Singaporebrides | Essentials

July 2016

20 Fun and Easy Props for Your Pre-wedding Photography Session

By Tansey Tang

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Looking for ways to make your engagement photos look a little different? Try these easy props for your pre-wedding photography session!

Your engagement session doesn’t need a full styling makeover to be unique and fun. Bring a couple of these easy DIY props for your pre-wedding photography session in Singapore and pose away! Props are a great way to help you loosen up for what is possibly your first time in front of the camera as a couple. Having something to hold or do makes you forget about feeling awkward or camera-shy, and allows you to naturally have fun and smile during your pre-wedding photoshoot. These 20 props for your pre-wedding photography session are easy to find in Singapore, and don’t require hours to make or set up; you can simply pack them up and bring them along to your pre-wedding shoot!

A pre-wedding shoot isn’t complete without a bridal bouquet, and you can pick up a beautiful and affordable artisanal bouquet from Runaway Flowers‘ easy online catalogue. For more inspiration on how to use props or for couple pose ideas, don’t forget to check out the SingaporeBrides Engagement Photography Ideas Pinterest board.

1. Jumbo Balloons

Balloons are a popular prop to have at an engagement session, especially the jumbo-sized ones. Pretty them up with colourful tassels, or fill clear ones with confetti for an on-trend look. A big bunch of regular-sized balloons also makes an impact in pre-wedding photos; just be sure to keep them in one or two coordinating colours so that you don’t look like you’re heading for a children’s party. Of course, if your pre-wedding shoot is themed around the movie UP, then go ahead and get a rainbow! You can order customised balloons from Merry Studio, or get them from party shops like Dreams and Confetti or wholesale balloon shops at around $30 per helium-inflated 36” jumbo balloon.

Tip: Don’t weigh your balloons down with tassels until the last minute, because they will lose their buoyancy. Have your balloons delivered to your shoot location, as they aren’t likely to fit into your car!

2. Bicycle

Reminisce your East Coast Park cycling dates with bicycles as props for your pre-wedding photography session! To give your ride some French girl chic, strap on a rustic bicycle basket and stick a bouquet of flowers and a baguette in there. Instead of the usual bicycle rental shops, you could also try a more vintage vibe by renting vintage bicycles in Singapore from places like Hello, Bicycle, where prices range from $30 for 6 hours.

3. Sparklers

Light up your love with sparklers! Ask your pre-wedding photographer if he is able to create long exposure shots at night that feature sparkler light-writing for a fun and unique set of pre-wedding photographs. Have fun writing with the sparklers yourselves, or get someone else to spell out the word ‘love’ beside the two of you. Sparklers can be found at most party shops, such as AZ Gift & Trading and those found in Bugis.

4. Ice Cream Cone

A simple ice cream cone can be a really cute prop for your pre-wedding photography session. Sharing a cone brings back fond memories of you two giggling on the first date, leaving sweet smiles on your faces. You could also sip on a milkshake using two straws, or dig into a fluffy cloud of candy floss for a similar fun shot.

5. Hanging Floral Jars

Fill some recycled jam jars or mason jars with pretty loose flowers and tie them to a tree with garden twine for a romantic backdrop to your engagement photography session. Alternate the lengths of twine for a more rustic and organic look, or choose differently hued jars to inject more colour into your photos. You could also get fake flowers to make it easier for you to transport your props to your pre-wedding shoot, since you won’t be taking close-up shots of your backdrop. Fake flowers and mason jars can both be found in IKEA and Daiso.

6. Holi Powder

Colourful holi powder creates beautiful, dreamy engagement photos. Wear white to set off the colours, and bring plenty of powder to blow and toss into each other’s faces! Try bringing along another identical set of white coloured clothes, just in case you need a few tries to get the right shots. You can find holi powder in Little India.

7. Marquee Lights

If you’ve been itching to DIY some props for your pre-wedding photography session, now’s your chance. Make your own set of light and portable marquee lights in our DIY tutorial, to spell your initials, or the word ‘love.’ The battery-operated fairy lights mean that you can easily bring your props for your shoot without worrying about the availability of electrical sockets, and even bring them for an outdoor shoot. Don’t feel that crafty? You can rent marquee lights from stylists like Styled Story too.

8. Vintage Camera

A vintage camera works just as well in front of the lens as behind the scenes, looking great as a prop for your pre-wedding photography session, especially if you’re a film photography enthusiast or an antiques collector. Bust your own retro camera out for the shoot, or rent from stylists such as Styled Story.

9. Chalkboard Signs

Chalkboard signs make great, versatile props at a pre-wedding photography session, because you can change up the captions, or even doodle on them in multiple colours. Let out your silly side with funny quotes or poses, or use them to create Save the Date photos by writing out your wedding date. Besides chalk, you can also use chalkboard markers that allow you more control over your chalk designs. You should be able to find chalk and chalkboards at stores like Daiso, Art Friend, and Spotlight.

10. Bubbles

Bubbles are a great prop for pre-wedding photos, adding a fun and celebratory element to your session. Blow bubbles at each other to let loose in front of the camera, or have someone blow the bubbles around you while you embrace for a dreamy feel. You can get bubbles from most toy stores.

11. Frames

Ornate frames are a fun way to use props at your pre-wedding shoot. Hold them up to your faces and ham it up for the camera like Jayne and Vernon did at their engagement session. Go for bigger frames if you want to look through them, and have fun with making faces and cute, silly poses! These frames are from MerryLove Weddings, and you can also get photo frames from stores like IKEA or Spotlight, or the home décor sections of departmental stores as well. Simply remove the backs and the glass before your shoot.

12. Musical Instruments

If you’re gonna use electric guitars as props for your pre-wedding photography session, you’d better have the rock n roll attitude to go with them! At their engagement session, Jaz and Burn totally killed it with leather jackets and guitars, and even brought their three English Bull Terriers along for the ride. If you play a portable musical instrument like a guitar, or even cuter, an ukelele, bring it along to your shoot and serenade your sweetheart.

13. Bunny Ear Headband

Lace bunny ears or kitten ears are adorable and sexy, and an easy way to spice up your pre-wedding photography session. Wear them with your wedding gown to add a little fun and quirkiness to your formal shot, or work them with your casual outfit. Look out for them at accessories stores like Lovisa during holiday seasons such as Easter or Halloween.

14. Fairy Lights

String up a fairy light backdrop and capture a magical bokeh effect in your pre-wedding photographs. You could even wrap the lights around yourselves in a romantic embrace! If you’re taking your shots outdoors, be sure to buy battery operated fairy lights, and bring along working batteries. You can buy fairy lights from Midnight Sparks or shops like Typo or IKEA.

15. Your Pet

Okay, so your beloved dog or cat isn’t really a prop, but he sure would look good in your pre-wedding photography session! Having your pet in your engagement session helps you loosen up and act natural in front of the camera, and also lets you commemorate your love for your furkid, especially if you’ve been raising him together.

16. Picnic Basket

A picnic theme is a great idea for a casual pre-wedding shoot, and is especially significant if you often enjoy romantic picnic dates as a couple. Best of all, you get to eat on the job! To make sure the photos don’t look too cluttered, tie your picnic together with two or three main colours, and get picnic mats, paper plates, and flowers in those colours. You can rent wicker picnic baskets from MerryLove Weddings. Read our article for tips on getting the most out of your picnic pre-wedding shoot.

17. Line of Pegged Photos

Show your journey as a couple with photos from your dating days, pegged to a line that you can hold up between you, or tie to a tree. Add interest with tassels or ribbons, or even wooden letters that spell out your names. You can buy little wooden pegs from stores like Typo, Daiso, or Spotlight.

18. Confetti

Celebrate your love by throwing some confetti up in the air! The burst of colour makes for a great pre-wedding shot, and your excited faces will look happy and natural too. Bring extra in case you don’t get the shot you want at first try, and try blowing glitter too. You can get confetti poppers from Xpress Trading and other party supplies stores, or cut up your own from colourful crepe paper, which is light and floats longer, giving your photographer more time to get the shot.

19. Customised Standees of Your Favourite Game

You could be the ones to bring Pokémon Go to Singapore’s shores with standee props for your pre-wedding photography session! Take a leaf from this Maple Story couple, who used customised standees of their favourite game’s characters for their shoot. Enquire at large format printers in Singapore if you want to print die-cut standees of your own favourite game.

20. Books

If you both love reading, why not incorporate your favourite titles into your pre-wedding photography session? Books with hard covers and beautiful colours make the best props, and you should try to coordinate your props with your pre-wedding photoshoot’s colour scheme so that they don’t distract from the main focus of the photos—you. If you’re looking for vintage books, you can rent them from stylists like Heaven in a Wildflower.

Credits: Feature image from Nicole Chang Min and James’s Sky-High, Tropical Floral Wedding at 1-Atico by Androids in Boots

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