Amy and Michael
To view Amy and Michael's wedding photos:
http://shopping.yourphotosonline.com/Password is the
bride's last name

Amy and Michael's engagement photos:
Labels: engagement, misc
Photo session in Hong Kong, VanCouver, Hawaii, and Bali
Want to book a photo session outside of Chicago??? Check out my trip schedule below, I may be in your city soon.
My upcoming traveling trips:
- Hong Kong-----Sept 27-Oct 14, 2009.
- VanCouver-----Nov 17-Nov 23, 2009.
- Hawaii---------- Dec 4-Dec 8, 2009.
- Bali---------------Dec 19-Dec 23, 2009.
- Hong Kong-----Dec-Jan of 2010 (TBD).
If any of you would like to set up a photo shoot, please contact me anytime.
The most emotional wedding-----Wendy & Roum
The perfect moment shot from Wendy and Roum's wedding.

I got a glimpse of Wendy's sexy legs.

I like this one because of the two men with flash going off in the back. At a wedding with so many people taking photos (even the bride couldn't help it but to bust out her camera for a shot), I was able to try a different perspective.

This is why everyone kept taking photos. A heartfelt mother-and-son dance. There are more emotional (crying) photos, not sure if I should post them though, hehhehe.

Side note: Flower-girl-wagon, custom design / hand made by the mother of the bride.
Heather and Barry
It is a Chinese tradition for the groom to go through challenges before seeing the bride for the first time on their wedding day. Challenges include level of games that will prove to everyone how much the groom loves the bride and her family.
At Heather and Barry's wedding, Barry and his groomsmen had to mimic what the music video was doing and sing in front of everyone.
After a few challenges, the groomsmen presented a check for the bridesmaids and sisters to buy (bribe) their way through. The check doesn't look too real though.

The groomsmen are thinking, "Hopefully, this hand-made-check will bribe us through because it is the thought that counts."

While downstairs is negotiating the open door fee, upstairs on the second floor is like a different world. There are two people concentrating on their movie and laptop. What a contrast.

Joanne and Jon
Best wedding invitation of the year
Today I received a wedding invitation from Vivian and Leighton. The set of invite is just TOO COOL NOT TO SHOW.

The invite is absolutely impressive. I love the layout and their idea of using their "Wii" logo and tie it to a bible verse to "We (Wii) love because God first loved us" John 4:19
(The meaning behind the Wii logo is a tilted letter L and letter V put together into a W, and then 2 little people that shape like the "ii")

A+ on the consistency.

Save the date with the cute little graphics (of their cat, vespa, wedding cake, and heart) along with a personal message on the side:

Even the map graphic is way cool. I 'm so amazed by the detail to the width of the street vs highway, highway exit and location icons. I have never seen such a well put-together map design.

I am rating this invite the Best Wedding Invitation of the year!!
Labels: save-the-date, wedding invitation
Joan & Pete
I just photographed a beautiful outdoor wedding at
Villa Olivia country club this weekend.
Click here to view Joan and Pete's wedding slideshow
Thank you Janice and Marco

Thank you Janice and Marco for everything!!!
Lots of green, Dianne & Ariel

Ceremony: Baker Memorial Methodist Church
DJ: Remix Entertainment,Inc
Wedding cake: Bake for me
Click here to view Dianne and Ariel's wedding photos.
Login as a guest.User name is the groom's last name
Password is 13770

This is what I mean by lots of green.

Labels: wedding
Elaine and Sunny
After a long day of shoot. Elaine and Sunny were both tired.

Save the date - Xiaoxing & Mark
Here's another example of "
making something out of the engagement shoot". You just never know what your engagement photos are good for other than displaying them on your reception table. They can turn out to be your save-the-date date card /e-card /postcard, or invitation.
Labels: engagement, save-the-date
Kwan and Ray

Congrats to Kwan and Ray. I had alot of fun photographing these 2. The hot weather and sweat didn't stop their overflowing sweetness.

They were able to give me playful when I wanted it.

When I wanted passionate, even in this very old dirty building, they still gave me passionate.

Think posey posey model shot.

To get this shot, I have to give it to kwan, the bride. She had to climb over the fences in her heavy wedding gown to get inside this hallway, A+ for the effort.

And for this water fountain shot, I m quite proud of it. At first I thought it was impossible to get a good shot because it was very busy crowded Sunday afternoon and the park was full of people taking photos around and inside the fountain. So I moved Kwan and Ray forward, away from the fountain, used them to block every tourists behind them. Now it looks like it was just the two of them, when the three of us know that there were actually tons of people surrounding us.
Kathy & Aben
People often ask if winter weddings would be less happy without the bright and sunny blue sky. And I always tell them people can get married in any season and can still have fabulous photos, the key is the people, not the scenery nor the warm weather. Kathy and Aben's wedding was one good example. I could not have asked for a more intimate and loving wedding.

Groom and his sister (also the maid of honor) just hanging out and having a good time before the ceremony.

Here comes the bride
Have your single bills ready
My favorite moments from Kelly and Peter's wedding
Baby Baby Baby
I guess if you are booking me to be your wedding photographer, you should know that once you do that, I'm in your life, and I 'm in it FOREVER! From your engagement (or as early as your proposal) to your wedding, I 'm there. And when you get pregnant, have your first born, or when you want to do some family portraits, you will want me there too. I see my couples from bride and groom to mom and dad, from no babies to having tons of babies, it is just fascinating. What a fun job I have to be in my couples' lives and be documenting their lives every step of the way.
To Texas from Chicago
Recently moved away couple, Wendy and Roum came back to Chicago for their engagement shoot last week. We went on a little Chicago tour and Wendy went on her first trolley ride. It was truly a lot of fun exploring the Planetarium and the loop with these 2 lovebirds. Wendy has a face that you just can't stop photographing, very sexy yet sweet at the same time; Roum has a very genuine sunny smile and he is indeed very playful at heart, see~




Other than weddings, I also photograph
residential homes.
Here are some of the homes I shot last year:

Labels: home
G Min & Darren
The good moments from G Min and Darren's wedding:

Dianne and Ariel

Dianne and Ariel, thanks for being so much fun and flexible to photograph. The fun part was standing in the middle of the street while your little brother, Richard kept an eye out for any upcoming traffic so we wouldn't get run over. The flexible part was trusting me to tell you to sit on the streets cause we did shoot on some very dirty streets, especially on Van Buren, you two deserve an around of applause for being so brave and so cool about anything.
Click here for their engagement slideshow.

TTT
This past weekend I shot a very colorful Tibetan wedding.
Monica & Jeremy's Chicago Wedding
Click here to view their wedding online slideshow.


To give the Boston couple something to remember of Chicago.

Who's cooler? A competition between the bridesmaids and the groomsmen...


My first time shooting on the horse carriage ride, it was too fun, I didn't want to get off.
Outside of the Newberry library...

When the music came on, everyone's inner techno energy started to release and they turned into some dancing animals.

Thanks Monica and Jeremy for being so lovely and easy to hang with.
Labels: wedding
Emily & David (photos are ready!)
Bright and early, Emily, the bride is getting her makeup done

David counting the "open door fee" for the bridesmaids.

The bride gives an OK for David to come in and get her.


Ceremony begins...



Very touching speeches and vows, I had a few tears too. sniff sniff.

First kiss as husband and wife.

I love it when the bride and groom are being themselves. Emily and David, you have made your perfect day so
"you"-
ique.

Another unique part of the wedding is the wedding favors. Paper roses hand made by the bride, production began last year as soon as David proposed. 200 guests, each gets 3 roses, total of 600 hand folded roses, amazing!
Pam & Jun's Wedding
Click here to view Pamela & Jun's wedding photos online.
It's a password protected website, please contact the bride and groom for instruction to log in.
Want to see their previous engagement photos? Click here to view the slidehsow.
Labels: wedding
Ming & Albert
"
In the back of the van, they kissed"

This time to NYC was mainly for an engagement shoot. Below is a pic of me photographing the couple in front of the
Met.
Photo taken by Vera or Pam, my friends with benifits, and my benifits were to have them as assistants free of charge that day, hahahaMy target, Ming and Albert, hidden among people,
intensionally. I am thinking of turning this into a 200 piece puzzle.
Click here to view their engagement slideshow.
Labels: engagement
I attended a wedding

Labels: wedding
Pooh & Piglet Couple

Labels: engagement
my fisheye bling bling
Snaping in bling bling...

Labels: misc
Shihoko, Shuji, Sofitel, and saxophone
Ceremony : Sofitel HotelDress : Lucinda (the dress has a name!) by
Monique Lhuillier at
Ultimate Bride on Oak Street
Tux : Giorgio Armani
Floral and Decor: Ryan Yokley and Hector Cardenas @ Architect de Fleur
Reception : Sofitel HotelCake : Croquembouche by Susan Taves @
Sweet CassavaBand : Jordan Baskin TrioWedding photo website is up and running!!! Please follow instruction from the thank you card to access photos or contact the bride and groom.





New York Birthday
My very memorable
last-year-in-the-twenties birthday I spent it with Vera, Pam, Camper shoes, MOMA, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Tapas, Pinkberry frozen
yogurt, Dean &
Deluca, Cafe
Habana, a huge
bling bling ring, bling bling earrings, more shopping, flowers and Ming Ming. (Thanks for taking a day off to hang out with me, I feel so loved)


A pic of Vera and Pam...
Drown in the Bubbles
Click here to view Engagement slideshow of Emily and David
I just made this today:

The lighting was perfect, no direct sunlight, no wind, and no shadow, how awesome is that? Perfect opportunity do this combo shoot.

The coolest part of the day was having a portable bubble machine with us. When we tried it, we didn't realize it was on full blast, hahaha. Normally I don't put the out-takes on my blog, but this one is just too funny. David looks like he is getting hit by bubbles.

Thank you Cindy & Wallace
Bridesmaids inside a walk-in closet...

Wallace and his groomsmen in front of a closet door...

Now just the bride and groom...

My favorite interesting photo of the night...

This destination wedding trip to Hong Kong is almost over. Thank you Cindy and Wallace for having me here to document you special day. It indeed was a very special day, full of joy, laughers, and many touching moments.
Cindy or Wallace's wedding photos are available online, it's password protected, please contact the bride or groom for password and instruction.
Pic of me photographing Cindy and Wallace, taken by Patrick.
Travel: Hong Kong 4/28-5/11

I am in Hong Kong from April 28--May 11, 2008. If any of you would like to set up a photo session, please contact me via
email or call me on my HK mobile 9525-3056.
From Boston to Chicago
I met Monica and Jeremy for the first time on April 27. They are two love birds from Boston but will be having their wedding in Chicago, on the most popular date of this year-----August 9, 08. (I can't recall how many times I have been contacted by a bride with that same date.)

They are really great, I didn't have to tell them to kiss much and they would just kiss. They make my job so easy =>


Click here to view their engagement slideshow
Coffee shop couple
Irene and Daniel are getting married!!! Whenever I asked Irene where she would like to meet for her engagement session, she would say, "let's meet over coffee or a quick bite." And that's how they got their title "coffee shop couple"
At coffee shop 1...
At coffee shop 2...

At coffee shop 3...(at Julius Meinl, where Irene and Daniel first went on a date)
Click here to view Irene and Daniel's engagement slide show.
Gloria & Terry
Happy Birthday Gloria.

It's so nice to see palm trees especially when it's so freezzing cold in this Chicago's April weather.

Random photos of the bridal party, I found a good spot for portrait.


At the reception, Terry played a love song to Gloria, very touching.

LEGO Ten Commandments
I got an awesome gift from Joseph today. It's a Ten Commandments story book, published by The Brick Testament. The story is illustrated by LEGO characters. From a photographer's stand point, each photo in this book actually contains some good use of depth of field and perspective, very impressive. 
Labels: misc
Victoria & Dennis






Victoria is the most hyper and the most lively bride ever!!! Not only did she dance, cheer, and make groovy faces, she also practiced her "I do's and "I will's out loud. =) It was very fun to photograph this couple. They were full of chemistry and happy laughter.
Sharon & Dave
To view more, such as their engagement photos, Click here .
Save the date card
Save the date card custom design by Verena Wong.
Designer: Verena Wong
Labels: save-the-date
Shihoko & Shuji
Engagement shoot vs loved pets portraits?
This is the first time I shot more of the couple's pets than the couple themselves for an engagement session. Meet the family~



Gail & Fred
I met Gail and Fred when I was photographing their friend's,
Suzie and John's wedding. I was immediately drawn to their sweet interactions. And who would have thought they are also GREAT DANCERS. I had such a great time photographing their wedding.


CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDE SHOWCeremony:
St. Paul's Church
Wendy & Patrick
Reception: Evergreen
Cake: Almond cake with creme brulee filling with buttercream frosting from
Bittersweet Pastry.
Labels: wedding
On my desk
I 'm at my desk at least 10 hours a day. Today I feel like showing off what's on my desk. (Actually I 'm looking for an excuse to get my mind off editing photos, hehehe ;)
Do Something Creative Everyday Cup from
Paper Source. I got it as a gift from
Lin Eagle. I use it to put my many different pens to seperate appointments, bridal go sees, wedding dates, and misc events in my planner.
Graphi tablet from
Wacom, awesome for working professionals in the photography and graphic design field. I am using this to train myself as a leftie. It really reliefs the pain on my right wrist.

Colorful
Inspiration comes from working files, keeps me working...for inspiration.

My monthly planner and blackberry, can't leave without these two.

Back up system : portable hard drives and image bank card reader by Western Digital
, Maxtor, and Digimate III.
Memory cards : total 34G

Although I have switched to Canon, I still have my old card board Nikon camera, just something silly.

There are alot more junk on my desk, but I better get back to work~
Labels: misc
Will you marry me?
Imagine yourself going to a coffee shop with a friend on a cold and snowy night...as you are about to order a hot cup of something, you noticed the specialty drink of the day is called "Will you marry me?" The background music is playing "your love song" and there is someone waiting for you outside in the side court yard. You go outside and there he is, the man of your dream, standing there with some flowers, smiling back at you, awaiting for your answer.
That's what I witnessed yesterday. It was cold, it was snowing hard, but it didn't stop Andy from popping the question to Raechelle.



Raechelle & Andy, you made my heart melted. CLICK HERE FOR SLIDE SHOW
Labels: engagement
Tokyo 2008
This time, my short 3 day trip to Tokyo was more for hanging out with friends, eating, and shopping...therefore I didn't shoot much. Below are some of the very few photos from the trip.
Photo taken by my friend, Maan. If you understand Chinese, you will see the big sign reads "No information information center" or "Useless information center" but in Japanese, it means something else.
I was attracted to this mainly because of the sweetness of the word---LOVE. And the more I stared at it, I realized the LOVE logo is actually written in bunny ear shapes, how thoughtful.

Everywhere we went, we just wanted to EAT! I remember one time I ate this tofu, it was so soft, I didn't even get to taste it and it went down my throat. What a waste.

I saw this big ad at the Harajuku's train station, thought it was cool to incorporate my friend, Hilda to follow the ad's concept, mixing 2D and 3D element together into this new form of art, blah blah blah.

Labels: misc
Wedding of the century
From Novemeber of 06 when Daisy and Waveman
told me that they were engaged to June of 07 when they came to
Chicago to shoot their engagement to now-----December 29, 07, when they have their
wedding in Hong Kong, they have gotten me soo hooked on them. These two are so inspiring, loving, fun, and incredible. I feel so lucky and truly blessed to be included in their wedding process. The amount of trust and love I have gotten from these two are unexplainable. I couldn't have asked for more.
Ring bearer Ryan and Flower girl Chloe.
Labels: wedding
Shy yet fun
Laura, the bride says, "can someone pass me my wedding gown?"

No picture please...

This past Saturday I shot with Wedding Day Art @ Lake Forest Academy. At first I thought the bride was more on a shy side, but at night, when she took off her shoes and ran across the field with her girls, she proved to me that she can be a fun and wild bride. See the rest of the photos...

A gentle kiss as husband and wife...

Reception begins...

A great touching speech from the father of the bride...

Runaway bride...

Laura and all her bridesmaids...hot and sexy
Queenie & Joseph are on top of the world
Labels: wedding
What a great idea to give an anniversary photo session as a gift to your
significant other. This creative girlfriend, Judy, booked me a few months in advance, planned this anniversary photo session to surprise her man, Ken. To see more photos go to :
http://millicentwong.com/judyken/
Labels: anniversary

When the bride, Angel was thanking her parents during the ceremony, everyone started to burst into tears. Bonnie, one of the bridesmaids gave me an eye signal to get her some tissue paper and ironically, the only thing I could find was a roll of Angel soft.
Boulder, CO 7/26--7/29

Boulder, CO, best known for its environmental-protection efforts and green savvy. I would sum up the city with 3 words: organic, green, and friendly. I absolutely love the town. It's such a healthy town, everyone is so into eating healthy, recycling, going organic, supporting farmers market, and outdoor sports.
Secondary subject
When the secondary subject is the message of the photo...
Instyle Transformers
This past Sunday I met with Queenie and Joseph for an engagement shoot. Our concept was to photograph "what they do on dates". That would include : shopping, having a drink in the coffee shop, eating at their usual restaurant, reading at the bookstore, and simply just hanging out.
My most memorable moment of Queenie and Joseph:
The way their eyes sparkled when she said
Instyle and he said
Transformers.When I asked Queenie for her favorite reading material at Borders, she gave me an answer without hesitation-----
Instyle Magazine. There is no doubt that Instyle is Queenie's favorite, she loves fashion, has good taste in clothing, and definitely knows what's in style.
One the other side, Joe pointed out many of his favorite books to me, but nothing compares to when he saw a Transformers book on the shelf. I know he is not into the book itself but more so the idea of Transformers is back and is now on motion picture. The look on his face was priceless, I could tell that it brought back lots of his good childhood memories. I could see it in his eyes.
Labels: engagement
A few hours break on Armitage


As I was working at home replying endless emails and finishing up with a few wedding photo deadlines, Tara called. She invited me to go wedding invitation shopping with her and Melissa, a friend whom I haven't seen for years since she has moved to California. I agreed to go right away.
We tackled Paper Source on Armitage to brainstrom for Tara's Mexico theme wedding. We all came up with some brilliant ideas:
Tara - "message in a bottle" wedding invite
Kimmi - personalized flip fops party flavors
Melissa - vision on sand color paper, shells, and cactus design
Hanging out with Tara, Melissa, and Kimmi turned out to be what I needed. Seeing Melissa, especially, brings back lots of high school memories. How could I miss the
opportunity to not take some photos of her, right? To see more photos from today, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/millicentwong/July3Labels: friends
Fairy tale comes true

Labels: wedding
Favorite photo of Daisy & Waveman

You probably thought they were lying on bunch of pink leaves huh?
Labels: engagement
Daisy & Waveman Engagement
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Labels: engagement
3 days engagement shoot
Last November, newly engaged Daisy and Waveman said they wanted to come to Chicago for their engagement shoot. We decided to make it happen in June this year. Since then, my mind just couldn't stop brainstroming. Where do I want to take them? When is the best time of lighting for what location? Planning driving routes, marking down locations that they might like, booking hair, makeup, and florist for the shoot...etc, it wasn't easy planning a 3 days shoot.
My first vision was summer white dress girl meets sunny boy in kahkis. Lucky for me, Daisy and Waveman are not the typical traditional couple, they are open minded and up for any kind of cool ideas. This engagement shoot is going to be divided into life style photojournalistic photos and posed shots at romantic places. Let's see how that goes when they arrive tomorrow.

Labels: engagement
Suzie & John

When I first met Suzie and John, they were a little bit shy. But hey, that's not what I see in these photos. They have turned into the fun and expressive couple.
Labels: wedding
Billie & Lawrence
ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS
It was the coldest day of the year in
February 2007. Seriously, that day was too cold for any human being to be outdoor, my camera started to freeze on me, the images on the LCD screen was fading out...etc. But Billie and Lawrence were probably thinking about Hawaii in their heads, the photos turned out
amazing. No one could tell that we were working in such difficult condition, can you?


INVITATION
Billie and Lawrence picked out 5 of their favorite shots from the engagement shoot and made a series of postcard as their invitation. I must say they successfully made a
collectible wedding invitation postcard set. The responses were great.
GUEST BOOK

WEDDING DAY
Turn on your speakers and check out the music slide show: http://www.millicentwong.com/BL
Labels: engagement, guest book, wedding, wedding invitation
Irene the florist
I always run into Irene Chandra at weddings. We usually don't ever chit chat because she is busy with her bouquet and flower stuff and I 'm busy with my shooting. This time I thought I'd showcase some of the photos I took of her beautiful work over the years. She is really an amazing talented florist. Her work continuously gives me the "wow" factor every time.
Erica & Jay's wedding Oct 2005
Venus & Ken's wedding Nov 2005
Queenie & Joseph's wedding Sept 2007