Wedding Photoshoot in TAIWAN

I was never the kind of person who's dreamed of their own wedding. I always wanted to be married for sure, and have a partner to share my life with, but I'm not a big fan of ceremonies or customs, so the symbolic portion of the marriage never interested me much. To me, marriage is about 2 people who want to spend their lives together, and that's it. Sure a lot of other things might come with it, but the foundation of it all, lies in the commitment to live through the mundane with someone; the romance, lies within the choice to stay, day after day.

Of course others have explained that the day of the marriage is a memory worth keeping, and when I think of "the memory" that most people look back on, it's the smiles, the love you see their eyes, and the signature white dress. As someone who does not like social events, and has heard of her fair share of stressful wedding stories, it's hard for me to imagine being able to smile genuinely or to have love in my eyes when I'm stuck answering the same questions over and over all day while wearing the most uncomfortable shoes and clothes. That does not sound like my kind of big day, and luckily, Keith hates being in the spot light, which makes him a poor candidate for his own wedding as well.

So, I started thinking about ways to honor the sanctity of the marriage without having the thought of the process overwhelm me to the point of a panic attack. The solution was clear, chop them up into bite-sized pieces. We decided to get married first, in March. Host a lunch with my side of the family in Taiwan during our trip in May. Do a wedding photo shoot to commemorate "the memory". Then do another brunch with my husband's side of the family when we return. We would get the most important element of all - officiating the marriage - done first, then the rest is just formality. Best part of the entire arrangement, is the professional wedding photography company in Taiwan that we hired. They will take care of creating the best pictures possible, so all we have to focus on that day, is us.

Linwei

I found this company through seeing 2 other friends' wedding photos. The style of the photos were the kinds I was looking for: simple, natural, but really beautiful. I got in contact with them, picked out the service plan we wanted, paid the deposit, then started preparing the list of things they asked for on their check list. Because we planned to do the photo shoot during our trip and we didn't want to carve out too much time for this, we knew we essentially got one shot at this. Being someone who's never done something like this before, it's hard to imagine what you'll all need. So when I saw how thorough the checklist they had prepared for us was, it was a relief. I loved it, and it sure made our lives easier.

The following things were included in the package we chose:

• 5 dresses: 2 white ones, 3 evening ones for the bride
• 2 tuxes: 1 white, 1 black for the groom
• A photography consult, a style and fashion consult, and a personalized plan so everything fits together nicely
• A professional photographer of your choice (I chose mine by going through the sample photos on their web site, they then scheduled me with the photographer that shot the majority of the photos I liked), an assistant, a hair/make up stylist, and a lighting guy who drove us around and helped us with the photo shoot all day (they even took care of lunch!)
• We got to choose up to 5 locations, one for each of the dresses
• Touch up of the photos and editing of the page layouts
• 34 photos printed in a custom-made photo book
• A 24 inch photo with a fancy frame
• A digital slide show
• All original and touched up copies of the photos in their original as well as compressed sizes
• 1 free professional picture per year for the rest of your life!

Extra payable options we purchased were:

• Extra digital photos with no alterations
• 600 book mark sized thank you cards (6 photos on 3 sets of cards)

All of this, and I heard it's still cheaper than hiring a photographer for a day here in Calgary.

I won't bore you with all the details of the back and forth correspondences I had with Linwei, but they were very thorough in assisting us prepare for the perfect photo shoot. From the colour of the socks to reminding us that glasses need to be lens-less; from a recommendation of my hair colour to the recommendation of Keith's shoes to bring. We had perhaps around 10 emails conversations prior to going to Taiwan, then another meeting when we got there to discuss location vs dress/suit pairing.

Pre Photo Shoot

After we arrived in Taiwan and had the initial meeting, it's time for us to get our dresses/suits. Keith had a tailor take his measurements for his black/white tux, even the shirts and white shoes were included. That took around 45 minutes, and then it was my turn. I was determined to get the dress picking done as quickly as possible, and I did go through it as quickly as I could, but the dresses took so long to put on properly, that even with a personal assistant, it still took 4 hours. The second floor of the photo company was covered wall-to-wall with dresses, there must have been over 300 of them. I personally tried on 8 or 9, but even that was already a huge workout.

After the dresses were chosen, they advised on the colour of the shirts Keith could buy if he wanted more variety with his wardrobe.

The next day Keith hurried around looking for shirts and belts he wanted while I went to get my nails done. The style I had picked out was gorgeous, I never knew that pretty nails could increase the enjoyment of my life, but it did. After that, I needed to go back to Linwei to try on the dresses I picked out as they have already altered it according to my size. As the 2 girls help me fit into the dresses properly, they decided that 2 of the 5 dresses needed a couple more tiny corrections, which the alterations department did so right then and there. Another 2 hours have gone by before we were finally able to get some dinner. They reminded us to get a good night sleep as we face a 12 hour photo shoot day ahead of us.

The Photo Shoot

8:00 AM

• We arrived at Linwei and got started on make up right away. Keith was done in 20 minutes, but mine took about 2 hours.
• My make up was sprayed on, including my shoulders and arms. My hair was teased, then curled, then pinned to perfection. I requested for them to make my eyes as big as naturally possible, and that meant having 3 pairs of false lashes put on. Everything was executed with care and they made sure everything was perfect, even if it meant doing it over a few more times.
• Each of the 5 hair styles were pre-negotiated and confirmed again before we left for the shoot. The hair and makeup person got my input on each of the accessories she had picked out for me. As well, Keith's assistant ran his bow ties and ties through us before finalizing things too. (well, he asked Keith and Keith told him to ask me)

10:00 AM

First Set 

@ the cute vintage home decor store Zakka

• Saw this cute store on Linwei's sample pictures and asked them to book it for me. The booking fee was $30 CAD for the hour.

• The lighting assistant patiently taught us how to follow the photographer's posing commands while my assistant made sure I had flats after each location change so I could walk easier.

• We took some photos in the main store as well as the empty rooms next to the store.

1:30 PM

Second Set
@ Sun Moon Lake

• There was a risk of light rain that day, and the overcast weather made it easier for us to look straight at the sky. But even so, we couldn't stop squinting.

• The photographer had hoped to get a few "elegant" pictures of us smiling with our mouths closed, but because both of us were having such a hard time opening up our eyes, she gave up that idea and had us smiling bigger or laugh instead. She told us that at least that way, we would look more natural.

• As Sun Moon Lake is a public area, there were people walking around where we were doing the shoot. It was particularly troublesome when cyclists went by during the shoot on the wooden path way. We had to get up and get back into position each time.

• Half way through the shoot, a suspicious red car parked right beside us. I had the feeling I was being watched, and long a behold, it was my mom and my aunt! Somehow, they had found us despite not knowing exactly where we were and when we were going to be there.

3:00 PM

Third Set
@ Taiwan Adventist College

• This is the campus where my parents taught and where I grew up. I have so many memories here and definitely wanted to capture its beauty while I can.

• We first went into the church for a portion of the shoot. All the pretty lights were turned on and I asked to take photos by the piano.

• We then went to the most famous path in the school where even some car commercials were filmed. The sky had broke just a bit and we were able to get the most beautiful colours in our pictures.

• I'm glad my parents were able to be part of our photo shoot a little bit. I know they really wanted to be there.

6:00 PM

Fourth Set
@ Linwei Studio - decorated wall & secret room

• After the Sun Moon Lake shoot, the photographer suggested we head back to the studio so we can take some photos without our eyes being bothered by the sun. After being in the car all day going from one location to the other, we gladly obliged.

• The first set we did in the studio was with the teal dress. We were brought to an area where the walls were decorated very nicely. Then, with a code the photographer entered onto a key pad, a sliding door opened revealing a secret room filled with what I can only assume were their most expensive dresses. 

• It was nice being back in the studio again, somewhere with air conditioning, away from the elements.

7:30 PM

Fifth Set
@ Linwei Studio - plain backdrop

• The last shoot took place in a room with a plain back drop. I had asked for some "behind the scene" looking photos to be taken, and they were lovely.

• Not sure if it was because that by this time, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, I loved this last shoot. I was relaxed, happy, and the whole crew had a great time.

• Finally the photographer said her last "ok", and you could hear a silent cheer that rang through the air. We thanked everyone and changed back into our own clothes.

As I settled the day's bills with the front desk, the lighting assistant carefully folded our clothes and packed them into the suitcase we brought with us. The care and professionalism of the entire staff is something I'll never forget. They truly had our best interest in mind and focused on getting us the best pictures possible.

We stepped into the taxi they got for us at 8:20 pm. We contemplated going to the night market but was too beat so headed home instead. Relieved that we're finally out of our suits/dresses and make up, we ended our exhausting but satisfying day by chugging down a bowl of instant noodles and went to bed.

Post Photo Shoot

Two days later, we returned to the studio to pick out the photos we liked. In additional to the 34 that were part of our package, we paid for an extra 47 as all of them turned out amazingly. From the planning to the execution, and from the communication to the delivery of our final products, I couldn't have hoped for a better company to take care of us. This was an amazing experience, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is considering having their wedding photos professionally done.

Our Wedding (updated Mar. 5, 2017)
We haven't told a lot of people about our wedding, and that's because we didn't really have one in the traditional sense. Keith's dad was very sick at the time actually, so we decided to have it at the hospital.

Click here to see our Japan & Taiwan travel video!