Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

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

Pre-wedding at The Danna, Langkawi: Derrick & Fanny

Derrick & Fanny:

It was very early morning at 8am that we reached Langkawi. Grace and Alex were very kind to wake up so early in the morning (after a full day shoot they had a day before) to pick us up from airport to the hotel. I wouldn’t say the weather was great but good enough for us as it wasn’t raining heavily in Langkawi as it was in KL. We started the shoot after lunch and went on all the way till sunset. It was really fun and both Alex and Grace were so accommodating and patient. We were a bit uneasy at first, not getting used to “showing our love” in front of the camera, but they guided us through all the way.It was a long and tiring day until nearly at the end when I was chit-chating with Grace and Alex that I found out the lovely couple are expecting a new family member! Grace was so energetic and dedicated to her work and Fanny and I were feeling bad to have made her work so long! The Stories team made our day and Diane has been very helpful in connecting things up for us from Day 1 when we started to engage them and got me hooked on chosing Stories as our photographer. The video clip was wonderful! We can’t stop repeating it again and again, how great would it be if there is one song that could fit all the photos in! =D

Fanny and I knew each other since we were kids. We were classmates when we were 10 in our primary school, little did she know that I was already admiring her back then! Fate brought us back again together 10 years ago and we had been through loads of highs and lows, we are gladly thankful to have found each other and for being able to start our own family.

The proposal was really a spontaneous thing I did last June 2011 and I forgot about the previous few plans which I was cracking head on. We were both busy with work after our ROM in August last year. Needless to say, when it is the right time, you know what you ought to do.

Once again, a very big thank you to Stories, for making it work and capturing the once in a lifetime memorable moments for us.

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-wedding in Langkawi: Sam & Kathy

I almost fell off my chair when I read Kathy’s email some time back. Their trip to Malaysia was going to a whirlwind one, as they only had a short break before flying back to Australia again. The main purpose was to attend a friend’s wedding, but of course, why not squeeze in time for a pre-wedding shoot? Best of all, why not fly in to Langkawi for a day trip, just for the shoot?

I tried to convince her to spend at least 1 night in Langkawi (you won’t regret it!) but time really wasn’t on their side. So our shoot became a little adventure. They arrived in Langkawi by noon, did their make up & hair, had lunch, and by 3pm off we went! I prayed so hard for great weather because we only had that short window of opportunity to shoot. God smiled on us, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

By the way, don’t you think Kathy’s short dress is just gorgeous!? I love how everything looks really simple and casual. She had also brought some props for the shoot, all the way from Australia!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Portraits in Langkawi: Joe & Oanh

The day after their gorgeous beach ceremony at the Andaman, Langkawi, Joe and Oanh took some time off to just relax by the beach and enjoy each other’s company. Day after portraits are really relaxing, as the stress of the whole wedding planning is over! The only downside is waking up early after partying hard the night before! But Joe and Oanh made it look so easy, they were there the next morning at 8.30am for our photo session!

Grace Tan In Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Relationships

A Fireproof Marriage & A Pre-Wedding: Chih Wei & Diana

“Fireproof doesn’t mean that a fire will never come, but that when it comes, you’ll be able to withstand it.” – from the film Fireproof –

It’s definitely one of my favourite films about love and relationships. If you have never heard of this Christian film before, it’s a story about a firefighter, Caleb, who tries to save his marriage from burning to the ground. Everything seems to be going from bad to worse, which eventually leads him to consider divorce. At the lowest point of his life, Caleb’s dad gave him a Love Dare challenge – to perform a simple act of love for his spouse every day for 40 days. It could be something as simple as resolving not to say anything negative to your spouse the entire day.

“The sad part about it is, when most people promise for better or for worse, they really only mean for the better.”

The film spoke to me in many ways. Just like the quote above, it made me think about life and relationships. How often we go into marriage thinking everything will be rosy every single day of our lives. I often think of love as a choice and commitment. It’s not just a feeling or emotion, because when tough times come (as they surely will), we may not feel like we want to carry through with that commitment. It’s at times like these that you remember your vow to your spouse – for better or for worse. Choice to me does not mean that I have the option to leave anytime I want. It means that I choose to love that person even when I don’t feel like it.

And when tough times come into my marriage, I can say that it’s fireproof.

I was really excited when Chih Wei and Diana took out their Love Dare book from their bag during our pre-wedding session. I think it’s really awesome that couples desire to make their marriage fireproof by going through books like these together.

I was happy to hear that Diana also attends the same church I used to attend when I was studying in Australia years ago. It’s great that we have common friends and similar values in life. Once I got to know Chih Wei and Diana, I knew that we could instantly connect. Diana lives in Brisbane whereas Chih Wei works in Malaysia. I definitely respect any couple who goes through a long distance relationship and survives it! So much patience, understanding and effort needs to be sown into that relationship daily.

Since they are getting married this weekend, I thought I’d share some images from their pre-wedding session here. Congratulations Chih Wei & Diana, and may your marriage be filled with lots of exciting moments!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Weddings

Stephen & Andrea: Portraits & A Wedding at Rasa Sayang Resort, Penang

Since most of our clients live overseas, it’s common for us to only meet the day before the wedding or on the wedding day itself. Sometimes, you don’t really know if you can jive with a client until you actually speak to them face to face. With Stephen (also known as Steve) and Andrea, we clicked the moment Mark and I met them for the first time that morning in E&O Hotel, Penang. They had dedicated the whole morning for portraits around Penang island which was an awesome idea to me! It was a pretty relaxing day as they had already said their vows in Australia before the Penang wedding.

Stephen and Andrea met in very exciting circumstances, at an accounting course in the University of Melbourne! After getting to know each other as friends, they took the plunge and started dating, and the rest as they say, is history. Having been together for 9 years before getting married, they took their time…but probably also because they were distracted with everything else.

Their love of food connected them together and the joy of trying new places and cooking delicious meals in the kitchen became a passion for the both of them. (seems like a typically Malaysian thing to do to me!) They also love traveling and make it a point to have a holiday at least once a year. So far, they have made their way through Spain, Morocco, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Hawaii, France, Thailand, with more to come. They are proud parents of a not-so-little cat called Chester who rules their house and often thinks he’s a dog child. He shows them affection by cuddling on their laps and curling up around their heads when they sleep. Anyone who loves food, traveling, and cats is definitely a friend of mine! :)