It was in 2004 that Nicholas and Lina first got to know each other… they were both in Sri KL and through the help of Friendster (before Facebook existed!), they got acquainted…and they fell in love. Years later, Nicholas proposed in a spectacular way after their anniversary dinner, with the help of a magician. They were in a public place and Lina didn’t suspect a thing. Trick after trick, the magician performed, until it came to a fiery trick… where he produced a ring. Nicholas immediately took the ring, got down on one knee and gave the most romantic speech Lina had ever heard.

And she said yes.

Credits:

Photographers: Grace, Eric & Weiming
Location: Carcosa Seri Negara

Here are some of my favourites from the shoot:

Katelyn decides to be in mummy’s shoes!

Half-way through the shoot, the family decides to take a short break and fed Isaac. He fell asleep shortly after! So we took the opportunity to pose him nude!

He’s such a cutie, isn’t he? *melts*

There was a lot of singing, fun and laughter during the shoot. I had such a good time  connecting with the family. When the session is done, Ethan sheepishly walked towards the door to shut it before opening his arms for a hug. Ahhh, moments like these are really previous to me! Thanks for such a memorable shoot. :)

Credits:

Photographer: Diane

But now that I am one…

Yes, I have a confession to make. I am now an overbearing and obsessed mum! Especially when it comes to recording moments of her life as she grows. And wow, they grow so quickly! Tomorrow, Krysta turns 5 months old and I look forward to many more years as her mum. I hope I can be the kind of mum that she thinks is cool to hang out with, and one that she can share everything with.

Krysta, I love you to bits. Just cuddling you in my arms as you lay your head to rest makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Let’s go through life’s many adventures together with your dad, and future siblings! There’s so much of the world to see!

xoxo,
Mum

*Krysta as a newborn – photo by Asther Lau

* Krysta as a 4 month old. By the way, I realize I have a new skill now as a mum-photographer – I can juggle from looking at the camera’s viewfinder, to giving eye contact over the lens!

This October, I will be traveling to Barcelona, Marrakesh and also Madrid for a short family holiday…celebrating my brother’s 50th birthday! It’ll be the first time I’m traveling such a long distance with my daughter Krysta so I hope that she won’t be fussy through out the trip. But I have awesome family members around me whom I can count on to babysit Krysta when necessary.

So… let’s take this opportunity to do some portraits, shall we? It can be a family shoot, a casual engagement shoot or a full on pre-wedding shoot with a beautiful white gown. If you are staying in Malaysia, I know that MAS and BA has a promotion right now (it lasts for a week from this date!). I booked my return flight for only RM2,700 through my travel agent. Perhaps you might be staying in London… it’s not that far a distance to Spain, right? *grin*

Do contact us for more details on our packages. Hope to see you there!

For this shoot, we wandered the streets of Putrajaya and photographed from sunset till the night lights came on. Bridget had wanted some night shots, and so the bridges of Putrajaya with its colourful lights seemed like the perfect setting for their shoot. It had rained a little prior to our shoot, but as with most of my couples, a little rain doesn’t deter them from continuing the shoot… even sitting on the ground in their gown!

“Hi Grace! I saw the pics yesterday, it is exactly what Allan and I expected. We love all the pics. We showed the video to my future mother-in-law, and she commented that she had never seen any couple as happy as us. You did a great job! Thanks for making our pre-wedding shoot so memorable” – Bridget -

Credits:
Photographer: Grace
Location: Putrajaya

Despite all the negative things people say about this country, I still have hope. In God I trust. Our future lies in His hands.

My prayer is that our country will rise up to its fullest potential and that my children will have a positive future to look forward to. To all my fellow Malaysians, thank you for caring. You are making a difference.

* My 4.5 month old daughter Krysta and I vote for a better Malaysia! *

Updated: 6th May 2013

Many Malaysians are mourning, upset and angry over the results of the elections. Change may not have come the way we expected. But as individuals living in Malaysia, let’s do our part in making Malaysia a better place to live in by living a life that is ethical, peaceful, treating everyone with respect. If you want to see change happen in this country, we have to each play our part to make a difference. No matter how small. Let’s not give up.

This blog is dedicated to celebrating life – new relationships as husband and wife, parents with their newborns, grandparents with their children and grandchildren… life carries on. It is my desire that the images we create here gives everyone hope that there is a future for the next generation. Remain positive. Remain hopeful.

I just love doing casual shoots like these… we definitely had lots of fun that day! Shooting in B.I.G. supermarket was unusual and interesting too… unfortunately, this will be the only time we get to shoot at B.I.G. as I’ve been told that Kenneth and Hooi Ju’s pre-wedding shoot was the last permitted shoot… ever!

Here’s our selection of favourites, as photographed by myself and Weiming. Do view their fusion slideshow at the end of the post for more images!

Credits:

Photographers & Videographers: Grace & Weiming
Locations: B.I.G. Ben’s Independent Grocer, The Bee, Publika

But that’s not what I want to talk about today.

You see, while packing for the move, I discovered a paper bag filled with old camera film strips my father has kept over the years. My mother was about to throw them all away, but being the sentimental person that I am, I knew I had to find a way to save it, for old memory’s sake.

So I’ve decided to use it to make a simple film decoupage. :)

If you are as sentimental as me, or if your hands are just itching to do something crafty, here’s something you can do too!

Here’s what you need:

- A transparent jar or container of any size.

- Film strips. Here I used some 35mm and 110mm film strip. You can mix and match them.

- Double sided tape and scissors

- Candle

Step 1: Cut a small strip of double sided tape…

…and paste one side of it to one of the end of a film strip, like this.

Step 2. Remove the protector film on the double sided tape and wrap the film strip around the circumference of the jar. Paste it in place. Repeat step 1 and 2 until the whole jar is wrapped up with film.

Step 4: Light a candle and put it in the jar.

Taa-daah!

And now, not only you get a cool looking decoupage, your film memories live on too!

Enjoy!

Mae’s first impression of Kenneth was that he was a loud, brash, and obnoxious guy. Not the best but a funny guy. Nevertheless a good friend. Two years went by, and a friendship developed. They went through thick and thin, sugar and spice. But their friendship flourished throughout.

Then came that fateful day when Kenneth was transferred to work in Johor Bahru. Amazingly, 3 months later, Mae was also transferred to JB, and they celebrated the joyous reunion of 2 friends. They looked out for each other, took care of each other and kept each other company for the next 2 years. Her presence made the faraway posting much easier.

Then came 2010, after Kenneth was transferred back to KL. It was then that they both realized that absence made the heart fonder. Kenneth soon realized that the good friend he had spent all this time with was the person he wanted to spend forever with. Finally, he mustered up to the courage and professed his love to Mae (and this was after a few surprise visits to JB as well!). Outwardly, she played it cool, but secretly, Mae was absolutely elated. The rest, they say is history!

Don’t you just love seeing how their personalities come across in their photos?

Yes, the couple, family and friends are one cooky, canny and happy bunch. Check out how they enjoyed their teddy bear moments.

Credits:

Photographers: Johan & Weiming, assisted by Cheryl
Location: Ciao Ristorante
Wedding Planner: Tie the Knot
Wedding Gown: Neoromantic
Make up: Aivy Yong
Flowers & Decorations: Wishing Tree
Cake: Truly Scrumptious

Jeffrey and May’s Story (and all the personalization that went into their wedding!):

Jeffrey and I have known each other for a long, long time.  We met through a mutual family friend, who introduced us on the pretext of introducing me to someone who did his postgraduate studies in Oxford and was in a position to advise me on the same, as I was also going to pursue my postgraduate studies then.  Little did I know then that it was a match-making event! While we hit it off almost immediately, I was totally oblivious to all these until much later!

Jeffrey and I are a lot alike in many ways, yet we have also rather different personalities.  For instance, we both enjoy eating (a lot!), travelling, reading, movies, just being quiet in each other’s presence, laughing at the same things, etc.  However, while Jeffrey is quite reserved and a man of few (sometimes no) words, I am talkative and quite upbeat about most things!  During our travels, I will be handling 3-4 cameras on my own, being trigger happy and just happily snapping everything (and just about anything) away, whereas Jeffrey is camera-averse ;)  However, when we took our pre-wedding photography in New Zealand, Jeffrey was a natural in front of the camera!  There was also a time when we shared 5 bowls of noodles between the both of us in Chiang Mai!  We really eat a lot, so much so that each time we make additional orders on top of what we have polished off our plates, the waiter/waitress (without fail, whichever corner of the globe we are at) will ask ‘tapao/take-away?’, and we will go ‘no, eat here!’.

In planning our wedding, we truly wanted to make it a memorable one (in every sense – food, decoration, etc.) not only for our guests but also for ourselves in the course of the planning itself.  We knew we wanted 2 main things: personalization and beautifully-arranged flowers!  We wanted a cosy affair for our closest and dearest friends and relatives, for both the ceremony and the dinner event.  We don’t really have a ‘concept’ theme per se, but we know in terms of decoration, we wanted a consistent theme with everything to ‘jive’, and anchored by beautiful flowers too.

For the day event, we wanted something light, bright and cheery, whereas for the dinner event, we wanted something stronger and elegant – all using the same colour family.  As we both are adventurous when it comes to eating, we have opted for the Chinese Fusion menu at the Westin Kuala Lumpur, away from the traditional Chinese menu that almost everyone comes to expect these days.  We have also used a lot of personalization in our wedding stationeries.  For instance, we have personalized ribbons, personalized table numbering, place cards, individual menu for every guest (we both like to eat and frequently refer to the menu in other people’s weddings – bearing this in mind, we provided one for each guest for ease of reference), personalized guest card with pre-printed statements for guests to fill in their well-wishes, personalized ang pow packets for us to bless our friends and relatives, etc.  All thanks to our ever reliable stationer, Acadia Cards!

Our general theme was elegant romance – we conveyed this to all our vendors who did not disappoint us.  As Jeffrey and I have many experiences together, the colour theme chosen reflected this – pastel tones for the day, whereas stronger, more vibrant shades for the night.  It was truly a celebration of colours! Pastel pink, orange, coral and lilac for the day, and fuschia, orange, coral and purple for the night.  We wanted a fun, cheery and festive air for the day ceremony, hence we used a lot of balloons for the lunch reception.  The day colour theme was also incorporated into our balloon decorations – we had a cluster of balloons as centerpiece for each guest table for the lunch reception, as well as a balloon wall!!  All thanks to St David Party Castle.

From the very beginning, we have envisioned a wedding with plenty beautifully-arranged flowers! (so much so that one of my bridesmaids’ 2-year old son commented – ‘Mummy, why are you at a flower show?’  This cutie has since called me the ‘Flower Princess Auntie’)  All thanks to the team at Wishing Tree, who transformed the church venue and the Westin ballroom with their creativity with flowers!  I have them to thank for my and my bridesmaids’ bouquets too – they are completely a feast for the eyes!  As I am a big fan of Hello Kitty, we have decided to add a ‘quirky’ touch to our wedding cake – Truly Scrumptious has made us a Hello Kitty wedding topper, with cascading peonies and hydrangeas!

No meal with Jeffrey is ever complete without dessert – to reflect this in our wedding, we have included a dessert bar filled with yummy desserts for our guests to partake during cocktail – all thanks to Tie The Knot, who has also made popcakes in individual pots as favours for our guests during the lunch reception.  In addition to the exquisite chocolate provided by Westin, we have also given out glass photoframes tied with our personalized ribbons as favours for our guests.  To further reflect my love for flowers and to decorate the ballroom as well as for our guests to admire while enjoying their dinner, we had a tall floral centerpiece, flanked by mirror box and candles, for every guests’ table.  Our guests loved the flowers so much that we encouraged them to help themselves to the flowers at the end of the dinner!  Our guests exclaimed that they were too pretty to look at!  We liked dancing too, and had a dancefloor at our dinner reception, much to the joy of our guests.  All in all, a great big thank you to all our wedding vendors!

Credits:

Videographers: Stories.my
Church ceremony: Luther Centre
Dinner reception: The Westin Kuala Lumpur
Photographers: Louis Pang
Wedding Planner: Stephen Foong
Wedding Gown: San Patrick from Designer Bridal Room, That Special Occasion, Divine Couture, Butterfly
Groom’s Attire: TM Lewin, Thomas Pink, Salvatore Ferragamo
Shoes: Benjamin Adam, Salvatore Ferragamo
Make up & hair: Cynthia Lim of Wedding Isle
Decorations (ceremony): Wishing Tree, Tie the Knot, Khareyan Events, St David Party Castle
Decorations (dinner): Wishing Tree, Tie the Knot
Stationery: Acadia Wedding Stationery
Cake: Truly Scrumptious!
Flowers: Wishing Tree
Dinner Entertainment: Fantastic Five