Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

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

Pre-Wedding in Nikoi Island, Indonesia: Kevin & Katherine

Photographers: Grace & Alex
Make Up & Hair: Cherry Au
Location: Nikoi Island (off Bintan Island, Indonesia)

Some months back, I blogged about my travel to Nikoi Island for a pre-wedding photo shoot. I met Kevin & Katherine (also known as Ruifeng & Peishan) about a year ago when they traveled from Singapore to KL just to meet up with me. Katherine is an avid supporter of my work which I am grateful for. :) She comments on so many of my Facebook updates which is really really nice! Kevin & Katherine flew me into Singapore for their wedding on the 22nd of October, and prior to that, their pre-wedding shoot in Nikoi island.

I must say, I have a weakness for beaches, the sea and islands. Over the next few weeks, you’ll find a number of postings on the blog related to beach weddings – we photographed so many over the past few months! Back to Kevin & Katherine’s pre-wedding shoot – this was a memorable event for me. Actually, the trip itself was an adventure. Alex and I had to fly to Singapore, catch a ferry to Bintan island, take a 45 minute taxi ride across Bintan to another jetty, hop onto another ferry for 30 minutes, and then we reached Nikoi island! Phew! But it was worth it! I love the seclusion of this island, plus I could walk around it in 20 minutes. Alex and I had a private chalet to ourselves, thanks to Kevin & Katherine’s generosity.

To be precise, the chalet looked like this:

Since Katherine loves details, she planned and transported all these items for her photo shoot in Nikoi.

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

God is Writing Their Love Story…

Photographer: Grace
Location: Some random park in Subang

It was 8am. I arrived at Aaron’s home in Subang to be greeted by his warm and welcoming family. In a matter of minutes, they made me feel at home, our conversation drifting from what they do for work to why I shoot portraits for a living to pieces of artwork on their family wall. For an hour, I took some informal photos of Aaron’s family. An hour later, Sheena arrived at Aaron’s place, having rushed over from work not too long ago.

She had just completed her night shift at the hospital, and hadn’t slept at all. After her shift ended, she rushed home, got dressed, did her own make up and made her way to Aaron’s place. I was really amazed at the energy this girl had! I was concerned that she would be really tired for our portrait session, but Sheena made everything look so easy.

The both of them are super easy to photograph. They kept laughing at every little thing I said (or didn’t say!). Our shoot location was no where glamourous. In fact, it was a tiny park across the road from Aaron’s home. I hope these photos show you that it doesn’t matter at the end of the day where we shoot, what matters most is the connection between the couple. Aaron and Sheena were so comfortable in their own skin and in front of the camera. Sometimes I felt ignored. But that’s totally fine with me. :)

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Amanda, Ivan & The Pang Family

Climbing over fences. Water bomb parties. Watching movies. Eating Mamee snacks. Silly school theatre productions. Watching Oliver the musical. Literary & Debating Club activities.

Some great childhood memories just last a long time. And some great friends last a lifetime. Even though you might only see each other once every few months, or once a year…it doesn’t matter, because every time you get together, it feels like old times again. Amanda is one of those childhood friends who totally fit the bill. Since our primary school days to secondary school and onwards… we grew up together, saw each other through the ugly years (when I still had braces!) and through all the hardships a teenager would normally go through.

Mance, thanks for all the fun memories from our days in Malacca… I wish I could be there on your wedding day, but unfortunately, that date has been booked by another client months ago. I am glad that I managed to photograph your family portraits and some casual shots of you and Ivan though! Nice meeting Ivan for the first time, but we definitely have to sit down for a proper chat over a meal soon! Maybe after your wedding?

Hope you like the photos and slideshow!

[flv:http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/slideshows/amanda-ivan.mp4 http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/slideshows/amanda-ivan.jpg 704 400]

Grace Tan In For Photographers, Musings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Tips + Ideas, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Behind the Scenes: Aaron & Chrystin

Videographer & Editor: Weiming

A week ago, I posted some photos from Aaron & Chrystin’s pre-wedding shoot. It was such an elaborate set up that I knew we had to document it with a video. What you don’t really see in this image below is the many piles of cow dung that we had to avoid stepping on in that field. The shoot was done at UPM, where cows graze freely at certain times of the day. Thankfully, I managed to find a cow-dung-less spot to set up our little picnic mat. So hope you enjoy the video and do leave a comment behind!

[flv:http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/slideshows/aaron-chrystin.mp4 http://www.stories.my/wp-content/uploads/2011/slideshows/aaron-chrystin.jpg 704 400]

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

A Nyonya Pre-Wedding: Jackson & Julie

Photographer: Grace
Location: The Wok Cafe

Some time back, Weddings Malaysia organized a virtual treasure hunt competition for brides and grooms. We participated as a vendor and offered a pre-wedding session as one of the prizes. And that was how I got to know Jackson & Julie. Over a cup of coffee at Starbucks, I got to know the both of them and chatted about what we could do for their pre-wedding session. Since Julie is a nyonya just like me, I suggested we do a vintage shoot in a typical Peranakan cafe. While The Little Nyonya show was playing on TV, we spent 2 hours exploring every corner of this place (in between bowls of cendol, of course!)

Jackson & Julie will be getting married this coming December… so I wish you all the best for the future!