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Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Eng Wah & Penny’s pre-wedding portraits

Photographer: Grace
Make up & hair: Wedding Isle
Wedding Gown: Pretty in White
Location: Pullman Hotel & Botanical Gardens, Putrajaya

Sometimes life gives you a few interesting surprises along the way. Chance encounters that were fated. Especially when you’ve communicated with the person in the first place, but never met each other.

In 2005, Eng Wah’s company had a job vacancy. Penny’s housemate was his ex-colleague, so she got in touch with Eng Wah through MSN and sent him a resume. Unfortunately she did not get called in for an interview and as luck would have it, she never got to meet Eng Wah.

Two years later, they met each other in an IT event. She came with her colleague and he was there with his housemate. They sat together, had lunch but did not talk to each other.

Fast forward to 2009. Somehow his contact was still in Penny’s MSN list, so one day, she noticed his status had changed to include an IQ test. Penny answered and it was right. That was the first time they started a conversation online. Everyday, Penny and Eng Wah looked forward to their online chats. “Good morning” was the keyword to trigger the conversation of the day. Gradually, they found their similarities… same college, favorite restaurant, favorite food, favorite song, pasar malam, travelling…

Eventually, they started going out for dinner, movies, pasar malam every Wednesday…

When Eng Wah cooks, she tests his food. When Penny goes out for photo shoots, Eng Wah becomes her model (which is unusual, as most girls tend to be the model instead!). Their friendship grew, until one day, he finally mustered the courage to hold her hand while shopping at Isetan.

Which led to… 2011.

One day, Eng Wah picked Penny up from a company event and they went home together. When she arrived home, she found that he had used her color pencils to write “I LOVE YOU” on the ground. On top of that, there was a delicious looking jelly inside the fridge with the words “Would you marry me?”on top. And she said yes!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Alvin & Melissa’s Emotional Wedding

Photographers: Grace & Mark
Wedding Gown: Divine Couture
Groom’s Attire: Granoff
Shoes: Stefano & Mario limited, Christian Louboutin
Make Up: Wedding Isle
Decorations: DIY
Stationery: Yong Foo Anne
Cake: Just Heavenly
Flowers: Weng Hoa Florist
Videography: Keng’s Cinematography
Wedding Planner: The Peak Xperience
Dinner Entertainment: Allan G. Trio
Dinner Reception: Ciao Ristorante, KL

What a totally memorable wedding this was for us and for Alvin & Melissa. It was at this wedding that I am reminded, at the end of the day, what matters is the marriage, not the wedding event itself. It is at weddings like these where I confirm my conviction… that being a photographer is one of the best jobs one could have. Capturing love between two individuals, helping them remember the day, how they felt… it makes me truly happy. I am overjoyed.

You see, this wedding day started very differently than most other weddings I have shot.

It started with Alvin being sick, and landing at the hospital…

But the good thing for them is that the day ended very differently…

Grace Tan In International, Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Running a Business, Weddings

Updates & a beautiful wedding at Capella, Singapore

These past few months, my mind has been filled with many different things… mostly with work and trying to meet the many deadlines and deliveries we have to make. It’s been rather challenging for me physically, because this is the first time in my career that I’ve been shooting non-stop every weekend from August 27th till December 17th. This does not include the other family / pre-wedding portrait and commercial shoots on weekdays. So yes, I am sorry for the lack of updates on this blog.

I am really looking forward to the Christmas holidays though, as that will be the first break I am getting in many months. I will be planning for next year and also trying to sort out everything for the new office… we will be moving into SS2 mall early next year! Once the studio is opened, we will have some promotions, so do keep a look out on this blog!

Just as a little teaser, here are some images I took yesterday at the gorgeous Capella Hotel in Sentosa, Singapore. Definitely one of the prettiest outdoor locations I’ve seen so far!

Have a great Christmas season and happy shopping!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Phong & Laura’s Garden Wedding, Kuching

Photographers: Grace & Mark
Wedding Gown: Vera Wang
Make Up: Shu Uemura
Groom’s Attire: Hugo Boss
Flowers & Decorations: Murloch (house) & Four Points Sheraton Hotel (for reception)
Stationery: Banana Greetings
Cake: Amy
Reception: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Kuching, Sarawak

Phong & Laura’s story felt as if it came directly from a romantic screenplay. The setting: San Francisco.

Laura had traveled to San Francisco to be with her sister, Lisa who worked there. It was during this two month visit that she met Phong, who was Lisa’s colleague. Laura thought he was rather fun to hang out with and so they exchanged contact details and communicated via MSN. Fast forward a few months later, Phong had the opportunity to fly to Indonesia for work.

Perfect timing, as Laura needed another break from work too… and so she flew to Indonesia to visit him. From there, love blossomed and it was the most interesting weekend for her. As fate would have it, one week after he returned to San Francisco, he found out that the company he was working for was relocating to Singapore!

From then on, everything was history – and according to Laura, Phong loves to tell their friends that he flew halfway across the world to be with her.

During the wedding, Phong’s family flew in from Australia & Vietnam – and he was even reunited with family he hadn’t seen in years! I was really excited when Laura told me about this story… and also when she mentioned that her wedding would be held in her family home garden! It’s so meaningful when you say your vows in such a personal environment. There were so many elements that made this wedding a memorable one for me. From the Vietnamese car decorations, to the personalized popcorn box, to the massive trees in the awesomely pink ballroom… everything was just detailed so beautifully.

The other thing that made my heart skip a beat too was Laura’s Vera Wang gown. I instantly thought of the line from the movie Bride Wars… “You don’t alter a Vera Wang to fit you, you alter yourself to fit into a Vera Wang” (something to that effect).

I don’t know how much alteration Laura had to do, but she looked absolutely amazing in that gown that day.

Grace Tan In International, Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding at Marina Bay Sands: Istvan & Shirley

Photographer: Grace, assisted by Alex
Locations: Marina Bay Sands & Southern Ridges, Singapore

Years ago, there was a possibility of me moving to Singapore. Other than the relationship pull factor (my ex was Singaporean!) plus the thought of earning a higher income… Singapore seemed like a decent place to live. Not surprising that Istvan and Shirley decided to hop over the causeway to work some time back. I met Istvan and Shirley for the first time on their pre-wedding shoot day. They were so easy to get along with. I am really thankful for clients like these because it just makes my work so much easier!

I was excited to shoot at Marina Bay Sands. The view is amazing! Thanks Istvan and Shirley for your generosity in putting us up for one night at Marina Bay Sands. Alex and I enjoyed the pool very very much. :) Hope you’ll like these images… I can still remember the heat from the deck! The both of you are amazingly sporting for doing all sorts of things under the hot sun.