Phoeben Teocson Cinema

international wedding: the convent of mercy, hunter valley, australia
reception: chateau elan, hunter valley
photo: nelwin uy
gown: veejay floresca

as if the hills were lit from behind giving the horizon a glowing illusion of the valley, the pitch black darkness gives emphasis to the billions of stars in the night sky. i look over to the other side of the van’s window, passing on the thought of my wife and her amazing ability to get some sleep during a bumpy ride, the postcard-worthy image i see looked almost identical. the view is just that spectacular. it’s half past three in the morning and the damn thing is keeping me awake.

four days ago, my wife and i got to experience sydney once again. it has been two years since we last strolled around the city, by foot no less, and in my opinion the city’s natural charm just never fades. being away from home, it feels good to meet new faces in crystal, my old time facebook buddy, her fiance and film enthusiast “cool-name” sebastian, and her younger brother “baby face” jansen who masterminded my eating of the roo burger! later that same evening, the trio treated us to some tasty chocolate snack from guylian. it was one awesome welcome.

some seven kilometers from the city, bondi beach has always been a place my wife and i wanted to visit. huge warning signs of strong currents and a history of rogue waves extinguished my urge to go bodyboarding as surfer after surfer passed us by. instead, we found a different adventure in the two kilometer trek to mackenzie’s point. by the time day two was over, i swear my legs were giving up on me. thankfully, through photographer extraordinaire nelwin (and tey) uy, we were treated to quite a few re-energizing bottles of corona by our new aussie friend evan and his lovely wife marvie. =)

the long drive to hunter valley the next day proved to be a blessing in disguise as our battered feet got some much needed though unexpected rest. i lost count of the hours that passed until we finally arrived at chateau elan’s magnificent luxury villa. thai food was served during dinner including a bottle of hunter valley’s finest wine as we got to know a little about the couple, whom we met for the first time that day. the big day was less than twenty four hours and excitement was in the air.

it must’ve been below ten degrees outside the reception area. from a distance inspired by the beautiful australian night sky, i hear nelwin uy singing an awfully familiar love song. a couple of tables away, a young lady had a drink one too many and her friends are trying desperately to talk some sense out of her. gen is almost done packing our stuff while nel’s wife tey is good and ready to go. the dancing and drinking was still on-going as stifled party music escapes from the room’s closed doors. as the physical and mental exhaustion slowly crept in, i realized that our third wedding in australia has come to an end. it was epic and i have the film to prove it!

international wedding: st. teresa, singapore
reception: klapson’s the boutique hotel singapore
photo: mangored, jayson and joanne international
couture: veluz

for just this instance, let’s forget about money shots. let’s drop them fancy crane shots and smooth glides. for just this instance, let’s indulge ourselves to the beautiful celebration that was ken and janice’s wedding like we’re all part of it. i’ll try my best to bring a little bit of the experience, a sneak peek per se, right in the comfort of your own viewing pleasure.

it was rainy season in singapore and the challenge for our usual husband and wife team was again pushed to another level. hmmmm, the nostalgia that the film brings somehow misses the epic story that was the night before about my driving over the speed limit and our almost missed flight. well then, i hate to keep you from falling in love with the latest from twilight’s ost (before this ear-candy goes viral) so here’s the video. =)

we are very happy to inform everyone that our services are now available in the united states. please email us at phoeben1@gmail.com for our rates and other inquiries. thank you very much!

international wedding: lake como, lombardy italy
ceremony: san giorgio church
pictorials: villa balbianello
reception: villa cipressi
photo: mauro pozzer
wedding planner: federica nascimben

uyen’s wedding gown hung in her closet. two gorgeous kids and ten roller-coaster years later, she gets to finally walk down the aisle. amazingly, the white gown didn’t fade and even more mind boggling is the fact that it still perfectly fit! they did get married ten years ago, but they, manuel being in the u.s. navy, had to postpone her wearing of her wedding gown for just a little while (i bet that was he said.) =) it was a beautiful story uyen and manuel wrote in their twelve years together and after witnessing the wonderful wedding they had, every second they waited was totally worth it. =)

abito da sposa Uyen è appeso nel suo armadio. due figli splendidi e dieci montagne russe anni dopo, lei si fa a camminare finalmente lungo la navata. sorprendentemente, l’abito bianco non sbiadiscono e ancora più sconvolgente è il fatto che ancora perfettamente in forma! hanno fatto sposarsi dieci anni fa, ma, manuel essere in noi marina, ha dovuto rimandare il suo indossare il suo abito da sposa solo per un po ‘di tempo (scommetto che è stato, ha detto.) =) è stata una bella storia Uyen e manuel ha scritto nel loro dodici anni insieme e dopo aver assistito al matrimonio meraviglioso che avevano, ogni secondo aspettavano era completamente la pena. =)

the beautiful lake view at villa cipressi was such a sight to behold and there couldn’t possibly any place better for our couple to have their wedding reception. it was one of the most intimate celebrations my wife (the only other filipino) and i filmed. it was almost too beautiful to be real and i’ll be damned if it wasn’t a wedding straight out of a story book.

la stupenda vista lago a Villa Cipressi è stato un spettacolo da vedere e non ci potrebbe alcun posto migliore per la nostra coppia di avere la loro ricevimento di nozze. era una delle feste più intime di mia moglie (l’unico altro filippino) ei filmati. era quasi troppo bello per essere vero e che io sia dannato se non fosse un matrimonio appena uscita da un libro di storia.

the experience we had in italy was legendary and we’re forever grateful to manuel and uyen zavala (who resides in the u.k. fyi) for having us. we’re equally stoked working alongside mauro pozzer, one of the finest photographers in the world. four days we spent there and it was more than enough for my wife and i to have another epic page on our wedding filmmaking career. we can’t wait to go back! =)

l’esperienza che abbiamo avuto in Italia era leggendaria e siamo sempre grati a manuel e Uyen Zavala (che risiede nel Regno Unito fyi) per averci. siamo ugualmente alimentato lavorando fianco a fianco mauro Pozzer, uno dei migliori fotografi del mondo. quattro giorni abbiamo trascorso lì ed era più che sufficiente per mia moglie ed io ad avere un’altra pagina epica del nostro matrimonio carriera cinematografica. non vediamo l’ora di tornare! =)

international wedding: kayumanis nusa dua spa and resort bali, indonesia
photo: bunn salarzon

hotel california was playing inside my head as i walk from bonny’s villa to derrick’s early on during their wedding day. no, no, it wasn’t the music i’m using for their video and not that there’s something wrong about it except for the fact that the band who played this song actually offered their souls to the devil in exchange for fame. it’s my body’s natural defensive response to control panic and excitement from getting a little bit too much.

two days before the wedding, just minutes after gen and i met the couple for the first time, i remember derrick saying we’re part of the family right then. moments later, bonny was singing her version of i finally found someone. it was that kind of chemistry that made us instantly at home.

it was our first time documenting a muslim ceremony and frankly, as the song in my head continued playing, i had no idea what was about to unfold. all i knew however, was that they have this beautiful resort dressed up with a floating stage on the pool and a couple of extremely different culture is about to merge.

our stay in bali was absolutely phenomenal. not only did we experience the local traditions, we got to enjoy the sights and the food with the best company all the way from italy, thailand, laos, cambodia, US, mexico and indonesia. we couldn’t ask for anything more.

bonny looked like a goddess. she took everybody’s breath away when she walked down that floating aisle. soon enough, emotions were overflowing. it was one of the most beautiful weddings we have ever witnessed.

moments before we said goodbye to the couple one last time, bonny said we’re part of the family now. not one second during our stay that we didn’t feel like it! =)

the wedding expo just ended and i would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who booked us during the event and the our soon-to-wed clients who dropped by to say hi. it’s a shame to admit that i have talked to a hundred different faces and shared countless stories making me forget who told what and who to contact when. this said, if i am not emailing you within the week, please holler and help remind me about what we talked about during the past weekend. =)

three years was like a blink of an eye but this last three hundred and sixty five days must’ve been the most colorful and most successful we’ve had! Not only did we get to be voted as w@w’s top ten suppliers of the year for the third consecutive time, we were voted as one of the top five! we also won our very first international award in the last WEVA CEA competition. =)

this year, everything’s looking solid than ever! at exactly the same time some three years ago, i cross posted the very first video from our old playback blog to the then new www.phoebenteocson.com domain. today, i am cross-posting yet again as i officially launch the new teamptv.com website. this young team led by my senior editors are ready to deliver quality wedding films with a very affordable rate. we can’t be any more excited.

again, thank you for all the love and support that you have given us and we promise to accomplish our goal each and every event that we are a part of – that’s to be worthy of your every penny!