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

Of travels and holidays

I have to admit. Since the Chinese New Year celebrations in January this year, I’ve been slacking off a bit. Just a bit. The end of 2011 was so hectic that my back was beginning to ache from all those shoots, and on top of that I twisted my ankle the day before a wedding in January. That week, I had to shoot 2 weddings with a twisted ankle. At that stage, it became clear to me that somehow I needed to rest. God’s message to me was crystal clear: If you don’t learn to rest, more of you will soon start to break down.

So Chinese New Year was a welcome break for me, and then came February with some other Malaysian holidays (did you know that Malaysia has one of the highest number of public holidays in the world? So yeah, if you love your holidays, do work in Malaysia).

So we kick started February with a celebration dinner with the team – to remember and give thanks for the success of 2011. Since it was Weiming and Mark’s birthday, we also had a cake!

Standing (L-R): Myself, Mun Tzin (Mark’s wife, who recently started her wedding planning business, Milestones), Felicia (our Digital Artist), Diane, Johan, Alex
Seated (L-R):  Zhi Ming (Intern), Weiming and Mark

In February I went to Jakarta to photograph the wedding of Eric and Jennie. That was the first Indonesian wedding I’ve ever photographed. I loved it! But that’s for another blog post (speaking of blog posts, I am absolutely delayed with many of them!).

After Jakarta, Alex and I flew to Jogjakarta for a short holiday. We didn’t really do too much there but one of the must-dos was visit Borobudur temple, of course!

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Grace Tan
In For Photographers, Life, Musings, Running a Business

A Grateful Christmas


Stories is part of the Integricity group

It’s true, God’s love is extravagant. God has blessed us abundantly, even more than what I could have imagined. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness…I see the business flourishing, and I know God definitely had a hand in it. Every year, I make it a point to reflect about the year that has passed, and to give thanks for good and bad experiences. In 2010, Stories turned one, and now, we’re two!

Last year, I gave thanks for the 38 wedding & pre-wedding clients that we photographed in 2011. This year, the number of clients increased. Collectively, the Stories team photographed 58 different wedding / pre-wedding clients and 30 other clients for lifestyle portraits & events. On top of that, we had a great year with a number of different corporate projects as well.

Our team grew as well and we now have a strong team of 7 core members with other supporting members. Everyone worked really hard this year and I am thankful for such a wonderful team.

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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!

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Grace Tan
In Life, Musings, Relationships

Opposites Attract?

He’s introverted, she’s extroverted.
He’s calm and collected, she’s a social butterfly.
He’s meticulous, she’s a little disorganized.

Just like magnets, opposites attract. I know of many couples who are completely different in terms of character (just like my mum and dad) and yet are together. Growing up, I never really understood this strange phenomenon. I suppose it’s natural to like someone who has strengths that can complement your weaknesses.

Alex and I don’t completely subscribe to this idea though. Yes, we’re different, and yet similar. We appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses (‘appreciate’ is subjective at times though) but there are many similarities that bind us together. After 5 years of marriage, boy do I appreciate these similarities! We love being around people, are rather sociable by nature, have similar taste in design (thank God, otherwise we might fight over house ID stuff), love the same God, and share the same values in life. Values like, no matter how tough marriage gets, we will never give up; or loving people trumps anything else in life. Bonus point: We love adventure.

Life to us is an exciting journey. I cannot imagine being married to someone who yawns whenever I talk about my photography business, or to someone who hates traveling. Married life to me means that I am able to journey along life’s path, sharing these experiences together. It’s these experiences that glue us together, stored in our shoe box of memories and help us love each other more.

I am contented.

Similar, yet different.

Photo credit: Jon Low

Grace Tan
In Life, Musings, Relationships

The Day It Began…

Clearing my house has helped me rediscover gems hidden in boxes and in files. Not only did I find old recipes my mother wrote to me when I was in university, I also found some old letters and cards I gave to Alex when we were dating. I admit, I am a hopeless romantic. On our 1st anniversary together, I created a simple set of handwritten messages for him – 12 pages for the 12 months we were together. I wrote these messages because I wanted him to remember… how we started, why I love him, and how our struggles can bring us closer.

So, though it’s a little embarrassing to be sharing this with everyone, I thought I’d include a short excerpt from this card (taken from my journal).

8th June 2004

I can’t believe it… Alex and I are getting together. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, we both have our doubts and worries and are afraid of taking risks… but… our hearts… tell us to go forward.

Dear Lord, is this the right decision? And is this the right timing? Are we even compatible? There are so many considerations to think about… I don’t know how it all fits into Your plan, but Jesus, I commit myself and Alex into your hands. I am afraid of getting hurt, but if we don’t take risks, we’ll never know. There are so many worries Lord, but I do commit us into Your hands and give it all to You.

Alex and I during our Lake Toba holiday in August 2004