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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Wedding at Christ Church, Malacca: Arvind & Dhanya

Part 2 of Arvind and Dhanya’s wedding happened the day after their Hindu temple ceremony. From beautiful blue walls of the temple, we moved to the vibrant red walls of Christ Church, Malacca. I grew up in Malacca my entire life but their wedding was the first time I actually stepped into the church. It is a quaint little 18th century Anglican church in the heart of town. As the wedding ceremony started, some tourists popped their head into church, curious to see what was happening.

Interestingly, the church and surrounding Stadhuys building were originally white but painted the signature red by the Dutch in 1911 and the colour remained ever since.

Our video team did a great job covering both ceremonies as well and you can view the beautiful edit in the Vimeo link below.

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

Garden Wedding at Pulai Springs Resort, JB: Andrew & Desiree

20150117_WEDDING_ANDREW_DESIREE_0623 “So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s going to be really hard; we’re gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me… everyday.” – The Notebook –

Those words from Desiree’s favourite movie were part of Andrew’s vows to her that day. Although it had been 10 years since they have been together, every single day felt as fresh as if it were the first day of their relationship. To them, life is about enjoying simple things together. Just laughing at each other’s silly antics, having a snuggle on the couch, watching reruns of favourite movies.

Marriage is hard work. But it is totally worth the effort.

Congratulations Andrew and Desiree. You have to read the rest of their story here in their pre-wedding post.

Since we had too many favs from this wedding, we only posted the garden wedding photos at Pulai Springs Resort, JB and dinner at the Renaissance Hotel, JB. Watch their tear-jerking wedding video highlight to see more of what happened on that day, including Andrew’s rap performance and some ‘cheesy’ but cute lines from the both of them!

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Grace Tan In Indian + Punjabi Weddings, Weddings

Hindu Temple Wedding: Ashish & Lynn

They were best friends. Their dads, I mean. Ashish and Lynn knew each other since they were kids but somehow never really knew each other. It was always a hello-bye kind of friendship…and nothing really happened. For years. But as fate would have it, something changed. It was at Lynn’s brother’s wedding, and Ashish was asked to be the rep at the wedding. Somehow, something clicked, and from that moment on, they got to know each other better. Lynn felt that Ashish was the sweetest guy she had ever met, and everything just seemed right from all aspects, including being husband-material!

And from his look at the wedding, I can certainly say that Ashish felt the same way towards Lynn… he was absolutely smitten by her!

I always feel honoured when friends ask me to document their wedding day. I too, have known Ashish and Lynn for years… from the days when we were scrawny teenagers attending tuition class together. It’s also fun when you see all your friends at the wedding too! I was in my 3rd trimester of my pregnancy when I photographed their wedding…and as with all Hindu weddings, it requires quite a bit of work out with me doing quite a number of squats! But at the dinner, Mark and Diane took over and I got the chance to don a saree, and enjoy the meal!

Congratulations, Ashish and Lynn! Do join the parent club really soon… and our kids can all play together!

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

A Star Wars themed wedding: Kell Jay & Siau-Wei

It’s not everyday you get to see Jedi knights, Darth Maul, and Darth Vader in a wedding (even if he’s a cake topper). We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at Kell Jay’s and Siau-Wei’s wedding, to see all the groomsmen dressed up in costumes, ready to rescue the princess, Siau-Wei. We had heaps of fun at this wedding with lots of unexpected twists and turns as the day unfolded. Kell Jay and Siau-Wei wow-ed us during the evening dinner reception as they danced into the ballroom (and by dance, I mean, professional standards, as Kell Jay is a professional dancer!). Their first dance was nothing I had seen before, and for the first 10 seconds of them dancing, I almost forgot to click the shutter. I totally enjoyed it. Loved the fact too that their wedding dinner reception was really personalized with Siau-Wei’s sisters giving a song performance, and lots more!

You’ll see more in their wedding video highlight which we’ll post later, but today, here are some of my favourites from their wedding. Don’t forget to view their same day video and photo slideshow at the end of this post for more images.

Grace Tan In Chinese Weddings, Church Weddings, Weddings

A Winter Themed Wedding: Aldrian & Mei Mei

Their love story began as a chance meeting – two strangers enrolled as classmates back in 2001 during their A-Level studies.

“Aldrian was just hanging out with his cousin, Johnny, and refused to enter the classroom on his first day. – no pretty girls lah – he said. Minutes later, I brisked by with a friend, feeling truly nervous about my first day of college. As I passed Aldrian, I noticed that he was quite handsome too – but you don’t say these things out loud of course! Not long after, Aldrian sat next to me in that class…. and we have always been side by side ever since. Throughout the years we have truly become each other’s best friend and soul-mate.

After college, we came to the UK together to further our studies. Finally, after 10 years – after completing my PhD and all that hoo-ha of trying to settle down in London, we thought that the time was right. And it was just perfect.

We now live together in our very own love nest in Canary Wharf with our baby rabbit, Bijoux. Bliss :)”

– Mei Mei –

I got to know Aldrian and Mei Mei through a friend of mine, Adelene, who was Aldrian’s sister. I had never met them before, and all correspondence was done online, until they came back for the wedding itself. Since they were not in KL, it helped that they had a wedding planner to coordinate everything. I first heard about the winter wedding theme from Mun Tzin of Milestones… and I wondered how it would really look like. Frankly, I was a little hesitant at first, as coloured lighting in a ballroom can either work for you or against you. I have photographed some events with extremely strong multi-coloured lighting shining on stage, and the results… well, let’s say I was less than pleased with it.

Some colours tend to bleed onto skin tones, making people look overly purple or green. I was quite concerned that the light would be too strong and we would end up with shots that look like we were at a Smurf convention (sorry, Mei Mei!). But when I arrived at the ballroom that day, I was pleased to see that the blue light was not direct lighting, and that the stage had yellow light, which added warmth to the skin tones! So I loved the end results!

Be prepared, this is a super long post with heaps of photos! Sorry if it is taking too long to load, but I can’t help myself!