Grace Tan

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Casual Fun: Kenneth & Hooi Ju

Kenneth and Hooi Ju just love doing things together. It’s the simple things in life that make them happy. Whether it is shopping for groceries together, cooking, playing with their Nerf guns, or just cuddling and watching TV, what’s important is that they are together. It kind of reminds me of my relationship with Alex. One of our little mottos is that we do everything together! It’s kind of nice that he comes with me on some of my shoots as well. Spending time with each other is definitely one of our love languages!

I just love doing casual shoots like these… we definitely had lots of fun that day! Shooting in B.I.G. supermarket was unusual and interesting too… unfortunately, this will be the only time we get to shoot at B.I.G. as I’ve been told that Kenneth and Hooi Ju’s pre-wedding shoot was the last permitted shoot… ever!

Here’s our selection of favourites, as photographed by myself and Weiming. Do view their fusion slideshow at the end of the post for more images!

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Wedding Video Highlight: Jeffrey & May

We love it when our clients share their life stories so candidly and freely with us. It just makes us feel as if we’ve known them for years! So much detail went into the planning for Jeffrey and May’s wedding… everything was executed beautifully by the vendors that came together for this wedding. Through the emotions shared on their wedding day, you can tell that they are very very much in love. :)

Jeffrey and May’s Story (and all the personalization that went into their wedding!):

Jeffrey and I have known each other for a long, long time. We met through a mutual family friend, who introduced us on the pretext of introducing me to someone who did his postgraduate studies in Oxford and was in a position to advise me on the same, as I was also going to pursue my postgraduate studies then. Little did I know then that it was a match-making event! While we hit it off almost immediately, I was totally oblivious to all these until much later!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Parisian Themed Wedding: Jun Ven & Adelene

It’s been a few months since Jun Ven and Adelene’s wedding, but I’d still like to share some of the images and video that were taken on their wedding day by our team – photography by Johan and Weiming, and videography by Joshua and Wee Liem. Some of you might have seen their pre-wedding photos that I took some time back with the same Parisian theme. You can read about their story by clicking on the link above.

It was a beautiful day in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, and the skies were blue… unusually gorgeous, unlike most hazy days in the city. Before arriving at the church, Jun Ven and Adelene had already gone through the traditional chinese chip san leong events, and appreciated families through a meaningful tea ceremony. Friends and family members gathered from all over the world for their wedding. In the capable hands of their wedding planner, Mun Tzin of Milestones, everything came together beautifully.

It was a day to remember.

Grace Tan In International, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding: Nicholas and Lina in Krabi, Thailand

When I told Lina that she had to wade through sea water while wearing her gown in order to climb onto a long tail boat for our shoot, she balked. A little. But I thank God that she trusted me enough to just go with the flow. I must say that this pre-wedding shoot was a little challenging for me. Coordinating 2 boats in the open sea without a loud hailer (and with no Thai language under my belt) made me look a bit like a silly girl trying to play the charades with herself. Lots of sign language, yelling over the water, and patience was required.

Thank God I was pleased with the end results!

This was my 2nd time to Krabi, Thailand but my first time shooting at the surrounding islands off Krabi. I think being out of your comfort zone every now and then is a good thing. I seriously didn’t quite know what to expect because I had never been to these islands before. I had only seen those picture perfect postcard shots in all those tourist shops… but of course, those were just postcards… right?

So all I could do was trust the boatmen whom I spoke to, and believe somehow that we made the right choice to go to Hong Island.

The other part of the shoot was done at the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort, so no climbing into boats there!

Nic and Lina, I hope you enjoyed our little adventure in Krabi (not to the mention the delicious Thai seafood!). Diane and I had a blast, and this shoot will definitely sit in my mind as one of the most memorable for the year! It was also little Krysta’s first ever overseas trip at age 2 months! Couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for Alex who willingly became my nanny during the shoot. I have an amazing husband!

Enjoy the photos… :)

Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships

A Perfectly Ordinary Day

Every now and then, something comes into your life and causes you to think a little. It causes you to pause, to reflect and to appreciate. Life. People. Simple things. Huge things. Ordinary things.

I recently stumbled upon this video on Facebook and it was thought provoking, wonderful, sad and yet true. Though it’s slightly long, I do encourage you to watch the entire duration.

Just as Katrina Kenison says, the most wonderful gift we have and the one we need to cherish, is the gift of those perfectly ordinary days. Today, as I hold my almost 4-month-old daughter Krysta in my arms, I am learning to cherish. The smile on her face as I sing to her the same song for the 40th time. Just riding in the car with my husband to church, having a conversation about everything and yet nothing.

Enjoying a swiss roll with my sister in her backyard, while feeling the cool evening breeze on my skin. Hearing my mum sing the Kookaburra song to my daughter and laughing as Krysta responds to the song.

Yup, it’s one of those ordinary days. What a beautiful day it is.

* Grace and Krysta (iPhone pic)