Grace Tan

Grace Tan In International, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Running a Business, Weddings

Updates & a beautiful wedding at Capella, Singapore

These past few months, my mind has been filled with many different things… mostly with work and trying to meet the many deadlines and deliveries we have to make. It’s been rather challenging for me physically, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve been shooting non-stop every weekend from August 27th till December 17th. This does not include the other family / pre-wedding portrait and commercial shoots on weekdays. So yes, I am sorry for the lack of updates on this blog.

I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays though, as that will be the first break I am getting in many months. I will be planning for next year and also trying to sort out everything for the new office… we will be moving into SS2 mall early next year! Once the studio is opened, we will have some promotions, so do keep a look out on this blog!

Just as a little teaser, here are some images I took yesterday at the gorgeous Capella Hotel in Sentosa, Singapore. Definitely one of the prettiest outdoor locations I’ve seen so far!

Have a great Christmas season and happy shopping!

Grace Tan In Malay Weddings, Weddings

Adam & Dalilah’s Nikah & Reception at Mandarin Oriental

Photographers: Grace, Johan & Weiming
Make Up: Khir Khalid
Flowers & Decorations: Flora Etc
Cake: Delectable by Su
Videography: Manggis
Dinner Reception: Mandarin Oriental Hotel, KL

A few months ago, I photographed Adam and Dalilah’s engagement event, held at her beautiful home. Considering the engagement event was done really tastefully, I could not wait for the nikah and wedding reception to see what they had planned. I was not disappointed, for on that day, I was greeted by beautiful decorations that satisfied my taste buds and my shutter happy finger. Adam and Dalilah were surrounded by friends and family who were extremely warm and who obviously loved them very much.

I felt a little sad for them though that Adam’s mum was not able to attend the wedding as she fell ill during that period. Luckily for her, the videography team recorded every moment and she even witnessed the event online as it happened.

The dinner reception was held at the Mandarin Oriental for a large group of 800 people. There were royalty and VIPs present for the dinner that night. The ballroom was transformed into an elegant and grand space – the entire ballroom was covered with dark purple curtains. I love the colour theme and I think purple just looks great in every wedding! (That was why my wedding had a purple and white theme too!).

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Newborn, Portraits

Newborn: Julia

Since I am heading off for a newborn portrait shoot soon, I thought I’d share a few from another session I did some time back. I met Joanne and Anderson at our Stories booth in a Pitter Patter event and within a few minutes of chatting with them, they booked our services. I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with their son Joshua too… he’s super adorable (and talented too… he can play the guitar and drums at such a young age!).

Here are some of my favourites from their session.

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, News, Promotions, Running a Business

Bloom workshops is here! Check us out!

If you are a female photographer serious about learning the craft and needing some new inspiration, do come and join us for a weekend of fun and learning! Four professional photographers (Anna-Rina, Asther Lau, Fiona Lim and myself) will be sharing our experiences, tips and tricks of the trade with you from a female perspective. We hope to inspire photographers to dream big and aim high!

Do view our little promo video, and visit our website www.bloomworkshops.my to find out more AND register for the workshop!

Video edited by: Weiming
Music credit: Akvalung

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, News, Running a Business

Our New Ride – The Volkswagen Kombi!

One fine day when Alex and I were talking about life and business, an idea suddenly came to his head… he suggested that we get a Stories-mobile; the Volkswagen Kombi. Frankly, I was a little hesitant at first… I mean, that thing is huge, OLD and might be really hard to drive. Good thing I can actually drive a manual car! I was concerned that I might not reach my wedding shoot destination if I had a vehicle like this. I shrugged the idea off until Alex brought it up again a week or so later.

He started showing me photos of really beautifully done up kombis online. I was smitten. Slowly but surely, I became hooked to the idea. And that was how our search for the VW kombi started. We contacted some friends who were VW enthusiasts and they put us in touch with other enthusiasts.

And then one day, we found this:

And so, unintentionally, the date 11.11.11 became significant to us. It was the day we bought our new bus!

By the way, this photo was taken in front of SS2 Mall, our new office space! But that’s a completely different blog post altogether. Take note that I went the hippy route and dressed for the occasion.

The kombi is in really good shape (considering it’s like a few years older than me… did I mention that I am over 30 now?) The colour is perfect cause it’s what we wanted in the first place (our Stories theme colour is light blue and dark brown). Some even pointed out that the number plate is perfect for a photographer (CF, as in, compact flash cards). I felt as if God was giving us the green light to get this bus.

Our little kombi will be used for shoots, and will also be rented to bride and grooms who are interested in using it as a wedding car. So far, 2 brides have already contacted me about the kombi. Our aim is to get it spruced up even more, but good thing is that it already comes with air-conditioning!