Castalia Wedding Gallery


Hi everyone, I just went down to Castalia today with my GF and I agree that the service is good and they are not hard selling. Told them give me a week to consider and thou can tell they were disappointed but still did not give me black face.

I was offered the the following packages: RM4388 (1 day shoot), RM5388 (2 day shoot)

30 pose, 2 Wedding gown and 1 Evening gown, 2 Suit for Groom, Brooch Flower x2, 1 blazer for Father, Car deco, main album 10 page, small album, big frame x1, tabletop frame x2, DVD montage, CD ROM etc.

5 attire for Indoor + Outdoor shoot

Before I commit myself to the package, can anyone advise whether hand bouquet should be provided and I was told for the CD ROM photos, they would only give me sizes which I can print till up to 11x14 (Tabletop Frame size). Is that the norms?
 
Hi, anyone knows if they have packages for AD and ROM WITHOUT photoshoots? Just need the gowns and flowers etc.
 
Anyway hv experienced with their mua Eva? Dun see her name mentioned here. Abit worry cuz she will be the one helping us with the makeup for photoshooting.
 
They only called me on monday which they will be closed for cny from this sat 14th Feb onwards and only open on last week of Feb. I think the notice is too short and confusing. I couldn't get the difference of paying in Feb & Mar. As far as i know any payment make before 1st Apr is not subject to gst. Please ensure they give u official receipt when u make payment.
 
Hi dingdongding. I went for gown fitting last week and paid off the balance. Was actually abit reluctant initially because I hv yet to have my photoshoot too. But after some discussion with the htb, we decided to just pay off the balance.

Just hope service will still be just as good after this.

If can you better check with them again, because from my understanding. Balance must be made before march.
 
Hi, my overall experience with castalia is very good. They are nice ppl, especially for JC & Joel, my photographer Eric, took very nice wedding pics, till my relatives were all surprise how nice Desaru is. We are really pleased and consider a smooth wedding.

Hope all will have a smooth wedding and happy marriage!
 
I was looking through my pre-wedding photoshoot and I thought I will just do a n open sharing for the benefit of couples are exploring bridal house in JB. Good things are meant to be shared:)

Amongst the decisions my hubby and I made during our wedding preparation, if we were given an opportunity to choose all over again, we might have gone with a different photographer, a different banquet venue and the list goes on. The only decision that would have stayed the same for sure would be our Bridal Studio. It would still be Castalia Wedding and not any other Bridal Studio. It was a decision we didn't regret even till date. I thought I would just do an open sharing of our joyful experience with Castalia Wedding here.


1. Professionalism

We did our fair share of research prior to signing the package. In fact, Castalia was the first stop we visited as I was really attracted by my friend's pre wedding shoot which was also taken at Castalia. Their pictures speak something andwe were rather convinced that Castalia was the one we were looking for. However, being a kiasu bride-to-be back then, I wanted to keep my options open and make some comparisons before signing the package. We went on further to numerous bridal shops (both in Singapore and JB). The bridal shops along the stretch at Tanjiong Pagar, River Valley, City Square, KSL, you name it we probably would have combed and inquired. In fact, we were offered a really attractive package by one of the Bridal House we went to. The person in charge who wanted to use our pictures as sample practically showed hand and offered us a package that no other Bridal House could match (Free upgrade to Crystal Album, upgrade of album size, number of poses etc). Not forgetting, the gowns were gorgeous as well! To be honest, we were really tempted! I am so glad we didn't sign and went back to Castalia instead. It dawned upon me that at the end of the day, it really isn't the package or gowns that matters. A good photographer can do wonders to an ordinary looking gown and give the best gown to a mediocre photographer and it will still look like crap. So what if we are getting many poses for the same price, if none of those pictures mean anything to us or speaks through our heart. It will just be the same feeling of viewing others' wedding album at a wedding banquet. We can never thank Castalia enough, for the effort of the whole team to put together an album that tells a 7 years story of us. The photographer Ian took time off his packed schedule and made it a point to communicate with us and understand us better as a couple, what our hobbies are, how we got to know each other etc. Couples who have their prewedding photoshoot taken by Ian before would know him as a photographer who is constantly thinking out of the box. Ian showed us a sneak preview of the shots he took during our photoshoot which thrilled me in the midst of our photoshoot. I was really impressed by the way he could make something extraordinary out of an ordinary scene just by a slight tweak.He could have taken a shot that he usually does and we would have been equally satisfied. Instead of taking the easy way out, Ian went the extra mile to explore. That's用心for you.


2. Personalised album

An album that speaks much about us as a couple. We have seen so many wedding albums that are just too mainstream sadly, with similar backdrops or sceneries. There are too many photos we have seen with beautiful couples taken against a beautiful background, but somehow some element was missing and the two subjects didn't connect. Too many photographers out there do not go the extra mile to explore alternatives which explains why the overall feel and even the postures are somewhat similar. It's a pity when I see couples spending so much on their Taiwan or even Korean photoshoot and end up having an album that's yet another replicated album. To date, my hubby and I have yet to come across any wedding photo album that's anything similar like ours. We are really thankful to have an album that's uniquely us for the price we paid:) Its totally value for money! I would say for the price I paid for, is the price an average couple paid for a very basic album in Singapore?


3. Customer Centric service that's beyond my expectation. Being in service industry myself, I can't emphasize further the importance of understanding your client's needs instead of hard selling. This is probably why I have always enjoyed going to Castalia. I joined a couple of forums, Facebook page of which many of the brides to be were sharing about their stressful experience for them over at the bridal house, constantly fearing that they will be upsell by the person in charge. Never for a moment did I feel stressed about being upsell over at Castalia. In fact, even after the album collection, my hubby and I still felt very welcome as before. Castalia may be a small firm and may not be as well established as some of the big name yet, but the service they provide far supercede the rest of the bridal houses we went to. You can feel the team genuinely happy for you on your Big Day.


4. Album Layout and Design

My hubby and I were really too fortunate to have Joey who put together all the beautiful shots from scratch for us. Many a times we have seen albums with very effortless compilation (Simply Boxed up or same theme pictures blended into the 2 pages). One look from our album and you could tell Joey who has an eye for detail has given meticulous thoughts before putting the pictures in a meaningful sequence.


Looking Back at our album, I have always felt we underpaid Castalia for the effort the entire team put in to put together our album for us. We really didn't know what else we could ask despite me being a really difficult bride with high expectations.
 
Hi everyone,

Let's say i have book my date for my pre-wedding shoot, normally how many times do you all went for your gown selection?

Best Regards,
Siew Ching
 
Hi Glenn,

Got a qns about the indoor photoshoot, is it small? 4 grown is it limit too much for the indoor,
we sign up for the package 1 day prewedding photoshoot

Thanks
Jiaxin
 
Hello, I'll like to ask whether past brides who've engaged Castalia have found their range of gowns to be limited? I've made a visit down to the shop n find their photography nice but got a shock when I saw that they only have a few racks of gowns :/ the gowns that I tried on were also not stunning/ nice enough to be 'the one'
 
Hi, anyone have already done photoshoot with Castalia? Any idea if i can use my own ampoules? Or which ampoules they use?
Thank you.
 
Hi have anyone signed up for castalia? I'm actually looking at a actual day package at a reasonable price. Anyone care to share?
 
Sorry all... been busy lately... coz my baby pop out liao... anyway siew ching.. me n my wife go down for more than 3 time on gown selection... my wife is very particular on gown.. so if u had something in mind.. consult joey... she will go source for the gown that u r looking for... those rack that u saw most are basic gown.. the designer gown is all on different side...

Also the indoor photoshoot i suppose is bigger than the singapore indoor shoot... coz i can take a shoot with my basketball attire.. and really jump up n down with ball... so imagine the space...
 
Hi Everyone,

I am a plus size btb so wondering how is their gown selection for the plus size btb? I am usually about a UK16-18.

Wondering if they have nice and plus size gown for selection? Cos most reviews I see the plus size gowns are not very nice.
 
Patrick Jiang said:
Dear all,


My WTB and I have shortlisted 8 bridal shops in JB - they are Venus Bridal, Bables, SG Bridal, D'gio, Castalia, Destino and Dawn's Wedding (City Square).

Has anyone signed up with any of these BS there? We will like to compile a list; can you share your package and the cost with us if possible? I can be reached at [email protected]

We are also thinking of going to Taiwan for photoshoot, any good/experienced PG/MUA can recommend? You can PM me I will be most willing to share our compilations.

Our wedding date is Dec 2014.

Thanks so much for all the help we can get!
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Hi Patrick, could you share with me the package that others has shared with you as well? I am reachable at [email protected].

Thanks!
 
Would like to share our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery when we signed up a RM4,388 package in December 2015. At the time, we were rushing to wrap up by early February 2016 and Castalia convinced us they can deliver within the timeframe. Thus, we decided to sign up with them as they seemed very committed and even let us try out their wedding gowns before we inked anything. The folks of Castalia truly understand the value of customer service and are generally attentive, patient, dedicated, friendly and professional. Throughout, we were served by Catherine, JC and another lady (whom we can't recall her name) whom we are satisfied with. The photo shoot went well and we were able to work comfortably with our photographers, Peter and his assistant, and also the make-up artist, Eva.

True enough, Castalia delivered their promise. We received all the items included in the bridal package i.e. wedding albums, tabletop, poster, grand portrait, AD gowns and suits, etc on time whilst quality maintained. Despite returning one of the gowns with a minor defect, the management of Castalia did not penalize us and refunded our deposit at ease.

Overall, our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery was very good and pleasant, and we recommend future weds to give this gallery a visit. Hope this review is helpful to fellow forummers!
 
liangshin said:
Would like to share our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery when we signed up a RM4,388 package in December 2015. At the time, we were rushing to wrap up by early February 2016 and Castalia convinced us they can deliver within the timeframe. Thus, we decided to sign up with them as they seemed very committed and even let us try out their wedding gowns before we inked anything. The folks of Castalia truly understand the value of customer service and are generally attentive, patient, dedicated, friendly and professional. Throughout, we were served by Catherine, JC and another lady (whom we can't recall her name) whom we are satisfied with. The photo shoot went well and we were able to work comfortably with our photographers, Peter and his assistant, and also the make-up artist, Eva.

True enough, Castalia delivered their promise. We received all the items included in the bridal package i.e. wedding albums, tabletop, poster, grand portrait, AD gowns and suits, etc on time whilst quality maintained. Despite returning one of the gowns with a minor defect, the management of Castalia did not penalize us and refunded our deposit at ease.

Overall, our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery was very good and pleasant, and we recommend future weds to give this gallery a visit. Hope this review is helpful to fellow forummers!
Click to expand...

May i know what does your package includes? Did they return all photos to you?
 
klinzel said:
May i know what does your package includes? Did they return all photos to you?
Click to expand...

Our package includes 28 poses but we exchanged the hand bouquet, car deco and thank you photos (60pcs) for another 4 poses. Only poses/photos you selected will be returned to you in CD format. Extra pose(s) will be subjected to a standard charge.
 
liangshin said:
Would like to share our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery when we signed up a RM4,388 package in December 2015. At the time, we were rushing to wrap up by early February 2016 and Castalia convinced us they can deliver within the timeframe. Thus, we decided to sign up with them as they seemed very committed and even let us try out their wedding gowns before we inked anything. The folks of Castalia truly understand the value of customer service and are generally attentive, patient, dedicated, friendly and professional. Throughout, we were served by Catherine, JC and another lady (whom we can't recall her name) whom we are satisfied with. The photo shoot went well and we were able to work comfortably with our photographers, Peter and his assistant, and also the make-up artist, Eva.

True enough, Castalia delivered their promise. We received all the items included in the bridal package i.e. wedding albums, tabletop, poster, grand portrait, AD gowns and suits, etc on time whilst quality maintained. Despite returning one of the gowns with a minor defect, the management of Castalia did not penalize us and refunded our deposit at ease.

Overall, our experience with Castalia Wedding Gallery was very good and pleasant, and we recommend future weds to give this gallery a visit. Hope this review is helpful to fellow forummers!
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing. Castalia's service is good that saw from many post. What about their gown? Nice n new? From their FB n website not much photo can see.
 
I just signed with castalia, there are some more gowns upstairs. service was good and overall quite happy. Have yet to select my gown as date for wedding not set yet.
 
kytheon said:
same. how about your AD? Now i'm having trouble to get a AD package to fit my budget. Spend more but more control on quality ba....

you customized your package? when ur AD?
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My AD on 7th Jan 2017. And just hire photographer due to budget too.
I customized my package.
 
beautyfull said:
My AD on 7th Jan 2017. And just hire photographer due to budget too.
I customized my package.
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I see, i think its a trouble to return the gowns, inconvenient as no car, so decided to get the AD package from SG. chance to wear more gowns XD
hmm i think in one of the forums, castalia mentioned that the couple damaged the gown when returning. When the couple was getting the gowns, they (castalia) mentioned they wont do a detail check which the couple believed. But upon return, shop went to do a detailed check claim couple damage the gown and deducted about rm700-800 from the deposit for the repairs. Not trying to scare or what, just protect yourself my doing a detailed check at the shop before you collect the gown and if possible, try to take pics as proof of the condition of the gown that you received.
 
kytheon said:
I see, i think its a trouble to return the gowns, inconvenient as no car, so decided to get the AD package from SG. chance to wear more gowns XD
hmm i think in one of the forums, castalia mentioned that the couple damaged the gown when returning. When the couple was getting the gowns, they (castalia) mentioned they wont do a detail check which the couple believed. But upon return, shop went to do a detailed check claim couple damage the gown and deducted about rm700-800 from the deposit for the repairs. Not trying to scare or what, just protect yourself my doing a detailed check at the shop before you collect the gown and if possible, try to take pics as proof of the condition of the gown that you received.
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Thanks for your info. Yes. I saw the post too. I will protect myself. Enjoy the journey
 
haha thks. u too.

Now htb tells me thinking to get AD with them also, since SG AD package like close to 2k. Im still thinking.....
 
Hi! would like to find out more AD package details for Catalia. anyone mind to share. I'm going in to get their AD package tomorrow. thanks
 
shermine said:
Hi! would like to find out more AD package details for Catalia. anyone mind to share. I'm going in to get their AD package tomorrow. thanks
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My msg might come too late. I rmbed checking with them before, it was a little more expensive then some of the services i checked in Singapore. However, i have recently engaged Eva privately as my MUA for AD. I was very impressed with her skills (make up and hair) during my pre-wedding shoot.
 


I just realized that there is a thread for Castalia Wedding Gallery. Good things are meant to be shared; especially for those doing their wedding preparations and intending to do their pre-wedding photography in JB.

Of all the decisions i have made so far for the wedding preparations, Castalia Wedding Gallery impresses me the most and I am dead sure I would select them even if I can re-make all my choices again. I am currently at the "confirming layout stage".

Like all brides, I did my fair share of research prior to sealing the stamp with Castalia. In fact, I am very kiasu. Even before my hubby proposed to me, I already accompanied my GFs and sister for window shopping since late 2013. Singapore and JB bridal shops, I covered many of them - Destino, Spozami, Mondore, Venus, SG Bridal, White Link, Rico-a-Mona, Thomson Wedding, Privately run studios, Overseas shoots (Macau, Bali, Taiwan, Japan, Greece, Paris, Venice, Prague) etc. Not sure why but somehow I just did not step into Castalia Wedding Gallery then. When it was my turn, I started scrolling around FB to peek at those who posted their pictures, and there.... I spotted Castalia Wedding Gallery from 2 not so close colleagues. I was already taken in then when I saw their photos. It was just very different from whatever I have seen so far. I did not immediately contact them still but continued to look around. I finally contacted them around April this year to check on the rates and package. After much dilemma between Rico-a-Mona (the gowns are super nice I have to admit), a newly set up studio (perks were madness and very cheap - everything bao ga liao) and them, I eventually picked them and it was never because of the price. If i really wanted cheap, I would have taken a bao ga liao package. A myraid of factors on why I chose them.

a) Service/Customer-Centric
Never once did the staff at Castalia pressured or tried to upsell me things. From the point i met JC to telling her i still need to look around, she didnt give me any black face or keep pushing me. She also took the time to explain their packages to me after hearing our needs. Most JB shops simply just pushed us their most expensive package. I just did my AD gowns and photo selections yesterday with JC and Joey respectively. Before I arrived, JC already had gowns prepared for me to try. I took about 1.5 hours to select a bridal gown and an evening gown. My third gown was a kwa so meh, nth much to select (tradition so ive no choice). For photos and layout, Joey was sitting there with us for 3.5 hours listening to our story and letting us contemplate over our picture choices. She doesnt even walk away, just fully focused on us. No upselling at all. Majority of my payments to Castalia has already been made prior to photos selection (left with only 400RM) but they still serve me so earnestly and gave me a lot of attention. The service simply supercedes any of the BS I have visited on my own and with my GFs.

b) Personalisation
Every wedding i go to, I will always check out the album. I have been to at least 20 weddings in the last 2 years and every album seriously looks the same to me or otherwise looks very cliche. Castalia is the only gallery that can actually personalize your album for your story. Most other shops would just blend in some poses here and there, nice backdrops/backgrounds, some lame hair-standing phases or worse, simply just the photo itself (my sis!). There are so many who spend thousands of dollars to custom make exclusive gowns or buy designer gowns, spend even more thousands just to fly to Greece - Santorini or even Grand Canyon in Vegas and they simply end up as an object in that beautiful background. No feel, no connection. I now know why people tell me that the album is kept in the storeroom - it probably didnt have a story and the album is just a ritual. Mine will definitely be different!

c) Album Layout and Design
We had Joey who will assist us in putting together all the beautiful shots from scratch for us. Lots of drawings and markings during our planning. Ive not seen the actual design yet but im sure it will be good. I am pretty sure the albums you have seen so far at weddings are simply very effortless compilation (boxed up or same theme pictures blended into the page).

d) Pre-Wedding Team's Professionalism
Before our shoot, I was introduced to our photographer, Jay and MUA, Gina. Jay showed us his works to give us ideas as we were still clueless as to what kind of pictures we want to take. Gina gave me advice on my hair (damn short zzz), face etc. I just told her that i want the natural look. We did not speak much then. Prior to the shoot, we had already been sending Jay ideas we want to try (naw.. not your Korean look alike thingy, not special enough). During the shoot was where he impresses me the most, he is very open to trying out whatever ideas we had and take the extra effort to get the best angle (i.e. standing on a ladder, lying on the wet dirty ground, standing in awkward positions, etc), constantly thinking out of the box, consistently checking every picture's feel/pose/overall look... He could have just do the norm as every couple does and not needing to waste time to get the best angles and light for our ideas. He showed us sneaks during the shoot which got me even more thrilled. You can have the nicest and most expensive gowns, most beautiful backgrounds, but with a mediocore photographer, that's it... You are just an object in a pretty thing and beautiful background. You have seen those right, the tiny couple against vast beautiful backgrounds, makes you wonder if you should be saying wah the background so nice or the couple is so nice.

To be honest, both me and hubby feel that we are underpaying Castalia for the effort. Yes! Even after we purchased extra pictures and pages (still slightly more than a thousand dollars cheaper than a similar SG package i found. must compare apple to apple la). I couldnt help with the purchasing because the photos were so perfect (just edit some blemishes and some other minor edits).
 
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