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

Draw, Pray, Love: The Art-filled Wedding of Ian & Vinn

Ian and Vinn’s wedding was one brimming with creativity. After all, Vinn is a fine art artist, with a degree in film and animation, and Ian himself appreciates art and photography. Vinn DIY-ed almost everything in her wedding. She even painted the huge backdrop at her wedding… 2 large painted canvases combined together to make a beautiful backdrop. Her paint was displayed next to the backdrop, and guests were invited to sign on her pre-painted big canvas guestbook.

The doorgifts were soaps with lemon grass oil that she handmade, and all the photo booth props, invitation cards were also designed by her! (including hand made wedding seals!). Wow, I was so amazed.

Their theme, Draw, Pray, Love with a hint of rustic, vintage feel and french blue, gold, beige and cream colour tones felt so apt for this creative couple. During the dinner, the cast of the SIBKL musical, Everworld did an amazing performance and entertained all the guests. Unfortunately, we could not feature every performance in this highlight as there were way too many of them.

Ian & Vinn, I hope you like this video that Felicia edited… we spent many days in the edit room, deciding what to include and what not to! There were just so much to show from your wedding. But I am sure you’ll have fun reliving the day when you receive the rest of the edited compiled footage from us. Congratulations from the Stories team!

Ian & Vinn’s Story

I met Ian at the age of 19, at a lobby of a building. He was 26. I was by myself, drawing on the couch, when he approached me and started talking to me. I thought, he has a strange British accent, but looks Asian! Anyhow, we had a great chat and before I left, Ian handed me his name card.

Yup I didn’t leave him my contact (I was a little cool towards him!) but I was the one who texted him first, and that’s how our love story began!

We got together speedily on the second date after two months. 8 years of courtship, and now we are married!

Ian is the greatest gift from God and the greatest gift from Ian is bringing me to know God. He is smart, lovely, gentle, kind and romantic (although he denies this) but at least in my heart he is. He always surprises me- from beautiful candlelight dinners (he made me the most delicious tiramisu!) to surprise vacations as a birthday present (I later found out after I boarded the plane! And I thought it was a working trip!).

The proposal happened last year. It was Valentine’s Day, but my father was admitted to hospital so we stayed up late which messed up his plans, so he didn’t get to cook me dinner but we still managed to buy some food and had a candlelight dinner at his house. I couldn’t hold back my tears after i got my ‘Valentine’ gift which was a ring…there’s no one there except the two of us, but I got too excited and I popped the question before he even opened his mouth. HAHA!

We’ve been through so much together… poor or rich, sick or healthy…we had the best times together. Ian definitely knows me better than I know myself. He is not just my mentor and my support, he is my best friend.

 Credits:

Videographers: Stories team (Nick, Yih Wen & Felicia)
Location: Holiday Villa 
Make Up & Decorations: Bride’s own
Dinner Entertainment: Everworld, the musical cast & thoughtful friends

Grace Tan
In For Photographers, Musings, News, Running a Business

Stories Family Feature: Nigel Lim

I am really excited to announce our latest addition to the Stories family – Nigel Lim! As our family grows bigger, we hope to be able to cater to everyone’s needs in a better and even more efficient way. I believe that we have a strong team of people who are dedicated, passionate and able to deliver good work to all our clients. Nigel, we’re excited to have you join us, and we are definitely looking forward to seeing amazing work coming from you in the near future. Below are some of Nigel’s images that were created in the recent past.

Nigel found his love for photography and videography at a very young age. When he was 10, he held a camera and started taking photos/videos whenever he was on a family vacation. It was just a hobby for him at that time. Since then, he never stopped doing what he loves most.

In 2008, Nigel got himself a DSLR. It was still quite a new thing back then. Without any help, he explored the camera all by himself and that’s when he realized he had an eye for photography.

After finishing high school and college, he decided to study photography more in depth. Nigel took up a degree in RMIT Melbourne and he studied Bachelor of Arts (Photography). While he was there, he covered some weddings and events part time. It was also as an avenue for him to improve his skills. This was when he decided to make photography his career.

After graduation, Nigel flew back to Malaysia and continues to pursue his dream here.

Nigel’s ability in wedding photography is to capture split-second precious “aww” moments. He loves paying attention to details. Building a good relationship with his clients are important to him because it will ensure that he and his clients will have a stress-free, fun, and happy day on their special occasion.

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

Wedding Video Highlight: Alex & Nicole

Love Across the Globe by Nicole

Alex and I met during our internship in KL over summer 2009. Contrary to what you’d expect, we did not hit it off immediately. Subsequently we went back to Australia to complete our final semester in our undergraduate studies. He was studying in Canberra, whereas I was in the Sunshine State. What started with an innocent “Hey, it’s been ages, how have you been?” on Facebook (initiated by me *shy*), led to long hours chatting on MSN.

Little did we know, distance would be a constant factor for us. Alex is from Miri whereas I am a KL girl; and he is now working in the South Pacific. When we were studying in Australia, like any lovestruck kids who dot their i’s with hearts and celebrate an anniversary every month, one of us would commute 595 air miles to be with the other every 10 days or so. In between our fortnightly rendezvous, we constantly wrote to each other. Yes, those were the good ol’ days where “you’ve got mail” was in tangible form.

Alex, well, he’s got a head for numbers, and he’s very analytical. Who on earth keeps an IQ puzzle book by his bed anyways? It comes as no surprise that Alex is always deep in thought and may appear to be reserved. Do ask him, “What’s the probability of the sun rising?” FYI, Alex graduated with an Actuarial degree; his best friends in university were Mathematics, Calculus and Probability. I, on the other hand, am right-brain dominant. You may call me Miss Scatterbrain. I tend to think or shift from one thought to another so fast that I confuse the person I am speaking to. Although that sometimes gets to Alex, I have to give it to him, he reads me like a book. Sometimes, I find the most ordinary and common things to be extraordinarily funny, which really puzzles Alex. But I’d like to think that I enjoy the lighter side of life. Another point in my favour- I am definitely better at reading maps and navigating my way around; Alex would be hopeless without me in that respect!

Despite our difference, Alex and I balance each other out. Alex is the anchor that keeps me on the ground, while I lighten up his heart.

The Wedding Shoot

The videography team from Stories traveled to Miri, Sarawak for Alex and Nicole’s wedding day. It was the first time our team had shot in Miri! The day started bright and early at 6am. What was special about the day were the heartfelt messages that were exchanged between Alex and Nicole on their wedding day, and also the notes on embroidered handkerchiefs that Nicole wrote to her parents. We also love the little details that went into the wedding, like the badges Alex had to wear as he went through the challenges to get his bride.

Credits:

Videographers & SDE: Stories.my (Joshua, Nick & Carl)
Photographers: Kid Chan Studio
Dinner Reception: Imperial Hotel, Miri, Sarawak
Wedding Gown: Lasposa Bridal Gallery
Groom’s Attire: Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Mohan Executive Tailor
Make-up: Michelle Song, Perfect Stage Make Up Miri
Bridal Bouquet: Wishing Tree

 

Grace Tan
In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Garden Wedding at The Club, Saujana: Jason & Annette

It was a season where masks were sold out at pharmacies. Everyone stayed indoors as much as possible and no one wanted to do any outdoor activities. But Jason and Annette had set their wedding date months ahead of time, not knowing that the haze would hit them smack in the middle of their wedding festivities. I was concerned too… after all, it was a garden wedding at The Club. I wondered if any of the guests would come prepared with masks.

A few days before the wedding, I sat down with Annette to run through her wedding program. She said she’ll pray really hard for the haze to go away, and so we both did. On their wedding day, God did a miracle and there were blue skies and the sun! Oh, the sun shone so brightly and made everything look perfect.

You couldn’t tell from these photos that just the day before, everything looked bleak and dreary.

I think Weiming and I jumped in joy (not literally!) when we saw the skies. Jason and Annette, it couldn’t have been better. I love intimate weddings and I think yours was truly warm and meaningful. I hope your dad is feeling much better and that Jason is more comfortable in front of the camera by now? :) Jason, thanks for being so accommodating and also for the bottles of wine after the party! Wishing you lots of joy and sunshine for the future.

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Grace Tan
In Life, Musings, Relationships

Welcome to Holland: Life with Down Syndrome

My first encounter with a Down Syndrome child happened while I was in Malacca, growing up as a teenager. I visited the Salvation Army frequently because of church. It was there that I met this boy… who seemed rather different. It’s sad to think that as a child, I was never educated about loving everyone equally, no matter how different they seem to me. Recently, I photographed a child with Down Syndrome, and honestly, I didn’t even realize it until her mom told me about the situation at the end of the session. She was still beautiful in my eyes. As a mom now, I felt an ache in my heart, and yet, I also wanted to pour out my love to this child… to tell her that she is very, very much loved.

This set of photos and story about Nella’s birth really touched my heart.

But the analogy below really stirred me. I never thought about it that way… it is so beautiful.

Holland

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by Emily Perl Kingsley.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.

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