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Destination Weddings: Bali

Some time back, I blogged about Destination Weddings, a TV program that I worked on for the Travel Channel with Deborah Henry as the host. I finally got my act together and managed to sort through some photos that I took during the shoot. This episode is my favourite out of all the episodes I directed, so I’d like to share some images from 2 very different weddings that we covered in Bali.

Firstly, a traditional Balinese Hindu wedding that was held in a small village about 1.5 hours away from Kuta. One of the sights that greeted us when we arrived was this man walking his giant pig! It was seriously huge and apparently a gigolo pig! I got so excited, I ran across the road to photograph it. Ok, I digress…back to the wedding…

The local wedding was held at this home which was a dedicated space for community events, and even for tourists to come and learn cooking from Pak Wayan. The couple dressed up in elaborate costumes with ornate headgear. I heard that some foreigners actually go through a traditional Balinese ceremony like this for their wedding. Personally, I still prefer my groom to be in a suit… (more of this wedding in a bit).

The second wedding was a western beach ceremony held at the Westin, Nusa Dua and dinner reception at the Melia, Nusa Dua. The weather was perfect, and it was a really breezy day… I wish all my Langkawi beach wedding shoots would be as cool (temperature wise!) as this! Here’s Deborah posing for a promo shot.

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Destination Weddings on Travel Channel

I am stoked to share that the TV programs I have been working on for the past few months are finally completed and will be screened next week! With Red Communications Sdn Bhd as the production company, my team and I provided the research, scriptwriting & direction for 3 episodes of Destination Weddings, a program that will be aired in 130 countries worldwide via the Travel Channel. Initially, the program was meant to be aired in selected countries only, but everyone did such a great job that it is now a worldwide release!

Deborah Henry is the travel host, and together, we visited various South East Asian countries to experience 2 very different weddings in each country. Here’s the episode synopsis for the programs I directed, including the episode’s air time for Malaysia. You can view it every Thursday, starting 6th December 2012 at 7.30pm on Channel 145 if you have HyppTV. For other countries, check out the air time by clicking here.

View the launch promo video below!

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding: Lisa + Henry, Balinese style Eco Resort

Hair & Make Up: Shinny Ong
Gown: That Special Occasion
Location: Di Sini, Negeri Sembilan
Photographer: Grace, assisted by Shu Wan

I can’t recall the first time I got to know Lisa, but sitting almost next to her for 2 years at the same office has definitely been a fun adventure. Lisa was one of the key persons behind The QGuides.com, an online portal for restaurant reservations in the Klang Valley, which was built by Integricity Press. She is a really really fun person to be with, always saying funny lines and making everyone laugh with her bubbly personality. I appreciated our office lunch sessions… which I will sorely miss as she has just moved on to another job.

Lisa and Henry will be signing their ROM this coming October, and I am glad to say that I will be there to witness and photograph the event! When I first met Henry, I thought that he was a really quiet person (Lisa did all the talking, you see!) who had an aura of authority about him. His quiet demeanor has a calming effect. Together, it looks like the phrase “opposites attract” are apt to describe Lisa and Henry!

I had a great time at the shoot… the both of you are so natural in front of the camera! I had a blast! Here are some of my personal favs:

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Bali, Beautiful Bali!

During the Hari Raya holidays, a group of friends and I went away for a short trip to Bali. You can probably recognize some of these faces as I’ve blogged about a number of their weddings here on this blog! I am glad to have found such great friends such as these who are there to do every silly thing together with you. One of the things I suggested: A portrait shoot during our holiday! Since they LURRRVE to be photographed, everyone pretty much agreed to it! We even decided to colour coordinate our clothes.

This is my 2nd trip to Bali, and I hope that it won’t be the last one. I plan to go back one day for a pre-wedding shoot there some time. I have identified some really cool places to visit, and also made contacts with local Balinese there, so hopefully next year, I’ll be able to organize a pre-wedding shoot there. If you are interested in this idea, do leave a message here! In fact, the Wedding Story team would gladly fly to any part of the world to shoot your wedding. This year, we’ve had the privilege of shooting in Bangladesh and Holland.

Would like to share with you some of the many photos we took! Here’s my husband Alex and myself.