Advice on overseas PS and bridal package

hi lily, wow.. 4 hrs at RL alone is pretty long.. I am going at 4pm.. hopefully wun have to stay until they close shop at 10pm. hee hee... btw, how many photos did you choose in total to make up how many pages?
 


hi Grace,
I did spend quite a while on the gown trying as i wana try out many different styles to see which suits me best. And we also hv to think abt which gown to match with which location for the PS.

For the PS, we went to the farm (with colourful flowers), along the coast with seaview & white structure, beach, young cafe & a bit of studio shots. I actually wanted a waterfall scene, but there wasn't enough time to fit in the schedule.
We decided to spend more time outdoors therefore there weren't many studio shots taken.

We spend even longer time during the photo selection day (2pm-8pm). Phew, that was tough...there were so many nice pics that we had difficulty deciding which ones to eliminate. Me & my HTB agreed beforehand that we will not over spend on too many photos, just enough selection for our memory sake.
We were quite disciplined & selected total of 55 pics at the end. I am not sure how many pages it will end up to be, we leave it up to them.

Dear Solidbrik,
As for the top up amount, its a long story....at the shop which provide the man's suit, we were served by a salesgal who showed us an album full of suit designs, my HTB started to point out which designs he likes & the ones he dislikes. Then she explained that in our package, only 2 standard basic suits are provided (1 white, 1 black). You should have seen the face of my HTB, as their standard suits are actually only 3 designs (white/black, i think there was silvergrey too) and quite "suku" to us. And the standard suits only have bow tie, so therefore he feel he's gonna look like a waiter. He was expecting that he could have a wide variety of selection just like me, after spending 4 hrs looking at me trying out so many gowns....he was quite disappointed actually. (i was laughing so much because he really looks like a waiter
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)

The salesgal will let you try out any design you would like from the album, but she definitely will let you try the standard suits 1st. My HTB tried out a few more modern designs from the album & of course the salesgal starts to show her powerful selling skills. The idea is to "lure" you to top up more cash when you take a fansy to the modern designs.

It's up to individual lah, we did not like their standard suits & therefore decided to go for the more trendy suits.
 
hi lily, do you get the keep the man's suit then? if not, S$300+ is a bit too much just to topup to rent for a day. then i will prob consider tailor one and bring over for my HTB, though i do not know how much it cost to tailor one exactly.
 
hi Grace,
if i am not wrong, tailoring one good men's suit is about $200-300. We only rented the suit for 1 day, don't get to keep it. Of course I also feel the pinch, but no choice, we did not prepare any suit for the PS,and don't like their standard suit. Actually kind of bo bian situation at that point.

My HTB say since we already spend so much $$ to come all the way to taiwan, main purpose is to hv nice photos, now that i hv all the pretty gowns, he can't be wearing that suku suit to match me right? wahaha, so ok lah (once in a lifetime) just pay the top up & continue to enjoy the rest of the trip.
Better that u can tailor 1 suit for your HTB, anyway he can still wear the same suit for your AD and still get to keep. More worth it....
 
ic ic... yep... key thing is enjoy... we also have to be fair to the groom. ha ha...

btw, did they tell you how long do you have to wait for the album to be ready?
 
if thats tha case, anyone can intro a decent priced tailor?...
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i see the post liao so sad...the guys are paying but they are not giving us enough ATTENTION!!!...i jealous...lol
 
Hihi...
I just signed up with RL too.
My package is 4k, and it includes:
2 days of shooting
40 photos
5 outfits + 1 own
2 guy outfits
bouquet

We already removed all the extra stuff like poster size photo etc.

Now thinking if they overcharged us. =(
For actual day, they quoted me 1k for gown and evening dress, but I got to pay for the shipping fee.

Another thing is, we would have paid fully before our trip. We were told that we can make the payment through 6 month instalments. We thought its just for the 50%, but end up is for the whole package. We will only be going over in june... I wonder if they won't give us good service since we already paid in full?

Any idea how the weather in Taiwan will be like in june?

Will they allow us to take photos using our own camera?
 
hi aiko, wonder how u signed up with them? their local boutique is not opened yet right? do they just have any roadshow?

the one thing tat seems to outstand for ur package is the 2 days of shooting instead of 1. does ur package include air tickets to taipei?
 
hi all
sorry have not logged on for a while..
solidbrik i booked my tics with jetstar for 26th March 2009 so my selection of clothing will be on 27 Mar. they sent me the list of locations to choose from, but sadly i cant read chinese so i dunno wat to choose. seems also tt samantha does not want to give me the jetstar rebate..
 
hi babylamb,
dun worry abt the service after paid in full, i am sure RL is out to provide the best service since they will be setting up a branch here soon in spore, they need to build up their reputation here in spore.
As for the part on taking photos with your own camera, i can tell u i hv absolutely no time to take out my own camera. We did take some shots during the morning make up session, but throughout the whole PS, u will be busy posing & having fun.
I also realise however good quality of our own camera, taking pic with our own camera, the outcome is totally different from the professional. And that's what we pay them for right?....to take super nice pics of us! Since the professionals are there for us, better to let them do the great pics.
 
Oic.. thanks for the assurance! =D

Any comments on their gowns? I saw some gowns at their website and it looks quite plain. As I will only be going over in june, if I can't find a suitable wedding gown there, I won't have enough time to make one locally for my actual day.

Grace - I signed up during the road show in suntec during mooncake festival day. No air tickets included. We have 2 days of shooting because we added it. Cost an extra $818 or so. That's why the total package we are paying is 4k. But bear in mind that the extra day does not mean extra photos. He just gave us 10 more photos for that day as we asked for more.

No much budget left for buying additional photos. Anyone knows if we can buy the extra photos in soft copy for a cheaper price?
 
hi, romantic life local outlet is opened. however, i get to realise tat they r not exactly a boutique. think they only handle customers who want to go taipei for photo shoot. for local packages, they refer u to sophia wedding collection juz opp their shop instead.

babylamb, if rl charge u 1k for the gowns, u might want to check out sophia instead... unless u have own source for makeup artist, man suits, hand bouquet and misc already
 
Grace,
they are charging me 1k for the wedding + evening gown. But I am concerned that I may not be able to get the gown I expect. I'm not sure if Sophia will give a discount for RL brides.
 
hi babylamb,
dun worry abt the gowns too...they have tons of gowns for u to choose, u can try until ur body go jelly...full of gowns on 2nd & 3rd floor, even more impressive than the BS gowns here in spore!
But $1k is quite expensive charge for your AD gown rental. In my package, they offered me $300 for 1 AD gown, 1 evening gown + 1 men's suit, even courier charges inclusive. But I did not take it as I was too kiasu initially, worrying that I could not find any suitable gown (I am very short & petite) & had already bought the gown from Allure Charix before I went for my PS.

But anyway, the gowns at RL can be altered for anything else but length. Most of the gowns which I had were too long, but as it is only for PS, they told me during our posing for photoshoot, the length of the gown will not be noticed.
I tried the gowns at Sophia before, all too big for me, nothing that i like. Fortunately in taiwan, I was able to find fitting gowns easily. I think a lot of the taiwanese gals are as petite as me.
Not sure abt the extra photos in soft copy, we did not ask for that, maybe i will chk with samantha.
 
Hi lily,
woah! $300 for all that? Not sure if they will be willing to bring down the price that much. Should have done more homework first before agreeing on the price. Did they quote u $300 when u signed up or when u are at taiwan?
But so far, it's still cheaper than getting another gown locally...
 
Hey gals!
I am also a RL bride.
Going for my photoshoot on 12 Mar 09!
I think my package is a bit over-priced leh.

Just now I passed by Tanjong Pagar (where there's this stretch of bridal shops), I saw RL's shop!

But I am not sure if they are opened for business already or not. I must go down and ask them later, since I am working in Tanjong Pagar.
 
hi babylamb,
We did the price negotiation during the fair here in spore. well, i guess we were considered the pioneer batch, therefore they probably were quite desperate to close our deal. My HTB was saying maybe they were charging us based on taiwan rate since it was their 1st fair, but slowly they are learning abt the spore rate & therefore hv made adjustments now.
I got my gown at Allure Charix just for $600 & i can get to keep it! So u can consider go check out at Allure Charix.
 
Hi lily,
Did u just buy the wedding gown from Allure Charix or did u take up a package?
Because my FH plan to have a grand wedding dinner, I can't wear too simple a gown or my guests will be more dressed than me.. hehehe
 
Hi Babylamb,

I bought only the wedding gown from Allure Charix. They have some really nice ones...and every piece is unique, u can never find it anywhere else. Not too simple for me actually...
Or else u can try Dreamz Wedding (Bugis) to do rental or MTM, quite reasonable pricing.
 
hi Elaine,

Do you mind sending me the locations etc that they send u?...how come u say tt samantha does not want to give you the jetstar rebate..actually im also worried abt that part...
 
lol...any kind souls who had taken the PS can enlighten us on the bargaining process and what to be wary etc...sometimes read the forums le become more scared...lol
 
hi elaine, in ur earlier post u mentioned that u weren't given any free air ticket when u signed up right? in this case, i dun think rl will be giving u any rebates.

i was tempted to sign up on the spot on the very first day during the jul wedding exhibition at vivo as they only gave free pair of tickets to the first 50 (iirc) sign-ups. aft reading abt the rebates here, the next day i went back to the booth and the lady who signed me up willingly allowed me to offset $400 from my package in lieu of the 2 tickets. subsequently i had samantha to confirm this through email.
 
Hi all,

I am also with RL. Signed up with them during their Mar roadshow. Will be going in Oct for the PS. My alloted photographer will be Celine. Glad that she has got favourable comments.
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Read fr the taiwan forum that topup of 1 photo cost NTD1000. We were quoted $70.

Lily: How did u get them to charge u $50 for each extra pic? Did they offer it to u automatically?
 
hi solidbrik,

pls send me your email address =) will email you the locations. Also can visit the Taiwan tourism bureau @ UIC Bldg Shenton Way for advice & info(but I have not had time to go down).

hi grace,

yup i was not given any air tix when i signed up.. i tried to ask samantha by email for the air tix rebate but she said my name was not on the list.. well we'll see if i am able to get it closer to the PS date.
 
Hi Elaine,

I think u can try asking the boss (Anata) if they can give u the rebate. Not sure if i've spelled her name correctly. Someone posted on it earlier..
 
Hi Tiff tan,
After some negotiation, i guaranteed to them i will add at least 10 more photos on top of the 38 photos offered to me. Therefore they charged me $50 each of any additional photos.
 
Hi all,for those interested in Julia Wedding News can check out the Wedding Parade at Suntec from today till 2 Nov. They have very good deals and is more than 1k cheaper than shop price (abt $4k). PM or email me ([email protected]) if you need details.
 
Hi Enling,
Just wondering if you have gotten your 1st draft of the photos?
I have received my 1st draft and find difficulty "communicating" to RL on the changes that I would like to have for my photos....
 
Hey gals, just to check with those who have gone for the photoshoot in Taiwan with Romantic Life.
Do they charge you extra for assistant(they follow you ard during the photoshoot)?

Other than the transport costs, what other extra costs are there to look for?
 
Hi Lily, I copied the photos on another file and mark/draw all the changes and emailed to them. sometimes they may forget so will reminded them. I liaise with Yu Fen who will liaise with the designer on the changes. I have received the album and RL managed to find an affordable courier which charge S$99 for the service. With a shop in Singapore, not sure if it will be easier for you to communicate on the change and courier. Their Singapore shop is at 60 Tanjong Pagar Road.
 
hi pen pen, the photographer, the assistant and driver will follow along the photo shoot. they don't charge extra for assistant. however if you would like to have the make up artist to follow along for the shoot, you will be charged for the service. other extra costs might be carpark fee, extrance fee or charges that may incurred for the place you may go for the shoot. Another point to highlight would be the suit for the guy, the design of the standard suit they provided in the package are not really nice. You may charge extra if you pick other nicer suit that’s not included in the package so if your hubby got his own suit, he may consider to bring along for the shoot. that's all i can think of for now, most of the extra cost would probably come from the extra photo if you decide to buy more.
 
Hi EnLing, thanks very much for the information.^o^
Do you have an idea how much will the total transport costs be?

Do they accept credit card payment and charge you interest? Coz I am not sure whether to pay by Credit card or cash. If paying by cash, I have to bring more cash then.

Do you think it's better for my hubby to tailor make his own suit in Singapore and bring it there? I am worried abt the design of the men's suits.

Where did you go for your photoshoot. I saw some of the places quite nice from this website that you have provided.
http://verywed.com/magazine/vo1.html

Sorry that I have so many questions!
I am pretty worried, dunno why... :p
 
Hi gals, I signed up with RL last Fri too! The first booth we saw and we signed up. Got the AD gown rental from Sophia. Actually we signed up cos they partner with Sophia. Any idea when they will contact you after you signed up?

Is there any other thread in this forum on RL? Can't seem to find any except this one.
 
Hi all, RL was the first booth that we saw at the Suntec Fair and we signed up with them too. In fact it was the first bridal studio that we saw (nv been to other studios at all). Coupled with their great photos and style, their sales tactics were really top notch I must say. But now all the questions are popping in my head..appreciate if you gals can help me with my doubts.
1) Do u get to change hairstyles during the outdoor shoot?
2) How much was the cost for transport and driver?
3) I'm also afraid that without the MUA to follow, my makeup will run after say 6hrs for photoshoot. How much do they charge for the MUA to follow us around?
Paiseh, was too overwhelmed during their sales talk that I forgot about asking all questions..n now have to bother u gals..
 
Hi Giantic, agreed with you, their sales tatics very good...make you feel very comfortable with them.
1)Yes, will be able to change the hairstyles. Will start with more complicated hairdo, then they will show you how to make simple changes. That's what they told me.
2) Car rental is about NT500 (about S$22) per hr..usually the photographer can drive, only need to rent the car
3) Saw on the receipt that it's NT8000 (about S$363) for the stylist to follow...
I didn't really ask many qns too...only realised them after we went back. By the way, your album is seamless or not? I forgot to ask. When you going for the photoshoot?
 
hi RL brides,

i just signed up for RL too during the last day and at the very last min of the suntec show when everyone is packing up. sad to say i wasn't planning to sign up for taiwan PS at all but their sales tactics were very good.

i'm kind of worried about the additional charges when we do the PS over there after reading the thread here. can any bride who has already completed the PS in taiwan help advise on what are the additional charges to incur or if we can still bargain over there?

also, i've got the package which included the Sophia wedding gowns / suits on AD. though they told us verbally that Sophia will also provide foc for the car deco, corsages, makeup, misc items on AD, does anyone know if this is true or do we need them to write in black & white?

besides, we actually split AD on 2 weekend, which means i need the gowns / suit for 2 separate days, does anyone know if that is foc or will there be additional charge or if we can bargain on that?

many many thanks...
 
Hi All,

I've also signed up with RL.

I understand that the stylist will not follow (unless you pay the TWD8000). There will be an assistant and he/she is there to help with the change of gowns and also touching up of your makeup.

By the way, i realized from this thread that free air tix is provided. Was it in the package. I took the 3288 package but there is no mention of the free air tix.
 
Hi windy,

Means hairstyle I change myself along the way?? Opps chiam, I super bad at styling my own hair.

Car rental $22 per hour will be about $220 for the said ten hours of shooting.

Yah I requested for the seamless album. I hope to take the cherry blossoms so prob Mar 09 if not Sep 09. You?
 
Will not need so many hours if you are taking photoshoot at the places nearby the studio. It's only for those places further away.

Forgot to request for the seamless album. Wonder if there's any additional charge. I planning to go in May09 or Aug09 (not sure have enough time or not. My wedding in Dec09)

Winterlover, Sophia agreed on the FOC things for actual day? Was it written on the invoice? They only tell me they can work out something for us.

Anyone received email from RL already?
 
hi, i have also sign up the package there, mostly likely would like to go TW in mar as well. there is no mentioned on the rebate of the air ticket for mine. getting abit worried after reading so much here. would really appreciate if can get some help here on the additional cost at Taiwan, there is no mentioned of car charges per hour, oh gosh.. i did not read that.

anyway, m taking my AD wif sohpia too.

i haven received any email or phone call from Taiwai as well...
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Hi Rejoy, the car charges is on the top right hand side of the invoice.. its TWD500/hr.. For my package, i got the stylist to accompany me for free.. do you bargain for that? i bargained for a few items but they kept reminding me not to share my package. I guess the reason might be they are real flexible on the pricing and free goodies.
 
hi there,

if u're looking at taking your photos in mar, u better confirm with RL soon as mar is a "hot" month due to being the season for cherry blossoms. 2 months ago i asked for mar 16 but the date was already unavailable. i have mar 15 though.

regarding the air tickets, it was sponsored by the taiwan tourism during the previous roadshows for the first x no of signups. if RL did not communicate that to you when u sign up, i doubt it is included in ur package.

for those who just signed up, wait a few days and RL will follow up with you through email.
 
Yes... March is a very popular period.

I am having my Photoshoot on 12 March.
I wonder where they go for the Sakura photoshoot.
 
Hi Enling,
I did the same as you, making changes/marks on the pics and sending back to them, but still not quite what i expected...maybe i am too fussy.
I really like the pics taken, but the way their album layout and design, cannot make it leh. I have to call and explain in order to let them understand what I want.

How many times have u asked for the changes? Did they charged u extra for more than 2 times?
 
Im still waiting for RL to email me
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cant make any plans now.. Hope to go in mar or apr and have to book my leave early.. anyway, just asking if the photographer will send us back to the hotel after the shoots? was thinking i would love to take some pics in the hotel..
 


Dear Eclipse,
You can make the request to them, I think they are quite flexible. But by the end of the whole day shooting, you might be too tired to want to take pics in the hotel. For my photoshoot, by the time i returned back to RL studio, it was already 6plus, i requested to take a few more indoor studio shots using casual outfit (we brought our own casual outfit) and by the time we were done, it was 7plus and we were so shack out....
 

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