Malaysia Lifestyle Photographer And Videographer: Stories.my

Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Ponnurukku: An Eelam Tamil Gold Melting Ceremony

Photographer: Grace
Dinner Reception: Subak Restaurant

In every Indian wedding, the most important element is the thali – the bridal pendant that must be worn at all times after a Hindu wedding ceremony. In Western culture, this would be equivalent to the wedding ring. The thali is made from gold and is fastened around the bride’s neck on the wedding day. But before the main wedding ceremony, there is a tradition of Ponnurukku which is a gold melting ceremony. This was my first Ponnurukku shoot, and I was fascinated by this entire ceremony.

Firstly, I found out that the ceremony is conducted by the groom’s family, in this case, Ganesh’s family. Veena, the bride was not even present during the ceremony. The event was witnessed by family and friends at home. Here’s Ganesh getting ready for the ceremony.

Love the colour and details!

All ready…

Grace Tan In Church Weddings, Weddings

Church wedding: Kevin & Michelle

Photographers: Grace, Johan, Ian Chew, & Weiming
Make Up: Steven Sunny
Wedding Decorations: MNG Bouquets
Church Ceremony: Zion Lutheran Church, KL
Lunch Reception: Ishq Restaurant, Crowne Plaza Hotel
Dinner Reception: Doubletree by Hilton

Kevin is a funny, witty and articulate person in love with Michelle… and cars. During the lunch reception, Kevin’s mom gave the guests an insight into his passion for cars. Ever since Kevin was a child, he could tell you the technical specifics of each car model. It’s no surprise then that on their wedding day, a gorgeous Bentley rolled up to send Michelle from home to church.

Michelle is a soft spoken, gentle and elegant lady. I first met her when I was featured on Faces magazine as one of the Top 10 female wedding photographers. As the editor for Faces, Michelle has an eye for detail and beauty. All the lovely details on their wedding day were planned by her – from the turquoise theme colour to their customized logo design.

I have so many images I’d love to share (as usual) but I can’t do all of that here. So, I’ve included a same day slideshow at the end of this post. Enjoy!

Now those are mighty high platform shoes!

Kevin proposed to Michelle with this watch. Yes, a watch, and not a ring! Another personal touch… Michelle wore her grandmother’s necklace on her wedding day. That was really sweet!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Portraits in Bangladesh

Yet another teaser image from Nabil & Maisha’s wedding. This was taken at the Ahsan Manjil museum. More to come later!

Grace Tan In Life, Musings

Resolutions and Goals

On 31st December 2010, I was at a private condo in KL with friends, ready to usher in the new year with gusto. I don’t usually fancy going to huge street parties on nights like these because I am not really the party-going type of gal. Plus, I am a weeee bit older… ahem, past my 20s. We thought we had a great view of KLCC from the poolside deck. And when the clock struck 12, we heard the fireworks… but didn’t see anything. It was then that it struck us… we’re on the wrong side of town! There were buildings blocking our view of the fireworks!

Close, but missing the mark.

I guess it reminds me of life, and how we often wait for a spectacular moment to happen… only to realize that we were close, but just missed the mark. What is it in my life that I am seeking? In the pursuit of success, am I missing the mark on things that should be important to me, like relationships? I vaguely remember this quote (or was it a comic strip) saying something along the lines of… “If you don’t have a mark to aim for, you’ll definitely hit your target”.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Alan & Pink Kee’s Creative Wedding

Photographers: Grace & Mark
Make Up & Hair: Gene Lim
Wedding Gown Boutique: Liz Bridal
Dinner Reception: Cyberview Lodge
Dinner Entertainment: Mosaic
Wedding Cake: A Taste Boutique

Alan and Pink Kee’s wedding is filled with fun and creative details… all thanks to Alan’s sister Melissa. Since Alan and Pink Kee reside overseas, most of the wedding planning fell into the hands of Melissa. I love being surprised at a wedding, but in a good way, of course! And you’ll soon see what I mean in the images below…

When I got to Pink Kee, the first thing that struck me about her was her spunky character. She’s fun, easy to get along with and has a great sense of humour!

Besides the joy of shooting at the lovely Terasek Brickhouse, my heart skipped a beat when the groom arrived in this vintage car that belonged to his brother-in-law.