Church Weddings

Johan Sopiee In Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Indoor Garden Wedding: Vinod & Pamela

LEO club and ‘berdating“?

This is how Vinod and Pamela described themselves:- “We first met at LEO club (those of you born in the 80s would know this). We coincidentally went to the same Maths tuition. We used to go “berdating” at the mamak near school and in Ravi’s Canai & Such and the USJ 4 padangs. We talked about anything and everything under the sun. It was quite obvious that we enjoyed each other’s company.”

On the actual wedding day, their theme was purple, and boy doesn’t that say a lot about their character.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Testimonials, Weddings

Testimonial: Amy & Enoch

Dear Grace and The Team,

We don’t know where to begin to thank you. You and your team did such an amazing job that not only did we think so, but every one of my family and friends would agree. You and your team are extremely talented and you exceeded our expectation on every level.

Diane, thanks for setting up everything including all the necessary paperwork and arrangement for our day.

Not forgetting Johan for cranking up jokes and making the photo session merrier for everyone. We loved our photographers for the day, even every one is talking about how wonderful these photographers we had. Grace, even though you are pregnant.. and assigned us a third photographer, we felt that it is very professional of you to help us capturing all the great moments of the day and all the hard work that you put in making that day unforgettable for us. We were sort of a little worry for you as you trying so hard capturing some of the great moments for us in the church. Make sure you take it slow in your upcoming photo shooting..

We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for providing us with such beautiful memorabilia of our most precious day of our lives, erm.. even though we didn’t have a chance to glance through our photos yet… and every one is asking for it already!!!!

It was a day when we were both too nervous to notice anyone or anything around us, but we hope that the photos you have will re-create our world on that day for us – the wonderful people we love, the detail of each session, and the scenic views around us..will help us remember our special day.

Thank you for capturing our wedding day with your creativity, your attention to detail, and your love in such professional manner. Your service was very professional and we will definitely recommend your service to all our family and friends.

Thank you again for all your work and dedication in making our wedding day so wonderful!

– Amy & Enoch –

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.