It's been a good four years - that was how long it took before my last blog post till this. It almost feels like I've forgotten how to pen my thoughts down. A lot has changed, for me, for everyone, and for the world since the pandemic. I have a new job, am finally moving into our new house soon, and we're officially married! Yes, I did contemplate coming to this space to jot down my thoughts from the wedding but never got down to it due to the thought of always having to be putting my work and my job as a top priority. Now that I'm down with COVID (currently Day 6 and functioning more than the past days), also with a lot of reflecting the past days, I thought why not just allow myself this breather and revive some of my hobbies?

2021 was a tough year for many, I presume. Including myself. It was my first full year in my job and learning the ropes (having to transition from a marketing role to a sales self-employed role), not being able to visit my loved ones and relatives in Malaysia due to the closure of the borders, and having lost two precious family members all whilst unable to even give them a proper sendoff due to COVID. It was one of my painful periods losing my grandma (used to visit her biweekly in Malaysia), and my cousin in an accident in JB. Everything happened just months away before my wedding took place hence I was torn between different kinds of emotions. One of the reasons too why I never really did share a lot on my Pre-Wed shoot photos.

Its been a year since then, and I'm sure they are definitely watching us from above and overjoyed for the occasion. Thought of sharing some of the special moments we had, from our Pre-Wedding shoot to our actual day wedding which I'll be leaving for the next post.


Here was the IG Reel I posted many months back on some of our pre-wed photos, thought I'd share more of them here today. If you happened to chance upon this post to get inspiration for your next photoshoot location, congratulations to you! Hopefully, this can give you a better idea and some tips for your pre-wed shoot. By the way, these are all unfiltered, because I couldn't bother adding presets to save some time, but hope this also gives a better idea of what it looks like by nature. 

1. National Gallery Singapore (outdoors)

 


Memory isn't too good as this was actually a year ago, but I did recall us sleeping only a couple of hours before the shoot itself. Too excited? Not sure, probably due to our bad sleeping habits too. But really, do ensure you get sufficient rest the night before, because I swore we spent half an hour or close to an hour struggling under the hot sun here (it was complimentary to shoot outdoors of National Gallery SG, you'd require to book and pay for the tickets + for your photographer/makeup artist, should you like to shoot indoors, and it was already fully booked). To the extent of which I actually felt like fainting and my head was spinning (was not pregnant though), had to even loosen up my wedding gown slightly. Thankfully, my photographer and makeup artist were really patient with me, including my then-fiance hehe. We had our professional photographer recommend us an alternate location which was indoors and was air-conditioned, truly thankful! 

2. National Museum (indoors) 

 

Before our shoot itself, we had a choice of picking the theme/style of the type of shoot we'd like to go for. Naturally for myself, I prefer something fun and casual, something we could look back and laugh upon, and remember the moments we had during the journey. Some of the styles we chose were Fun & Storytelling, instead of some of the other options such as Rustic or Formal. It said a lot about both our characters, our relationship, and how we got to know each other (that was like almost 9 years ago when we were in our Polytechnic days). 

Our photographer was PERFECT by the way. His name is Jackson from MyDreamWedding, whose services we paid fully for and they didn't fail to give us an impeccable wedding journey. Jackson was really experienced and captured all our angles and moments perfectly, never failing to make us laugh too (he has a lovely character and even at moments when I was really tired, he made the entire shoot lively and lifted my spirits). I know it's every girl's dream to go through their wedding experience, but I would say it definitely is tiring too. From the planning to juggling your work in between, managing all these in the midst of COVID too and your friends/relatives' expectations. 

I had a lot of fun shooting here (mostly because it was air-conditioned & indoors too and they had so many pretty shooting spots), paying for the tickets was made so worth it. Afterwhich, we headed to our next location. Oh yes, it would be great if you had a car that day because you have to also drive your makeup artist and photographer around too. It would save a lot of time, also not forgetting the items you have to bring along such as your other gowns/clothes to change into, and props you'd like to use during the different shoots. 

3. Hort Park

We miss you, ah ma. Thank you for being there with us in our hearts and from above.

Stopped by here as a pit stop because it was drizzling for a while, and I had ordered some balloons from Carousell which had yet arrive. It was really close to my next shoot location Canterbury Road, so we decided to pop by for shelter and snap a couple more photos.

Fun fact: We had visited Hort Park initially while looking up wedding venue locations. Basically, those that we visited were:

  1. Wheeler's Estate (picked)
  2. The Summerhouse
  3. Omg I can't remember this
  4. Vineyard at HortPark 

Why I didn't pick the other two was mostly because of the wedding coordinator (I wanted to work with someone I felt I could trust and could respond quick to our enquiries), and also the flexibility Wheeler's Estate gave us. We didn't like that some had certain restrictions which prevented us from fully maximising our AD wedding experience and having to rush to pack etc. which would defeat the purpose. I think for Wei Min and my style, we are people who prefer to take things as it go, to enjoy the moment for what it is, and for our guests to also enjoy their time with us.

While HortPark was definitely a beautiful place, we didn't pick it in the end but I was still happy that we got to take some photos there :)

4. Canterbury Road

Omg, I love this series so much but I'm not going to flood you with too many. Will try to pick some of my favorite ones (but I love everything!). Ok but I do love our night series photos too. Basically, our photographer Jackson did an amazing job! 

 
 

Oh but I think our wedding vendor might have added some effects to the last series with the balloons for the vintage effect. Anyways, was really pleased picking this location because of many reasons. One, it is free! Two, it is a great location to capture the sunset moments, and we were blessed to have the drizzling stop after some time so we could continue with the shoot. We spotted another couple there too who had some friends helping out with their proposal, but other than that we probably picked a day it was quieter and had a lot of space to ourselves. It was great. And yes, three, natural light.

This was where we also changed out from our formal gowns and suits to casual attire. We were supposed to pick out some form of couple wear from Uniqlo but guess we didn't manage to get around it or find anything suitable, so we basically picked something from our wardrobes and it turned out great. Many couples also opt for denim wear if you manage to find something along the lines that fit your shoot theme. 

Definitely love, love, love this shoot location. Would hands down love to have another one here next time, probably when we're celebrating another milestone!

5. Wheeler's Estate 

 

Can I just also add that I have spent a few hours on this post up till now, must have been too long since I last wrote a post, and am not used to this haha.

Anyway, yes. Our final pre-wedding shoot location was none other than our wedding venue. Now that I do recall the rationale behind this, it was because there were several solemnisation spots I could choose from when we picked Wheeler's Estate for the venue, and I absolutely loved their Woods theme (the spot you see above), which initially wasn't the location I picked & even though we eventually chose this for the AD, it was a wedding lunch that we settled on (due to the 'auspicious time'), and it definitely didn't have these glow in the dark effects you see above. 

My understanding is that guests who have engaged Wheeler's Estate as their vendor would be able to arrange for a shoot here foc, just like we did. However, those who didn't would need to pay a fee just like many other venues if you're looking to shoot there. But from the pictures taken that night, it really is 101% worth it. We even made a last-minute decision to get sparklers (yes, from Carousell) the night before, and it made such a difference too! So, so happy.

One more thing, I believe one of their regulars at Wheeler's was also a biker, and he so very kindly allowed us to snap a couple of pictures with his Harley during the shoot. Ok sorry, not a rider and just a pillion (I did attempt getting my Class 2B license but didn't continue sorry Wei Min hehe), but for him who is a regular biker and bike-lover, think he was ecstated haha. Even Jackson our photographer requested for a shot on his phone with it. So cute.

So yes, that was how our full-day shoot went. In between locations, we did do a little touchup for my makeup and have some light bites and drinks for us and our photographer/MUA too. 

Us in the AM doing our makeup and preparing for the shoot. What a long day it was, really. 

Other popular Pre-Wed shoot locations worth mentioning:

  • Botanic Gardens
  • Fort Canning Park
  • Telok Blangah Hill Park
  • Lower Pierce Reservoir
  • People's Park Complex
  • Coney Island (only if you don't mind walking)
Wishing all of you a blissful marriage and hope this helped!

Love, Cy & Wm hehe