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Alex Lam
In Life, Musings

A phone call and a wedding 32 hours later

Grace came home from work, then flopped onto the bed as she would normally do, exhausted from the events of the day. We’d normally have a chat before getting ready for dinner or discuss renovation plans for our new home that’s still being built, some 10 months later. Today was different.

“Darling, I got a phone call today from Pastor Margaret. She asks if I can help shoot a wedding.”

“Sure, why not? Strange that she would call, though. When and who is it for?”

“Tomorrow night. 1.30am. For a Myanmar refugee couple.”

I shut my notebook and looked at Grace with eyes as large as golf balls. I echoed, ONE-THIRTY-AYY-EMM?

To understand this Burma / Myanmar story better, you’ll need to be armed with some basic information.

DEFINITION OF REFUGEE (oxford)
noun. a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

MYANMAR REFUGEE STATS IN MALAYSIA (UNHCR Malaysia)
As of end May 2011, there are some 94,400 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. 86,500 are from Myanmar.

GNI PER CAPITA IN MYANMAR (average of how much a person earns in a year) (UN Data)
US$578.30 (as of 2008 stats) – which is MYR1,740.39 (PER YEAR!)

“What’s the rush? And why 1.30am?” To me, it sounded like a secret ceremony that had to be done in a hurried manner, away from the prying eyes of the world.

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Grace Tan
In Musings, Tips + Ideas

Wedding Do’s & Don’ts (as told by Grace Tan)

Some time back, Abirami Durai, a writer for Faces magazine contacted me. She asked me if I was keen on contributing some tips for couples who are about to get married and if they could feature my wedding in the magazine. The first thought that came to me was… “My wedding? That was 5 years ago!”

I said yes.

I don’t claim to be a wedding expert. I can only share from my experiences – whether it was from planning my own wedding or from going through many weddings as a photographer. (by the way, the article said I’ve photographed hundreds of weddings… just to let you know that the numbers are more modest than that, maybe a hundred plus?).

If you are interested in getting a copy of this magazine, you can buy it from any normal bookstore. It’s the July / August 2011 issue.

Do let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment here and maybe you can share some tips of yours as well.

There isn’t any photographer credit mentioned for my wedding images featured below. I’d like to thank to Andy Lim, Joseph Siew and Yean Tai for these photos here!

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Grace Tan
In Church Weddings, Weddings

A Delicious Wedding: Ben & Angela

Photographers: Grace & Johan
Wedding Gown & Shoes: Pretty in White
Groom’s Attire: Jason’s Men Shop
Hair & Make Up: Kim Cheng
Location: Zion Lutheran Church, Brickfields & Delicious, Marc Residence
Decorations: Spring Cottage
Stationery: By bride & groom
Cake: Lim Siew Ee
Entertainment: Isaac Ravi & Debra Nita

29th April 2009…Where it all began…

Ben: We met on April 29th 2009, when I was asked by a friend to help Angela move her furniture. After moving her out, she offered me a coke and we sat on her empty room floor talking about all sorts of things that you only talk about to long-time friends. She was in home shorts, had her hair tied up, glasses on (and contacts out), non-make-upped, and had a great smile right from the start. Love at first sight! And we were dating 2 months later.

Angela: A young ‘ang-moh’ guy who wore a properly-ironed black shirt and black jeans with a pair of Havaianas flip flops to move a heap of furniture… who does that?! But our friendship clicked instantly. I love talking about life – and he understands the depth of life. I love expressing myself in writing – and his passion is writing. I love knowing someone genuinely – and he allowed me to. That evening, we had Jon Schmidt playing Love Story Meets Viva la Vida (on repeat) in the background as we chatted for about an hour about everything. When he left, I thought, “wow, that was the best conversation I’ve had in years (literally, years!!)”  After he left, I thought very much of him, yes!!

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Grace Tan
In Portraits,

Pre-Wedding: Noel & Hui Yi

Photographer: Grace
Hair & make up: Doris
Wedding gown: Pretty In White
White lacy umbrella: Crafio
Location: Pullman Hotel, Putrajaya

It was 4am in the morning. Hui Yi woke up to discover her eyes were red, puffy and swollen. It wasn’t because of the lack of sleep the night before. It wasn’t normal. But with the courage to carry on, and under the talented hands of Doris, the make up artist, Hui Yi was transformed. When I rolled around to Pullman Hotel at 7am, I didn’t even realize her eyes were swollen.

Thank God for amazing make up artists, and for clients who have faith in them and also their photographer.

Hui Yi told me before the shoot that Noel is quite camera shy. I reassured her that 80% of my brides tell me their grooms are camera shy or don’t really like taking photos. Most times I meet my clients before our photography session, but when they live overseas or time does not permit, I only get to meet them on the shoot day. In a short span of time, I have to build a rapport with my clients and get them to feel comfortable with me. It’s definitely a challenge but I do enjoy the process!

Noel travels a lot for work and so this meant that a long distance relationship was necessary. I do respect couples who despite the distance, manage to make the relationship work. It takes resilience, patience, and also lots and lots of love!

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Grace Tan
In Casual Portraits, Portraits, Studio

Stylized Portraits

I got to know Kenny Shim through last year’s SIBKL & DUMC MadWorld production. It was through this production that I discovered how talented this young man is! He can dance, model, direct a play, choreograph… well, Kenny, what can I say, it’s God-given skills!

Not too long ago, Kenny, together with a few friends, got together with the Stories team to shoot some stylized portraits, kind of like a fun fashion shoot. Together with Mark & Johan, we came up with some pretty awesome shots! Here are some of my favourites…

Image below: Photographed by Johan (left image) and Mark (right image)

Johan’s image below:

My shots below:

Unfortunately it poured and poured that day, with a huge thunderstorm. We couldn’t venture very far from the condo we were in.

Image below: Mark’s shot on the left, mine on the right

Overall, I am pretty pleased with what we could come up with in just 2 hours, despite the pouring rain! All the best with your modeling career, Kenny!

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