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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

Church Wedding: Jason & Wai Wai

As the lights in the auditorium glittered like stars in the sky, Jason and Wai Wai said their vows to another. He only had eyes for her, and her radiant face glowed with love. All those years of Jason surprising Wai Wai with flowers were just the start of something beautiful (he still surprises her with flowers even after marriage!). Their church wedding was held at the Luther Centre. Their navy blue theme was striking, and I love the unity cross that they used to symbolize their marriage coming together in Christ. Wishing the both of you a wonderful marriage together, may you always have that sparkle in your eye as you look at each other through the years!

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Wedding at St Andrew’s Church: Matthew & Cheng

Matthew and Cheng met on their first day of college. Coincidentally, they both did not really like each other very much: to Irene, Matt looked like the typical playboy with long spiky hair; to Matt, Irene was this quiet studious overachiever person. This changed after getting to know each other over the years especially when they enrolled in the same university (IMU- Medicine).

Since they organised a lot of university events together, the draw and attraction towards each other became mutual. After IMU, they left for the UK together (Irene in Aberdeen, Scotland; Matt in Nottingham, England). Those long, never-ending 7-9 hours train rides from one place to another (simply because they couldn’t afford flights) were painful and yet memorable.

It was at South France just before coming back to work in Singapore where Matt got down on one knee and popped the question (on top of Baux-de-provence). To make it even more enchanting, a passerby shouted ‘Brava-brava!’. So simple and private yet special and memorable – and the rest is history.

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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Wedding at Christ Church, Malacca: Arvind & Dhanya

Part 2 of Arvind and Dhanya’s wedding happened the day after their Hindu temple ceremony. From beautiful blue walls of the temple, we moved to the vibrant red walls of Christ Church, Malacca. I grew up in Malacca my entire life but their wedding was the first time I actually stepped into the church. It is a quaint little 18th century Anglican church in the heart of town. As the wedding ceremony started, some tourists popped their head into church, curious to see what was happening.

Interestingly, the church and surrounding Stadhuys building were originally white but painted the signature red by the Dutch in 1911 and the colour remained ever since.

Our video team did a great job covering both ceremonies as well and you can view the beautiful edit in the Vimeo link below.

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

The Perfect Fit: The Wedding of Richard & Melissa, Tirtha Uluwatu, Bali

20151220_WEDDING_RICHARD_MELISSA_0006 Richard and Melissa’s story is one filled with God moments, revealing His goodness in their lives. Before 2015, Richard & Melissa’s lives were worlds apart; to be exact 767 km apart! Richard was working in Indonesia managing a plantation company in South Sumatra. While Melissa’s world revolved around the newsroom as a journalist and news anchor in Malaysia. The likelihood of their paths crossing was almost zero.

However, 1st January 2015 was a turning point for both Richard & Melissa. Their mutual friend Charles Mohan was led to arrange a coffee session for them. He had a hunch that they would grow beyond acquaintances and eventually their interactions would develop into something special.

At the point when both of them met, Richard was ready to date again after coming to terms with the death of his late wife who battled with cancer. While Ryan, his three year old bounced back to his usual cheerful self. God’s timing is perfect and led them to meet in a season when both of their hearts were ready. For Melissa, she had ‘almost’ given up on meeting potential partners, somehow never finding the person who was the right ‘fit’. But in her heart, she longed to meet someone whom she could spend the rest of her life with.

20151220_WEDDING_RICHARD_MELISSA_0761 Little did they know, Charles had gone to church that morning and asked his priest to pray for his two friends whom he was bringing together to meet that afternoon.

And yes, Charles was absolutely right! The supposedly ‘just a short coffee session’ at Dome Café, Bangsar Shopping Centre turned out to be a 9 hour long conversation that only ended because the mall was closing. The time spent was interesting & heartfelt—and of course; leaving a tug on their heartstrings.

Richard & Melissa got to know each other over the next few days before he left for Indonesia, and Melissa for a mission trip. The time spent together was short but God was speaking to the core of their hearts. The Lord had also sent individuals at the right place & time to speak to them about being open to explore this potential relationship.

The rest, as they say is history, or rather His-tory! Throughout their growing relationship, the Lord’s blessings, favor and intervention in their relationship has been obvious and deliberate.

Both their prayers were answered. God met them at their place of need and helped them discover each other. It was the perfect fit.

View their wedding ceremony photos in the slideshow below, taken at Tirtha Uluwatu and Tirtha Luhur, Bali. Congratulations, Richard and Melissa!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

An Industrial Rustic Wedding: Min-Yi & Shu Ern

20151226_WEDDING_MINYI_SHUERN_0228 City Harvest is getting increasingly popular as a wedding ceremony location, and I can understand why, with the rustic brick walls and overall industrial look. It was the perfect setting for Min-Yi and Shu Ern’s wedding. Min-Yi looked dashing on his wedding day, with a beret and matching suspenders to complete the look. It was actually my first time at City Harvest and I enjoyed photographing this wedding so much. I love how Shu Ern’s family was just so emotional. I love the little details at the ceremony, including the key words, “Dream, Believe, Smile & Family” that were hung by their friends. And I was ecstatic to discover this random location that made for great photos.

20151226_WEDDING_MINYI_SHUERN_0453 Min-Yi and Shu Ern were secondary school mates but they were not friends at that time. Half a decade after leaving school, their paths crossed again on 26th December 2011.

Shu Ern: I was running at the nearby park in Taman Tun with my friend. I was almost done and about to do one more lap. There’s an intersection in front of the entrance to the park and he had just arrived with a friend. We came from opposite directions and immediately as our eyes met, I did a double take inside. His face reminded me of someone. I was curious and tried to check him out a few more times, but every time I turned to look his way our eyes would meet and I had to turn away to not seem rude. I guess he was trying to check me out too only to find me doing the exact same thing.

I went through my lap all the while wondering what happened to him in those years I’ve not seen him. Finally midway through the jog, we crossed paths and it was then did I actually get a good look. In place of that small, short, kiddy looking boy was a tall, handsome and tanned looking man. As he passed by, he gave me a big smile and my heart just melted.