For those who have been reading this blog for sometime, you might know that I started out my career in the local film and television line. For many years, I edited TV programs, dramas, films, documentaries… and also directed some episodes of various television programs. Then in 2007, I began to explore the world of weddings through my camera lens. You can read more about my history here.

So how is this relevant to what I am about to say?

Well, basically, we will be involved in a new project involving an international travel channel that broadcasts to 120 countries worldwide. No, this doesn’t mean that we are no longer photographing weddings. Every now and then, I believe in doing new things that will help fuel creativity, and though it’s been a while since I directed a TV program, this is something I’m excited to do.

So… this is where you come in.

We are looking to feature weddings in Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore. For each episode, we will feature one local couple and one couple who are traveling to that destination for their wedding. If you are getting married in these locations within the months of May-August 2012 and would love to have your wedding featured internationally on television, do contact us!

Please email grace.tan [at] stories.my with these details:

1. Your name & your fiance’s name

2. The location and date of your wedding

3. Why you think your wedding should be featured (or perhaps some unique details about your wedding plans)

4. Include a photo of the both of you

And that’s it! This is not a contest. We will select the couple based on the best story that fits our requirements. We are excited to hear from you, so do email us soon!

The final post from Nabil & Maisha’s wedding – the walima. It’s the event where the men come dressed in their best suits, guests dine and enjoy each other’s company.

When you have such beautiful weather (I love the cool weather!) and out in the open, the entire place decked with gorgeous decoration and my absolute favourite, fairy lights, a seemingly normal venue is turned into one that is just beautiful and magical. Nabil and Maisha did such a great job with the wedding. I did say that the weather was cold, because Andrew was really freezing through the night. But me, I just love the weather and the idea of having little pits of fire burning where guests could just go and stand by them to keep warm.

So much attention was paid to the little details, the decorations for each place setting for guests, the cut out pieces of butterflies, the colour scheme of the tents, the waterfall behind the bride and the groom and all down to the choices of flowers and stage decorations. It was truly a sight to behold.

Check out the customized tag on the Giorgio Armani suit.

The number of people who turned up were in such great numbers that the event was split into two areas, one in the hall and one outside where people were served with delicious briyani rice and succulent mutton! There were even coconuts and ice cream available for everyone, in the freezing weather. To top it off, fireworks were shot into the sky to celebrate Nabil and Maisha’s wedding.

Even the cake had little ‘fireworks’.

For those of you who are interested in seeing the highlights from all their events, please view the slideshow below.

Previous blog posts:
Maisha’s Holudh
Nabil’s Holudh
Portraits at Ahsan Manzil
Maisha’s Mehndi
Wedding Day

They’ve been childhood sweethearts since the 5th grade. Nabil used to walk past Maisha’s class just to look at her. She knew. Whenever he came by, she would glance his way. Phone conversations after phone conversations led to the start of a deep friendship. A friendship that lasted through the years. Their love blossomed which eventually led to a surprise midnight proposal to Maisha at the Bashundhara lakeside. Nabil presented her a carton full of love letters, gifts and memoirs from their childhood. It’s like a fairy tale come true.

And on the 8th of January 2011, Nabil and Maisha sealed their love for each other in a grand wedding ceremony.

Here’s Mark’s perspective of the events that unfolded that day…

Now a typical wedding day usually consists of just a day of fun and celebrations but when it comes to Nabil and Maisha, the two of them really know how to party! As you would already have seen from the previous posts, Nabil and Maisha spent countless hours preparing for their big day. The venue was laid out with beautiful fairy lights, the weather was fantastic, tents were set up to house the hundreds of people who came to join in the festivities and the food smelt absolutely delicious!

Such is a grand wedding here where the couple marched in with a full on marching band with two horsemen to announce their grand arrival. The hall was packed with friends, relatives, business partners and the whos who of Bangladesh. Believe me, even the President of Bangladesh attended the wedding! Decked in beautiful red cloth, everyone had a fantastic time greeting both Nabil and Maisha on stage as well as partying on the floor and just having fun eating and chit chatting with everyone.

Here are some of the photos that we captured throughout the night.

The event was held at the Army Golf Club in Dhaka. The whole place was decorated so beautifully. Can you spot the canon that is covered with fairy lights?

Part of the tradition requires a negotiation between the two parties, where money is exchanged in a little chest.

Maisha patiently awaits her grand entrance on the palki.

The President of Bangladesh at their wedding.

A mirror is presented to the bride and groom during the wedding. Traditionally, this would be the first time the couple lay eyes on each other through the mirror.

After the wedding ceremony ended, Nabil and Maisha traveled back to Nabil’s home.

Stepping into her new home as bride…

Nabil looks dashing!

And Maisha stunning!

There’s just so many details and images we wish we could share! We’ll be uploading a slideshow of the entire wedding highlights soon. Congratulations Nabil and Maisha!

It’s time I continued this series on Nabil and Maisha’s wedding. There’s just so much to share from their wedding that I have to put it in a few blog posts!

By the time Maisha’s mehndi rolled around, Alex and I had to travel back to Malaysia to cover another wedding. It was a really hectic week for me! I was just recuperating from my food poisoning and all that traveling made me a little tired. But it was really wonderful getting to know Nabil and Maisha, and experiencing the hospitality they extended to us. We were treated so well, like family. Not to be left out, Alex, Andrew and I participated in their holudh too… And our final photo with Nabil and Maisha before we left Dhaka.

The day we flew off, Mark landed in Dhaka. A new chapter began… so the following blog posts and images were entirely taken by Mark and Andrew.

As usual, the decorations at the event is just gorgeous.

Mehndi is the art of henna application on skin, and is usually done during special events like weddings. The guests were invited to the stage where beautifully designed henna decorations were drawn on their hands. As the bride, both Maisha’s ams and legs were painted.

Young kids and even men participated in the event!

I am blessed to have such a great team with me during this shoot. A day before Nabil’s holudh, I came down with food poisoning. It was really difficult to look cheerful during the shoot and the next minute, run to the toilet while trying to make sure I don’t drop my camera with all my stomach spasms. Thank God I made it through… goes to show that photographers never ‘really’ get a break during shoots, even if you are ill! So I thank God for Alex and Andrew who was there for me.

Nabil’s holudh was held at a completely different location this time round – it was at the Army Golf Club in Dhaka. As always, I am awed at the way a simple hall was made into a beautiful location with these gorgeous lights.

Just a few of the many gifts Nabil received.

Music and dancing accompanied Nabil’s arrival.

Just love the way so many things are happening in this candid shot below.

This little girl is so amusing too. She caught our attention immediately!

The little and big drummer boy.

If you are interested in Maisha’s holudh images, click on this link to view it!

Finally, these set of images are making its way to the blog. The wedding of Nabil & Maisha in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a massive week long event, planned a year in advance, and executed so well. Maisha loves planning, and she aspires to be a wedding planner one day. Our team flew to Bangladesh to cover only 5 out of the 9 events for Nabil & Maisha’s wedding. When we arrived at the Dhaka airport, I was surprised to be greeted by Nabil and an army escort as we exited the plane ramp. Maisha’s dad is the Major General in the Bangladesh army – that explains the army escort!

The first event was the Bride’s Holudh, held at Maisha’s residence. Don’t you just love the way the house was decorated? It’s an awesome idea and looks so amazing!

My jaw dropped when I saw these table ‘tents’ too!

Maisha just looks so gorgeous, waiting on the palki before making her grand entrance. Earlier that day, Nabil’s family were busy packing and organizing the gifts for Maisha’s holudh. These are just a few of the many different gifts that were there that day!

The 2 fish below represent Nabil and Maisha (Maisha’s the red one!). It’s a tradition in Bangladesh for the groom’s family to send fish to the bride’s family. Just for fun, Maisha’s little fish is given a cigarette to smoke along the way as the whole boat is taken to her family… yes you guessed it right… with an army vehicle!

The interesting thing I realize is that weddings in Bangladesh generally happen at night. This is the 2nd time I have photographed a wedding in Bangladesh, once in Chittagong, and now in Dhaka. So in the evening, we headed to Maisha’s home for the holudh. That evening, I had a taste of Dhaka traffic! It was a little stressful trying to get there on time with the traffic jam, but we made it!

See what I mean about the hanging lights as a beautiful decoration? The background is never ‘black’ but always colourful!

The gifts arriving one by one…

And then Maisha’s grand entrance…

A blessing with coins.

The tying of the rakhi, a beautiful bracelet. The bride must not take off the rakhi throughout her wedding celebrations, even in the shower!

The tumeric paste that is used during the holudh.

Throughout the night, there were many fun performances. Nabil eventually appeared towards the end of the event. The groom is not supposed to be present during the bride’s holudh.

Next post in this series of images – Nabil’s holudh. Coming soon!

In every Indian wedding, the most important element is the thali – the bridal pendant that must be worn at all times after a Hindu wedding ceremony. In Western culture, this would be equivalent to the wedding ring. The thali is made from gold and is fastened around the bride’s neck on the wedding day. But before the main wedding ceremony, there is a tradition of Ponn Urukku (or might be spelt Ponoruku), which is a gold melting ceremony. This was my first Ponn Urukku shoot, and I was fascinated by this entire ceremony.

Firstly, I found out that the ceremony is conducted by the groom’s family, in this case, Ganesh’s family. Veena, the bride was not even present during the ceremony. The event was witnessed by family and friends at home. Here’s Ganesh getting ready for the ceremony.

Love the colour and details!

All ready…

The ceremony starts with the breaking of coconut.

The gold coin is then doused with milk.

The crucial moment when the gold is melted.

This is how the coin looks like after it’s been transformed. I was told that the rounder it is, the better it is for the couple! And this looks really nice and round to me!

The melted gold is then brought around to the guests for blessing.

After that, a tree is planted in the garden of the home. This tree symbolizes Ganesh’s and Veena’s life together.

Lots of items are poured onto the base of the tree.

The tree, before and after…

I was not there to photograph Ganesh and Veena’s actual wedding ceremony, but after the wedding, they had a small dinner reception at this cosy little restaurant called Subak. I love the environment, but one thing I must remember to bring next time I shoot there is mosquito repellent! I am just a magnet for mozzies and get bitten really easily. Luckily for me, the restaurant workers put up some mosquito coils after sunset and all is well again soon after. :)

Ganesh and Veena… the newlyweds. If I remember correctly, Ganesh was belting out a really loud ‘yam seng’ then!

Messages being recorded for the bride and groom.

And no Indian wedding would be complete without some dancing…

Boy, can Ganesh and Veena dance.

…and dance!

Congratulations on your wedding! From the first moment we met, I felt as if I was treated like an old friend… the both of you are so warm and easy to get along with. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be part of your wedding. All the best for the future, and keep in touch!

Yesterday was Maisha’s holudh. I experienced firsthand how crazy Dhaka traffic can be. It took us 1.5 hours to travel to her home from where we were staying. When we came home after the event ended, it only took us 20 minutes!

So… here are some teaser images from yesterday’s shoot… Don’t you just love the way the venue was decorated?

And how gorgeous Maisha looks?

When I first met Ganendra & Malini for the very first time in my home, they told me that they wanted to hire a photographer who was different – someone who would be able to capture moments and come up with creative shots. They said that they didn’t want a ‘traditional’ photographer for their wedding day. Of course, the difficult part was convincing their slightly more ‘traditional’ families that they are making the right decision. Fast forward to their wedding day and after the slideshow montage had been shown to the family and guests… I was so pleased when Malini’s mum came up to me to say, “Grace, thank you for the wonderful photographs! You managed to capture emotions, not just the event.”

I beamed. :)

Who wouldn’t?

After the event is over, the cake has been eaten, the decorations taken down, all you have are memories and photographs. I am so glad that our photos were able to record the emotions felt by Ganendra & Malini, family and friends on that special day in August.

Introducing… Malini.

Malini’s mother, admiring her beautiful daughter, before they left for the temple.

This is the first Sri Lankan style wedding ceremony that I have shot. The flow of the ceremony is rather similar to other Indian wedding ceremonies. While the bride is getting ready in her home, the groom gets ready too, but not before he has gone through a ‘bathing’ ceremony where he is doused with milk.

Ganendra, ready to head to the temple.

Once at the temple, the groom goes through his set of rituals first. Before he enters the hall, two women conduct a blessing ritual, called ararthi.

The kaapu kattu ceremony for the groom starts with the breaking of coconut. The priest would then tie a holy string on the finger of the groom.

The bride then arrives and is escorted into the ceremony hall.

The bride sits next to her groom and the thetham ceremony starts. This is where the bride is given away to the groom’s family. The names of 3 paternal ancestors will be read by the priest during this ceremony.

After the ceremony, the bride changes from her engagement saree to her wedding saree, also known as kurai. The highlight of the wedding ceremony is when the groom ties the thali around the bride’s neck. And they are finally married!

The bride’s grandmother, who was overjoyed at the wedding.

The dinner ceremony was a really fun event as well, with lots of dancing! And not to mention speeches!

It’s hard to select so few photos to showcase on this blog, so it’s best that you view the slideshow below. I love the soundtrack selected by Malini’s brother, Dinesh. He worked hard to edit the music so that the music would be lengthened. This was the slideshow that we showed during dinner. Enjoy!