Church Weddings

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Church Wedding at DUMC – Ian & Michelle

As a couple, they have been together for 9 years, with almost 6 of those years being in different countries. But not many couples can say that they have gone through a life-threatening situation together at the tender age of 19. It was 2009 when Ian suddenly discovered a weird lump at the tip of his jawbone and underwent surgery to remove it. But everything came crashing down when the diagnosis revealed that Ian had cancer of the salivary gland. It was heartbreaking to find out about the cancer diagnosis at just the tender age of 19, when life seems to take off for most teenagers.

In 2010, Ian had to undergo another operation, and it took place on Michelle’s 20th birthday – on the 27th of February in Singapore. At that time, Michelle was undergoing internship with 1 of the most renowned airline in the world. It was a lesson on life’s priorities. She left her internship and headed for Singapore. Many condemned her, claiming it was a stupid mistake but she knew exactly what she needed to do at that point of time in such situation.

God saw them through the most difficult season of their relationship, to date. Ian later took the rest of the year off to recover from it.

On Michelle’s 25th birthday, Ian was officially CANCER FREE.

The journey was never smooth sailing, but it was necessary for them both to grow individually and in God’s perfect timing, all things were made beautiful. Hear more of their story in the 10 minute video highlight below.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

Wedding at St Peter’s Church, KL: Matthew & Wai San

20161022-WEDDING_MATTHEW_WAISAN_0581 It was April 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The Overseas Christian Fellowship Easter Camp was starting soon, but Matthew was hesitant about going. But at the last minute, he changed his mind, and it was there that he met beautiful Wai San. Eventually, after the camp ended, they became friends and he plucked up enough courage to ask her out on an ice-cream date. It was a ‘hot’ date as they sat and chatted for more than 3 hours over ice-cream!

She thought, “He seems quite smart (something I like!). Maybe a little too skinny but overall, ok lah!”

Well, Matt couldn’t get pretty and cute Wai San out of his mind since that first date. Four months later, he decided to take things further and asked her to be his girlfriend before he took her to a musical and presented a nice necklace to her.

For 3 years and 11 months, they shared a lot of things in common, like their love for board games, traveling and food. In that first 12 months of dating, Matt changed from a skinny guy to a more chubby man as he put on 12kg that year! I guess love makes you ‘fuller’!

So in 2016, Matthew and Wai San are married! Their wedding was held at St Peter’s Parish, Bangsar and their dinner at Sheraton Imperial, KL. She had always dreamed of a fairytale wedding (as a princess to a dashing groom) surrounded with lots and lots of pretty flowers and bunny rabbits! (you’ll see what I mean later).

Unfortunately, due to an unexpected turn of events, Wai San’s father passed away before their wedding. I had the good fortune of getting to know him months earlier at Wai San’s sister’s wedding, which I also photographed. I felt really emotional at Wai San’s wedding, knowing that she would very much have loved to have him there, but honoured at the same time to have created beautiful images of their family at Wai Wai’s wedding earlier.

Wai San, seeing how your family held together through that difficult time with the support of your loved ones was truly inspirational for me. At your wedding, you were truly the princess your dad would have been proud to see. Matthew was indeed the most supportive and dashing prince who knew how to lift you off your feet, and into his arms. Have a beautiful marriage, you two.

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Grace Tan In Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Zion Lutheran Church Wedding: Anthony & Karen

It’s really an honour when I am asked to photograph the wedding of a sibling I had also been a part of. Six years ago, I photographed Karen’s brother’s wedding at the very same church. It was so lovely to meet everyone again. The same warm family that makes you feel as if you are part of them! Karen and Anthony’s wedding had a gorgeous orange theme. I loved how they infused Indian motives into Anthony’s cravat and also created a modern version of the saree as the wedding gown! Aside from the wedding itself, I love the story of how Anthony and Karen met. It can be made into the plot of a romance movie!

20160730-WEDDING_ANTHONY_KAREN-34 Their Story as told by Karen
I am a surgeon in Ireland and we met when i was a really junior trainee surgeon. I had done a weekend (3 nights) of call in a row and unfortunately had my wallet stolen from the doctors room earlier that Monday (16th June 2008) just when I was finishing my shift. I got in to the car to drive home with no money and a dead phone. I fell asleep while driving on the highway and had a bad crash with 2 cars. I walked to the closest place to make a call, and called the insurance company who in turn called rescue services.

Anthony arrived in uniform to check me out and assess the damages. We got to talking and I told him about my unfortunate day. He offered to loan me money to get me home and I in turn promised to return the money. I texted him about a week later and we met but we were talking so much I never returned the cash. We then had many meetings as friends where we took his chocolate labrador Archie for walks in the national park. We eventually started officially dating in July and the rest is history. I never actually returned the money.

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Malay Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Wedding Cinematography Reel

The amazing thing about videos is that you can capture the emotions as it happened… the voice that chokes as she says her vows, the tears falling down the groom’s cheek or a small smile that turns into a big guffaw. It’s so special. It brings you back to that exact moment as it happened, and it is just immortalised. Years later, as you look back on your wedding video or film, it will bring you back to that precise moment.

This is the magic of filmmaking that drew me to it in the first place when I studied Film and Television 18 years ago. Not just because I can create stories, but that it had the power to connect people. I hope you will enjoy this reel compiled by Chi Yin, of wedding stories that we have created for our clients over the past 1-2 years. Filmed by so many talented videographers on our team. Thank you for all your hard work!

Wedding Video Showreel from Stories on Vimeo.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Musings, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

A White or Red Veil

A white wedding veil is seen as a traditional norm in weddings, symbolising the purity of the bride. Interestingly, Wikipedia mentioned that the earliest reference of a veiled woman was recorded in an Assyrian text from the 13th Century BC. Now, at a Chinese wedding, a red veil is usually the norm, though nowadays, most couples prefer to opt out of it. Red symbolizes good luck, happiness, and prosperity. If you would like to read more about it, this website talks about how the tradition dates back to the Qi period (479-502), where women farmers would wear a veil to protect their heads against the cold wind or hot sunshine.

Whatever the origin, I find veils to be so lovely, almost mysterious. Ten years ago, when I got married, I was quite an ignorant bride, and one of the biggest mistakes I made was that I didn’t try on my veil until my wedding day! It was then that I realised it was too short to cover my face (it was one of those veils that only looked good at the back of your head!). So yeah, with no alternative at hand, I lived with a white veil that stopped short next to my chin. Thank God I didn’t allow that little boo-boo to ruin my wedding day!

20160423_WEDDING_JOHN_JULIETA_0134 A traditional square veil matched with the Chinese kua outfit.

A modern twist to the red Chinese veil.

Whether you decide to wear a white or red veil for your wedding day, here are some questions to ask yourself as you choose your wedding veil:

Does it match your wedding gown?
If your wedding gown has a lot of details at the back or front, you should consider a simple, sheer veil that can highlight this feature. But if your gown is a little more simple, then you can consider a veil with more embellishments. Your gown and veil shouldn’t be fighting for attention.
What length of veil would you like to opt for?
Shorter veils would suit a more informal look, whereas mid length waist level veils are suitable for most gowns. Floor length veils are good for dresses that do not have a train. If you would like a really long veil that drapes across the floor, you can partner it with classic wedding gowns or those that do have a large train. You can read more about this in this informative article here.
What kind of hairstyle would you like to have?
Would your hair be up or down during your wedding day? What kind of accessories are you planning to wear? If your hair is up, you can wear your veil above or below your bun. Pinning the veil below your bun would highlight your hair style a little more compared to wearing your veil above your bun.

Hope these tips are useful!