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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, International, Weddings

An Indonesian Wedding at Gran Mahakam, Jakarta: Eric & Jennie

Eric and Jennie’s wedding was epic. It was my first time in Jakarta, Indonesia, and I was stoked that they had chosen us over the many talented photographers out there. Eric himself is a photographer, so that was a huge compliment to us. A few months before their wedding day, we got acquainted properly through their pre-wedding shoot in KL. This is just one of the many reasons why I love photographing couples before their wedding day. We get to break the ice and feel comfortable with one another prior to the big event.

It was in spring of 2009 that Eric first laid his eyes on Jennie. While I am sure he was praying during the church rosary prayer at Bullsbrook, Western Australia, Eric might have been a little distracted. Perhaps. Jennie was not a familiar face…plus she is a gorgeous girl! Eric soon found out that she was there from Surabaya, visiting her sister Anne for a week or two.

Thanks to social media and Mark Zuckerberg, they started connecting by messaging each other on Facebook, Yahoo messenger and MSN. In Eric’s words, “geek mode on!”. After a lot of prayers asking God for signs, Eric finally plucked up the courage to visit Jennie in Surabaya where she was finishing her medicine degree. That month of February 2010 was a milestone, because Eric and Jennie became boyfriend and girlfriend then.

During Christmas of 2010, Eric visited Jennie’s family in Malang, Indonesia and brought with him a Tiffany engagement ring. Unfortunately, Jennie discovered the ring accidentally in his camera bag, but he was quick to pop the question. She blushed. And then she said yes.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

A wedding in St Peter’s Church, Malacca & a Kombi: Kevin & Elaine

I’ve known Elaine since I was a young kid and a wee bit shorter than what I am now. Some friends have told me that convent girls from Malacca have a distinct ‘look’, and I suppose Elaine and I fall into that category. It must be our loud laughter and carefree nature (or I’d like to think so!). Well, whenever a Malaccan girl gets married, and especially to another Malaccan boy, it is a cause for a huge celebration. The wedding was planned more than a year in advance, and I distinctly remember our conversations via MSN about the wedding. In fact, we started talking about the wedding in June 2010.

Yup, it’s every girl’s dream to plan for her wedding. Like waaay in advance. But I wonder if Elaine actually started her wedding planning even earlier than that. You see, she was childhood friends with Kevin ever since she was a 2 year old toddler. I can’t remember a single thing from when I was 2 (could be due to my bad memory). They were best friends till the age of 5, then lost contact with each other for years, until they were reconnected 20 years later! Talk about an amazing story!

So end of 2010, Elaine contacted me again to talk about her wedding and initially she wanted to have it at our old school chapel in our primary school, Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus in Malacca. I was really excited about it because I have fond memories of that chapel, even though I wasn’t a Christian at that point in my life. I always remember it as being serene and ancient.

Unfortunately that plan didn’t quite work out and the wedding was held in St Peter’s Church in Malacca. That church has a 300 year old history, so I was excited about it too! My parents used to attend that church too when they were living in Malacca and so this church was significant to me.

To make this wedding even more exciting, Elaine requested for Smurfette, my vintage VW kombi to make it’s first wedding appearance as the bridal car! Thank you Kevin and Elaine, for making everything so memorable for me. I had an awesome time, and I am amazed at the level of detailed planning that went into the wedding. Elaine, thanks too for the card and gift. It was really sweet and thoughtful of you.

Ok so on to photos from the wedding…

Grace Tan In Church Weddings, Testimonials, Weddings

Vijay & Stefanie’s Emotionally Charged Wedding

Most couples about to be married, fuss and fret over many details that organizing a wedding would bring. Fancy decorations and gorgeous gowns aside, all it takes to make a wedding absolutely memorable is the love shared between the couple, family & friends. I must say that this was one of the most touching weddings I have ever photographed. And it wasn’t only because Vijay and Stefanie committed to marry each other even with a mere RM1,000 in their bank account. Ultimately, it is a story of love and faith… faith in God that He would provide for their every need, down to the last detail.

Their story (as written by Stefanie):

Vijay and I first got to know each other in Multimedia University Christian Fellowship (MMUCF) in 2003. We started dating in 2005 and in December 2010, Vijay proposed to me. While all our friends and family had pretty much expected us to get married to each other at some point in our lives, few people truly realized what a big step this was for us. While most people would have been saving money for years with a house on the side, we started wedding planning with only RM1000 in our bank accounts with no other financial support. Crazy? You bet! However, we both believed and trusted in a loving Father God who gave us several promises that He would provide for our wedding and our married life.

In the course of our eleven months preparations, we faced several financial and personal obstacles but we kept praying and trusting in God to bring us through. Many times, we were challenged by God to give towards our church’s (Acts Church) building funds while maintaining our regular tithes to church. Yet, we always had enough to survive and contribute to our own wedding fund.

Despite the overwhelming odds, God’s faithfulness prevailed and 2011 proved to be a year of miracles and breakthroughs. I changed my job and my pay increased significantly. Vijay, who works as a pharmaceutical salesman, achieved every single quarterly sales during our entire engagement period. Our salaries and incentives, combined with several surprise gifts or opportunities enabled us to pay off our wedding. Amazingly, none of our wedding expenses were paid on credit but were always paid in cash. God always provided the money when it was most needed. God even provided a beautiful house at half the normal rental price and provided the furniture to furnish it. God’s faithfulness was evident in every part of our wedding!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

The Wedding of Han How + Lydia

Photographers: Grace & Johan
Location: Trinity Methodist Church, PJ & Renaissance Hotel, KL
Wedding Gown: Pretty in White (white gown) & Love Vision (dinner gown)
Hair & Make up: Shinny Ong
Flowers & Decorations: Elshan Cas Sdn Bhd (church) & Rennaisance Hotel (dinner)
Videography: Nigel Sia

There’s a verse in the Bible that says…

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

If you ever get to know Han How & Lydia, you’ll know that this is one relationship that is strong. It’s strong not just because of the bond of love that glues them together, but because Christ is in the centre of all they do. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Han How and Lydia’s wedding was filled with lots of love, laughter and warmth. The worship session in church was so uplifting and spirit filled, I could not help but sing along as I pressed the shutter button on my camera. Even Johan said that there was something different about this church wedding.

Han How & Lydia, I am so blessed to have been there at your wedding, photographing the both of you. I am always happy to be photographing weddings, but more so when the couple are personal friends of mine. Keep this strand strong between the both of you and God. All the best for the future!

Here are a selection of my favourite images from their wedding.

The heng tais looking pweetty.

They had to go to a coffee shop near Lydia’s home and ask strangers to stick little heart-shaped stickers on their faces…

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.