Grace Tan

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Rustic Romantic Pre-Wedding: Calvin & Queenie

Every great love story starts with friendship. Conversations that make you feel connected, understood, and ultimately, loved. It was 4 years ago that Queenie joined the firm Calvin was working at. Their story took time to unfold though. On her first day at work, Queenie met a rather grumpy Calvin, who was having a rough day as he had to take over some additional work from someone who had left the firm. He was swamped with work and hardly had time to talk to her (though she sat next to him). Basically, Calvin just kept his distance.

Maybe being introverted had something to do with it, but during Queenie’s training over 3 months, Calvin hardly spoke to her. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t attracted his attention… through all that work, Calvin found time to just glance at her, half the time, wondering what she was doing (he claims he is a nosy person). He wanted to actually talk to her more, but didn’t know how to approach her. Finally, when her training period was about to end and she was offered a work contract, he found the courage to properly chat with her. It was a turning point for them, and after that, they became normal work colleagues, chatting about general stuff.

When their firm moved location, they started having lunches daily and that was when Calvin discovered the real Queenie, over conversations about family, life and relationships. Though their friendship grew, they were both in different relationships. In 2013, Calvin took a year off for personal family reasons. During this time away, he missed their daily lunches and thought about her often. In 2014, he joined the firm again, and it felt natural to hang out with each other again. That same year, both their previous relationships ended. Calvin decided she was worth it, took the plunge and bared his heart to Queenie. They have been inseparable ever since.

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Grace Tan In For Photographers, Life, Musings

Fun Facts… about Jamie!

20160904-CAMERONS-02 As photographers and videographers, we are behind the scenes a lot. We’re more comfortable behind the camera than being in front of it. But recently, we did a fun shoot when we were in Cameron Highlands. Four girls (my current full time team!) sharing fun facts about each other! We will be releasing these videos over time, but to kick it off, we’re starting with Jamie *just because I can muahaha*

So now you know your photographer better!

Credits:

Videographer: Chi Yin

Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Orange tones at Emma & Laurence’s Beach Wedding

Emma and Laurence are a British couple that have lived in Malaysia for the past 18 months. Their journey together started at Cambridge university where they met and did activities like row together. That was 10 years ago. Since then, the adventure has never stopped. From eating insects in Cambodia, to enjoying sunrises over the temples of Bagan and searching for sharks while scuba diving, their life is full of excitement. Since they love to travel and with 50 over guests coming all over to the world to Langkawi for their wedding, they decided to go for a travel theme with an orange tone. The beautiful location that the Andaman is in, with the mix of rainforest and beach was the perfect setting for their wedding.

When they first contacted us, they told us that after talking to friends who have already celebrated their wedding day, everyone commented how they wish they had thought more about the photographs. Keen not to have the same regret, and impressed by the photos on our website, they decided to hire us as their wedding photographers! Hurray! And from their comment about our work after the wedding, I think we lived up to their expectations!

Emma says: Jamie and Nigel were amazing. Not only did they put us at ease (there were some worries about ‘photo face’) but they were such good fun to spend the day with. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better. It is hard to pick which part of the day was our most memorable – Between the Mandi Bunga (which was a first for almost everybody there) and our dance at the reception, but I think it has to be the ceremony itself, especially as it didn’t rain and we could have it on the beach.

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Musings, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

A White or Red Veil

A white wedding veil is seen as a traditional norm in weddings, symbolising the purity of the bride. Interestingly, Wikipedia mentioned that the earliest reference of a veiled woman was recorded in an Assyrian text from the 13th Century BC. Now, at a Chinese wedding, a red veil is usually the norm, though nowadays, most couples prefer to opt out of it. Red symbolizes good luck, happiness, and prosperity. If you would like to read more about it, this website talks about how the tradition dates back to the Qi period (479-502), where women farmers would wear a veil to protect their heads against the cold wind or hot sunshine.

Whatever the origin, I find veils to be so lovely, almost mysterious. Ten years ago, when I got married, I was quite an ignorant bride, and one of the biggest mistakes I made was that I didn’t try on my veil until my wedding day! It was then that I realised it was too short to cover my face (it was one of those veils that only looked good at the back of your head!). So yeah, with no alternative at hand, I lived with a white veil that stopped short next to my chin. Thank God I didn’t allow that little boo-boo to ruin my wedding day!

20160423_WEDDING_JOHN_JULIETA_0134 A traditional square veil matched with the Chinese kua outfit.

A modern twist to the red Chinese veil.

Whether you decide to wear a white or red veil for your wedding day, here are some questions to ask yourself as you choose your wedding veil:

Does it match your wedding gown?
If your wedding gown has a lot of details at the back or front, you should consider a simple, sheer veil that can highlight this feature. But if your gown is a little more simple, then you can consider a veil with more embellishments. Your gown and veil shouldn’t be fighting for attention.
What length of veil would you like to opt for?
Shorter veils would suit a more informal look, whereas mid length waist level veils are suitable for most gowns. Floor length veils are good for dresses that do not have a train. If you would like a really long veil that drapes across the floor, you can partner it with classic wedding gowns or those that do have a large train. You can read more about this in this informative article here.
What kind of hairstyle would you like to have?
Would your hair be up or down during your wedding day? What kind of accessories are you planning to wear? If your hair is up, you can wear your veil above or below your bun. Pinning the veil below your bun would highlight your hair style a little more compared to wearing your veil above your bun.

Hope these tips are useful!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, International, Outdoor Weddings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Testimonials, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Testimonial & Behind the Scenes: Andrew & Katrina

It’s about time we posted another behind the scenes video! If you are a regular blog visitor, you would have seen Andrew and Katrina’s photos from their 2 day pre-wedding shoot and wedding celebrations in KL and Phuket last year. I am so glad that they agreed to do a video testimonial for us after the wedding. I’ve recently started a collection of testimonials on our Facebook page, and will update our testimonial page on our website soon. On days when the going gets tough, it’s a great pick-me-up, reminding ourselves that what we do matter, and that we are on the right track.

It gives us great satisfaction knowing that we’ve made such a difference in someone’s life, capturing memories that can never be relived again except through photographs.