We started our photoshoot day early at around 7am. The bridal shop was not even opened for business. Yet the makeup studio at level 2 was already filled with couples and makeup artistes. I knew that the bridal shop had arranged for a male makeup artiste for me who teaches makeup in Taiwan. So 1 look at the room, I could identify him amongst the other female makeup artistes.
We were brought to level 3 where my gowns were already prepared. I changed into my first gown and started my makeup. Mine took 2hrs while hubby was done in 15mins! That’s always the case, isn’t it?!
We then started with studio shoots before heading out to Yang Ming Shan for our outdoor shoot! It was an awesomely fun day where it was the first time I felt like a princess, being fussed over the entire day. We had a photographer, his assistant, the makeup artiste and the driver along with us for the whole day! Bringing the makeup artiste with us would allow me to touch up on my makeup and have a different hair style with each change of gown! We had meals on the go in the vehicle and fruits (complimentary thanks to the driver) while doing my makeup! For the first time, I also experienced changing outdoors, in a stand-up tent! Is this how celebrities also change during their outdoor shoots?!
By the time we were done, the sky had already turned dark. Frankly, I did not feel tired even though our entire shoot took about 10 hours! Although we were not exactly hungry either, hubby and I walked to a nearby restaurant and had a feast! I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, neither was the food very memorable. However, we had a great time eating to our hearts’ content at last!
The following day, we had some time to spare. My sister continued to bring my parents around Taipei while hubby and I continued our exploration on our own before our appointment that afternoon to choose our photos!
We decided to drop by The Lin Family Mansion and Gardens near the Fuzhong station. It was an old mansion. Something suitable if you like old architecture. I quite enjoyed learning the history of the place and taking photographs in the garden.
When we headed back to the bridal shop, honestly, I was bracing myself to be ‘slaughtered’. We know how these shops work. And photographers usually earn their commission from sales of photographs. I was surprised that the staff had printed all the photos we took the day earlier and placed them in an album! They then asked us to choose the photos we want.
The moment we said we didn’t want a photo, they took a red marker and gave it a big strike across! That was a really heart aching moment because honestly, I thought all the photos looked good! But we had a budget to keep! I thought that was a really good strategy on the shop’s part because they knew that couples, especially the brides, would not want to see their photos have a big red mark across!
After spending some time inside deliberating on the photos, we emerged from the shop. Don’t ask me how many more photos I bought. At least, I didn’t buy all of them! Haha.
Perrine Travels 