Kuala Lumpur

Grace Tan In Casual Portraits, Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Portraits

Fugee School Documentary Videos

At the end of 2016, 4 of us from the Stories team made a special visit to Fugee School, an education hub for refugee kids in Kuala Lumpur. It was a time of getting away from our usual work to do other socially responsible photography and video related projects. In a way, it was something similar to what we did in Kelantan some years back with the flood victims. I met with Deborah Henry, co-founder of the school, to run through some ideas on what we could do for Fugee School, and we narrowed down our focus to a documentary style approach that would give some insight into these families and their life here in Malaysia.

We were blessed to have met two students, Yusra and Hafsa. Listen to their heartwarming stories in the video below, and support amazing organizations like Fugee School who work to make a difference to these children.

Credits:

Yusra’s Story
Photographed & filmed by Jamie & Chi Yin
Edited by Chi Yin
Creative direction by Grace

Hafsa & Hasan’s Story
Photographed & filmed by Grace & Jennifer
Edited by Chi Yin
Creative direction by Grace

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits, Wedding Films & Videos

A Proposal and a horse carriage: Arthur & Luisa

Arthur and Luisa traveled from Florida, USA to Malaysia for a short holiday recently. But it wasn’t just a normal holiday. Arthur had planned to propose to Luisa here, and even arranged for a horse carriage at the Palace of the Golden Horses, Kuala Lumpur. He told her that they were going to do a fun pre-wedding photo shoot together and she bought it. We arranged the styling, gown and even flowers that adorned their room. It was a great session together and we had heaps of fun! Thank you for allowing us the privilege of being part of this amazing day. I hope to meet you again soon, perhaps in September in New York City when I get there!

Grace Tan In Church Weddings, Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Wedding Films & Videos, Weddings

Hindu-Christian Wedding: Mohanen & Alisha

Some things just go together. Like apples & cinnamon; rum & raisin; or peanut butter & jelly. They may seem like opposites yet they taste so good together!

So it is with Mohanen and Alisha. He likes the great outdoors and is happiest spending time with his buddies with a drink or two while watching a live band. Her idea of a good time is being curled up on the sofa with a good book and some hot chocolate. Mohanen likes things neat and tidy while Alisha is the messier of the two. And yet, they suit each other to a tee!

They met in college and their relationship bloomed a couple of years later. They started a long distance relationship when Alisha had to complete her medical degree in the UK, which spanned 9 long years over three continents! They now reside in Adelaide, South Australia and share their home with their one year old ‘baby’ – their dog Darcy.

Watch their love story in this clip and you’ll be able to see why they jive together so well!

Credits:

Videographers: Chi Yin, Delvin & Choo Cherk
Hindu Wedding Location: Kalamandapan Temple
Church Wedding: EX8 Building
Groom’s Attire (church): Joe 2 suits
Wedding Gown: Bridal on Pulteney, Adelaide Australia
Make up & Hair: Blush (Church), FACES (temple)
Decorations: Haejabudiman (church), Jaspers Decor (temple)
Flowers: Haejabudiman (church)
Photography: WeFreeze Photography

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Family Portraits at Home: The Tays

I got to know Shan Li through a few connections… my sister and my friend Jek. Shan Li is the face behind BabyDash, that one stop online store for all your baby needs. After I attended one of Babydash’s events, we got acquainted and then things just progressed from there… I helped Babydash create their online video for their crowd funding efforts recently, and also ran a photography talk organized by them.

So it was really nice when Shan Li asked me to photograph her family one day. It was pouring cats and dogs when I arrived there but it wasn’t a really big issue as they had a beautiful living room! Halfway through our session, the rain stopped, and we could dash out for some more photos in the garden (pun intended!).

I love photographing families in their homes because it will help them remember this space that brings so much love and joy through the years. It’s a historic record of this specific point in their life. What a beautiful family! Thank you for having me over, Shan Li!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Grand Hyatt Dinner Reception: Calvin & Queenie

After we photographed Calvin and Queenie’s New Zealand wedding, they came back to KL to have their dinner reception at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. I always love the view of the twin towers from the sky lobby… it looks so majestic the moment you exit the lifts and enter the lobby. We were also blown away by the beautiful decorations at their wedding dinner. Long dinner tables are really unconventional for Chinese Malaysian weddings, but it seems to be the trend nowadays. If you are looking for a planner to help you coordinate all of these details while you are overseas, check out Mint Events & Soirées who were the planners for this wedding.