A Bride's Guide To Her Dream Wedding: Pre-Wedding Shoot (Part 1)

"A pre-wedding shoot lasts a lifetime."

I never understood that line until we had our shots taken. To be very honest, I was not a supporter for pre-wedding shoots. I was egged on by my (now) husband, family members and friends. I always had the concept that pre-wedding shoots were a waste of money and had no use at all – oh boy, I was so wrong about it.

The photos came in very handy when my hotel venues asked for an image to be displayed on their LCD TVs during our big days.

The photos were useful when I had to design our own e-invites, in an attempt to be environmentally-friendly.

The photos were convenient when my mother-in-law asked for a photo of us two, so that she could send it to her friends whom she had invited to our wedding – they needed a picture to identify who the bride and groom were.

Most importantly, the photos were great because it was an immortalisation of memories and experiences which might have otherwise been forgotten and faded through time.

My husband and I are not cam-whores. We hardly have any pictures of us together. It is mostly just him taking pictures of me all the time, due to the nature of my work. This was a great opportunity to get some photos of us together, practising how we were going to pose together, how we were going to look good together on our wedding days.

Enjoy the amazing visuals ahead, taken by Nat Studios and gowns sponsored by The Louvre Bridal.

Be warned that this is a picture-heavy post. More information on how to plan for your pre-wedding shoot is provided towards the bottom of the post, so scroll to the very end.








Now that you are done enjoying the incredible photos that were taken by the stunning Nat Studios, let's get down into the gritty details of planning for the shoot!

First thing that you gotta know is that there are FOUR critical elements to a successful pre-wedding photoshoot:

#1 | Photographer

Find your photographer. Choose your photographer based on his photography style, and not based on the price. If you decide to cut cost on your photog, well... be mentally prepared that you might end up with some nightmarish photos like this couple whose bad wedding photos went viral.

Then again, an expensive photographer doesn't necessarily promise good photos either. Quality is a subjective measure, hence I implore you to study the photographer's portfolio. Discuss with your fiancé/fiancée and pick the photographer whose style is agreeable to the both of you! If the two of you see eye to eye on a photog and his style, then the price will always be right!

If you are keen to have Nat shoot your wedding photos too, contact him here. :)


#2 | Wedding Gowns and Suit

The best way to get your wedding gowns and suit for the photoshoot is to rent them from a bridal boutique. Always check with your bridal studio on the number of gowns and suit that they are willing to allow you to bring abroad, the accessories for loan, the terms and condition, as well as if they require a deposit amount.

I got my gowns for this shoot from The Louvre Bridal – a local bridal studio that carries Korean-inspired wedding gowns (read more about my in-depth review of their gowns here)

The last tip that I have for you about wedding gowns is on how to pack them. Go to your nearest Daiso to get compression bags (size: 92cm x 58cm) and FOLD your wedding gowns according to this video. Slot the gown into the compression bag neatly and if necessary, get someone to help you.

Once you reach your hotel/airbnb, take the gowns out of the compression bags immediately and let them air – you do not want the compression bags to destroy the structure of your dress. Also, if your gown requires a can-can, DO NOT fold it together with the gown, have it stored separately.


#3 | Shoot Location

We all want to travel to the ends of the world, and take stunning wedding shots like this couple on Mount Everest. However the facts are: we have a limit to the insanity physical toil that our body can take, and (sadly) a budget to keep up with.

I was going to be three months pregnant at the point of my pre-wedding shoot. Thus we had to take the travel distance into consideration as well as the amount of activity that would be required for the shoot.

We had initially planned to do the shoot at Yogyakarta, however the city's geographical terrain required too much walking / climbing / hiking just to get to the scenic grounds for the shoot. Hence we had to scrape the idea and source for a new location!

In the end, the venue that we settled on was Montigo Resorts Batam. All of the photos were taken within the resort, and the best part was that we were ferried around the various spots by the resort's buggy!

Thankfully we chose such a convenient location because I began vomiting on the second day of our arrival (aka the first day of the shoot), hence we had to return to the villa multiple times for me to rest and recuperate! The proximity of the various shoot locations and the villa was a godsend gift!


#4 | Make-Up

Most couples would hire a makeup artist when going for their pre-wedding shoot. I would highly advise you to do so as well, unless you have immense confidence in your makeup skills.

As a beauty blogger, I decided to not to hire a makeup artist and challenge myself in doing my own makeup for the pre-wedding shoot. (If you are keen to know how I did my makeup for the prewedding shoot, do drop me an email at leowsophie@gmail.com)

However I must warn you that there are cons to doing your own makeup. You'll have to wake up even earlier than other brides who have a MUA to help them. In addition, instead of sitting there relaxed while someone does your makeup, you will be burning more precious energy during those wee hours of the morning – as you carefully paint your own face.

Do take those factors into consideration while planning for your dream pre-wedding shoot!

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For more tips on how to select your bridesmaids, write your wedding vows or to get an idea of what happens during a Chinese wedding, I've got an article right here for you.

Head over now to read part two of my wedding series, Dream Wedding: Solemnisation Ceremony.


Wedding Collaborators

Photography: Nat Studios

Wedding Gowns and Suit: The Louvre Bridal