Malaysia Lifestyle Photographer And Videographer: Stories.my

Vernon + Denise

Photographers: Grace & Johan
Wedding Gown Boutique: My Dream Wedding
Make up & hair: Carol
Flowers: I Do
Videography: Lam
Dinner Reception: Top Hat Restaurant

There are a few facts that I know about Vernon & Denise.

Firstly, when you have such a close knit family like Denise’s family, you know for a fact that lots of fun is sure to follow. Even though I didn’t understand the many different Chinese dialects that was spoken that day, I knew for a fact that everyone had a great time.

I know for a fact too that Vernon and Denise are a creative couple… Vernon works as a video editor and Denise as an interior designer. But I think Denise’s family members trumped them in the creative department… because the games played that morning were just soooo creative!

And lastly, I know for a fact that Vernon and Denise cherish close relationships. That’s because they chose to have a small intimate dinner at Top Hat Restaurant with a small number of guests, instead of a large dinner reception in a ballroom.

Denise’s cute dog that was dressed for the occasion! If you’d like to see him in another outfit, click here.

Grace Tan In Musings, Tips + Ideas

That rectangular shape…

At approximately 1pm everyday, the postman would arrive in our neighbourhood. When I was a child, I looked forward to letters in the mail box. Did it contain a letter from my penpal in Turkey? Or was it a postcard from my brother in New Zealand? Or perhaps some photos from my aunt in Australia? Whatever came through that mail box, I would save all the stamps from those envelopes, some more special than others. But the years went by, and soon, the letters would be few and far between.

Nowadays, I mainly receive junk mail and bills in the mail box. And so, whenever the odd mail with the handwritten address finds its way to my mail box, I know for certain that it’s a wedding invite. Like an excited school girl, I would usually tear the envelope ungracefully, and peek into the envelope, excited to see the contents of that mail.

And what delight it is to find that people do pay attention to their wedding invites. I love it when I receive beautiful cards in the mail. The texture, the fonts, the colour… everything screams perfection. Just like this Save the Date card that was sent to my home recently. What creativity!

And as a note to my clients, I do enjoy receiving thank you cards in the mail too! :) *hint hint*

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Jack & Sze Hwa Marries!

Photographer: Grace
Make Up & Hair: Charlie from Michelle Touche team
Wedding gown (Princess cut with sash) & Evening shoes: Pretty in White
Wedding gown (Mermaid cut) & Evening Gown: That Special Occasion
White lacy shoes: Tang’s Studio
Jack’s suit: The Lord’s Tailor
Flowers: My Bridal Florist
Location: Dusun Garden Fairies & Pullman Hotel, Putrajaya

But not yet… not till January 2011 when they vow to be true to each other in good times or in bad, in sickness and in health. The title of this post was taken from their wedding website, designed beautifully to look like the New York Times report. I love it when I see websites like these because it shows how creative the couple is and how much they care about the little details that go into their wedding day.

And so it was natural that during the pre-wedding session with Jack and Sze Hwa, there were lots of yummy details that went into the shoot. Hwa said she wanted a picnic theme… and so she brought an amazing array of props to the shoot! The picnic basket was even prepared and sewn by Jack’s mother! Talk about dedication.

Jack & Hwa have both known each other since secondary school but they were just acquaintances back then. In school, she thought he was a bit of a geek and he thought she was just another (annoying) junior in his school!

This is their story…

Well…. Years went by and we lost contact. She went to Ireland to continue her studies and he on the other hand, left for Australia. However, during one of our summer holidays back in June 2003, we bumped into each other while we were dining with our parents in Overseas Restaurant, PJ! That day changed everything! We started to keep in touch and this continued on even when she was back in Ireland and he, in Australia! We talked on the phone EVERYDAY and would wake each other every morning (possible then due to different time zones!). So this continued on for 7 years. Yes, we have been doing the much dreaded long-distance relationship for that long. This has improved tremendously since she moved to Singapore ‘coz at least we now were at the same time zone.

We guess the thing that kept us both together for so long despite the distance was that we have always been able to talk about everything and anything and our passion for travelling (here, there and everywhere!), food (you have to see our collection of food pictures) and Moleskines =) !

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Shanghai Love: Yee Jenn & Kristin

Photographer: Grace
Make Up & Hair: Michelle Touche
Cheongsam: Emerald Brilliant
Wedding Gown: Pretty in White

Last year, I traveled to Egypt with my husband Alex, his sister, Sarah and her good friend Kristin. Though I have known Kristin for quite a few years, it was only during this trip that I got to know her a lot better. That’s when I discovered that Kristin does not really like to be outdoors, and that she must have chocolates everyday. Like EVERYDAY. We had fun during our trip, and this year, I had the pleasure of shooting her pre-wedding photos, and soon, wedding as well.

Yee Jenn loves photography and he was really excited about the shoot. I was thrilled when they came up with the idea of shooting in an old cafe with a Shanghai theme! This famous cafe, called Yut Kee Coffee Shop, belonged to Kristin’s uncle, so permission granted, we headed over to the heart of KL for a fun time. On a normal working day, you would have a hard time finding a table to sit at, but the entire shop was closed that day so we had the whole space to ourselves!

Kristin has watched many, many episodes of America’s Next Top Model, so she knew exactly what she had to do to come up with a great pose! And boy, did they pose! The both of them look so good together!

Do you know the kaya rolls here are the best? It’s just sooooo delicious! Needless to say, we ate the props after the shoot!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Wai Kien + Jean

Photographers: Grace & Johan, assisted by Eric Ooi
Make Up: Lee Kuen
Wedding Gown Boutique: Lasposa Bridal Gallery
Dinner Reception: One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya
Dinner Entertainment/Band: Love Story

Wai Kien and Jean have seen each other grow, literally. They have been childhood friends since kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and then college. I guess Wai Kien had lots of time to admire Jean from afar! Especially since she is a gorgeous girl. But their relationship only turned from friendship to courtship during their time in Taylor’s college, when they started to carpool to college together. Then a looong four years of long distance relationship as they left to study in different continents.

Even those four years couldn’t keep them apart, and now Wai Kien and Jean are happily married childhood buddies.

I had so many favourites from this shoot, I can’t help but post waay too many photos! In every shoot, I look out for special things in the couple’s home that can be photographed. Like this vintage looking cassette player/radio that is in Jean’s room.