HappiLi preparing for wedding... Dang dang dang dang ...

[HappiLi]

Hihi! Just did my (local) photoshoot... We had lotsa fun.. =) Taking a break from planning the wedding to share some thoughts here.. Hope this helps those who haven't done their photoshoots..


Beauty stuff:


- Think about whether you want / need the hiao things.. Manicure? Pedicure? Hair colour? Big eye contact lenses? These things can come at quite a cost though.. I know.. Ouch. So don't forget it's a PHOTOshoot! Some things can photoshop one!


- Have facial early if u intend to go for one k.. I had a (thankfully mild) breakout on my chin.. But luckily it kinda healed in time..


- Nubra tip no. 1: It makes a difference (that's the point rite!) So if you are intending to wear one, do remember to bring it along for the gown fitting as well..


- Nubra tip no. 2: If you're not familiar with wearing one, ask the makeup artist or coordinator to help! This tip doesn't apply if the makeup artist / coordinator are guys huh.. Unless you are soooo open-minded.. Gulp.. Reeeeallie will touch quite thoroughly lor.. But they should be able to do it very fast! My makeup artist did it in like, a few seconds? If u are shy and prefer to put it on urself, then better practise wearing it many many times before the day okie.. The first time I anyhow put it on myself and it was fine.. (Ha! I thought I was talented) But the second time I put it on myself (for gown fitting), it was obviously showing above the gown..



- My coordinator asked me not to drink water from 8 p.m. the night before to avoid water retention.. I suppose a few sips are ok..?


- Sleep early! Good for skin and mood and energy! Plus the photoshoot is actuallie quite tiring..


- Sleeping mask would be good.. Moisturizer is a must! My makeup was quite harsh on my skin, I guess partly cos my skin was sensitive and partly cos it was thick.. And of cos, remove the makeup THOROUGHLY..


- When you wash your hair after the photoshoot, wet ur hair, put lotsa condition first, work it into your hair to soften everything, leave it for some time then rinse off, then shampoo.. I conditioned and shampooed my hair dunno how many times to get rid of everything..

 

[HappiLi]

Preparing for the shoot / Logistics


- I've always liked admiring wedding photos.. It was helpful for us to look through other people's prewedding shoots for styles and locations we like.. Can show the photographer pix that you like so that he / she can take the photos accordingly..


- I guess looking through other people's pix to have an idea of what you like applies to the makeup and hair as well? I didn't have much of an opinion on this and left it mostly to the makeup artist.. (other than objecting to the huge flower she wanted to put on my hair!)


- It's important to ask about what time the photoshoot will start and end! Plan and keep track of time! I guess this is a matter of priority.. Whether having to give up on locations or images is important to you..(Remember to confirm if there are charges for overtime and night shoots)


- Make wet weather plans - change location? reschedule (may involve additional costs)? what we did: waited it out and prayed very hard! and prepare umbrellas (one each for every person! don't count on sharing!) Good to check weather forecast for planning also, just don't expect it to be 100% zhun though..


- Have at least one helper around.. my sis was a GEM!! Help buy lunch.. Help carry (a lot!) of things.. Stocktake and standby for props and shoes and attires.. Help the photographer with lighting and making the veil fly (nope.. the veil doesn't fly romantically from the power of love..) Help with changing outfits if no makeup artist is following.. Can secretly help snap some photos as well..


- Prepare water and emergency food (bananas, chocs, bread) for everybody.. Machiam go picnic..


- Buy early if u intend to buy props online! I paid a bomb for express shipping.. Ouch.


- Bring along ur proposal / wedding ring if u have one! personally I think it adds a nice detail..


- Good to organise your stuff in big bags.. One bag for shoes.. One for props.. etc etc.. Hunting everywhere, including up and down the studio stairs, for our casual outfit was no joke.. >.<

 

[HappiLi]

The photoshoot day itself:


- Pamper urself and have a nice breakfast! Good for energy and mood! Plus lunch may be quite rushed to maximise time for photoshoot... ;P Don't suppose the nice breakfast makes much difference to the figure la...


- The romantic kisses are bluff people one! Grooms better be prepared to kiss lips which are super sticky from lipgloss, cheeks and forehead which are sticky and / or sweaty and / or smell strongly of makeup, hair which is stiff and smelly from the styling products.. Ugh.. But we gotta tahan for lovey dovey pix k..


- There's a lot of walking the whoooole day so don't count on walking around in your heels! Wear comfortable sandals / flip flops and use your heels just when u take photos!


- Insect repellent is very very important!! Omg.. We were a walking buffet for the mozzies.. I'm still itching everywhere from the bites..


- Have a straw to drink water from to protect the lip makeup! But don't drink too much la. Going to toilet in a gown will be challenging..


- Remind each other to watch the posture! Straighten the back! Pull ur shoulders back! (Can ask the photographer and helper to look out as well)

 

[HappiLi]

Thinking back on the photoshoot.. Hmm.. People often comment that prewed shoots are a waste of money, the album is just kept aside after the wedding to gather dust in the storeroom, etc.. But hey, other than the album, we are paying for the experience of being the stars of a photoshoot too! Sooo.. Enjoy yourselves! Add to your wonderful memories together! HAVE LOTSA FUN!!!

All right! I'm about done for now! Didn't expect to ramble so much when I first started writing about it.. Heh.. Will add if I think of more stuff! Hope this helps! (Or at least entertained..)

 

[shiuanyuh]

thank you for sharing HappiLi! the information is so useful. i am planning to take my pre wed shoot but after looking at your post, i am thinking twice!

 

[shiuanyuh]

seems like so many things to prepare..

 

[HappiLi]

@shiuanyuh Ooops. Ahhhhhhh.. I didn't mean to scare anyone.. I dunno how I ended up with such a long-winded post... Don't worry about it, a lot of the things are actuallie optional stuff... Feel free to ignore the mani pedi, nubra, props, etc.. Just bring yourself to the studio and it can work out just fine too! No wet weather plan just pray like we did loh!

Wish I knew about the insect repellent though.. *scratch scratch*

 

[luv_stop]

Thanks for sharing. Really useful. hahahaha... where did you go for the outdoor shoot? Got lots of mosquitoes?

 

[zrhs]

Nice

 

[zrhs]

Just wondering, do you choose your gown to suits your location (choose location first then decide on gown) or the other way round ie: choose the gown you like then think/decide the location that suits the gowns.
I don't have a theme , i don't know what i want ..

 

[lorraine_sh]

Thanks for sharing all these useful information. It definitely helps me prepare for my own prewedding photoshoot.

 

[HappiLi]

@luv_stop Oh we were quite boring in terms of choice of locations.. We went to the following places:

(1) Labrador Nature Reserve.. It was recommended by the photographer.. This was where we fed the mosquitoes very well.. First time there for the both of us... There was nice greenery.. A few walls of.. plants? ferns? (not sure what you call it..) with old-looking wooden doors spaced out in between.. The colonial house there (Tamarind Hill) is quite a nice backdrop also..

(2) Sentosa for the beach photos..

(3) Singapore Flyer for the night shoot...

 

[luv_stop]

the night view at the spore flyer would be nice. I am still trying to get my bf to agree to outdoor shoot.... He only wants to have indoor ps.... but i feel that indoor will be a bit boring....

 

[HappiLi]

@zrhs You sound just like us!! We didn't have a theme either... And no particular location that's special to us.. Had to think hard about where to go..

I chose gowns first.. Personally I think it's more important to like how you look in the gowns.. Then location can think later..

You can play it safe like us.. Go for one greenery (labrador? botanic gardens?), one beach, and one night (MBS / Helix, flyer, henderson waves) ..

Some other common choices are cafe / pub, museum (think there's a fee), marina barrage.. There's a popular round tree at seletar reservoir.. Can also consider Ikea.. Chijmes is nice, but some parts under renovation now, and need to pay a fee I think..

We considered Universal Studios but the package was too expensive for us, a few hundred dollars iirc..

We only met the photographer on the day of the photoshoot so the locations were confirmed only when we met him.. If you still have no idea where to go by the time you meet the photographer, the photographer should be able to suggest some places.. =)

 

[HappiLi]

the night view at the spore flyer would be nice. I am still trying to get my bf to agree to outdoor shoot.... He only wants to have indoor ps.... but i feel that indoor will be a bit boring....

Is he feeling shy about taking photos outdoors?? I think most places have very few people in the daytime on weekdays.. We only saw a couple of random workers at Labrador..

I've seen many nice indoor photos also.. Museum.. Ikea.. Cafés..

But if you like outdoor shoot, convince him with some photos!

If you are interested in night view, you may need to check whether there will be additional charge by the bridal studio..

 

[luv_stop]

Thanks for your advise. yup, he is shy and feels odd to pose in front of people. hahaha.... But I still hope that we can do ps at some places that we always go for dating.. to create memories.. hahahaha...

 

[HappiLi]

Thanks for your advise. yup, he is shy and feels odd to pose in front of people. hahaha.... But I still hope that we can do ps at some places that we always go for dating.. to create memories.. hahahaha...

Heheh.. how about u tell him the attention won't be on him! pple will be looking at the bride! and it's his honor to be able to walk around with a beautiful bride ok...

when is your shoot and which are the places you have in mind?

for us, we were a bit dreading the photoshoot.. scared they will just put us in front of the camera and expect us to pose ourselves.. we are usually two wooden blocks in front of the camera loh.. so we brought balloons, chalkboards, a set of soft toys and a love shape.. (at least we will have something to hold and look at.. )

but it turned out that our wonderful photographer is very experienced.. he'd tell us where to stand/ sit (even how much to sit on the chair). where to look (at shoes, at hands, at each other, at lamp post etc), where to put our hands, smile or no smile, etc.. so we just followed his instructions..

haven't seen the photos yet.. not expecting creative shots that will wow people.. but shld be ok la..

 

[HappiLi]

Let me backtrack a bit to share what I know / have heard about things to look out for in local bridal packages..

It's another long list cos there are so many details to consider.. It might not even be an exhaustive list.. =/

hope this helps (and doesn't overwhelm).. knowledge is power.. best to get a package with both eyes open wide.. Unless money is not an issue, I think it's better to clarify properly or will end up with a lot of hidden costs (and frustrations..) And best to have everything spelled out in black and white.. My coordinator always referred back to the contract on whether certain things are included..

Some things may not be necessary for you.. You can think about it and exchange with other things..

And overall, do check the forums for comments / reviews on the bridal studios.. Also good to check out their selection of gowns / albums.. But do remember that there will be new gowns later, and some gowns will be retired.. And photographers / designers / co-ordinators / makeup artists may be employees who come and go..

Bridal gowns and suits
- whether gowns and suits are off-the rack (OTR) or made-to-measure (MTM). I went for OTR which is cheaper.. Save money.. and I don't think I know what type of gown I like for MTM aniwae..
- number of gowns and suits for photoshoot. Mine had one studio wedding gown, one studio evening gown, one outdoor wedding gown and one outdoor evening gown. We could add one more of our own casual outfit for the photoshoot. Some of my friends just MTM one wedding gown and one evening gown, for both photoshoot and actual day.
- number of gowns and suits for actual day (AD). I think brides need at least one wedding gown, one kua / tea dress, one evening gown.. Some have one more gown / dress for sending guests off..
- the range of gowns you can choose from. If your package is like mine, the outdoor gowns would be older gowns that have gone through some wear and tear I think.. but for photoshoot should be ok..
- ROM dress, especially if your ROM and AD are on different dates.
- whether you can keep the gowns and suits and whether the gowns and suits are brand new. Some are particular about this.. I didn't mind..

Makeup and accessories
- trial makeup / ROM makeup. My trial makeup didn't include hairdo (unless we top up). My friends' makeup artist (mua) went through a few hairstyles with them during the trial.
- Studio makeup for photoshoot - how many images. Mine is supposedly 5 images.. But due to time constraint, we dropped one restyling..
- whether accessories are included. For brides, it'll be the hair accessories, necklaces, earrings.. For the groom, I think it's the tie / bowtie. We borrowed their groom shirt which needed cufflinks.. Had to bring our own cufflinks, luckily we have but unluckily we forgot to bring it.. =_=
- top-up for ampoules and eyelashes.. I think the standard is ard $50 for one set of ampoule and eyelashes.. My mua put ampoule on me and htb, and put two pairs of eyelashes on me. Became $100. Ouch.
- whether top-up is required for mua artist to follow for outdoor shoot. Can change your hairstyle and touch up makeup outside.. We found this quite a waste of money.. We left the studio at about 3 and the mua balek kumpung at ard 6 plus.. Ouch.
- whether top-up is required if you need mua to come early on actual day..
- whether top-up is required if you need mua to stay for second hairdo during banquet..

Photoshoot day
- number of locations (studio plus how many locations, whether you can skip studio if you don't like..)
- number of hours for the photoshoot.. whether there are overtime charges..
- whether transport (with driver) is provided for outdoor shoot.. whether there's overtime charges.. there was for mine.. and need to pay for parking and erp.. nothing said about petrol (phew) good to know the type of transport also.. will be impossible to fit in a driver, a photographer, makeup artist, bridal couple, a helper and all the barang barang (photography equipment, change of gowns / suits, props, water, etc) into a 5-seater.. although transport was provided for ours and the photographer was the driver, we still decided to drive another car for comfort..
- Flower bouquet.. Wait. Now that I think of it, my photographer passed me the bouquet for only the indoor photoshoot i think.. Hmm, oh well, it's ok la..
- whether top-up is required if you want night shoot. The night shoot was important for us.. Personally, I feel that the evening gown matches the night setting more also.. But alot of things are individual preference la.. my sister's friend skipped the night shoot even though it was in their package cos they were too tired..
- whether top-up is required if need to reschedule due to wet weather..

The photo albums (haven't gone for photo selection.. may have more things to add after my album is settled)
- number of photos AND number of pages.. A spread of two pages can have a few photos.. So do take note..
- size of the album(s) and type of album (e.g. my friend topped up for the glass-like cover) (some packages also give a mini duplicate album.. )
- paper quality / finishing.
- price of top-up for each hard copy..(number of photos or number of pages)
- whether soft-copy of selected edited photos will be returned..
- whether you can buy soft-copy of all photos.
- whether they will blow up pic(s) for you (for display that kind) Size and type / finishing.. whether it's one photo or montage of a few photos..
- when you are choosing the photos, rem to zoom in and check their edits closely.. for one of my friend's, she had a photo with a reflection.. they touched up the bride's figure a bit but forgot to touch up on the reflection..

Actual day (haven't had my actual day.. may have more things to add after actual day..)
- whether actual day photography and videography is included. Charges, number of hours, overtime charges and deliverables (number of photos, quality of video, whether it includes same day edit (SDE) to be shown during banquet)
- whether there are extra charges for photographer to go early
- hand bouquet (type of flowers, silk / fresh)
- whether they lend jackets for fathers / brothers, and dresses for mothers / sisters.. Mine had dresses for jiemeis which sounded great at that time.. But after checking out those dresses, I think I'll pass.. I might not have any jiemeis left if I make them wear those dresses... =_=
- corsages and boutonnieres for parents / sisters / brothers.. (how many?)
- bridal car.. type of car.. charges if you wanna change the type of car, whether it includes driver, petrol.. number of hours.. car deco..

@.@ Time for a nap.. hope this helps.

 

[bearine]

Thanks for your advise. yup, he is shy and feels odd to pose in front of people. hahaha.... But I still hope that we can do ps at some places that we always go for dating.. to create memories.. hahahaha...

I think the shyness will be gone once the photoshoot starts. Mainly just follow instruction blindly. I'm someone who doesnt really like to take pics in front of others. But each shot happen so quickly and usually your focus will be on the photographer, no time to worry bout that.

 

[zrhs]

Hi babe have u received ur photos? Do share with us

 

[HappiLi]

Hi babe have u received ur photos? Do share with us

Hey girl... not yet!!! just went for photo selection last week! u looking for ideas? check out bobby kiran, Kent Wong and axioo! I love their photography!

aniwae! let me share my most recent experience!

before we went into the bridal shop, we reminded each other to be rational, budget budget budget.. aaaand there were actually only a few photos that we reallie love.. buttttt!! somehow the salesperson was so effective that we ended up adding another 20+ photos whaaaaat.

sigh. we are less rational than we thought.

aniwae, just to share some thoughts on photo selection..

- pls allow plenty of time for photo selection. ours felt a bit rushed, esp towards the end. maybe partly cos we are not decisive people.. we felt pressured to chop chop choose our photos as the shop was closing soon..

- be mentally prepared to look through a lot of photos. we started losing focus / thinking power anymore after we were about halfway through.. then plus time pressure.. @.@ stress. my trusty sis was there for us and as usual, she was a gem. gave us opinions when we couldn't decide.. hmm.. now I'm feeling a bit confused about whether we did confirm certain photos.. it felt like an impulsive whirlwind shopping.. called back to ask if we could relook but they said they've sent for processing le..... @.@

- there's a price to greediness! generally, the more scenes / locations / props / outfits you have, the more photos u will choose!! omg we had 2-3 scenes per location.. then there's the bridal bouquet, chalk boards, balloons, soft toys, bubble gun, heart shape.. even got one impromptu giordano umbrella which turned out nice.. hurhur.. it was impossible to keep to the package lor! on hindsight, a bit feel like banging wall.. the photos i love (from other people's shoots) are usually those simple ones which just focus on the couple..

- consider whether u would like to buy all soft copies.. the price was out of our budget but we were still tempted.. a good point to think about though: effectively, u'll be buying photos that u've already decided u don't reallie love in the first place.. now that a few days have passed, we're glad we didn't splurge on it.. out of sight, out of mind!

overall, I think the prewed is quite a fun affair. easily my fav part of the wedding preps so far. looking forward to seeing the album layout next.

for those who haven't gone for prewed shoot, do enjoy urselves!

 

[Mag_07]

Interesting post. I just did my photoshoot last friday as well.
Went to changi airport T3 and Jalan Halus (lalang) for my outdoor shoot.

 

[Sumeimei]

Any other unqiue places for photoshoot? Thanks.

 

[080315]

Does your MUA follow u for the outdoor shoot? If no, how do u change your outfit and hairstyles during outdoor shoots?

TIA!

Using SingaporeBrides app

 

[HappiLi]

Any other unqiue places for photoshoot? Thanks.

*scratch head* umm.. The places I went to were not at all unique..

(We thought going to the beach was quite cliche but the photos taken there turned out to be our favourite )

What kind of photos / settings do you like? Maybe we can try to suggest from there..

 

[HappiLi]

Does your MUA follow u for the outdoor shoot? If no, how do u change your outfit and hairstyles during outdoor shoots?

TIA!

Using SingaporeBrides app

My mua did follow.. (Had to top up)

I think it's doable for mua not to follow.. On hindsight I feel like I shld have saved the money @.@

- Makeup: this was the main reason why we wanted the mua to follow.. I don't usually wear makeup so I preferred to have her around to help touch up and attend to crisis.. What if the fake eyelashes dropped? What if the mascara run?? What if.. What if.. But the makeup turned out to be quite lasting la (maybe cos of the ampoule) can ownself blot blot a bit if the face gets shiny.. And.. Can photoshop!

- hair: if I remember correctly, I had three or four hairstyles done in studio (the hair for wedding gown outdoor shoot was done in the studio) then when we were outdoors, she changed my hairstyle just once for the evening gown..

For actual day the mua usually doesn't follow also.. but what a lot of brides do to change hairstyle themselves is hairstyle one: bun up by mua, hairstyle two: let down the hair by removing some pins.. I think have to let the mua know if u want this..

- changing: gowns can be quite challenging to change out of / into.. Esp if it's the lace back kind.. Then with cancan even more bulky.. You can get a friend to tag along as helper.. The friend may need abit of training from the bridal studio

 

[080315]

Thanks for the advise!
Do your MUA did change one hairstyle for u when u were outdoor (so total 2 hairstyles)? Like that if I don't top up means only one hairstyle throughout the outdoor le right?



Using SingaporeBrides app

 

[HappiLi]

Thanks for the advise!
Do your MUA did change one hairstyle for u when u were outdoor (so total 2 hairstyles)? Like that if I don't top up means only one hairstyle throughout the outdoor le right?



Using SingaporeBrides app

Yea.. If ur package doesn't provide for mua to follow, I guess there'll be no change of hairstyle when u're outdoor..

Actuallie even if it's the same hairstyle u will still look a bit different with a different gown la.. And most important is to look good my friend had a few hairstyles but end up she didn't like the photos with the hair bunned up..

Sounds like u'd reallie like the mua to follow.. Maybe you can check w the bridal studio / mua about the remove-pin-to-let-down-hair method.. Can ask / test during ur trial makeup session..

 

[080315]

Ok, I think I will ask about the pin/let go method. .
Thanks alot for the advise!

Using SingaporeBrides app

 

[hamz]

HappiLi, great to have someone to share tips! When is ur AD? Seems like u had a lot of fun!