Portraits

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Tan Family Portraits at the Studio

Living a nomadic life has been the trend in the Tan family from years ago. They’ve lived in Penang, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, and Kota Kinabalu, and interestingly, all siblings were born in different state. Abraham and Eva are now living in KL, running their own kindergarten even though all their children have left the nest. Their son Tim is now married to Joyce and living in Singapore. Peter, their other son is living in a lovely cottage in the UK with his wife Thuy and son Caleb.

The lovely girls in the family have been helping out in the kindergarten and homeschooling through the years. Now, Su-Ann has left to further her studies in Arkansas then with Su-Lynn coming shortly after, leaving Su-San behind with her mom and dad.

Last June, the entire family came back together for a holiday together and we did a portrait session together. It was really lovely to be able to meet this really warm family. Little baby Caleb wasn’t really in the mood for photos during the group session but we had a different session scheduled just for his family, so I’m so pleased to report that he was a happy camper then!

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Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Rustic Romantic Pre-Wedding: Calvin & Queenie

Every great love story starts with friendship. Conversations that make you feel connected, understood, and ultimately, loved. It was 4 years ago that Queenie joined the firm Calvin was working at. Their story took time to unfold though. On her first day at work, Queenie met a rather grumpy Calvin, who was having a rough day as he had to take over some additional work from someone who had left the firm. He was swamped with work and hardly had time to talk to her (though she sat next to him). Basically, Calvin just kept his distance.

Maybe being introverted had something to do with it, but during Queenie’s training over 3 months, Calvin hardly spoke to her. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t attracted his attention… through all that work, Calvin found time to just glance at her, half the time, wondering what she was doing (he claims he is a nosy person). He wanted to actually talk to her more, but didn’t know how to approach her. Finally, when her training period was about to end and she was offered a work contract, he found the courage to properly chat with her. It was a turning point for them, and after that, they became normal work colleagues, chatting about general stuff.

When their firm moved location, they started having lunches daily and that was when Calvin discovered the real Queenie, over conversations about family, life and relationships. Though their friendship grew, they were both in different relationships. In 2013, Calvin took a year off for personal family reasons. During this time away, he missed their daily lunches and thought about her often. In 2014, he joined the firm again, and it felt natural to hang out with each other again. That same year, both their previous relationships ended. Calvin decided she was worth it, took the plunge and bared his heart to Queenie. They have been inseparable ever since.

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, International, Outdoor Weddings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Testimonials, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Testimonial & Behind the Scenes: Andrew & Katrina

It’s about time we posted another behind the scenes video! If you are a regular blog visitor, you would have seen Andrew and Katrina’s photos from their 2 day pre-wedding shoot and wedding celebrations in KL and Phuket last year. I am so glad that they agreed to do a video testimonial for us after the wedding. I’ve recently started a collection of testimonials on our Facebook page, and will update our testimonial page on our website soon. On days when the going gets tough, it’s a great pick-me-up, reminding ourselves that what we do matter, and that we are on the right track.

It gives us great satisfaction knowing that we’ve made such a difference in someone’s life, capturing memories that can never be relived again except through photographs.

Credits:

Videographer: Chi Yin
Photographers: Grace & Jamie
Locations: Singapore, KL and Phuket

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Chubby baby Adam and his big eyes

How do you not fall in love with so much cuteness? Those large big eyes that just make you go, “Aaaw!” I remember when my baby was little, I loved every detail of her – I wanted to remember that smile, that spiky hair which had anti-gravity properties, those eyes…

I am sure Evan and Jasmine feels the same way towards Adam. Babies just grow up way too quickly, and soon, their chubby arms and legs elongate, they start babbling words and they become a toddler that says phrases like “I’m not a baby anymore!”

So cherish every little moment we have with the children. Soon, the days will pass into weeks and the weeks into months, and then we wonder, where has the time gone?

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Grace Tan In Life, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Parties & Events, Portraits, Relationships, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

And so the adventure continues: The 10th year milestone

20160813-ALEX_GRACE_10TH_ANNIVERSARY-069 10 years ago, the adventure began when we said our vows to journey together through the calm seas and raging storms. Ever since then, we’ve gone through adventures together as we camped in the freezing White Dessert in Egypt and cycled through pitch black darkness to view the sunrise over temples in Bagan, Myanmar. We’ve also experienced challenging moments as my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s shortly after my wedding and deteriorated through the years until the remnant of the strong man he was, was gone.

We’ve worked through differences, argued about which way to press the toothpaste, made conscious decisions on how to live life God’s way and also shed tears of joy when our two children, Krysta and Kyle were born. (we also shed tears when we had to carry them through the streets of Japan recently, but that’s another story).

20160813-ALEX_GRACE_10TH_ANNIVERSARY-144 I can’t believe 10 years flew by, just like that. Some people say we hardly aged, but that’s a lie. I think my wrinkles are a testament to how much wiser I am now, but also how much joy I experience in life, through the relationships I share with friends and family. I learnt that it takes a lot of hard work to make a marriage exciting… the routines of life can easily drown you and soon, you start to take person next to you for granted. Even more so after kids arrive, as our focus tends to be on the children, hardly the spouse.

So we’ve done things like go on planned dates, holidays alone, random hugs in the middle of the day… just because.

Ever since I was a young child, I have been an idealist. I want to believe with all my heart that love can flourish and grow stronger through the years… that marriage can indeed prosper even when I am old and grey.

And so the adventure continues…

20160813-ALEX_GRACE_10TH_ANNIVERSARY-005 On the 13th of August, we had a party at our home to celebrate 10 years of marriage and moving in to a new home. We were blessed to have family and friends pray for us as we acknowledge God’s goodness in our lives over the past 10 years. Pr Kee from DUMC who married us 10 years ago prayed for us, and Pr Shaun from Kingdomcity KL blessed our home as we use the space to connect with people from all walks of life. Rachel and Jin Ann’s team did a great job with the styling (and yummy desserts!) and Michelle exercised her magic make up skills on myself and Krysta (who was delighted to have curly hair for one day). I am also appreciative of Jennifer, Chi Yin, Nigel and Johan who took some of these amazing photos you see here.