Donna + Steve | Khao Lak wedding

Last week I flew to Thailand to photograph Donna and Steve’s wedding in Khao Lak, a gorgeous beach area near Phuket that was flattened by the tsunami five years ago. I spent three weeks covering the tsunami aftermath there five years ago, and it was a bit emotional getting back there. It’s great to see that Khao Lak has recovered so well, and appears to be thriving.

Donna and Steve live in London, and decided on a small destination wedding in Thailand for various reasons, though I’m pretty sure that the weather this time of year in London was probably the deciding factor. The setting at the Sarojin resort could not have been better – lush yet understated. We had some spare time in the morning to fit in an impromptu engagement session and take advantage of that gorgeous blue ocean and green grounds, and in the afternoon I had lots of time to capture Donna and Steve preparing in their separate side-by-side suites.

And, for the first time in many many months, I was able to shoot a wedding bathed in stunning late afternoon sunshine. I finally know what it would feel like to shoot a wedding in southern California.

One of the advantages of photographing such a small wedding party (9 people in all) is that I got to spend a bit more time than usual getting to know everyone. And getting to know Donna and Steve was a genuine pleasure. They are one of the friendliest, fun couples I have met, let alone photographed. To have been allowed to be part of their intimate wedding was a real privilege, and a definite highlight of my year.