I’ve recently been helping out on the SingaporeBrides forum, giving advice (and promoting Bridal Zone!) to all BTBs who are seeking out bridal shops and packages to sign up with. A common question which came out is how to get a good deal for the bridal package… so here are some general tips and advice about how you can come out satisfied with your package at the end of the day, regardless of which bridal shop you end up signing with.

Everyone has their own preferences, desiring some things on the package more than others. Bridal shops are generally willing to negotiate, taking things out (wedding car, portrait, etc) and replacing them with others, especially getting more photos into the album.

1. Before stepping into any bridal shop, be sure to discuss with your FH about your max budget possible and expectations of the package, so you’ll not end up tearing each other apart in front of the bridal shop staff. :p you don’t have to tell the wedding coordinator upfront what your max budget is, to give yourself leeway to add more pictures in the future. E.g. if your max budget is $4000, go look for a ~$3000 package, since almost everyone will add tons of pictures after the photoshoot.
2. While discussing the package details, the wedding coordinator will write on a package detail sheet to keep track of your personalized package. Make sure everything that you’ve agreed upon is written down in black and white. Empty talk does not count! You can keep things open as well – e.g. if you’re not sure if you need to rent their wedding car on ur AD, ask them to keep it as a possible cash deduction (e.g. -$200 if you decide to skip the car later on) or exchange for more photos to the package (e.g. 4 more pics in exchange for the car). But again, have it written down on the contract.
3. Most things are set in stone after your sign your package with the details written down. The one thing which remains open for substantial negotiation is the topping up of pictures, and getting the soft copy of photos back. One major reason we were drawn towards BZ is that we could get the soft copy of all pictures back with a minimum top-up of 20 pictures.
4. When you are done with your photoshoot and go down to the shop to select your pictures, the coordinator will NO DOUBT try to entice you in getting more pictures. Grace tried to get us to add more pictures to our package, but she wasn’t pushy at all. In fact, she maintained that we should see how much we were willing to spend, and constantly tried to give us better deals. We were given various bundle options of topping up 20/30/50 pictures, and with increasing number of pictures she would throw in some more stuff, including reducing the top-up price per picture, and even throw in another big “bedroom” portrait for the 50 picture top-up. We also requested for the full resolution soft copy of pictures back in CD after topping up many pictures eventually (they were only willing to give back the low resolution copy that was good enough for web-viewing with the minimum 20 picture top-up)
5. If you end up topping up a considerable amount (say >80 pictures total) can try asking to split into 2 albums instead of one.

VERY IMPORTANT: While negotiating, it’s alright to bargain for more stuff, and be firm in rejecting offers to top up, but do not get pissy and loud with the coordinator! After all, the bridal shops are also trying to make a living! =) be nice and reasonable about it, and in that way, everyone will be happy and satisfied in a win-win situation!

Below is a list of things that you should ask when meeting your wedding boutique coordinator. I modified this off the original list by Roxy in Singaporebrides and this page in myshopping.sg.

• Album
  • No of photos – this is most impt. As far as I know, can usually bargain to about 30
  • Cost of additional photos – $65 – $80 is standard mkt price. We did managed to get $50 per piece
  • Photo album size – the usual is 15” or 18” album.
  • Mini-album included? BZ gave us the Taiwan storybook mini-version instead of the normal full page 5R album
  • Digital ( magazine ) style or normal full-page pictures?
  • Do they do digital touch up on your photos?
  • Portrait picture – most BS give 1 picture or 3-in-1 as options
• Gowns
  • MTM or OTR?
  • How many pieces are u allowed to have on your actual day? Eg 1 kua/tea dress, 1 bridal gown and 1 evening dress?
  • Groom’s jacket. How many pieces?
  • Can the actual day gown be different from photoshoot gown? Usually no, but in our case, we did the photoshoot way before the AD, so we’ll get to pick again for AD gowns
  • If my customary and wedding dinner is on 2 diff days, any additional costs?
  • Any restrictions in choosing the gowns? Or you can choose any gown in the shop?
  • Need to top up extra for more embroidery or lace?
  • Will BS provide accessories for my photoshoot and also actual day? How many sets can I rent?
• Photoshoot
  • How many changes in style you’ll have? Change in make up also?
  • Do u need to provide transport for photoshoot?
  • If you want to have photoshoot spread over 2 days, how much extra u’ll have to pay?
  • If it rains for outdoor photoshoot and need to reschedule on another day, is there a charge for the MUA and photographer? How many times rescheduling is allowed and when will they start charging? BZ does not charge no matter how many times you need to reschedule cos of bad weather.
  • Able to get back soft copies? And when?
  • Need to pay MUA for $20 collagen & $15 false eyelashes for photoshoot?
  • Fake or real bridal bouquet on actual day?
• Make-up
  • Any additional costs to MUA besides $20 for collagen & $15 for false eyelashes?
  • Need to give MUA transport costs?
  • If MUA needs to reach my house before 6am, any additional charge?
  • No of makeup sessions
  • Same MUA for photoshoot & actual day?
  • If my customary & wedding dinner is 2 diff days, any additional costs for MUA?
• Car
  • free car rental & what make & model?
  • if downgrade to lower make/model, can change for more photos?
  • If dun want car, how many more pieces or reduction in package price?
    Driver provided?
• Others that you may want to bargain for (though not every BS may have):
  • No of 8R tabletop photos (We got 2 instead of one, so each of our families can have one)
  • No of corsages for parents and brothers
  • Rental of teadress for sisters
  • Father and father-in-law jackets
  • Any wrist corsages for bride or sisters
  • Guest book
  • Borrow ring pillow for ROM ceremony

Hope this comes in useful! ~FM & Jas

Months before:

1. Exercise regime, especially for the girls
   • Slim down/ build up to look pretty for the pictures that last forever!
     (Jas did her abs exercise diligently, and ate lesser to slim down. Got rid of her little tummy and lost 5 kg!)
   • Exercise to tone up, but dun get obvious tan line. Maintain an even tone, dun go for beach activities before that! (although photoshop will take care of any ugly tan lines. ^_^)
2. Girls will want to start leaving your hair pretty long before meeting your Make-Up Artist (MUA) during trial make-up (depends on how fast your hair grows too, but longer is better than too short, of course; too long can always cut). Hair length around mid-back should be good (the setting of the hair to make the curls will shorten the hair a lot).

1 month before:

1. Grow your eyebrows so your MUA can trim it nicely. Or if you already have shaped eyebrows, maintain them neat.
2. SLEEP WELL. Nothing works better than many nights of good sleep to get rid of eye bags and dark eye rings.
   (Jas guai guai slept before 12mn for about 2 weeks before! ^_^)
3. Guys – time the cutting of your hair such that u’ll have hair that’s one+ week into a fresh cut. Neat but not overly short.
4. Girls – if u wanna go for manipedi, should start letting your nails grow longer, especially if you want to do French. Dun have your nails too rounded when u cut, slightly square nails are best.

A week before:

1. Trial makeup session should be around 1-2 weeks before the photoshoot. Ask your MUA how you should cut/color your hair to get the maximum impact for the PS. Layered hair would be good cos it’s easier to style.
2. Schedule to color your hair about a week before the PS.
   (Jas happened to have bleached golden hair at the last ~15cm of her hair. During the trial makeup, our MUA Angeline said to leave those alone. Then Jas went to Angeline’s shop, where Angeline layered her hair more into a sharp V-shape, and got Jas to highlight streaks of a similar bronze/golden color throughout her hair. These came into very good effect when Angeline styled her hair during the PS. Check out our pictures in the previous blog post for the full glory of her artwork!)
3. Ethnic costumes – should have chosen and reserved it previously, and make sure that the appropriate size is available.
   (We din do that during our trial makeup. but turned out all fine, cos Jas arrived early on the photoshoot day, and got to try the costumes and choose beforehand. The cheongsam was of the prefect size for Jas, so that was quite heng. But if we had wanted to have the kua, then there would be trouble, cos the kuas were all very huge in size.)
4. Groom’s suits – should have been chosen for each outfit to match, and decided beforehand.
   (We din do that but waited for the actual day of the photoshoot where FM decided on the spot what to wear and BZ gave him the appropriate matching suit/scarfs/ties/shoes, but all turned out well. )
5. Facial one week before, to make the face more radiant, and also supposed to make the powder/makeup stay and more longer-lasting.
   • no squeezing of pimples few days before the PS (or powder wun stick!)
   • some pple say can go for body scrub/ face masks before that. But do it at ur own discretion. If your haven been using these kinda stuff, DO NOT try new products at this time for fear of allergic reactions/breakouts!

   (About a week before, Jas went to Angeline for a deep cleansing facial (if interested, call Angeline to make an appointment beforehand) and FM went for a facial at Spa Elements (we had a Citibank promotion card). In general, we just make sure to not eat too much fried/chilli hot stuff. And no chocolates for FM until photoshoot is over! Heh.)

6. Additional: You may wanna look thru pple’s albums, think of some poses u might wanna do. The photographers will have ideas of their own, but probably will ask you to use your own creativity and pose on your own too.

Day before:

1. Manicure/pedicure for girls – for the neater simpler kind, go for French, additional artwork/glittery additions as u desire. Best to do in the evening, so u wun scratch your nails for the rest of the day.
   Guys, just go trim your nails short and neat.
2. Girls – Shave clean! You don’t want unsightly hair in ur pics!
   Guys – if u grow moustache/beard, trim neatly. If not, shave clean.

Packing for the photoshoot:

• Guys
  • white socks to wear with the white suit
  • shirts and ties of all colors, shades and stripes (so that the photographer/MUA can help you color-pick the best attire to match your bride.) Include one white shirt.
  • black leather shoes (the bridal studio should have a pair of white shoes to go with your white suit)
  • if you have your own MTM suit jacket, bring it and wear it.
    Yes, the bridal studio provides suits for you, and they have various sizes to fit your build. But still, nothing shows you off better than a MTM suit (assuming it was well-made) that is specifically cut to your build. More often than not, sleeve length will most likely be too long for you (suit sleeves should end at wrist, while shirt cuffs should end at base of thumb). Anyway, I dare say most guys would need at least one suit to wear on the rare occasions where it’s needed.
    (FM made his a year back and it has seen pretty good use this past year (more wear = value for money!))

Another important thing about guys and jackets is, DON’T BUTTON EVERYTHING! Jackets with 3 buttons in front only need the middle button fastened, while jackets with 4 buttons can have the middle 2 buttons fastened. Browsing through other people’s wedding albums, you can see some guys who look quite toot with all buttons fastened like a kid. Bad karma to the photographer for not informing those guys!

• Girls
  • Bridal shoes
  • Sandals to change into when you’re not taking pics. So you wun get tired wearing ur heels the entire day! (especially useful if you’re going to the beach)
  • Own jewellery if want, pretty (not too expensive) necklaces and earrings
  • Makeup kit – in case u need to patch up a little – but we din use

• In General
  • Wedding rings + engagement rings (if any)
  • Water bottle with drinking straw (although BZ had plenty to offer, and a good stock in the car too. )
  • Camera to capture preparation moments (we have pics for the earlier part of day, but less and less as we go along cuz we’re both too busy!)
  • Props – buy or dig out whatever other items of personal interest that you’re interested in including in the pictures. Many bring their motorbikes, cars, teddy bears, musical instruments etc.
    (For us, brought ring box, sparklers, proposal rose, balloons, rose petals amongst others)
  • Casual wear for the beach, or you can just wear one of your outdoor gowns to go kick water in the sea.
  • Lunch, or you can call-in fast food. Or the groom can go buy lunch from a coffeeshop nearby while the bride does her makeup, although I doubt its advisable to run around sweating with your makeup on. And if you’re interested, ask the photographer to take pictures while you two eat your lunch in the studio.
  • Light snacks if u’ll be hungry – although we din feel hungry at all, and wouldn’t have time to eat anyways due to our hectic schedule
  • Tissue paper/ wet tissue if u want, though we din end up using.
  • Umbrella – in case it rains
  • ~$100 to pay off your MUA for ampoules, fake eyelashes etc.

• DO NOT bring
  • Valuables. It’s a full day of hectic running around, digging for shirts and personal props, endless makeup etc. You won’t have time to look after your stuff. In addition to the bridal shop staff, there may also be another couple doing their photoshoot (BZ has two MUAs and two photogs and two studios, so two couples can take pics in parallel)

Morning of photoshoot:

1. DO not wash ur hair in the morning of the photoshoot! Supposed to leave hair dry for styling!
2. To wear for girls: button down/zip down top, so it’s easy to change w/o ruining ur makeup
3. Have a good breakfast!

We thoroughly enjoyed our photoshoot, although it stretched from 10am to 10pm, and we were tired at the end of the day. Photoshoots are fun: Just relax, be happy and enjoy yourselves to let the natural happiness shine! A great way to ensure pretty pics!

3 more weeks of work, one more presentation during lab meeting to present my work so far, and I’m done with work! Also, end of work = photoshoot on 8 July. *yay* Pray hard that weather will be good that day, nice, sunny and breezy. =)

Trial make-up session is scheduled on 27th June, one week before PS. Will meet Angeline, the Make-Up Artist (MUA) to discuss the style I want for the shoot, the color tones/hairdo etc. that I prefer… and also, will get to pick the final 2 outfits for the photoshoot! Hoping that BZ has a few options for each of the costumes, traditional Chinese cheongsam/kua, and I’m looking at choosing a Japanese kimono. ^_^ We’ll see how it goes… Will definitely take pictures and post them up soon!

With the photoshoot and wedding coming up, this extra motivating factor gave me the perfect excuse to embark (for real) some dieting/slimming regime few months ago. =P Just a little lesser than usual for my meals, and some exercise (especially a 5 BX abs exercise I learnt back in Duke during a fitness class) and of cos, a certain level of discipline. =P I lost 4 kg in 3 months! Endured a little nagging along the way from my dad and FM to eat more and not starve… *bleahz* but simply replied and assured them that I was still eating and not abstaining/skipping meals. =P

These 3 weeks… should try to sleep earlier and get enough rest. Heh, good to remove my eyebags and dark circles yar! And after PS, before leaving for the states, can go and cut my hair shorter liao. Been keeping my hair long for the photoshoot, so gives them room to set and style my hair.

Hmm… should I go for manicure and pedicure? =P been leaving my nails long for the PS. And need to make appt on Monday the day before PS to color my hair, and do treatment. Will ask MUA about what color to do my currently bleached-out ash/golden hair.

Things not done yet: look for AD photo/video, download more wedding songs, settle on specific march-in/champagne pouring/montage songs, and scan old pictures for photo montage That’s about it!

Bridal Zone has shop at Marina Square, but the photo studio and gown show house is located in their Boon Keng Branch. To avoid the weekend rush at the bridal shop, we scheduled weekday evenings after work to pick the gowns.

1st selection day: 15th April 2008

Wanted to ask the jiemeis along to give their opinions on the dresses, instead of having only darling’s vote on them. =P But alas! Clare was going to India for her medical attachment soon and wun be back till mid-June. Thankfully managed to schedule a good time, barely few days before Clare left for India! So FM, me and Clare went down to pick the first gowns!

Agenda: White wedding gowns

Never changed so many gowns continuously before! A little tedious… but pretty fun! The lady Ling Ling was really helpful in helping to select dresses for me to try. I was impressed at how she remembers all the dresses on the rack! Gave a rough description of what I had in mind, and immediately she took out the relevant dress they had! Glad that they had a dress that I was specifically looking for: A white wedding gown with some striking red contrast. Perfect!

BZ allowed us to take pictures of the gowns, so I have a nice record of all the dresses I tried! The pictures were especially useful to refer back, when we were doing the painful final selection of the dresses back at home with my parents.

One thing though: I was only choosing gowns for the photoshoot, and will choose gowns again for my AD a year later, I was only allowed to choose the gowns of the “used” rack, and not from the “new” rack that had dresses unworn or only worn once/twice. well, I guess it made sense, but limited my selection pool for the album. Thankfully I did find nice ones which I liked with no problems!

At the end of the first evening: 2 wedding gowns chosen!

1. Red + white wedding gown for indoor studio shots. Nice bright red contrast and pretty tails!

2. Elegant white halter. Love the cut, and beautiful long and flowing train!

2nd selection day: 23rd April 2008

Settled on a day good for everyone – My other 2 jiemeis Min Zhi and Lin Chieh, and the 2 of us – to pick the rest of the dresses.

To pick: Another white wedding gown for outdoor shoot, and an evening gown for indoor studio shots.

Started off with the evening gowns. This was a tough one. One limitation of Bridal Zone was that they had a very limited evening gown selection on the “used” rack. I’m sure that they have plenty more evening gowns for the AD, but again, I wasn’t allowed to choose from the “new” rack until next year. Hmm…

Tried on a staggering TWELVE evening gowns, before finally shortlisting a few to keep in mind. Decided to leave that till later to review, see the pics, and discuss with parents/friends before choosing one. (Finally, after thinking about it for a week or two, I decided on the dark purple one. )

Also tried on a few more wedding gowns. Many of BZ’s wedding gowns look really pretty, I must say. Found a few nice ones. Eventually settled on the off-shoulder one after couple of weeks of deliberation. This dress had a really nice train, the off-shoulder cut adds variety in my gowns, and it was allowed for outdoor photoshoot! (Some of the gowns are only allowed for indoor shoot, not outdoor to run in the grub, sand and seawater. Heh.)

Pleased with all my gowns, and many thanks to Ling Ling for all her help!

• 1 OTR Wedding Gown (WG)
• 1 OTR Evening Gown (EG)
• Teadress (cheongsam/kua)
• 2 sets Men’s suit (1 pair trousers MTM)
• 32 photos (impt!!)
• Additional top-up of photos at $50 each, with all photos returned in CD with additional 20 photos ($1000)
• Digital album (18″)
• Mini-album upgrade to digital form, separately designed into storyline form by a Taiwanese company (instead of simply the full page album for selected pictures only) – this is really nice!
• 1 portrait (either 3-in-1, or single big photo)
• 2 table tops (8R)
• 6 pieces of 4 selected pictures (4R)
• 2-3 locations for photoshoot (we’re trying to squeeze in 4 locations) most places only offer 2 locations.
• 6 outfits altogether, 4 studio (WG, EG, 2 costumes), and 2 outdoor. Most places only 5 outfits – 1 WG for outdoor. And if we wanna bring in our own additional outfit, BZ does not take away one outfit, instead just an add-on.
• 5 different hairdos/makeup
• Photoshoot morning to night (after sunset) – not every place does till late at night. Some places which we had inquired at only do till 6pm or so.
• Special case for us: since our wedding was one year away, we could choose gowns for the photoshoot, and choose again just before the AD, so the designs would be new (instead of choosing dresses to hold on for one year before wearing them again!!) and I will have pictures of many many dresses!
• Note: Only caveat here was that we could only choose the gowns for the photoshoot from the older rack, and not the brand-new rack that was only meant for brides who were going to wear the gowns for actual day too. But still, I found dresses which I like a lot!
• Since we’re going to beautiful California for grad school, we managed to bargain for an evening gown on loan from the time we’re leaving until December. If we managed to find someone coming back to Singapore during winter break, then perfect! Can get their gown to go outside to the beaches to take pictures ourselves!
• Wedding car (Merz) included – (-$200) if not required.
• Car decor
• AD makeups (1 day/1 night)
• Fathers’ jackets if needed

It was a sigh of relief once we had settled the hotel venue. Choosing from the many hotels was a pretty big challenge itself, but next up was an even daunting task: choosing a bridal shop from the NUMEROUS out there…

I had the vague-est idea of where to start. The decision was primarily mine, cos “the bride is the one who’s wearing the fancy dresses and jewelry, while the guy basically chooses from a few suit designs and the colors.” *hmm…* Not much help from darling there. =P

After struggling around for a while, I finally made some headway. =)

• Had bought local bridal magazines to get some wedding ideas. Loved that they had a great useful compilation of Singapore’s major bridal shops! Great starting point!



• Shortlist shops I’m interested in.
  • Nice name (? Gut feeling?)
  • Style of shop as reflected on their shop advertisements
  • -GOOD- The elegant, classy and sweet-looking styles
  • -BAD- Too flowery / arty-farty / lacy / loud / matured look
  • -BAD- Too simple / plain-looking ones
  • Past user comments on SingaporeBrides and StyleWedding online forums
  • -BAD- Shops with complains/criticisms about service, gown selections, etcetc.
  • General style of photos (from the shops’ websites and customers’ blogs/online albums)
  • -GOOD- Semi-posed styles, balance between a more artistic feel and casual natural feel.
  • -BAD- Too casual, totally non-posed shots

Two large-scale wedding fairs were coming up very soon at that time, and the deadline for registration was coming up soon! With this push factor, it was the apt time to start the darlings’ engine running. No more procrastination! ^_^ Since the wedding fairs usually had good promotions, discounts, and freebies to those who signed up on that day, we decided to target those boutiques who were showcasing at the fairs first. If we saw something that we liked during our recce, we could sign up for the show and sign the package there.

We narrowed down to 5 stores, and split them into 2 days to check the shops out at their outlets after work. WARNING: Bridal shops are generally quite pushy, trying to keep you within the shop, look at more pictures, try on gowns, negotiate and sign on the spot! Be PERSISTENT to leave and get back to them later.

After all our visits, Bridal Zone won our unanimous vote.

• Gave us the most value-for-money with the most attractive package offer, guaranteed to be their best deal offered at the wedding fair too.
• We were really impressed with the pictures taken – very nice touch-up and enhancements, and amazing shots taken simply on local grounds!
• Other nice and unique miscellaneous items:
  • Portrait photo designs had the usual single big picture, and the 3 in 1. But also had the option of the long landscape pictures. The samples we saw were really nice!
  • Photo frame options for the table top also had some special designs on top of the usual plain 8R table top
  • Mini-album was upgraded from the plain full page album of the selected pictures, to a storybook design, digital print in a separately designed layout made by a company in Taiwan. Cool!
• Many many more deals… check out our wedding package details for more information.
• Oh yes, another IMPORTANT factor, BZ was *honest*. None of the other shops we visited admitted to having any wedding shows coming up, although we already knew from magazine advertisements that they were having a booth at one of the two upcoming big bridal shows. Liars!!! Only Grace at BZ had the courtesy to tell us abt the upcoming show, and even offered to give us the freebies and additional poses that is usually only available at the show.

The very moment we stepped out of the last of the shops we were looking at, our choice was clear. We called Grace at Bridal Zone, and went down immediately to sign the package that very day. (We even got 2 additional poses for the album in the package! )