Musings

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, International, Malay Weddings, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Relationships, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

The Wedding Photo Collection: 2015

Last year, we had the privilege of photographing many amazing couples – many of whom have ended up as friends. One of the greatest satisfactions we get as a photographer is being that connection – we help people connect with their emotions as they recall their joyous wedding occasion. So much love is present at all the weddings we have photographed – last year, we photographed all sorts of cultural weddings – from the traditional Chinese wedding to a modern beach wedding and even two middle eastern weddings.

Personally, today, I celebrate 10 years of marriage to my husband Alex Lam, who have been such an amazing pillar of support. It’s hard work to make a marriage flourish, but I thank God who helped nudge me in the right direction when I needed to change an attitude or swallow my pride at times. You can be in love with someone even more than the day you say your vows!

As you listen to the vows of all our clients, may you be touched and reminded that love is the greatest emotion of all.

Jamie Ang In Life, Musings, Relationships

Challenges of a cross-cultural relationship

JJ-02 Over a year ago, I met Joseph while rock climbing. As much as I would like to say that I fell, he caught me and we fell instantly in love.. that was not the case. Like many Malaysian (or Asian) relationships, it started off at a mamak with some friends.

Fast forward 9 months into the relationship, it is safe to say that being in a cross cultural relationship is enriching and fun, yet it comes with its own set of challenges. I forgot to mention that Joseph is Filipino and I am, of course, as Malaysian as a girl can be. When I was younger, I always had this idea about dating a foreigner. I have always enjoyed getting to know people from different cultures and I thought how much fun it would be if that was a lifetime thing.

Obviously, I was naive. Every relationship has its challenges, and adding cultural differences into the equation is like asking for more work to do! Learning and adjusting to each other’s worldview, lifestyles and beliefs wasn’t as easy as I thought. Food habits was one of the first hurdle I had to learn to accommodate. Not only do Filipinos refer to ‘dinner’ as ‘supper’, their taste in food are at the extreme ends. Something that is bordering diabetic to me is not sweet enough for him; something that is bland to him is too salty for me. Although English is our first language, Joseph had to adjust to my Manglish slangs. Teaching him the difference between lah, meh, mah etc was quite a challenge. There were even times when he had to ask, “Like this cannot.. lah..? ..meh?? ..leh???”.

Despite our differences, I’m ever thankful that we share the most important thing, which is our love for Christ. It is not only about sharing the same faith, it is sharing the same values and principles that are fundamental to both our lives.

I am no expert in relationships, but what I have learnt so far is that: communication is key; and having the support of your family and closest friends is more important than you think. At the end of the day, it is all about choosing to love a person, and making that choice is a daily decision in which you have to let your selfish desires go. And when I’m at the altar, I can finally say, “I choose you!” (pun intended – but probably only Pokemon players can understand).

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, For Photographers, Musings, Parties & Events, Portraits

Ice cream themed birthday bash – Thea Grace turns one!

We photographed Aldrian and Mei Mei’s winter themed wedding some years ago. Ever since then, we’ve kept in touch over Facebook even though they live in another continent. This year, I got to meet their lovely daughter, Thea Grace, who just couldn’t stop smiling and giggling at our shoot. Well, surrounded by cookies that look like ice cream and pillows that look oh-so-sweet, who could blame her? She was just high on love and all things sugary. This styled shoot is a testament of how different people came together to make this work.

20160616- FamilyPortraits_Aldrien_MeiMei-008 Mei Mei brought some props from the UK, and I especially love all the hand-sewn animals hanging off the basket, holding… guess what? Ice cream! The letters that made up Thea Grace’s name were hand made by Mei Mei, and so were a number of the props themselves. Evelyn of Moments contributed the delicious looking ice cream shaped cookies, balloons and we provided the crates, blankets, bags and basket!

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Grace Tan In Musings, Tips + Ideas

Canvas Clusters

Canvas-13 I believe canvases are a great way to brighten up a home – especially if it is filled with lovely images of your family. At Stories, we have designed canvas clusters for our clients through the years. All you need to do is to tell us the dimensions of your wall in inches and we will design it for you, free of charge. Here are some tips on how to plan for a beautiful canvas wall at your home:

Find a wall that is a feature in your home – meaning, the wall should be in a prominent location that is eye-catching. This could be above the couch in your living room or next to your dining table.
Avoid having too much clutter at the bottom of your feature wall. If the wall is next to a cabinet that is filled with children’s toys, your eyes will be drawn to the clutter and not the images.
Install spotlights that direct your attention towards the images on the wall. This is especially good for night events!
When choosing images to include on the wall, think about some form of continuity – for example, are all the images taken in a nice outdoor environment but one is not? Do the images complement or distract each other? Is there a theme to the images selected? Do also include a series of candid and posed shots for best effect.
Communicate with your designer if you prefer to have designs that are neat (for example, all canvases fit into a perfect square) or if you prefer a more organic design that doesn’t have to align perfectly with each other.

Canvas-10 What do you think of the sample walls at our office?

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits, Relationships

Reminiscing: Portraits in Kelantan

A year ago, the Stories team headed to a small village in Kelantan to photograph portraits for the families affected by the devastating 2014 flood. We were just so blessed to be able to meet these families and to replace precious family photos that were lost in the flood. We braved the Hari Raya jam and drove up north, to a place we had never visited before and ate Raya kuih with families who welcomed us with open arms. Have a look at the behind the scenes video that describes more about what took place over the few days we were there. It was a one of a kind experience for all of us. Wishing a great time of family bonding for everyone celebrating Raya!

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