Kuala Lumpur

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

A Majestic Wedding: Andrew & Katrina

So let’s kick off the first blog post of 2016 with an epic wedding! We’ve been through a lot together. A pre-wedding shoot in KL & Singapore, two weekends of weddings in KL and a wedding in Phuket. What a journey! Definitely one of the most memorable weddings for me in 2015… Andrew & Katrina’s energy and laughter is infectious. I love just being around them, you can’t help but feel as if you have to laugh a little louder, dance a little more, and hug another person. I am also so grateful to have built a friendship with this amazing couple.

Their wedding was truly a majestic affair. Please be warned, I am terrible at cutting down the number of images for a blog post, so it might take a while to load! Here are some of the images from the first two wedding events in KL… their ROM, church wedding ceremony at St Thomas More and dinner reception at The Majestic. Even the haze was not a deterrent to the couple (we got shots like the one below thanks to it!). It was all beautifully decorated and planned by the Mint Events & Soirées’ team. One other amazing detail is that Katrina designed her wedding and evening gown herself! Check out her Facebook page, Wilka.

20151003_ROM_ANDREW_KATRINA_314 Here’s what Katrina had to say about the wedding planning process:

Stories.my & Mint Events made my wedding dream come true. Inspirations and ideas that came in the wedding planning process appeared as and when I thought of something, which was a constant thing throughout the year. I was doing a lot of research, surfing the net looking at so many images and references. Pinterest was my best friend. Do manage yours and everyone’s expectations… it’s YOUR wedding, not THEIRS. Trust your photography and video team (ahem…Stories)… have fun, let go, respect our elders.

The Stories team have been amazeballs from the get go. Somehow, when we were shopping for a vendor, Stories was the first one we met with, and though we had other companies to check out, I knew I wanted them to be the officials to capture the most important moments of our lives. Grace and her team have been very accommodating, professional, efficient, understanding, considerate and reasonable. But most important of all, they were able to capture the brief accurately, and brought our wedding to life that went way beyond my expectations. We are in awe and till today cannot believe how beautifully done all our photos, videos and sideshows are. Makes us tear every time we look at them. We always felt comfortable and relaxed with the Stories team. Like we were family. We laughed and had fun together. We love Stories!

Watch their fusion photo and video slideshow here. It was presented on the night of the dinner reception itself.

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

Singapore & KL: Pre-Wedding of Andrew & Katrina

We went everywhere. From the beach to the garden and also the city, Andrew and Katrina’s pre-wedding shoot was as epic as their wedding. We recently completed a 3 week wedding marathon with this couple but more on that later! I’m really glad we had the opportunity to be part of this amazing wedding and got to know this really warm and friendly couple. From the start, we were treated like friends instead of vendors. It just feels as if you’ve journeyed along with long-lost friends.

It was 9 years ago that Andrew and Katrina met each other but unfortunately, they were both attached at that time. But as fate would have it, 5 years ago, they bumped into each other at a club. It was already closing time, and the lights had come on. At the corner of his eye, Andrew spotted Katrina as she was being whisked out of the club. He quickly rushed to her and grabbed her by the hand.

Katrina turned, about to land a huge punch on this creep who dared to hold her hand. But much to her delight, it was Andrew… who told her to call him the next day.

The next day came but the call never came through. On the second day, Andrew ‘poked’ her on Facebook, and Katrina called him back… somehow she couldn’t remember meeting him at the club! (Andrew claims she was really drunk).

And so a beautiful journey started as #katandrew.

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Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

Holy Rosary Church Wedding: Chris & Lydia

It was 2012. Lydia and Chris had just returned to KL from their respective stints studying and working abroad. Chris was in Melbourne for 8 years and Lydia on the other end of the continent in UK for 6 years. It was somehow a simple twist of fate that brought them back to Malaysia at that same time, and to the same company.

They bonded over having to adapt back to the Malaysian lifestyle….chats ranging from anything to everything, including conversations about weird old/new Malaysian coins, crazy Asian bosses, terrible drivers, triple flyovers, having to live with parents, good food, and shopping after 6pm. In the end, those late nights at work paid off for the both of them.

His cheeky and extroverted nature coupled with his knack for planning and organising events attracted Lydia to him. (and Lydia says, it makes her a lucky wife!). Chris says that Lydia may be tough on the outside, but is a total softie at heart. She loves her alone time at home and secretly loves to cook and clean. Which in my opinion, makes for a lucky husband!!

Chris and Lydia had a 2 part wedding – the first was their church wedding at the Holy Rosary Church in Brickfields and a dinner at Grand Hyatt, KL and the second part was a beach wedding at the Four Seasons Resort in Langkawi. These set of beautiful images were photographed by Weiming and Nigel. Enjoy part one!

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

Catholic wedding at Church of Divine Mercy: Lionel & Rebecca

Lionel_Rebecca_001 “I had to level up my charm in order to convince her to change her mind…”

Lionel and Rebecca met back in 2006 when they were studying for their Certificate in Legal Practice at the Brickfields Asia College. Unfortunately for Lionel, Rebecca didn’t quite notice him until he made extra effort in charming her with his good looks, intelligence and persistence!

Rebecca: We clicked well but I never thought much of him back then. Not long after, he started to appear at my doorstep unannounced to surprise me. It started with one of our usual MSN conversations and I mentioned that I was craving for an Oreo Mcflurry. About an hour or so later and around 11pm, my doorbell rang – the boy had gone to the nearest McDonalds to get that Oreo Mcflurry and rushed to my place just so that I could have my ice-cream.

I remember being stunned and I felt compelled to invite him in and to share the ice-cream with him since he had come all the way. I also remember being embarrassed because I was dressed in ‘home clothes’ and totally unprepared for visitors at that hour! From then on, Lionel started to surprise me more and did nice things for me. Just before the exam, he bought a whole box of brands essence of chicken to keep me going. Picked me up and gave me a lift to class when I was not feeling well. Even changing seats in class just so he could sit next to me (and ignoring the teasing in the process).

Lionel is a pretty shy and quiet person but clearly, he was not shy in showing that he was interested! Eventually, he expressed his interest with a bouquet of flowers. I was not sure if I was interested at that time but some time later, I decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did.

Throughout our 7 year relationship, we have had way more ups and downs. Lionel is incredibly calm, patient, supportive and kind. He balances the impatient side of me and accepts me for who I am including my faults. He gives the warmest hugs and makes me feel safe. He tells me I’m beautiful even when I’m not looking or feeling it. He tells me “its okay” when I’ve been silly. He makes me laugh. He enjoys going shopping with me. He shows me the respect every girl wants. I cannot get any luckier than that.

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

Wedding Video Highlight: Stephen & Jen

Stephen and Jen love each other so much, they got married to each other over and over again! They had not one, but 3 ceremonies, with 2 Western ceremonies in the UK and the 3rd one in KL. Stephen who grew up in the UK, thought it would be really different and fun to participate in the Chinese tradition of ‘picking up the bride’. He was such a sport and even donned a Chinese outfit for the wedding (though initially, he lacked the pants that went with it!). Jen loves to laugh, and it was obvious that these two enjoy life and experiencing many different things together.

Watch their wedding video highlight to find out more:

Credits:

Videographers: Stories team (Chi Yin, Delvin, & Nick)
Location & Cake: Prince Hotel, KL
Wedding Gown: Pronovias
Evening Gown: Divine Couture
Groom’s Attire: Aspey
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Make up & Hair: Chufan
Photographer: Sih Han Photography