Chinese Weddings

Romance at Intercontinental Hotel: Jeremy & Theng

I distinctly remember chatting on the phone with Theng’s mum, a couple of months before the wedding day. Since Theng and Jeremy live in the UK, Theng’s mum helped to organize many aspects of the wedding, including hiring a photographer! After a few phone calls, some emails, then a confirmation came, and the funds were banked in. And just like that (without ever speaking to Jeremy & Theng), we were booked for their wedding day.

A couple of days before the wedding, I dropped by Theng’s family home to meet up with everyone and to get to know Jeremy and Theng better. I was glad to find out that the dinner was going to be an intimate affair of 200 people. That’s really small for a typical Asian wedding, since most dinner receptions would have at least 300-400 people!

On their wedding day, we spent quite a bit of time doing some portraits around Intercontinental Hotel. I recently popped by Intercontinental for another shoot, and to my dismay, found out that part of the lobby is under renovation. So yeah, this staircase has been boarded up. I wonder what everything will look like once it’s done!

“We got engaged in February 2011 and started planning the wedding quite soon after. As we both live in the UK, we decided to hold a small reception in London for our immediate family and close friends, as well as dinner receptions in KL and Hong Kong. Planning a wedding from abroad was exciting but definitely challenging! We had to rely on wedding blogs and personal recommendations to source for potential vendors. With the help of our parents, multiple emails over the months and some last-minute planning a week before our reception in KL, we eventually managed to pull it off! We had a great time and were very grateful that most of our friends from all over the world were able to attend.”

Jeremy & Theng

Mark Leo In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Testimonials, Weddings

Catholic wedding ceremony: Aaron & Sheena

Dear Diane, Mark & Johan,

I meant to send this earlier, but I didn’t expect the week post-wedding to be equally as hectic as pre-wedding. I actually just wanted to drop a quick e-mail to let you know how awesome it was having you guys as my photographers.

I thoroughly enjoyed the times on-camera as well as off-camera. (Chewah, mcm celebrity, liddat!) Seriously, though, I’m so glad & grateful for how (unexpectedly) easy it was to get along with you, right from the start – tbh, I didn’t expect that having photographers around would be such a pleasant experience. I was surprised at how comfortable I was with you & how much fun I had just hanging out with you guys during those brief moments after the ceremony/during the luncheon/dinner.

It was a genuine pleasure for me to have you around, so much so I felt as though you were actual guests at my wedding. Having said that, I can understand how you might not share the same viewpoint, seeing as the cameras would’ve been a weighty reminder of the work at hand. All the same, thank you for being such great company.

Thank you, Diane, for all the chats & e-mails, and for all those gentle reminders – yep, I know we’re due to think of that extra song :) It was great to finally meet you in person – I’m so happy you came to photograph my wedding! :D :D – & you are just as nice as you sound over Gtalk. True story. I bet most brides say this, but we really should hang out sometime. Any friend of Switchfoot is a friend of mine & Aaron’s :) (Btw, I’ve got Vice Verses on repeat in my car – that’s probably going to run until I get the new David Crowder album.)

Mark, thank you for enduring my numerous rants regarding the breakdown of my precious system & my “Y U NO [insert appropriate bridezilla expectation here]?!?” Despite how the photo-session went up in flames – in FLAMES, Mark – I was actually present in each moment of my day & enjoyed it, from the chilled-out make-up session, to the ceremony (thank you SO much for giving me no cause for concern during the Mass – I personally thought you did a brilliant job of being unobstrusive & yet the pictures still turned out fabulous ;) to the dinner.

Btw, one of my overseas guests was particularly impressed with the slideshow you put together, esp. considering the limited amount of time you had. As was I: Thank you so much for highlighting what, or rather, Who was & is at the centre of Aaron’s & my union, and I noticed that the pictures came together beautifully at the chorus, so well done :)

Johan, we saw those great shots you’d taken from the balcony. My mother-in-law also made special mention of how you’d subtly (hehe) grouped the guests during the toasting & the different angles you used. Thank you for the efforts you took to to get those quirky & candid shots that I was hoping for, esp. at the main table. (LOL-ing at how you had to recall me from the meet-and-greet for the slideshow during the dinner!) It was a real pleasure encountering you & your sense of humour, and I know my sister was happy to put a face to the gentleman who was so impressed with her Gantt chart, haha!

All in all, I thank God the actual day went the way it did, and that He made our paths cross the way He did. Thank you for being a part of our wedding & I hope you enjoyed yourselves in our company as much as we did in yours. Looking forward ’til we next meet again. In the meantime, take care & God bless!

Yours sincerely,

Sheena

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, International, Malay Weddings, Musings, News, Outdoor Weddings, Running a Business, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Feature your wedding on an International Travel Channel

Hi everyone! We’re involved in a really cool, upcoming project and we’d love to get you involved too! It combines 2 of my favourite topics: Travel and Weddings.

For those who have been reading this blog for sometime, you might know that I started out my career in the local film and television line. For many years, I edited TV programs, dramas, films, documentaries… and also directed some episodes of various television programs. Then in 2007, I began to explore the world of weddings through my camera lens. You can read more about my history here.

So how is this relevant to what I am about to say?

Well, basically, we will be involved in a new project involving an international travel channel that broadcasts to 120 countries worldwide. No, this doesn’t mean that we are no longer photographing weddings. Every now and then, I believe in doing new things that will help fuel creativity, and though it’s been a while since I directed a TV program, this is something I’m excited to do.

So… this is where you come in.

We are looking to feature weddings in Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore. For each episode, we will feature one local couple and one couple who are traveling to that destination for their wedding. If you are getting married in these locations within the months of May-August 2012 and would love to have your wedding featured internationally on television, do contact us!

Please email grace.tan [at] stories.my with these details:

1. Your name & your fiance’s name

2. The location and date of your wedding

3. Why you think your wedding should be featured (or perhaps some unique details about your wedding plans)

4. Include a photo of the both of you

And that’s it! This is not a contest. We will select the couple based on the best story that fits our requirements. We are excited to hear from you, so do email us soon!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, International, Weddings

An Indonesian Wedding at Gran Mahakam, Jakarta: Eric & Jennie

Eric and Jennie’s wedding was epic. It was my first time in Jakarta, Indonesia, and I was stoked that they had chosen us over the many talented photographers out there. Eric himself is a photographer, so that was a huge compliment to us. A few months before their wedding day, we got acquainted properly through their pre-wedding shoot in KL. This is just one of the many reasons why I love photographing couples before their wedding day. We get to break the ice and feel comfortable with one another prior to the big event.

It was in spring of 2009 that Eric first laid his eyes on Jennie. While I am sure he was praying during the church rosary prayer at Bullsbrook, Western Australia, Eric might have been a little distracted. Perhaps. Jennie was not a familiar face…plus she is a gorgeous girl! Eric soon found out that she was there from Surabaya, visiting her sister Anne for a week or two.

Thanks to social media and Mark Zuckerberg, they started connecting by messaging each other on Facebook, Yahoo messenger and MSN. In Eric’s words, “geek mode on!”. After a lot of prayers asking God for signs, Eric finally plucked up the courage to visit Jennie in Surabaya where she was finishing her medicine degree. That month of February 2010 was a milestone, because Eric and Jennie became boyfriend and girlfriend then.

During Christmas of 2010, Eric visited Jennie’s family in Malang, Indonesia and brought with him a Tiffany engagement ring. Unfortunately, Jennie discovered the ring accidentally in his camera bag, but he was quick to pop the question. She blushed. And then she said yes.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

A wedding in St Peter’s Church, Malacca & a Kombi: Kevin & Elaine

I’ve known Elaine since I was a young kid and a wee bit shorter than what I am now. Some friends have told me that convent girls from Malacca have a distinct ‘look’, and I suppose Elaine and I fall into that category. It must be our loud laughter and carefree nature (or I’d like to think so!). Well, whenever a Malaccan girl gets married, and especially to another Malaccan boy, it is a cause for a huge celebration. The wedding was planned more than a year in advance, and I distinctly remember our conversations via MSN about the wedding. In fact, we started talking about the wedding in June 2010.

Yup, it’s every girl’s dream to plan for her wedding. Like waaay in advance. But I wonder if Elaine actually started her wedding planning even earlier than that. You see, she was childhood friends with Kevin ever since she was a 2 year old toddler. I can’t remember a single thing from when I was 2 (could be due to my bad memory). They were best friends till the age of 5, then lost contact with each other for years, until they were reconnected 20 years later! Talk about an amazing story!

So end of 2010, Elaine contacted me again to talk about her wedding and initially she wanted to have it at our old school chapel in our primary school, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Malacca. I was really excited about it because I have fond memories of that chapel, even though I wasn’t a Christian at that point in my life. I always remember it as being serene and ancient.

Unfortunately that plan didn’t quite work out and the wedding was held in St Peter’s Church in Malacca. That church has a 300 year old history, so I was excited about it too! My parents used to attend that church too when they were living in Malacca and so this church was significant to me.

To make this wedding even more exciting, Elaine requested for Smurfette, my vintage VW kombi to make it’s first wedding appearance as the bridal car! Thank you Kevin and Elaine, for making everything so memorable for me. I had an awesome time, and I am amazed at the level of detailed planning that went into the wedding. Elaine, thanks too for the card and gift. It was really sweet and thoughtful of you.

Ok so on to photos from the wedding…