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Grace Tan

A Day in the Life: Larry & Christina

I got to know Christina through my involvement with ibu, and when I conducted a photography workshop there, she was one of the mothers who attended. Christina and her husband Larry have been living in Malaysia for a few years now, but the time has come to end that season here and return to Australia. But not without leaving with great memories, since their little son Jamie was made in Malaysia!

So I was invited to their home to capture a snippet of a day in the life of their family, amidst the ‘mess’ of packing. Since Christina’s a voice actor, you can imagine how wonderful the session went, with fun storytelling sessions coupled with dancing moves. I am glad that Christina and Larry are just so comfortable being themselves in front of the camera (with no make up and messy hair haha).

Jamie was hilarious. He showed me his fun, extroverted character and warmed to me easily. It has been a pleasure getting to know you, Christina, and I wish you all the best in this new phase of life!

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Wedding Video Highlights: Heng Hooi & Chyi Chern

Gosh, it’s already February! Happy Chinese New Year to those who are still in the holiday mood and not feeling like doing any work. :) As for me, I had a great time with my family who flew in from Australia, New York and Malacca. Yup, we ate and ate and talked about everything under the sun. Ok to kick start this week, I’ll share a video from a wedding that happened a few months ago. Heng Hooi and Chyi Chern are such friendly people, they are genuine and are not afraid to show their emotions during their wedding day!

Here’s their story as told by the groom:
We met over work where she was acting for the purchaser while I was the adviser for the seller. To this day, she swears that her first impression of me was that I was a loud person but helpful person. And all this while, I always thought that she found me smart and charming during the time we worked together. Sigh! My first impression of her was that she was wearing a blue skirt and she was very cheerful, pretty and funny. I guess it was these characteristics that made me want to get to know her more even though we were, so to speak, on opposing sides. As we spent more time together, we began to notice that our thinking and characteristics were closely similar. Who says that only opposites attract each other… Its because of these similarities that make me believe we fit so well with each other. Guess one can say in a cheesy way that we were meant to meet each other and share a life together.

Credits:

Photographers & Videographers: Stories Team (Grace, Jamie, Chi Yin, Delvin & Nick)
Wedding & Evening Gown: That Special Occasion
Groom’s Suit: Hugo Boss
Make up & Hair: Aivy Yong
Shoes: Celest Thoi
Decorations: Flower Frenzie & Wishing Tree
Dinner Reception & Cake: Doubletree by Hilton
Dinner Entertainment: Malcolm Music

Highlights: Family Portraits 2015

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~ Robert Brault

Each of us only has 24 hours in a day. When I first started my business, I was grateful for the extra ‘time’ that I could have for myself, and then when I had kids, I wondered where all that time went! Each day, I am surrounded by news of disaster, and how easy it is to lose someone you love. Ironically, when I have time with my kids, I just wish they would fall asleep faster, and when I am away shooting a wedding at a beautiful destination, I wish I could be back with them.

I also want to do more in life, but when I have time on my hands, I just want to laze and not do anything.

Such is the irony of life. And then, before you know it, time just slips through your fingers and then a week passes by, and then a month, and a year. Just recently, on Sunday, I sat down with my husband Alex at a random cafe in PJ to talk about life (without the kids!). It felt like a breath of fresh air. We ordered fries, tea and coffee, then flipped our mac screen open to look at our February calendar and intentionally planned date nights, family nights with the kids, swimming sessions etc! We left that cafe a little more rejuvenated, and a bit more focused with what we wanted to achieve in our life as a family.

So, as a pause… here’s a little compilation we did of some of the 101 families we photographed last year. We hope you will take a moment to cherish your family today.

Photography by Grace, Diane, Jamie & Weiming

 

Bali Pre-Wedding: Ken & Regina

Since we’re on this series of posts about international shoots, here’s another that was done in Bali with Ken and Regina. This is one amazing couple that we’ve had the privilege of knowing. They are really friendly, thoughtful and kind. (anyone who gives us cupcakes after their wedding is on our best friends list. Haha we’re that easy to bribe). Well, they recently tied the knot in Dec and we’re sooo happy for them. Thank you for an adventure in Bali… lots of love to the both of you!

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Wedding overlooking Tanah Lot, Bali: Terence & Sarah

20150926_WEDDING_TERENCE_SARAH_0331It’s been a few months since my sister-in-law Sarah tied the knot with Terence, but the photos are too good not to share! I am really proud of my team Weiming and Jamie, who did such an amazing job photographing this wedding. Their ceremony was held on the lawn of the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort overlooking the temple at Tanah Lot.

It was a beautiful day, breezy and cool. The ceremony was personal and special as my husband Alex officiated the wedding. Personalised vows made everyone crack up in laughter, and the dancing at night, including the surprise performance by Terence’s family was hilarious. At the end of the day, it was a gathering of loved ones, celebrating the union of two people who had been dating for over a decade.

“We met back in university, many moons ago, but nothing really happened until after we came back from Melbourne. We’re opposites in many ways, I’m an introvert, whereas Terence is an extrovert. He’s a neat freak, and I’m…not. I love reading, Terence rarely picks up a book. Terence loves football, I don’t see much point in men running around a field kicking a ball!

We also have common interests, we enjoy watching movies, having a cuppa coffee at our favourite cafe, and travelling overseas. I’d say we’re both pretty practical people, after Terence proposed, one of the first questions I asked was, “Which credit card did you use to buy the ring?” He laughed, and said he was debating the same thing just before he paid for it!” – Sarah

I’d like to share a quote written by the groom’s dad, and shared by Alex during the wedding itself. A lovely analogy about life and a bicycle, which I think is really good advice to a couple starting life together!

“Today it struck a chord within me that riding a bicycle is a mirror representation of life itself. When the bicycle is in motion, on the move, however slow, you are able to keep your balance as long there is a forward momentum. The slower it gets, the harder it is to keep balance. The minute you do a dead stop it will fall.

In life we were fast paced in our young days to get an education, find a good job, build a career and settle down with family and as we reach retirement we literally slow down. In my bicycle analogy we must avoid slowing down to the point of almost no forward motion. We have to keep ourselves moving and occupied, socially, mentally and physically. Towards the later part of the journey many will also enhance their spiritual development.
Therefore, whether you are in your 50s, 60s or 70s, keep moving enthusiastically. Plan things ahead to keep you looking forward. Do what you love and if this ties in with helping others in one way or another, it’s fantastic and a double bonus. As for me, I love to travel, read, teach, play music and plan surprise parties to celebrate moments. So please join me and together we will keep moving forward and enjoy the ride of life into the final sunset, enjoying the scenery of humanity and all it has to offer. When the time is ripe to really stop, we can park our bicycle and hang it up on the wall. Everyone will look up and say silently “it was a wild and well ridden machine”. Live life full.”