Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

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 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… :)

Weiming In International, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Samiul & Azrin’s Portraits: Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh

Before we post the highlights of Samiul and Azrin’s wedding day, I’d like to share some portraits taken after the wedding at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. We had to fly there from Dhaka, and I was quite nervous about the shoot, as I had to do it alone for the very first time. To add to the challenge, I found out on that day itself that my aunt had passed away in Malaysia, and I couldn’t be with my family since I was really far away.

Despite all of that, I had to focus and put my worries aside as I had a job to complete. But halfway through the shoot, I accidentally stepped on a thorny plant and cut the sole of my foot while shooting. It was painful but I endured it all. Lesson learnt: Wear slippers, even if it’s on the beach!

Samiul and Azrin, thank you for being so caring and concerned for me. I am glad you like the photos that we’ve been sharing so far!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, International, Life, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Running a Business

Being a working mom

Ever since I delivered baby Krysta mid December, I have discovered the joys of motherhood. Everyday, my heart swells with even more love for this cute little baby of mine, especially so when she looks adoringly into my eyes and coos in her baby language telling me all sorts of things that happened in that day. Six diaper changes, lots of good yummy milk, and recently… her first overseas trip to Krabi, at 2 months old! While I was out shooting, Alex, my husband, was the baby sitter to Krysta!

* Krysta’s newborn photos, when she was 14 days old.

Though I have tried to stay away from work and enjoy my maternity leave, I realized I can’t ‘stay’ still… in fact, I didn’t really observe most of the confinement practices (to the horror of some people). By the first week of her birth, after the C-section, I was up and about, attending Christmas events and even brought her for a theatre production at church. While on maternity leave, I was still replying work emails, meeting up with potential clients, skyping, and blogging. I now completely understand how difficult it is for working moms to balance between working at home and taking care of a child. All I can say is… thank God for the help of my maid, and the pacifier!

Now that I have officially starting working and shooting, I hope that the transition is not too difficult. I am a little concerned about being away from her for some of my outstation shoot jobs, especially since I am still breastfeeding, but I guess I’ll jump over that hurdle once I get to it.

* Krysta looking really happy at getting her very first ang pau for Chinese New Year!

I know the blog has been silent for 2 weeks, so here’s a teaser image from the recent pre-wedding session at Krabi, Thailand for Nicholas and Lina… my first client after delivery! More to come later!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

A Parisian Pre-Wedding: Jun Ven & Adelene

It’s been more than 10 years since I got to know Jun Ven while studying in college. We had a group of mutual friends, and through the years, got to know each other better over mamak sessions, church, holidays like to Mulu caves and lots of other gatherings. He’s one steady, collected and easy going guy. Adelene, on the other hand, came into the picture a few years ago when she waltzed into Jun Ven’s working life as an intern in Maxis. I remember him telling me a long time ago that one of the things that attracted him to her was her chatty-ness! Yup, she’s sociable, is a kick-ass badminton player, and a driven person, especially when it comes to her career. She now helms the operations behind this amazing business venture called MyTeksi… if you are a regular taxi user, you should definitely find out more about it!

Since their wedding is this weekend, I thought I’d post a few images from their pre-wedding shoot as a prelude to the big day! And you guessed it right, their wedding is Parisian themed!

Congratulations, Jun Ven and Adelene! So happy for the both of you! Looking forward to the wedding this weekend… hope you managed to get some rest and are not too stressed with last minute preparation details!