langkawi

Beach wedding at Westin, Langkawi: Jase & Alicia

Jase and Alicia live in South Australia. Over Skype, I got to know them before the wedding, and found out that they met each other when they were just 18. Nine years later, Jase proposed on Mystery Island, Vanuatu during a cruise to the South Pacific. Since Jase is a jeweller, he designed Alicia’s wedding and engagement ring. The bonbonerie candles were made by the groom’s sister and place settings made by Jase and Alicia themselves. I love Alicia’s custom made gown and her vintage hairpiece. The Westin, Langkawi became the gorgeous backdrop for their wedding. It was truly a beautiful beach wedding set against the Andaman sea. I never get tired of beach weddings!

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Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Wedding at Four Seasons, Langkawi: Masafumi & Yuko

20141123_WEDDING_MASAFUMI_YUKO_249 For someone who works in the hotel line, Yuko knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding. Since she works at the Four Seasons hotel in Shanghai, Yuko decided to have her wedding at another Four Seasons hotel… but in Langkawi! It was Nigel and Jamie’s first wedding shoot at the Four Seasons so they really enjoyed going around the resort, taking portraits for the couple before the ceremony. Beautiful venues always inspire creativity!

One of the challenges they faced though was language! Everyone was speaking Japanese, and unfortunately, Nigel and Jamie’s vocabulary was limited to “Arigatou gozaimasu” and “So! So! So! So!” Good thing for them, they could converse with the couple in English.

Honestly, language has never been a barrier for us in creating beautiful images. For someone like me who can only speak English and Malay even though I am of Chinese heritage… almost EVERY single wedding in Malaysia has bits and pieces of conversation I cannot understand! There is one language that is universal though, and that is the language of love.

That gentle touch… a smile… hands lightly caressing each other… two people just sharing a moment together.

For Masafumi and Yuko, those moments were captured on camera and yes, it made us smile.

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Grace Tan In Outdoor Weddings, Weddings

Beach Wedding at Andaman, Langkawi: Simon & Lisa

“Grace and Nigel were fantastic, both very professional, creative and great to be around on the day whilst not getting in people’s faces – as someone who hates having his picture taken, they were a pleasure to be around.” – Simon

I have traveled to Langkawi many times over the past few years, but every time we head there, it is a different experience. I loved Simon and Lisa’s wedding for a few different reasons… they were a great laid-back couple to work with (despite the fact that Simon hates posing for the camera!), there were lots of cute kids at this wedding which totally made my day, and the guests were just so friendly to Nigel and I. Langkawi is really popular wedding destination location especially for couples from Australia. The only drawback is the humidity, so hugging people at the end of the night can be a very sticky affair!

Simon works in the construction line, so he said being all ‘soft’ and romantic during the wedding was something completely different to what he’s used to! But looking at the way he shed his tears as Lisa walked down the aisle made me think otherwise. I think you have a really soft side to you, Simon!

I hope these images will remind you of your love for each other years down the road when the going gets tough. Come back again to Malaysia for another holiday sometime soon, or perhaps one day, we will meet again, when you celebrate your anniversary, maybe?

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

Beach wedding in Four Seasons, Langkawi: John & Julia

What is there not to love about Langkawi, especially a wedding at the gorgeous Four Seasons with beautiful white sandy beaches and perfect sunny weather? John and Julia chose to get married at this lovely location, flying in guests from the UK to Malaysia. Since Julia is half Malaysian, I think it was apt that the wedding was held there. We love how quirky this couple is, and how everyone was just so candid and relaxed during a special ‘interview’ session we did on the day of the wedding. I love the story how they met too, but it’s best you watch the film to find out what it is! What an amazing day, filmed by our team of videographers. Enjoy the cinematic film!

Credits:
Videographers: Lester & Eddie
Editor: Felicia
Location & Decorations: Four Seasons Resort, Langkawi
Photography: Sam Leong

Grace Tan In Musings, Outdoor Weddings, Tips + Ideas, Weddings

Planning a Destination Beach Wedding

Langkawi-panorama Planning a destination beach wedding in Malaysia? Without a doubt, Langkawi is at the top of the list. It has everything – deep blue seas, white fluffy clouds, white sandy beaches, great 5-6 star resorts, duty free shopping and great Malaysian food. Of course the other famous beach wedding destinations like Maldives, Hawaii, Bali or Phuket has its own charm, but if you are hoping to have a beach wedding in Malaysia, Langkawi is the place.

As a team, we would take the one hour flight from Petaling Jaya to Langkawi pretty frequently to cover beach weddings there. Organizing a beach wedding can be relaxing and yet stressful at the same time. Everyone is away at an exotic location, just ready to have fun in the sun. But planning for a destination wedding from a faraway country on your own can be a pretty daunting task.

To make your life a little easier, I’d like to share some thoughts about how to best organize your day so that you can get the most out of your photography. Since I consider sunset as the focal point of the day, I’ll work backwards from there and give you a pictorial journey of planning a beach wedding from a photographer’s viewpoint.

1. Do check on sunset times for the date of your wedding.

On average, the sun sets about 7.30pm in Langkawi, so a good time to start your ceremony would be 5.30pm. It will be slightly warm at that time, but starting this early would give you ample time for portraits and formals after the wedding ceremony. There’s always a rush to document all the dinner reception details too after the wedding, so if your ceremony starts too late, we will be running around like headless chickens trying to capture all the important shots before night falls. Ideally, I would like to have at least an hour for portraits after the ceremony ends. Continue Reading