Thursday 31 October 2019

#siryweds - Qingdao Pre-Wedding Photoshoot (Part 1)

On 12th October 2019, finally, #siryweds
And also with me being on medical leave for the rest of the week due to a dental surgery, I decided, why not do a series of #siryweds posts? I know this sounds really ambitious, judging that I took nearly 1 year to finish my 10 days New Zealand road trip travelogue, but nevertheless it's still a memorable event, a milestone in my life, that I wish to document in words; albeit just briefly
So, just bear with me yeah?

And to all the brides-to-be reading this series of posts, hopefully this can give you a teeny weeny bit of help with your wedding preparations. :)

First up, let's touch on our PWS. 

The reason why I wanted to do an overseas PWS is simple. 
I WANTED TO AVOID THE HEAT IN SINGAPORE, and of course having pretty things you can't find in Singapore (like Cherry Blossoms) in my photographs will be awesome as well, but the main reason was to avoid the heat. 
Dragging a heavy bridal gown, with my face slathered in thick bridal make up, my hair so stiff with tons of hairspray and heavy with dangling accessories.... UNDER THE SCORCHING SUN?
No! No, no no. NO WAY. 

And so, through a close relative who happens to be working in Qingdao, we settled on a 2-days shoot package with REVIVAL新生.
Now, the thing with buying things (even PWS packages, yes) in China is that everything is very flexible, and so with my relative's amazing haggling skills, here's what we've got for just barely SGD $1300

Day 1
half day studio shoot + half day outdoor shoots 
4 Outfits & Makeup + Hair for Bride
3 Outfits + Hair for Groom

Day 2 
(YES, we had TWO days of photoshoot!)
full day outdoor shoot
couple's own casual wear
(but in the end the photographer though my outfits were way too casual and so he lent me a little white gown instead) 

40 edited shots with 2 albums
4 table frames
a 2.5 minutes photo slideshow
all softcopies (a friggin 640 shots) return 

And if you're still thinking, huh China ah? Their gowns and suits must be damn outdated and orbiang lor. But nope, I have to say that this bridal shoot industry in China is ridiculously big, and actually they've much prettier and atas (classy) looking gowns as compared to the local studio I've engaged for my Actual Day package (which I will touch on in a separate post). 

REVIVAL新生 is actually a photographer working at his own one-man-show photography studio, unlike a typical bridal studio that has their own team of photographers, make up artists and collection of gowns and suits. So he actually works with 杜娟婚纱 for my gowns, LOAFFER for the groom's suits and Star-Makeup for my make up and hair. 

REVIVAL新生 photography style is a more candid, natural feel. So while we had it easier with just standing and posing in the more formal studio shoot, we were dog-tired at the end of the day after the outdoor shoot, having to be constantly walking back and forth, running, jumping around etc. 

And so, here are some of my favourite shots from each of the 4 outfits. :) 


This mauvey, champagne gown was my mum's favourite and the bridal studio's staff also told her that it's one of their more expensive (and latest) collection, having only recently flown in from France. And of course because it's the more expensive range, it's better off staying in a safer environment of an indoor studio shoot. 








It came across to me that most Asian brides do not appreciate such simple satin gowns, but I LOVE IT! I love how it's so simple, yet classy and elegant. If only it weren't so heavy (satin gowns are damn heavy can!). Most of the time the entire gown was nearly slipping off my body as I walk, probably also because the bodice (waist) portion of the gown wasn't tight enough.





REVIVAL新生 wasn't very familiar with taking oriental style PWS, but I really wanted to wear a red 裙褂 (Kua). And I love how this piece is a mix of 龍鳳褂 (top) and 秀禾服 (bottom), which makes it a super pretty set! :) 
For BTBs who can't differentiate between the two, here's a detailed explanation to set you in the right direction. 





And this is my final gown worn for Day 1 of our photoshoot, which is also super pretty looking, ending our tiring day at Huang Dao (Golden Beach). 

And for Day 2, it was half a day of casual shoot at Lao Shan! 




I know we look very happy playing with water in the river but you know what, it was just 11 degrees Celsius and that water was icy cold. 
Not fun, people. NOT FUN AT ALL. 






So while getting a PWS package in China might be ridiculously affordable with amazing quality, do note that they will require you to pay a deposit upon confirmation, only via alipay or wechat pay, which requires you to have a China bank account in order to perform cash transfer transactions. 

Feel free to drop me a comment, email or DM me on my instagram if you wish to know more details. 

Read about my other PWS shoot with Milan Spring HERE

Till then,
Mia Foo

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