some ideas came from my fitted lace wedding gown. The hairstylist suggested that braids would go well with the gown, and together with Macau’s background, we managed to go from no concept to a touch of old and vintage style.
We love the gorgeous architecture in your shots. What made you decide on your photo shoot locations?
We didn’t have any location in mind. When Elizabeth saw a couple’s photo on the jetty, she said, that was a must for us. For the rest, we trusted our photographer. Unfortunately, the plan had to change because of the rain; we ended up shooting indoors more. Both of us actually didn’t know where we were heading until we had to get out of the car! We were also very lucky that the Venetian Hotel was having a carnival party that evening. As our car passed by and we saw the bright lights, we knew we had to stop there. Our night shots turned out amazing!
Tell us the story behind your cute umbrella shots.
Elizabeth: We were very disappointed to see the bad weather that morning. We planned to have some outdoor shots on the open grass but that never happened. Instead, in many of our photos, we are holding an umbrella. I still remember being very hesitant to drop my gown onto the wet ground and by the end of the shoot, my gown was soaked heavy. The entire shoot was a race against the rain. The second the rain stopped, we would run out and the second it started pouring again, we had to run for shelter. Just imagine having a gown and heels on!
Conrad: But, big thanks to our photographer, Jerome, who managed to change our location schedule in no time and didn’t hesitate to shoot us under the rain even if it meant having his equipment wet. Overall, we had a lot of fun!
What was the most memorable moment of your shoot?
Elizabeth: We giggled a lot when we were holding each other closely. Each time I looked into Conrad’s eyes, I would see my own reflection, and I resembled the cartoon character Miss Piggy from the Muppet show.
Conrad: I’m not good in front of cameras, so Elizabeth would tickle me to let out my natural smile!
How did you family and friends react to your pre-wedding photos?
Absolutely everyone we showed the photos to, found them gorgeous. Conrad’s mum loves them so much that she has a shortcut link on her desktop so she can watch them every day.
They definitely are lovely engagement photos. Next up, a wedding! What are your plans for the big day?
Elizabeth: Since we are both from Mauritius, we plan to celebrate it there with family and friends. We have in mind a beach wedding with an outdoor banquet at our favourite resort with around 150 guests. So no fancy dresses and heels!
Conrad: Elizabeth loves art and crafts, and we plan to design our own decorations. Our wedding is scheduled for May 2015.
The Photographer: Jerome Goh Photography
The Makeup Artist and Hairstylist:Tobico Professional Makeup
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