Photography

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Jack & Sze Hwa Marries!

Photographer: Grace
Make Up & Hair: Charlie from Michelle Touche team
Wedding gown (Princess cut with sash) & Evening shoes: Pretty in White
Wedding gown (Mermaid cut) & Evening Gown: That Special Occasion
White lacy shoes: Tang’s Studio
Jack’s suit: The Lord’s Tailor
Flowers: My Bridal Florist
Location: Dusun Garden Fairies & Pullman Hotel, Putrajaya

But not yet… not till January 2011 when they vow to be true to each other in good times or in bad, in sickness and in health. The title of this post was taken from their wedding website, designed beautifully to look like the New York Times report. I love it when I see websites like these because it shows how creative the couple is and how much they care about the little details that go into their wedding day.

And so it was natural that during the pre-wedding session with Jack and Sze Hwa, there were lots of yummy details that went into the shoot. Hwa said she wanted a picnic theme… and so she brought an amazing array of props to the shoot! The picnic basket was even prepared and sewn by Jack’s mother! Talk about dedication.

Jack & Hwa have both known each other since secondary school but they were just acquaintances back then. In school, she thought he was a bit of a geek and he thought she was just another (annoying) junior in his school!

This is their story…

Well…. Years went by and we lost contact. She went to Ireland to continue her studies and he on the other hand, left for Australia. However, during one of our summer holidays back in June 2003, we bumped into each other while we were dining with our parents in Overseas Restaurant, PJ! That day changed everything! We started to keep in touch and this continued on even when she was back in Ireland and he, in Australia! We talked on the phone EVERYDAY and would wake each other every morning (possible then due to different time zones!). So this continued on for 7 years. Yes, we have been doing the much dreaded long-distance relationship for that long. This has improved tremendously since she moved to Singapore ‘coz at least we now were at the same time zone.

We guess the thing that kept us both together for so long despite the distance was that we have always been able to talk about everything and anything and our passion for travelling (here, there and everywhere!), food (you have to see our collection of food pictures) and Moleskines =) !

Grace Tan In Life, Musings

My first digital camera

Here’s some of the stacks and stacks of boxes we painstakingly handpacked! * iPhone photos

We rummaged through the cupboards, we packed our belongings into boxes and we taped them shut. Four years into marriage, our life as we knew, was changing radically. A new dawn peeks through the ominous clouds, as we prepare for the big move.

Some events in life are unforeseen. Some events are the catalyst for greater things. After marriage and renovating our current sanctuary, as we call it, Alex and I are moving to a larger space – one that will house a mini-theatre cum consultation space so that we can pamper our prospects and clients. But that is not the core reason for moving, it’s to provide shelter for my elderly parents in their twilight years.

My mum loves the mustard at Ikea, so we bring them there once in awhile as a “treat”! * mobile phone photo

In between boxes, Alex pulled out a relic from days gone by that triggered so many memories – from holidays on tropical islands to backpacking trips to fun outings with friends. We found our first digital camera! Not one, but two of them! Here’s the story.

Alex had been interested in photography and bought a Sony DSC-S75, based on the recommendation of a friend. It was only a 3MP camera, but it had fully manual functions and was very much an awesome piece of wizardry. On a seemingly pleasant day, after he discovered the joys of diving, he bought an underwater housing from eBay and hit the salty waters of Tioman Island with vigour. *cue horror music*

As you’re probably imagining by now, and are probably right, the housing failed to perform and it flooded. One thousand five hundred ringgit vanished, just like that. After giving him an earful (sorry darling!), we rushed out to buy… the exact same model! The camera was great and so were the photos. Squint a little at the photo and pick out the size of the ever so spacious memory card we had!

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Portraits

Happy 27th Anniversary, Mr & Mrs Tan!

When Vivian contacted me over email one day about her family portraits, I didn’t realize that it was for her parent’s 27th anniversary. It was only on the day of the shoot that I realized they had created all these fun boards for the shoot. Little did I know that she had a really fun family, willing to do all sorts of things for the camera!

But you would have never guessed that by looking at this image below…

Slowly but surely, their true nature starts to show…

And then we got all warmed up when we trooped to the garden for some photos…

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Weddings

Kevin + Denisse

Photographers: Grace & Ian
Location: Concorde Hotel, KL
Make Up & Hair: Kimmy

When I first met Denisse, she told me that she is a really simple person. They like to keep things simple, have a simple wedding and a simple dinner. And that made her one of the least stressed brides I have ever photographed. I think it must come from the fact that Denisse is from Miri, Sarawak. A lot of East Malaysians I know are super friendly and laidback!

And so, Denisse and Kevin had a simple wedding. But one that is full of good memories, laughter and friendship.

Grace Tan In Portraits, Pre-Wedding & Engagement Portraits

Pre-Wedding: Derrick & Wan Leng

Photographer: Grace
Make up & hair: Sharon from Wedding Isle
Bridal Gown: Pretty in White
Evening Gown: Red Lantern Studio
Location: Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Love, like wine, should get better with age. It should be savoured bit by bit and with every sip, cherished.

Even though Wan Leng has been together with Derrick for almost a decade, just like aged wine, their love tastes sweeter and better than ever. When she first met him, she thought that he was kind of cute; if there was Facebook back then, she would have clicked “LIKE” immediately. After Wan Leng’s first encounter with Derrick, she could not stop thinking about him… and now, a decade later, she still can’t stop thinking about him!

The feeling was mutual, because when Derrick first saw Wan Leng, he thought that she was attractive beyond words yet she had this aura of mystery that made him want to know her more. They met at a social function and since then their friendship blossomed through different modes of communication.

Derrick: “Usually my first impressions of a person are spot on, and my first impression of her was that she had a special inner & outer beauty bottled into one. Although the first impression counts for something, I believe that lasting impression is above all, and I hope to give her the best lasting impression a man could ever give.”

Wan Leng: “Sometimes I still can’t believe that I ended up with him and *gasp* I’m getting married to him! :) And I’m very excited!”

I’m excited for the both of you too!