I recently reached out to UK photographer Neale James as I am an avid listener of his ‘FujiCast’ podcast as well as the very new ‘1000 Weddings’ podcast. Why the name? He has already photographed 1000 weddings in his career and I am always mindblowned by this fact! I was beyond elated yet frightful when he replied and said he does not mind having me come on as a guest.

On my flight back from the Bali workshop, I finally caught the award-winning film, ‘Rain Man’.

Starring the impeccable Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, the movie revolves around how Cruise’s character discovering one day that he had an autistic brother (Hoffman) that was hidden away from him and how his character transformed from a greedy, self-centred person to a selfless one.

There are many questions that couples ask of us, especially more so when it comes to pre-wedding/engagement photography shoot. So I have decided to put together this impromptu preparation guide, so that it can help you get ready the next time you are heading into a shoot!

After photographing weddings at various venues across the years, be it grand hotel ballrooms, small intimate bars, cosy dimly lit restaurants, and even shophouses – I always find myself wanting to photograph more at Min Jiang at Dempsey. It still remains one of my favourites for short ROMs (marriage solemnisations) or actual day weddings, whether it is a lunch or dinner reception.

Today, I shall attempt to at least jot down, what it is about Bottled Groove Photography’s and its photographer’s unique (I would think!) take on wedding photography in Singapore and what is compelling for clients/couples to book us for this term - documentary style photography. Although we hope we make it on those “Best Wedding Photographer in Singapore” list at times too HAHA.

Definition

So, what is documentary, sometimes labeled as photojournalistic or in Singaporean terms - candid wedding photography? Why is the term bandied around so casually and commonly these days?

When it was first announced on 20th Feb 24’s X-Summit that the latest version of Fujifilm’s X100VI was coming, I knew I had to get it. Being a huge Fujifilm fan since the X20 and also the first X100, it has been quite a journey which saw me working with Fujifilms for my full-time photography work.

What happened was, Ryan, a fellow wedding photographer casually asked if we should find some wedding photographers and videographers to go on a street shoot together.

So I asked on a Instagram post to see if anyone wanted to join us if we had arranged.

Eventually, the photo walk that was supposedly a smaller scale one, quickly escalated to a bigger one that I had to scramble to seek help in finding a space to house everyone lol. It seemed like the wedding scene peeps has been waiting for a moment like this, to meet and chat with industry vendors but never had the opportunity.

Until I innocently asked one day.

So, we have finally arrived in the month of August. August, in Singapore, is traditionally a lull month for wedding creatives because of the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival / 七月’. During this period, weddings are normally avoided because many Chinese believe that it is not a good month to hold auspicious activities.

Graduated groom Bing Rru, an amazing chef in his own right, recently made plenty of headlines when he opened Kuro Kare at within the SMU premise with his partners. Their amazing black curry, hence the name Kuro Kare, is cooked for 36 hours prior and served with whichever dish you decide to order.

I had an opportunity to head down to eat, as well as photograph some scenes and dishes.