I should be blogging about my pre-wedding photoshoot (in taiwan) before i forget the details (i have such short-term memory nowadays!) haha..
Photoshooting in taiwan for bridal shots have never been in my consideration as i have never fancied taiwanese looking photos (very "song" in my opinion).
Then when it was time to start sourcing for bridal studios, i remembered one of my online friends' Caca's bridal shots that were so prettily taken. So i messaged her asking where she took hers and she told me her bridal studio was Bluebay Taiwan. Her photographer was Kiwi 老師 and make up artist was Baby.
(*Update: Btw, i just realised i blogged about this Bluebay thing back in February and i totally forgotten about it hahaha. Proof of my short term memory!! oh no...)
We signed with Bluebay roughly around starting of year 2015, and look where we are now.
It's October, and we are already done with our pre-wedding photoshoot 2 months ago. Omg, time flies. Now is just waiting for the album to be printed and sent to Singapore.
Our package includes a total of 5 gowns, 2 suits and a whole day of shooting. The package was $2288, excluding entrance fees (if applicable), transport and make up (falsies + ampoules) charges. We didn't bargain much and signed the package on that day. I was more than thankful that Kiwi and MUA Baby were willing to help us ^^
So on the 17th of August, we headed to Taiwan :)
Took a midnight flight via Scoot and reached tw at an unearthly hour- 5am!
Now we learnt never to fly midnight flight cos firstly, you won't get much sleep, and secondly all shops were closed when we reached tw. We couldn't get our sim cards/ breakfast/ rest at the hotel. One tip is to book an extra night at the hotel you are staying in, so that you won't be stranded like us. We stayed at the hotel lounge cos the check in was only at 4pm. So you can imagine how terrible it was, with no sleep for the past 24 hours and with nowhere to go. Or rather, we were too tired to go anywhere haha.
However we would need to go to the bridal studio for our fitting as the photoshoot would be the day after. Our appointment was at 1:30pm (they open at 1:30). But alas, we couldn't find the studio cos we didn't have gps :( (no sim card as most shops weren't even open around that time cos we were staying at ximending )
We were asked to bring along whatever clothes / shoes / props in a small luggage and bring to Bluebay on the 1st day. This is so that they could look through the stuff, iron our things and check if there are anything we missed out, we could still find time to go search for it before the day of the photoshoot.
We walked for about an hour trying to locate the shop cos there was no shop name :(
Bluebay was located on the second level of a building but I didn't know which building it was. Anyway thank God the staff from bluebay called me and told me the exact directions to walk. Phew.
Was super tired when we reached. Could feel my body on overdrive haha..
Karian, a bubbly lady served us 2 cold drinks. She asked whether we have decided on the route. I was quite adamant on going to 淡水莊園 for our photoshoot as I love the glass chapel and beach. So we decided on it very quickly. Sam does not have any opinion with regards to the venue for our photoshoot. He left everything to me since I had certain preferences. Yeah. Haa
Another girl helped me to choose my gowns next and i chose 2 white gowns and 3 coloured ones. I didn't want brightly coloured gowns like orange or yellow etc (typical ones u see in tw wedding photos). The less colours the better actually haaha.
Gown choosing was surprisingly v swift as I know what pattern will be suitable for me. Lol but I realised most of the gowns turned out to be ball gowns with tube tops.
My MUA actually asked why I never choose low neckline kind. Lol.. Anyway, just never lo. Haha.. Maybe those sexy ones like don't suit?
Great that Sam finally got some opinion cos he said toga dresses are ugly. Lol . heng I was never a fan of togas to start with.
Some photos here!
(Sorry i look extremely tired cos it was me without sleep for 30 hours)
These are the 2 white gowns I chose. Sam helped me to take photos with their ipad. Only for the chosen gowns would they actually send us the soft copy of the images.
I liked the off shoulder one :) and love the fluffy bottom of the first.
My coloured gowns.
Didnt really like pink cos very taiwanese style (eeee..) but sam said it's nice. Haha.. so i chose it. I wanted to find a turquoise coloured gown as i reckon it's the most flattering for my skin tone. And yeah, I found it and I'm so in love with it. Lol.. the girl who assisted me in trying the gowns was super experienced! She helped me with wearing and removing the gowns swiftly and skillfully. Wow I was impressed lol.
She told me maybe I could get a more solid colour as it would look nicer in photos. So i opted for red. This red satin would look quite classy in my opinion. And Sam likes red. So yea... done with choosing my 5 gowns :) very fast. Good :)
These 2 were subsequently not chosen.
I actually love the material of the bottom, but I chose the previous white gown (which had the same material) instead. The blue one... hmm maybe not so nice. Haa
I was glad I didn't choose the black one in the end cos after that i spotted many brides wearing it in their photos...v popular.. even years back! so maybe won't be so special after all. Haha
After that we were almost giving in to sleep liao.. and it was time for bf to choose his suits. This tailor started introducing his shop and showed us many photos of actors who ordered their suits from him.... but we were too sleepy to want to hear him talk more. Sorry uncle!
We topped up 200 dollars for the rental of fancier vests and ties. They look very nice on him, and also lent him their white boots.
So fast forward to Day 2 morning. We needed to reach Bluebay office at 8am and cannot be late cos it would be a full day of shooting. We weren't. :)
Had breakfast in our hotel before heading over. I was instructed to wash my hair the night before and not to wash it again in the morning. Guys can wash hair but must blow it dry and not put any wax/ gel.
I was also not allowed to put on any make up, Not even sunblock. So basically, look like ghost.. haha.
When we reached, the make-up artist, Baby was already there warming up her hair tongs.
Us...
wearing bf's Ray-bans cos no make up
Baby is a very friendly lady, didnt manage to take a photo with her :(
But she was very skillful in her make up skills. i didn't recognise myself in the mirror once she was done! Eyes make until super big i see liao also scared! i think i look quite scary haha... especially the first photo..... sam say i look like 包租婆 from KungFu Hustle... TSK
Love my hairdo! Though i regretted listening to them and not washing my hair in the morning. They say the drier my hair, the better for them to style. On the contrary, my hair is very fine and very little, never wash will become very flat :(
i brought along my own Nu-bra which i bought from BKK. Initally i was very shy cos Baby said she would help me paste it with just 1 attempt. Cos as u all know for Nu-bra, if u keep trying to re-paste, they will become less sticky haha.. and will drop!
Impressed that Baby was damn skillful and i didn't feel embarrassed cos she did it like in 5 seconds! and i was covered. haha.. she say she paste until no need see also can paste, haha.
Tah-dah...!! i totally feel like a princess after donning the gown and with all that make up and hairdo =)
Sam waited for close to an hour, and now baby is helping him to put on light make-up and style his hair.
Baby gave him a formal look and Sam was so not used to it, and kept saying he look like an Ah-hai. lol.. i think he looks good as he cant have spiky styled hair with a formal suit right?
Baby assured him that he can style his hair after that with the more casual outfits.
Baby ran over and took this photo while she was styling for bf, cos she said, "太美了!" and had to stop whatever she was doing and snap this. haha.. love this shot! ^^ She added in filter too! lol
After we were done, we set off to Danshui in a 7-seater car.
Kiwi 老師, Baby and Ah Wei (Kiwi's lighting assistant who also helped to take 幕后花絮 photos)
We paid entrance fees for 淡水莊園.
It's a photoshoot place only for couples to take bridal photos. Cos tourists aren't allowed into the site.
Weather was super warm and humid!!! i had to take an umbrella to be under the shade.
Baby helped us to wipe our perspiration and kept touching up on the foundation and lip gloss. I didnt like the make up to be so thick, but no choice. Photoshoot must thick so that photos would look good. Actually, really lo... end up no need much photoshop haha..
pls dont laugh at my ugly smile lol..
First stop was the glass chapel. No aircon one lor. In fact, no aircon except one house.
This 淡水莊園 has many different spots and props for phototaking. Super Taiwanese style. haha.. i actually only liked the chapels and the water part.
Doesn't matter on the scenery cos most importantly, i know we are in good hands of the photographer, Kiwi.
Gonna post some of the shots that Sam took.. mostly just me nia....i didnt have my phone with me so i couldnt take any photos of him. But he had his HP in his pants' pocket, so he could readily take it out to use haha...
Yeah that's Kiwi老師
Another glass chapel. I think this is very common...but i still like the chapels.
Baby helped us to snap this shot and sent it to my phone, haha
This is by far the most uncomfortable shot, cos we were perspiring like mad.
Can you imagine the glass chapel has not aircon / wind cos it's enclosed, and August is the hottest month in Taiwan (temp 35°C), plus we were under this veil and they took many many shots to try capture the flash from behind........
After that, we went to the air-con house!!! Happy!! super shiok.
There was another couple in there shooting, so we rested at the side and waited. Took a selfie together.
They took props for us to wear like this straw hat. End up also never choose the photos lolol...
Prepping for 2nd look!
Baby wanted me to try the Korean look. So she choose a super red lipstick colour for my lips. Removed the blusher so that cheeks and lip colours won't clash, haha...
i got a shock when she applied the lipstick. I do not wear lipstick on normal days one, so i was so not used to it! But Sam came over and said it looked okay. 难得 he would say okay, haha.. so i accepted my look after awhile.
by the way, if you look at the background, this is actually a shelter with many dressing tables for brides to make up, change and rest. haha.. Still got abit of aircon and cold water! not bad haha..
We took these set of photos at some place with the very old European kind of deco. Sam matched me with his black formal suit and i think he looked very good. Have chosen the photos already. Will upload the photos in another post.
The weather was darn hot and Kiwi was perspiring like mad. His sweat dripped down his legs like water! And Baby said they have worked together for so long, this was the first time she saw Kiwi like that.. like 中暑. and he like gonna faint from the heat :0
And despite the very uncomfortable weather, they still put in their best effort to make us less tensed up. Kiwi and Ah Wei were cracking jokes throughout to make us laugh, so that they could capture our natural smiles. haha.
Sam isn't someone who could pose naturally in front of the camera, and there were so many times Kiwi teased him. He even commented Sam is at dunno which planet and asked him to come back to earth hahaa..
They played silly games among themselves like betting which shots we had our eyes closed (blinked) ... resulting us winning a bottle of cold 冬瓜茶 from Ah Wei cos he lost the bet! lol... they were so funny
All our poses were taught by Kiwi and Ah Wei. Even down to the angle how we should tilt the head, how wide our smiles should be, where to look etc. We just imiated them only. Without them, I think it would be a disaster! Haha.. cos we totally have zero clue.
Anyway, Baby and Kiwi mentioned bf looks very much like the F4 Vaness. Lolol. Actually the taiwanese people kept saying too.. (even Elsa from Bluebay Singapore office).
Sam says they are just trying to say nice things .. u know sales talk? lol
Just gonna post all the different 造型s after that.
3rd look. i quite like this hairdo :) Flowers in my hair, hehe...
Us again... Sam hates the jacket that they chose. haha.. to match my gown. He says he look like a clown, but we don't think so. Quite lively ma. Now his hair is spiky.
Super love this photo!
I didn't select this photo in the end cos Sam already took it with his phone, haha.. no need waste money buy the same one, haha.
Love roses and glad there are so many roses that adorn the shooting sites. My favourite flowers :)
i was wearing flip-flops throughout. Only when i needed to expose my feet then will i change into my strappy heels.
I bought these pair of bling heels from Clementi mall. Very cheap nia. I saw similar ones from Anna Nucci and they have Swarovski crystals on them. Costs over hundred to 200 bucks. I got mine for 30 plus nia, hehe..and also filled with crystals. haha... now i'm thinking i could actually save my Actual Day heels by just reusing back these. Cos photoshoot also no wear them to walk around. Plus these heels can't be worn out to work de.. so bling. and i dont fancy strappy heels.
Sam say i'd better buy a good pair so that they can be trusted on the big day. Can't afford the heels to break /i fall down. haha... see how.
Love this Santorini-inspired chapel!
Specifically told them to prepare pink and white balloons. Don't want too colourful ones.
By the way, they bought us very tasty 便當! Super nice 滷肉飯!
So we ate while they helped us touch up in between different 造型s.
4th look! My favourite gown of all :)
Posed with old school car and fake Sakura flowers haha..
Sam hates this jacket as well, hahaha... but my aunt who saw the photos say his jackets so nice. Like angmoh style. Lol...
THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE BED EVER cos i was sweating like nobody's business. I swear my Nu-bra was slipping off underneath hahaha.... i think we nearly died too. Imagine him having to wear such a thick tweed jacket over long sleeved shirt plus bow tie, haha..
Last look! By that time, we were bushed. It was almost evening, and i was so glad this is the last one liao, haha..
Baby gave me a mature and sophisticated look. That hair accessory was so heavy it was pulling my hair downwards.
We were exhausted until cannot smile liao, haha...
Took the last shots at the beach... no sunset though.. but Ah Wei made use of the flash to create the silhouette effect...
Everything was wrapped up around 8pm, and the driver sent us back to Bluebay office.
The ladies back there said the whole Taipei rain until flood lor... but was surprised when we told them Danshui one drop of rain also don't have, haha.
So, count ourselves lucky!!
And Bluebay posted this shot on their Facebook page ❤❤❤❤❤
Kudos to Bluebay's Kiwi, Baby and AhWei for their top-notch service. They were all so bubbly and humourous! The whole pre-wedding photoshoot experience was such a fun and memorable one!
:)
yeah, that's all for our photoshoot day. More updates next time.
i'm so sleepy. So happy it's Saturday tomorrow and i can finally sleep in longer and no need to wake up at 6am.
