Indian + Punjabi Weddings

Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Hindu wedding at Shree Lakshmi Temple: Sunil & Belinda

20140906_WEDDING_SUNIL_BELINDA_MSIA_0282 You’ve seen their Singaporean Chinese wedding ceremony and pre-wedding photos, now, presenting part 2 of their wedding celebration held in KL. The wedding celebration carried on in KL with a sangeet, a prayer & oil ceremony called the santh, and culminated with a colourful Hindu wedding ceremony at Shree Lakshmi temple in KL. This wedding video highlight is one of my favourites this year – I enjoy hearing their stories and seeing two different cultures combine through marriage. With the world becoming more connected globally, inter-racial marriages are the norm.

This wedding is unique for me, because in one day, I get to witness:

A Hindu wedding ceremony that resembles a Punjabi wedding
A Chinese tea ceremony where most of the people being served tea are not Chinese
Families speaking Mandarin in typical Indian wear
A dragon dance during the wedding dinner

Oh, and for the record, it was my last wedding shoot before I took a break to deliver my 2nd child!

Photographers: Grace, Nigel & Diane (wedding day), Weiming & Nigel (sangeet and santh)
Videographers: Nick, Chi Yin & Felicia

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

Garden Hindu Wedding, Rasa Sayang, Penang: David & Nandini

Amidst lush, majestic and mature trees just alongside the Batu Feringgi beach, David and Nandini were wed at the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort, Penang. The garden was beautifully decorated for their Hindu wedding ceremony, and all their guests came in traditional Indian attire. It was a tropical treat for David and Nandini’s guests from Ireland, who basked in the sun, witnessed a meaningful wedding ceremony, and enjoyed delicious Indian cuisine. Both Weiming and I were really blessed to have such thoughtful clients who really looked out for our best interests. Even Nandini’s mum made sure I was well fed since I was well into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy by then!

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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Testimonials, Weddings

Hindu Wedding & Zebra Square Reception: Jonas & Yashoda

A perfect blend of two very different cultures. Two individuals, brought up in very different continents… one with a cold climate and snow, and the other in tropical humid weather with sandy beaches. But true love does not discriminate. It doesn’t care if you come from a different culture or grew up eating dhal or meatballs. When two hearts meet, all that matters is that connection.

It has been a few months since Jonas and Yashoda tied the knot at the Shree Lakshmi Narayanan temple. It was a Malaysian-Ceylonese wedding that was infused with Swedish culture – the traditional and cultural aspect of the wedding were reserved for the Hindu temple wedding and the dinner reception at Zebra Square was done in a more western way. It was obvious that Swedish family and friends from abroad really loved witnessing such a unique wedding ceremony. Jonas was a sport… I could see that he truly cherished every moment of the wedding, especially when he saw Yashoda all beautifully decked out in her saree.

20140418_WEDDING_JONAS_YASHODA_1327 Jonas and Yashoda met each other briefly in San Francisco in 2012 through a mutual friend. It was a short trip for Yashoda who lived in the UK, but in those 3 months, they fell in love. Every day in SF felt really wonderful for Yashoda who was truly well taken care of by Jonas, but soon, they had to be physically separated across continents. Despite the time and distance apart, it was inevitable that they would be brought back together eventually and Yashoda finally met the man of her dreams.

A huge romantic at heart, Yashoda had waited for a knight in shining armour but God sent her more than she asked for… he sent her an angel! According to her words, “Jonas is the kindest, most sensitive man I have ever met.”

So the Latin inscription on their ring “Tempus fugit, amor manet” truly encapsulates the nature of their relationship. It means, “Time flies but love remains”. A true romantic quote!

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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Sindhi-Bihari Wedding: Dr Nilesh & Dr Neha (Part2)

As promised, here’s part 2 of Dr Nilesh and Dr Neha’s epic North Indian wedding. There were some ceremonies that were new to us, like placing the ring on her forehead and tipping a pot of rice at home. Overall, a really good experience for us all, because we just love to immerse ourselves in different cultures especially in a country like Malaysia. We’re never bored with the many different types of weddings we photograph and film! That’s the beauty in diversity that our country offers.

Years ago, unfortunately, wedding photographers would be hired according to their familiarity with traditional customs by race (naturally, a Chinese wedding photographer would be hired for a Chinese wedding ceremony, etc etc). In the recent years, there has been a more open mindset and people are willing to cross cultures because they believe in the quality of someone’s work. So we do thank God that we had the opportunity to photograph many various types of weddings in the past… some of which have brought us as far as to Bangladesh!

If you haven’t seen it already, here’s part 1 of their wedding celebration in photos and a 12 minute wedding video highlight that summarises it all. If you’d like to see even more photos, have a look at the slideshow below this post.

Thank you for bringing us on this amazing journey, Dr Nilesh and Dr Neha!

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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Sindhi-Bihari Wedding: Dr Nilesh & Dr Neha (Part1)

If we could sum up Dr Nilesh and Dr Neha’s North Indian wedding in 3 words, it would be fun, loud and colourful. Our photography and videography team spent 4 days with the couple and their equally loud and colourful families, filming their engagement ceremony in Malacca, bhajan & navghari puja ceremonies (prayers), sangeet and wedding day. What really stood out for us was how close-knit the family members were. Everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult participated wholeheartedly in this epic celebration.

It was ONE. BIG. PARTY.

Naturally, with drum beats and Bollywood music pumping the halls, everyone, including the team couldn’t help but move to the beat. People laughing aloud and chatting nineteen to the dozen made this celebration a really fun affair.

Dr Nilesh and Dr Neha met in Manipal during their first year of medical school in 2005. For Nilesh then, it was love at first sight. Who could resist the beautiful Neha… elegant, friendly and LOUD. She had a great smile, and Nilesh was hooked. As a couple, they were spontaneous and playful. On the 24th of August 2013, while 17m underwater near the island of Redang, Nilesh ‘popped’ the question to Neha and she said YES!

I love what Neha said to Nilesh as a Facebook posting on the day of their wedding – “I wish I could do more for you my love… But since you beat me to everything when it comes to my happiness .. All I want to say is I love you…and let’s get totally married..I have a lifetime to try to outdo you..”

Aaaw…can you see the big, fat grin on our faces?

Enjoy part 1 of the photos here – photographed by Weiming & Nigel.
Watch their wedding video highlight here.

The Engagement in Malacca

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