Unlike the many people out there who have done their wedding research, I'm the complete opposite. I got my pre-wedding photoshoot (PWS) package on an impulse. It was just a casual shopping day when the guy suggested for us to take a look at the wedding photography booths since the poster had my favourite flowers on it.

So we voluntarily walked into the trap, and ended up sitting through all the sales talk. When we left the booth, we walked away with a wedding photoshoot package. The guy thought the price of the package was worthwhile, and after trying to google them to read reviews on them and looking through the photos, we selected the first wedding photography company we talked to.

The reason why we both readily agreed to it was also because we fell in love with the photography style. I hated the typical dreamy, cute, romantic, princess kind of wedding photos. And when we saw their portfolio, they had some really cool, dark, MV-kind of photos. And I really liked their oriental look. The 复古风 kind of feel? Also, since we always take our own photos when we are abroad, we wanted something special which we, ourselves, know we can't take.





We told the saleslady that no matter how attractive or free gifts she'll throw in, we would only sign the package if we could choose the photographer. And only if he could make it during the hydrangea season.

So here's

Tip #1: Know what kind of styles you want to go for.

Before my photoshoot, I have had so many friends telling me their horror stories of how the photos did not turn out well, how the photographer and editor failed to capture the kind of mood and tone of the photos they wanted. This was the very reason why we personally picked our photographer. We loved his style, while the rest of the photographers' style did not appeal to us.

Do a lot of research and make sure you are prepared. It would help the photographer when you show him/her examples of photos and style that you want.

Tip #2: Look at their photos to get the kind of dresses they have.

This is very very important. Even if they can produce the kind of photos you want, it does not necessarily mean they have the right dresses. And we all know how important the dress is. Look at their photos to ensure that there are at least 10 dresses you like.

It is also important to check on the dresses. Some bridal studios charge premium for certain dresses so run a quick check with them to ensure the dresses you have you eyes on are not in the premium range.

Tip #3: Be clear on the costs, clarify and ask.

Another common horror story on overseas photoshoots is how they would charge you a certain base price and ask you to add on on the day itself. Therefore, you have to iron everything out with the person first.

For example, makeup usually comes with ampoule, fake eyelashes, hair accessories, etc. Ours was clear from the start that there will be additional cost for ampoule, which was optional (but highly recommended). So we were pretty good on that, and did not have to pay anymore than expected.

Transportation is another additional cost for us because we wanted to take outdoor photos. Again, the lady was very clear from the beginning about how much it would cost per hour.

And then the cost of additional photos. And you have to be clear as to whether the additional photos will be edited, whether it would be in softcopy/hardcopy, whether they will be included in the photobook.


And of course, always bargain. :)


After we have signed the package, the rest of the communication is via email and LINE. They would send a whole list of instructions on what you have to bring/do before the photoshoot. Pretty comprehensive list such as bringing your wedding heels and a pair of slip-ons so you don't have to wear the heels all the time, groom's shoes and socks, and also grooming tips such as shaving your hands/legs/everywhere visible, and even things to avoid doing the night before such as drinking too much water.

Day 1

We decided to push the photoshoot towards the front part of our trip because I didn't want to starve myself from all the Taiwan delicacies to be slim for the photos. Therefore, on our first day, we immediately went straight to select the gown.

We started at 1pm and the first thing we did was to confirm all the details with the lady coordinating our photoshoot. And after that was done, we were brought up to try the gowns.

I've heard about my friends telling me about how there were incidences where they could not find any nice gowns with the bridal studio and had to settle for dresses that they were unhappy with.

Tip #4: Always check the all the photos from the bridal studio and choose your gowns from there. 

This way, you will get a rough idea of what kind of gowns they have, and also save time trying on gowns because you can simply show them the photos of their gowns.

Of course, they will definitely help recommend dresses for you




There was a strict no photo taking during the gown selection so my husband could not sneak some photos and I could not get advice from everyone else. When choosing your gown, you should already have an idea of the kind of concept and photos you want to take because the gown can make or break the concept and idea.

The studio was really nice as there was no limit to the number of gowns you want to try. And she makes the guy take a photo on their iPad every time so I can easily select the photos from there afterwards.

Tip #5: Always take a photo of yourself in the dress.

I realised how important that was on the day itself. According the the lady, not only does taking a photo allow you recall what the dress looks like on you, sometimes, the dresses look differently in photos.

And that was so true because I was stuck between two puffy dresses - one pink and one brown. And my husband swears that when he saw me in the pink puffy dress, it was beautiful, and the only time he wowed. But when we reviewed the photos, we realised that while I looked good in it in real-life, the dress itself was not photogenic.



I was so tired of trying on dresses that I wanted to just give in to a black piece. I wasn't particularly fond of the dress, but I didn't hate it either. But the assistant was really nice and she realised that I didn't particularly like the dress. Thus, she went to look for another. And that's when I found the dress that I liked.

Tip #6: Do not give up on looking for the perfect dress.

For the guys, they don't have a wide selection so it was only the typical black, grey and white suits. We got the list of choices from the wedding studio before we flew over as they would prep us on what we needed to bring.

And part of what we did was to match the guy's outfit to the girl's. Since I have already confirmed on my dresses prior to going over to the guy's boutique, we could decide on the outfits for the guy better. Again, no photos allowed but I secretly snapped a photo :)

Tip #6: Prepare ahead and bring what you need.

Unfortunately, my makeup artist was not in that day so I could not discuss my hair and makeup with her prior. We were supposed to discuss through Line that night but I think I missed her messages so we did not in the end.

Overall, it was a long Day 1 as we worked out the details for our shoot with the team.

Day 2