Life between trips

  Studio Caratt Photography session If you're looking for a photo studio that blends professional quality , family-friendly service , and a touch of fairy tale magic , Studio Caratt’s might just for you.  From the moment you step into a Studio Caratt location at Level 5, the atmosphere feels warm and inviting. The staff are attentive and well-trained, and for international guests, a translator is available, making communication smooth and stress-free. One of the standout features is the extensive costume selection. For the standard package i choose, there are a less than 10 choices of kimono and was fortunate to be able to pick one with beautiful orchid patterns. Hair and makeup services is included in my package and this made the experience more special. Guys have a slightly more variety of costume. For both the male and female, there is a lady who will help us dress in the traditional kimono while a lady specialising in make up will do the  make up.  The PG Session...

Finally got something related to wedding to share on the blog. The first time i heard about korean photoshoot is probably a year after my wedding and i remember that i was pretty surprised that they only do indoor photography. But the photos are really romantic and have very elaborate sets.  In korea, they don't call it prewedding. In their own local terms, they call it a wedding rehearsal. I am not sure if it is to cater for foreigners visiting on short term, but a full photography session can be either completed in one day or two days. For a 2 days photography, the first day is usually a 1.5 hours gown choosing session. The time is possible as brides can only choose to try 5 gowns within the allocated time frame. The second day is purely a  make up session followed by a 4 hours photography session. Albums will only be ready 2 - 4 months from the time of photography. The album and frame will be couriered to you (charges may apply separately). A package typ...

For my actual day photography, I chose Hwee Studios , which was also the same company that Solitaire Bride chose to work with for her actual day. The difference was that I booked a full day actual day session for photography and a half day session for videography with them. They also threw in the videography for our ROM session in the evening as part of the package. Here are some of the works from the actual day with some of the photos taken in the hotel as our favorites. If you head over to  Hwee Studios  homepage, our video is in their main page. (a surprise for us to be featured as their main couple now)  The moments captured by Hwee Studios.  One of our favorite photos.  ** side note: Thanks to my bridesmaid who went to the flower store to help me buy fresh flowers to accessorie my hair. I would highly recommend fresh flower over fake flowers if possible as the fresh flower looks much much better :)

Its been months after the wedding and i've completed most of what i wanted to write and share. One of the last few things i love to share is my wedding photographer and also special highlights on the various things prepared for the wedding. The special highlights are important so that every little effort was remembered. Its a must because i've put my heart and soul to it. The photos from Hwee Studios are so pretty that i printed a mind boggling number of 500 pictures. Anyway i've already excercised restraint during my selection. I think i've never looked so pretty in my life. Makes me want to take MORE pictures. Ewwwww.... a wedding photographer is a definite must for a wedding and make sure he/she is GOOD. The pictures are going to last forever. I'm very pleased with my photos. Mucks to apple for making me so beautiful. Super Thumbs Up! I'll let the photos do the talking Vendor: Hwee Studios Photographer: Apple

Overall, the Di gio experience has been satisfactory. There are definitely some hiccups here and there and some promises left unfulfilled. At the end of the day, i'm overall pleased with my over the rack wedding gown. I got compliments for my fuschia pink evening gown. Both of my make up artist are great. But after trying both i personally prefer keith who easily create the perfect colours for my skin. While Milly is very gentle and detailed. I absolutely love the photographs taken by Big Ben. The photographic skills is definitely there and we thoroughly enjoyed session with him. He did try to crack jokes to make me fill more at ease. But i still got worried. Lucky the photos turn out really fine. Kudos to him! My coordinatore Casey is ok but i personally feel that he is not attentive enough to my needs but he's one in Digio who can make the decisions. Follow up service is definitely lacking and at the end of the day i feel just like an ordinary customer with is not pam...

Overview This is actually a documentary of how i felt during the MTM session. As this reflects the chronology of the bridal process from the very beginning of trying on the perfect gown to the actual. Thus, this is an extremely long post. Everything documented here is what truly transpired between me and the bridal shop. 25th January 2010 - Design wedding gown Wedding Gown making and measurement: Tried on a couple of gowns. Selected the one that suits me most. The designer casey say he will design something along that line and embroidered. But i'm pretty unhappy as he told me he require me to top up if its an embroidered gown ~ price range he quoted was S$1,800 - S$ 2,000. Obviously, i'm not going to top up especially when i specifically pointed out an dress before i sign up and say i wanted something similar and was told "No problem". So eventually, he relented and say he will design one "especially for me" So walk off happy and dreamy about...

Happy New Year! How time flies, its now 2011. Its been a busy and hectic time since wedding till now. Scouring through my photos to get them developed. Its important for me to keep the wedding memories and make them meaningful. For me, scrapbooking is the way to go. And i've been trying to improve on my skills. Here's one that've made, photo by my wedding photographer, apple from Hwee Studios.

Time really flies for 2 weeks. Before i know it. I'm due to fly off for Honeymoon. Here's a teaser to our wonderful wedding album. Till i return then.

Its been 8 days after my wedding. Everything still seemed so surreal. The wedding ran smoothly and perfectly. And i felt like a superstar with at least 5 cameras shooting me at any one time excluding the videographer. :) Nearly had a heart attack when the make up artist was late. Agreed time was 6.50 am and earlier. As my mum insisted that i must be out of the house before 9 am. The PGs and VG had all arrived and still no sight of the MUA. *Hopping mad*. Fortunately, the gate crashing is short and sweet. (Send my love to my dear bridemaids) The bestmen never knew the doors ain't locked since the beginning. Funny how gentlemanly they all were. The other minor set backs on the actual day was the bride suffering from lack of sleep. So my efforts of sleeping early for the week went down the drain. And i still ended up with puffy eyes. This cannot be helped as i seriously couldn't sleep the night before the wedding. Sigh! And of course my clasp behind my gown had to give way...

Here's a quick list for reference. This is by no means comprehensive. Please do add on your comments for sharing with other brides. Beauty Prepare your skin for the photoshoot. - facial - face mask - eye mask Hair Grooming Do not curl or straighten the hair before photoshoot. Maybe consider to do dye or hair cut prior to the photoshoot. Dressing - shoes (for groom and bride) - belt (for groom) - Bow tie (groom) - Cravat (groom) - Cummerband (groom) - Tuxedo shirt and coloured shirt (groom) - Any preferred jacket (groom) - Accessories - earrings and necklace (bride) - Nubra (bride) - New lingerie (bride) Props - soft toys - solitaire diamond ring - wedding bands - any items that are of significance to you - Prepare list of photos for photographer reference. This is so that they can determine and take the photos you like. It is important to discuss with your photographer the places that you propose to go for outdoor shots and also the photos you like. ...

This is the completed dolls which took about 1.5 days to complete. And i'm very very pleased with myself. There are definitely hiccups along the way like figuring how to do the stitches. I got stuck with the magic loop, how to do stitch hair and groom couldn't sit up straight. But all is eventually resolved and i'm quite happy with the final outcome. The instructions from saplanet is sufficient for appropriate guidance. And i had a fun time reliving my crochet days in sec school. I took the dolls out for a photoshoot at marina barrage and also some REMENT mininatures i sourced from OG. The mininatures are from Uttori Sweets series. The dolls with mininature REMENT wedding cake Top down view of the mininature and the dolls More REMENT mininatures The picture I love most from our little outing.

Nearly miss the opportunity of viewing the works of Hwee Studios. They are not in any of the forums nor do they have a biography of their works on their blog. The main source of information will most definitely be their website: www.hweestudios.com Amazingly, their main source of clientiele came from friend recommendations. None of my friends used them by the way. How i found them? I was desperately searching for the perfect photographer and was randomly surfing at the wpjn website and found their contacts. Soon after, we arrange for a meet-up and all things finally fall into place. Chatted up with Apple on the day we sign up and she does give me the assurance of being the right one. Hopefully, she can thrill all of us with more fantastic photos. Till then. Tata!