Wanlyn & Thibaut

“Dear Ann, I am from Singapore and my fiancée is from France. We used to study in Technische Universität München, and hence would like to return to our school for some pre-wedding photography.”

That’s how it started, an email from Wanlyn in early March. It took a Skype call filled with lots of laughter and waving of old film cameras in front of the computer screen, countless emails and elaborate scheduling of numerous locations in one single spreadsheet to get to one day in late May. This was the day I actually met both Wanlyn and Thibaut for the first time and the day we were to take “a few photos” in Munich for their pre-wedding photoshoot. Clearly we didn’t leave it at a few photos and from the second I first hugged them both to the last wave goodbye when we left the Hofbräuhaus at night it felt like I was on a crazy adventure with friends.

As Wanlyn had explained in her first email to me they met studying at the TU Munich and fell in love. So much so that Thibaut moved to Singapore shortly after they both finished their studies to be with Wanlyn. And early next year they are getting married in Malaysia. For their pre-wedding shoot we revisited a few of their usual hang outs and meeting places from their time in Munich. Actually, no. We visited every single place they have ever been to in Munich, including their first flat together and the coffee shop where Wanlyn would wait for hours until Thibaut finished class.

Wanlyn had her hair and make-up done by Natalia Jäger who also came with us for the entire day. It was fantastic to have her around to check up on Wanlyn’s make-up and simply to help out with anything that came up. If you are ever in need of a stylist in Munich I can’t recommend her enough.

After meeting at Natalia’s salon we headed over to the Viktualienmarkt to shop for the picnic later on in the day. Thibaut used all of his French charm and pretty spiffy German skills to check with every single stand owner whether it was okay for us to take photos. Wanlyn looking incredible walking around a market on a Wednesday morning may have helped as well!

Thibaut is quite the photographer himself and when he and I weren’t too busy talking lenses and film (and Wanlyn could stop rolling her eyes at us) I got my lovely, lovely Hasselblad out to get some incredible film shots of them both. I also let Thibaut touch the Blad which was probably all he needed to be convinced that it was a good idea to include the medium format camera. Hopefully these photos will convince Wanlyn as well. I mean look at that light. And those colours.

This right here is why I love film!

We were so incredibly lucky with the weather that day. The forecast warned of rain and clouds and thunderstorms but instead we got a beautiful sunny day with a few clouds and proper summer temperatures. Once we got to Westpark as our last location for a planned picnic and spread out on the grass I felt like I have the best job in the world. Which I probably do.

In the late evening we ended the day chatting and drinking delicious beer at the Hofbräuhaus, safely tucked away from the rain that had arrived just in time for the sun to go down. To me it felt like I had experienced an entire week in one day and made two fantastic friends in the process. With achy feet and tired eyes we discussed life abroad, an upcoming wedding in a tropical country and long distance love. I seem to have a soft spot for people who fall in love with each other despite less than ideal geographical conditions. Seeing these relationships work out so well that those two people decide to stay together forever and get married in the process makes me feel all butterfly-in-the-stomach with happiness.

Thank you Wanlyn and Thibaut for such a wonderful day and I cannot wait to see you again next March – in Malaysia.

© Ann-Kathrin Koch 2012. Images look best without watermarks on them. Please don’t use the photos without asking me first.