Outdoor Weddings

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 Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Wedding on the Float, Westin Langkawi: Stephen & Sarah

A wedding by the sea without sand?

Men in kilts?

A couple who are head over heels in love?

What a glorious combination! Stephen and Sarah’s wedding was filled with laughter, silliness, and lots of great memories. It didn’t matter that it rained on their wedding day. Everything came together beautifully.

I still remember the first time I met Stephen and Sarah at a Starbucks in Petaling Jaya, a couple of months ago. Sarah told me that though they wanted a beach wedding, she didn’t actually like sand getting between her toes. It made sense then that the Float at the Westin, Langkawi would make the perfect location for their beach wedding.

The day before the wedding, Alex and I arrived in Langkawi to meet the family and friends of the couple. I was really stoked that Stephen and Sarah were generous enough to put us up at the Westin… that was a really lovely birthday treat for me! That night, after a delicious dinner with Alex, we came back to our room to discover a surprise… a birthday cake from Stephen and Sarah! Thank you so much for being so thoughtful!

Ok, back to the wedding…

Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Men in Kilts

It’s one of those days when I wonder, where did the time go? My good intentions to keep the blog updated at least twice a week remains as good intentions. There’s so many awesome weddings I’d love to share with all our blog readers. So, rather than keep this blog quiet, I thought I’d post a photo from Stephen and Sarah’s wedding at the Westin, Langkawi. Men in kilts! My usual phrase of “Put your hands in your pocket and look cool” didn’t quite work here. It was a fun wedding, and I hope to blog about it soon in the future.

Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Testimonials, Weddings

Beach wedding in Andaman, Langkawi: Vanessa & Michael

I’ve said it countless times before, and I’ll say it again, I simply ADORE beach and garden weddings. Despite the fact that tropical Malaysia is rather hot and humid, the whole atmosphere during a beach wedding is completely relaxed and laidback. There were days when I waltzed up to a shoot in flip flops or barefooted! Vanessa and Michael’s wedding was held at the gorgeous Andaman, Langkawi. White sandy beaches, blue skies and seas greeted us that day as everyone bustled around in preparation for the wedding.

Though I was excited to photograph this wedding, it came with a new set of challenges as I had just twisted my ankle the day before the wedding. In an unglamorous fashion, I tripped when I came down a short flight of stairs at my home, just before I was due to head to the airport. My ankle ached that entire night even though I had placed an ice pack on it, and I had no choice but to pray for a better ankle for the shoot the next day. On the morning of the wedding, I hobbled slightly to Michael and Vanessa’s room, but miraculously, once the whole event started, I was prancing around… almost normally.

I also thank God for Johan who was there as my 2nd photographer. On the day we arrived, he carried my bags, drove the car to Andaman and got me food and an ice pack. I could not have done it alone! That’s just one of the reasons we ALWAYS shoot a wedding with 2 photographers! Photographers are always expected to perform, even though they are sick or injured. Vanessa and Michael were really kind though, they were totally concerned about my foot and my wellbeing.

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

Danny & Jennifer: A beach wedding in Avillion, Port Dickson

Distance.

That’s the key word to describe Danny and Jennifer’s first year together as a couple. It’s also a running theme for their wedding day, as we had to travel many kilometres to go from one location to another. Danny started the day at his home in KL, while Jennifer got ready in Seremban. Together with his heng dais, they traveled the distance to pick Jennifer up, and then headed back to KL for the tea ceremony. Immediately after, everyone departed KL and headed south again, this time to Port Dickson for their beach ceremony.

But that distance doesn’t compare to the one year they spent traveling back and forth from Malacca to KL. They were physically apart, with Jenn working in KL and him in Malacca, completing his final year as a student. It was a tough journey, as they each led separate lives (one working, the other studying), finding it difficult to spend time or even meet up with each other but they never gave up.

Back track 8 years ago… to when their story first began in 2003. They met on the very first day of uni in MMU, placed in the same orientation group. It was not a typical ‘love at first sight’ story.

Danny & Jenn’s story as written by Danny

In 2007, after Jenn graduated, we began writing our love story. How did we go on a first date? We both loved spaghetti carbonara, that’s why we had our first date to try out the delicious carbonara at The Noodle Bar, Melaka. That first year was a really tough year but once I graduated, I worked in KL which allowed us to grow our love and bring our relationship even further.

After 3 years together, we decided to take a big step in our life – to buy a house together. We wanted to spend the rest of our life together, build a beautiful home, and to have our own family. When she least expected it, I proposed. Jenn always wondered if I would ever propose because I was never a romantic person, and always say there’s no need to propose.

Buy house = no proposal = get married straight.

On 01/01/11, I surprised her with 99 red roses and a diamond ring. I got down on my knees to propose and of course, she agreed.