Chinese Weddings

A policeman & a lady: The Wedding of Kim Chuan & Elaine

Photographers: Grace & Alex
Dinner Reception: Hotel Equatorial, Malacca
Cake: Choffles
Wedding Invite: Tinggi Press
Night hand bouquet & flowers: Excellent Sense

“Congratulations, you are married to the force now. We will watch out for your family as one of our own.”

I overheard the Malacca Chief of Police saying to Elaine during the wedding reception. It’s a huge promise, but I am sure one that Kim Chuan (also known as KC) and Elaine appreciate. It’s not everyday that I get to photograph men in uniform (their guests were excited too!). During the dinner walk in, these sword bearers were there to welcome KC & Elaine into the ballroom.

I’ve known KC since I was still running around Malacca in my light blue school uniform (not such a cool uniform compared to what he’s wearing now). We went to tuition together, and it was nice that there were some of my old school friends who were there during the wedding as well. Elaine is from Malacca too, but I only got to know her much later. Since Elaine works at PJ Hilton, her standards of what is good is really high! It was great that she had a few hotelier friends to help in the wedding coordination.

So both KC & Elaine grew up in Malacca, got married in Malacca, and hired a wedding photographer who was originally from Malacca.

And the best thing about it?

Both KC, Elaine and I come from Peranakan families! A typical Peranakan/Baba Nyonya family would have lots of laughter, talking (really loudly at times!), singing and drama all in the same pot. Proud parents from both sides of the family.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

The Wedding of Han How + Lydia

Photographers: Grace & Johan
Location: Trinity Methodist Church, PJ & Renaissance Hotel, KL
Wedding Gown: Pretty in White (white gown) & Love Vision (dinner gown)
Hair & Make up: Shinny Ong
Flowers & Decorations: Elshan Cas Sdn Bhd (church) & Rennaisance Hotel (dinner)
Videography: Nigel Sia

There’s a verse in the Bible that says…

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

If you ever get to know Han How & Lydia, you’ll know that this is one relationship that is strong. It’s strong not just because of the bond of love that glues them together, but because Christ is in the centre of all they do. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Han How and Lydia’s wedding was filled with lots of love, laughter and warmth. The worship session in church was so uplifting and spirit filled, I could not help but sing along as I pressed the shutter button on my camera. Even Johan said that there was something different about this church wedding.

Han How & Lydia, I am so blessed to have been there at your wedding, photographing the both of you. I am always happy to be photographing weddings, but more so when the couple are personal friends of mine. Keep this strand strong between the both of you and God. All the best for the future!

Here are a selection of my favourite images from their wedding.

The heng tais looking pweetty.

They had to go to a coffee shop near Lydia’s home and ask strangers to stick little heart-shaped stickers on their faces…

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Phong & Laura’s Garden Wedding, Kuching

Photographers: Grace & Mark
Wedding Gown: Vera Wang
Make Up: Shu Uemura
Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss
Flowers & Decorations: Murloch (house) & Four Points Sheraton Hotel (for reception)
Stationery: Banana Greetings
Cake: Amy
Reception: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak

Phong & Laura’s story felt as if it came directly from a romantic screenplay. The setting: San Francisco.

Laura had traveled to San Francisco to be with her sister, Lisa who worked there. It was during this two month visit that she met Phong, who was Lisa’s colleague. Laura thought he was rather fun to hang out with and so they exchanged contact details and communicated via MSN. Fast forward a few months later, Phong had the opportunity to fly to Indonesia for work.

Perfect timing, as Laura needed another break from work too… and so she flew to Indonesia to visit him. From there, love blossomed and it was the most interesting weekend for her. As fate would have it, one week after he returned to San Francisco, he found out that the company he was working for was relocating to Singapore!

From then on, everything was history – and according to Laura, Phong loves to tell their friends that he flew halfway across the world to be with her.

During the wedding, Phong’s family flew in from Australia & Vietnam – and he was even reunited with family he hadn’t seen in years! I was really excited when Laura told me about this story… and also when she mentioned that her wedding would be held in her family home garden! It’s so meaningful when you say your vows in such a personal environment. There were so many elements that made this wedding a memorable one for me. From the Vietnamese car decorations, to the personalized popcorn box, to the massive trees in the awesomely pink ballroom… everything was just detailed so beautifully.

The other thing that made my heart skip a beat too was Laura’s Vera Wang gown. I instantly thought of the line from the movie Bride Wars… “You don’t alter a Vera Wang to fit you, you alter yourself to fit into a Vera Wang” (something to that effect).

I don’t know how much alteration Laura had to do, but she looked absolutely amazing in that gown that day.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Fun & Dong Liang’s wedding

Photographers: Grace, Mark & Weiming
Wedding Kua: Wedding Isle
Evening Gown: Coast (London)
Groom’s chinese suit: Loh Tim Kee
Groom’s evening suit: Smart Master
Hair & Make Up: Lee Kuen
Flowers: Flora Etc
Dinner Banquet: Hee Lai Ton Restaurant

It was Fun’s older brother that brought them together. Dong Liang was young and had just graduated from college in the UK. She decided to work in KL but she didn’t know many people in KL at that time, other than Fun’s brother who was her coursemate. So one weekend while having coffee at KLCC, Dong Liang was introduced to Fun…

Fun’s story:

I was having tea with my friends in KLCC as well when my brother called me and asked me to join them. We then went to a karaoke as a group. I had a good time at the karaoke, and I had a good feeling about her. After the first meeting, I ‘made use’ of my brother’s friendship with her to intentionally meet up with her.

Luckily for Fun, Dong Liang had a good impression on him as well! After that karaoke session, they decided to exchange contact details and made plans to go out as a group again soon after.

Dong Liang’s story:

In the beginning, we were always bickering in front of others. But soon we started going out. And what happened in between is a little hazy, after all it has been almost 10 years! What really brought us together, i feel, was the 4 years we spent in London together. Because there was no family and not many friends there, it felt like all we had were each other. He has been such a great partner and always very supportive of whatever I do. It was then crystal clear to me that he is The One and I’m so lucky to have found him. And then, on my birthday in 2009, he proposed! We had a very long engagement….but now, we’re married!

Fun:

And yes, I love my wonderful wife with all my heart, and I wish to spend the rest of my life with her!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Malay Weddings, Weddings

May Weddings

May has been a busy month for the Stories team. There’s just so much to share but I haven’t had time to organize my thoughts into a blog post! So here’s a quick summary of the most recent weddings that we photographed in May. Congratulations to all of you!

20th May – Fahrizal & Shirah

21st May – Fun & Dong Liang

28th May – Ben & Angela (by the way, this is one of the largest group photos I’ve ever photographed)

This week and part of next week, I’ll be away in Singapore, Nikoi Island (an island near Bintan, Indonesia) and Kuching, Sarawak. Do keep in touch via Facebook or Twitter!