The wedding photo story of a gaming-loving couple

A truly unique commission came from a former colleague I hadn’t worked with in over a decade—the connection itself felt like a small miracle. She is a woman of free-spirited romance, a lover of the Nijigen (2D/Anime) world, and this is the story of her and her husband.

74 photos (16 of which were of cats) and 3 video clips. Their footprints spanned Taiwan, Japan, Australia, and Thailand—from the snow-capped peaks of Tateyama Kurobe to the Wat Arun pier in Bangkok, and from the Osaka Expo to the historic Hanami-koji in Kyoto. They spent their winters working in Tokyo and their summers living in Melbourne; they rested in Taipei’s Expo Park during autumn and savored fruit shaved ice in Taichung as spring arrived. I felt as though I were traveling through the four seasons alongside them.

Sketch of Plan A 1.&2 and plan B.

My initial thought was to use the dramatic tension of Day(bright) and Night(dark) to create dramatic contrast—perhaps "dramatic" is a bit of an exaggeration, but the traditional concept of "wedding portraits" is so deeply rooted that I felt a need to showcase the balance between masculine strength and feminine grace. I first came up with an idea of the two of them lying on a huge bed, where her wedding dress becomes the duvet and his long, curly hair acts as the pillow. But in the end, Plan B obviously suited their personalities much better.

Lots of flowers, vibrant colors, and elements of anime—this last point was specifically emphasized during our only discussion.

Some details.

"A huge part of our entertainment is playing video games together." She said.

The most intriguing moments were tucked away in two of the three videos: in the darkness, they stared at the game screen with such solemn expressions that, without context, one might think they were negotiating a high-stakes business deal.

As I painted, the conventional notion of a "wedding portrait" began to fade. I thought of the tulips held on the day they registered their marriage, and the two cats that were perpetually glued to the man. They are like twins—reflections of one another, yet distinct, yet interchangeable. Even though I sensed the bride might prefer a warmer aesthetic, I followed my intuition and used large blocks of gradient blue for their hair. To me, these two feel like nocturnal creatures. Interestingly, this composition of the final result functions perfectly in both orientations. It feels like a metaphor for two different souls—each with their own goals—comfortably coexisting within the same space.

I allowed myself this bit of creative indulgence. Much like their wedding itself, the result is vivid and deeply personal.

The cats. The final artwork. The wedding day scene.