Chinese Weddings

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Wedding Video Highlight: Stephen & Jen

Stephen and Jen love each other so much, they got married to each other over and over again! They had not one, but 3 ceremonies, with 2 Western ceremonies in the UK and the 3rd one in KL. Stephen who grew up in the UK, thought it would be really different and fun to participate in the Chinese tradition of ‘picking up the bride’. He was such a sport and even donned a Chinese outfit for the wedding (though initially, he lacked the pants that went with it!). Jen loves to laugh, and it was obvious that these two enjoy life and experiencing many different things together.

Watch their wedding video highlight to find out more:

Credits:

Videographers: Stories team (Chi Yin, Delvin, & Nick)
Location & Cake: Prince Hotel, KL
Wedding Gown: Pronovias
Evening Gown: Divine Couture
Groom’s Attire: Aspey
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Make up & Hair: Chufan
Photographer: Sih Han Photography

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Greetings from beautiful Santorini, Greece!

Every single postcard image I have seen of Santorini promised clear blue skies matching the blue of the famous domes and breathtaking sunsets over the caldera. I packed in my bikini (and warm clothing) since the weather forecast said it was going to be around 15 degrees Celcius for my travel duration. When I arrived, I was in for a shock. The wind was bitterly cold, it rained for the first few days we were here and I definitely could not do any swimming in my bikini! Even the locals said that it was cold for them and this was winter weather!

But the village of Oia was as charming as the travel guides describe it. I love the little paths that led to nowhere, and then suddenly, opened to a gorgeous view of the Aegean sea. You can’t help but feel your heart skip a beat as you take in the breathtaking views that Santorini has to offer. I was there to photograph the wedding of John and Hazel, shoot portraits for my sister-in-law Sarah and her husband Terence and have a holiday at the same time.

Thank God the weather cleared up after the initial first few days and then we had sunshine! Though it was still very cold when the wind blew (I was wearing 4 layers, and Sarah only had her wedding gown!), we had a great time.

The official photos will be up sometime in the future, but in the meantime, here are some of my travel photos and sneak peak images from the shoots.

07-Oia-web We wandered around the romantic village of Oia for photos with Terence and Sarah. While we were doing so, we kept bumping into other couples on their pre-wedding photo shoots!

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Church Wedding, Luther Centre: Siu Fai & Chia Wen

20141220_WEDDING_SIUFAI_CHIAWEN_0734 Just recently, Siu Fai and Chia Wen celebrated the 100th day since they were wed. It was so lovely to see on Siu Fai’s Facebook page this note to his dear wife Chia Wen.

A hundred days from the day, dear Wen,
Everyday as blissful as we felt back then,
I promise my promise to you is true,
A commitment to love, just me and you.

“Matrimony came from paradise, and leads to it. I never was half so happy before I was a married man as I am now. When you are married, your bliss begins. Let the husband love his wife as he loves himself, and a little better, for she is his better half. He should feel,”If there’s only one good wife in the whole world, I’ve got her.” – Charles Spurgeon

Though the wedding happened some time back, it felt fresh in my mind, as if it were just a few weeks ago. I feel privileged to have been given the honour to photograph this wonderful couple alongside my photographer sidekick, Jamie.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting this couple know that they are dynamic, passionate about the things of God, love people and through their actions, put their love into practice. As church leaders in DUMC, their lives have made such an impact to many around them. Just look at the number of people who attended their church wedding!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Chinese Ancestral Home Ipoh Wedding: Si Howe & Joanne

Some time back, I photographed some portraits of Joanne for her 30th birthday and it was on that shoot that I met Si Howe. He struck me as a really fun loving, supportive guy who was ever willing to give Joanne a hoist to entertain her ideas of climbing trees for pictures. As we got to know each other more later, it struck me that they were two opposite personalities totally in love with each other. Si Howe, an obvious extrovert, was telling me all about his Ipoh wedding at his family courtyard home (where EVERYONE in their family holds a wedding!) and enticing Nigel and I with stories about giant Tanjung Tualang prawns served during the luncheon.

Needless to say, we were definitely looking forward to this wedding!

We were really smitten with the wonderful classic family home that we had the privilege of shooting in. Since Si Howe’s family was a large one, the tea ceremony took quite a while, serving approximately 180 people! One of the biggest challenges we had was doing a huge family photo that could accommodate everyone. At the entrance of the home (image below), it was hot in the midday sun, so to get everyone to stand / sit there even for 15 minutes would be really challenging. But the worst thing is that everyone would be squinting as they had to look towards the direction of the sun. So we moved everyone to the back of the house instead for the photos. Though it was very warm still, at least people weren’t squinting as much!

20141213_WEDDING_SIHOWE_JOANNE_0743 I love this marital bed that symbolises their union. Si Howe told me how he and another cousin had to painstakingly take the bed apart from another cousin’s home and transport it to this place. And then he had to put it together again, pretty much like a jigsaw puzzle. If you look carefully, you will see his yellow sticker notes on the bed frame which we ‘conveniently’ left in the shot. Tells a story!

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Blue & Yellow Sunflowery Goodness: Wedding of Steven & Marilyn

Steven and Marilyn are such bubbly, fun characters, it’s no wonder they chose a bright yellow, sunflower theme for their wedding. We love how the bright blue pops in relation to the yellow too. Everything from the wedding invite, to the flowers, decorations and even Marilyn’s custom made cheongsam adhered to the theme colours!

Some of their friends also came dressed according to theme. From Day1 of the proposal, both Marilyn and Steven were really involved in the whole wedding planning process. Steven’s one of those grooms who actually ENJOY planning a wedding (not like some other grooms we have encountered who prefer to just pay and let the bride plan the wedding!). He is a meticulous guy, always looking at details whereas Marilyn’s a big picture person. So they complement each other in so many ways.

By the way, a bit of interesting info about Marilyn… her dad used to own the one and only ‘go-to’ photo studio in PJ called Photo Beauty Light. Apparently, everyone used to go there for graduation and family photos from the 70s onwards!

My friendship with Marilyn has gone back quite a few years as we have traveled together spiritually as Christian sisters through our DUMC cell group. I am really happy to have met Steven when they first started dating, and now to see her get married. Congratulations to the both of you, we love you very much!

Here are the beautiful photos taken by Weiming and Jamie.

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