Weddings

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

The Lego & Travel Themed Wedding of Derek & Rachel

If you are not a Lego fan, you’ll definitely be one after you see the images from this wedding! I love how Derek and Rachel personalised their love story through little Lego sets. Of course, Derek painstakingly (or should I say, happily?) assembled all the pieces together for the wedding. Everything from the corsages to the ring pillow, to the decorations at the dinner reception… everything had bits of Lego thrown in. Add to that, an element of travel – one of Rachel’s favourite activity… and there you have it… a Lego and Travel themed wedding. Oh, did I mention that a few super heroes made their appearance at the wedding too?

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0491 This is the cute but delicate ring pillow made of Lego!

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0215 Their Love Story (as written by Derek)

We first met years ago as kids who attended the same church with our families (Trinity Methodist Church PJ) and participated in the same youth fellowship and activities. It was so long ago that we can’t really remember the exact time we both first met, but our earliest memory of interacting with each other is when we attended a camping trip in Kuala Selangor in 2000.

20140614_WEDDING_DEREK_RACHEL_0627 It was there that I first had a crush on her, even with her nerdy glasses and Chinese school haircut. Her parents had a rule at the time that she could not have a boyfriend until she turned 18; which was fine by me since I only had to wait 6 years (*note the sarcasm). But in hindsight that was a blessing in disguise since I would have been too scared to ask her out properly anyway (in my defence, I was really young and awkward around girls!) and it allowed us to get to know each other as friends first. So over the next few years, we grew closer as friends, but we both knew there was a mutual attraction that we weren’t allowed to act upon so there was never anything “official”.

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Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Beach Wedding at Andaman, Langkawi: Simon & Lisa

“Grace and Nigel were fantastic, both very professional, creative and great to be around on the day whilst not getting in people’s faces – as someone who hates having his picture taken, they were a pleasure to be around.” – Simon

I have traveled to Langkawi many times over the past few years, but every time we head there, it is a different experience. I loved Simon and Lisa’s wedding for a few different reasons… they were a great laid-back couple to work with (despite the fact that Simon hates posing for the camera!), there were lots of cute kids at this wedding which totally made my day, and the guests were just so friendly to Nigel and I. Langkawi is really popular wedding destination location especially for couples from Australia. The only drawback is the humidity, so hugging people at the end of the night can be a very sticky affair!

Simon works in the construction line, so he said being all ‘soft’ and romantic during the wedding was something completely different to what he’s used to! But looking at the way he shed his tears as Lisa walked down the aisle made me think otherwise. I think you have a really soft side to you, Simon!

I hope these images will remind you of your love for each other years down the road when the going gets tough. Come back again to Malaysia for another holiday sometime soon, or perhaps one day, we will meet again, when you celebrate your anniversary, maybe?

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Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Family + Children Portraits, International, Life, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Promotions, Relationships, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

Support NAAM Bow Ties

I think bow ties are really cute at weddings. Especially if they are all fun and multi-coloured like the ones from Boon Hui and Alice’s wedding below! I love how the heng tais were dressed in cool, Hawaiian shorts to match!

20131208_WEDDING_BOONHUI_ALICE_0396-X3 Or if you have a little page boy or a pet dog that needs dressing up for the wedding, a bow tie can add so much character too! I mean, look at this family portrait. It is waaaay too cute for words! I wish I could bring this kid home after photographing him!

20140426_WEDDING_SIMON_LISA_160-X2 So when I heard that these friends of mine, Kian Leong and Su Foong are helping disadvantaged women and girls at risk in Chiang Mai, Thailand raise their dignity, hope and worth by giving them a means to earn a decent living through sewing, I immediately thought of ways to help them. NAAM.asia is a social enterprise that provides small, home-based stitching jobs to needy girls and single mothers who are unemployed or are unable to work outside their home. Some of these women who are given these opportunities to earn a living through NAAM were rescued from sexually abusive relationships. You can read more about NAAM on their website link above.

Each product is hand-stitched and unique. They do sew more than just bow ties, like bags, covers for pots, key chains and cute little decorations for your Christmas tree or children’s room. You can custom order them too.

Below are some of the bow ties that are made by the women of NAAM. And just because I love these products myself, I have a few to give away! Just share about NAAM.asia and a link to this blog post on any social network of yours (Facebook / Twitter), and inform us by leaving a comment on this post. We will randomly pick 3-5 winners and post you a bow tie, for free! We have 2 types of bow ties – for men, and for little men. :)

So do support this initiative and we hope that through your support, you can help the NAAM women leave abusive relationships, send their kids to school and plan for a brighter future.

Price of Bow Ties: RM25 each
Types: Readymade or Self tie bows
How to Order: Email Su Foong at [email protected]

NAAM_BOWTIES_01 If you prefer to tie your own bow tie (I heard it’s the more authentic way!), you can order those self tie bows like the navy print one on the right below.

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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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