Grace Tan

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

A funky pre-wedding in KLPAC: Kenny & Grace

The 3 of us have something in common. Kenny, Grace and I. Of course, the fact that Grace’s name is Grace, scores like, 100 points with me. All Graces are cool. :)

But no, Kenny’s middle name is not Grace. The common ground we all share is the fact that each of us worked at the same place at one point in our lives. Many years ago, when I was a freelance video editor, I was based in a company called Edit House, and that was where I met Kenny for the first time. My first impression of him was that he was a really friendly and chatty guy. After my 2 month job ended, I left and we didn’t really keep in touch after that. Some time later, Grace joined the same company and that’s where they both met.

Sometime this year, I got a call from Kenny, and surprisingly I still had his number stored there! We chatted and he told me about his wedding and wanting to do a pre-wedding photo shoot – sorta gothic style, sorta street grungy and yet silly. When I met Grace for the first time, I thought…wow, they seem sooooo different! She came across as this sweet, gentle girl who spoke softly. Opposites attract?

But then again, as the shoot progressed, I realized she also had this funky and silly streak in her that matched Kenny’s. :)

Grace Tan In International, Life, Musings, News

Greetings from Taiwan!

It’s the final leg of my Destination Weddings TV program shoot and I just completed the last episode in Taiwan. It’s been a stressful journey the past few months sourcing for the right weddings, writing the script and directing the episodes itself, but definitely a memorable journey. It was really great working with Deborah Henry for the first time too. The program will air on Travel Channel internationally sometime end of this year and I’ll definitely inform everyone once it’s out. In Malaysia, you can watch it through Unifi’s HyppTV.

Though the shoots have ended, the post production is still ongoing.

I’ll be back in Malaysia tomorrow. Unfortunately for me, it’s my last trip overseas before the baby makes her appearance. (My doctor wouldn’t allow me to travel anymore!) All in all, I am really thankful that I’ve been strong enough to last through 6-12 hour shoot days and not feel sick (considering I am now at my 27th week of pregnancy). The downside is that my legs are killing me and my varicose veins are looking rather hideous. Time to slow down all my shoots for the time being…

Glad to be coming home soon!

The crew for the Taiwan shoot

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

A Star Wars themed wedding: Kell Jay & Siau-Wei

It’s not everyday you get to see Jedi knights, Darth Maul, and Darth Vader in a wedding (even if he’s a cake topper). We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Kell Jay’s and Siau-Wei’s wedding, to see all the groomsmen dressed up in costumes, ready to rescue the princess, Siau-Wei. We had heaps of fun at this wedding with lots of unexpected twists and turns as the day unfolded. Kell Jay and Siau-Wei wow-ed us during the evening dinner reception as they danced into the ballroom (and by dance, I mean, professional standards, as Kell Jay is a professional dancer!). Their first dance was nothing I had seen before, and for the first 10 seconds of them dancing, I almost forgot to click the shutter. I totally enjoyed it. Loved the fact too that their wedding dinner reception was really personalized with Siau-Wei’s sisters giving a song performance, and lots more!

You’ll see more in their wedding video highlight which we’ll post later, but today, here are some of my favourites from their wedding. Don’t forget to view their same day video and photo slideshow at the end of this post for more images.

Grace Tan In Maternity, Portraits, Studio

Studio maternity portraits: Amanda & Ivan

Now that we have our own little convertible natural light + artificial light studio, I am really quite excited to do shoots here. It is definitely a challenge when you only have 4 walls to play with. Shooting in a studio gives you flexibility in the sense that it can be pouring outside but the shoot still carries on. It’s air-conditioned and comfortable. Tomorrow, I’ll be shooting my first boudoir studio shoot and I am looking forward to it!

Amanda and Ivan are no strangers to this blog… you might have seen her family photos here some time back. She’s a good friend of mine, and I was really pleased to do a portrait shoot for her. It’s been quite a while since I posted some maternity photos here. Incredibly, I know so many people who are pregnant this year and targeting to have a ‘dragon’ baby. So, in accordance to that theme, I’ll try to post a few more maternity shoots in this blog soon!

Amanda has since delivered a healthy and gorgeous baby girl that I have yet to meet. :) Congratulations to the both of you and enjoy parenthood!

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships

The Miracle of Marriage

I read this article from a friend’s blog, and unfortunately, I do not know who to credit, but it’s such a great article that I felt I needed to share it here. It’s worth your 5 minutes reading this article on marriage. Deep down in my heart, I feel truly satisfied and happy that I married Alex. In almost random moments throughout the day, I tell Alex that I love him. I break into a silly grin when I hear him say the same thing… almost like young kids in love.

6 years of marriage and counting… Love you, dear!

PARTNERS AND MARRIAGE by Eduardo Jose E. Calasanz

I have never met a man who didn’t want to be loved. But I have seldom met a man who didn’t fear marriage. Something about the closure seems constricting, not enabling. Marriage seems easier to understand for what it cuts out of our lives than for what it makes possible within our lives. When I was younger this fear immobilized me. I did not want to make a mistake. I saw my friends get married for reasons of social acceptability, or sexual fever, or just because they thought it was the logical thing to do. Then I watched, as they and their partners became embittered and petty in their dealings with each other.

I looked at older couples and saw, at best, mutual toleration of each other. I imagined a lifetime of loveless nights and bickering days and could not imagine subjecting myself or someone else to such a fate. And yet, on rare occasions, I would see old couples that somehow seemed to glow in each other’s presence. They seemed really in love, not just dependent upon each other and tolerant of each other’s foibles. It was an astounding sight, and it seemed impossible. How, I asked myself, can they have survived so many years of sameness, so much irritation at the other’s habits? What keeps love alive in them, when most of us seem unable to even stay together, much less love each other?