It has been 3 months since my own wedding! After much procrastination, I have decided that I should start penning down my feedback and experience before I start forgetting the details. 

It will be a very long post if I squeeze everything here, so I will break it up into parts like what I did with my evaluation process of PGs & VGs previously (part 1, part 2, part 3):

• Part 1: PWS with AndroidsinBoots (Sam) and Justrealle Photography
• Part 2: AD vendors (coming soon)
• PG: Arture Photography
• VG: Momentold Productions
• Gown: WeddingCrafters
• Suit: Men’s Tradition
• Makeup: Autelier Makeup – Julie Kim
• Venue: Parkroyal on Beach Road
• Part 3: Wedding planning tips & resources (coming soon)

AndroidsinBoots

(link)

The planning

I engaged AndroidsinBoots back in December 2017 for a casual couple photoshoot. When I first shared that I was doing a shoot with AndroidsinBoots on Budget Brides, I received quite several enquiries from fellow BTBs on the cost, as many perceived them to be quite expensive. There’s a cheat code to this.

If you have subscribed to The Entertainer app (a subscription offering one-for-one deals), you will be able to find the AndroidsinBoots offer. It used to be 1 hour for 1 hour, but it has been revised to 50% off for a 60 minutes shoot. Those without the app, don’t be in a hurry to subscribe. Just ask around your family & circle of friends, it is not difficult to find someone with the app (who probably have no use for this offer). Do note that this offer is valid only for their associate photographers.

To book, you will have to contact them directly to make an appointment. I made contact with them via Facebook Messenger, which is a lot faster than emails.

During the meeting, I met with Samantha (Sam), the assigned photographer, who walked me through her portfolio in their very cozy office. We then discussed the dates and the locations via WhatsApp. AndroidsinBoots keeps a listing of location, which Sam shared with me as a reference. It is helpful for those who are clueless on where to do their shoots.

The shoot

We were supposed to meet early in the morning for shoot, but due to gloomy weather, Sam proposed to shift the shoot to the late afternoon. When we arrived at the shoot location, Sam was already there and had done some recee on-site to scout for ideal shoot locations. 

Despite changing the schedule of the shoot, we were unable to avoid the rain. It poured quite heavily mid-way through the shoot, but Sam was accommodating. She was also spontaneous and proposed fun things that we could do. We were wary of corny shots, so we were glad that her direction is aligned with what we have in mind. Although we didn’t have too much expectations, we were really impressed by the quality of the photos captured by Sam! 

It’s easier to let the photos do the talking…

Photo credits: AndroidsinBoots (Sam)

Justrealle Photography

 (link)

The planning

I came across Justrealle / Jazreel by chance through a friend, and thought that her style of photography was similar to what we were looking for. We wasted no time in contacting her to set up a meeting. We could feel her enthusiasm from the meeting as we shared our ideas. Despite being relatively new to the trade (she’s doing this part-time), she has relevant portfolio to share. If my memory serves me well, we decided to engage her the very same night we met her.

Due to her full-time job, Jazreel can confirm her schedule only 2 months in advance (she does not do AD at the moment). In any case, there’s usually flexibility for PWS, so we were not really concerned with this limitation.

As we were doing a full day PWS, we had to plan our shoot locations & timing strategically. My fiancé and I did a site recee, took photos of potential photo spots and shared them with Jazreel. Jazreel did her own site recee prior to the shoot as well, to gain some familiarity. For commercial locations, do request for permission from the operator before your shoot. We had wanted to include Mustafa, but we never heard back from them, and so took them out from our list.

The shoot

The entire shoot took about 6-7 hours (excluding a short break we took in between). We were clearly exhausted, but Jazreel maintained her high energy throughout the shoot! Jazreel hit it off really well with us and also my family (as we took our break at home). The rapport she established made the entire shoot a lot more enjoyable. Although the weather was a bit of a downer (it poured really heavily at our last location), we were having a lot of fun all thanks to her spontaneity.

Jazreel also provided varied art direction to create different moods (happy, solemn, cool etc.), which gave us a good narrative when we designed our wedding album. She’s a very dedicated photographer – we could tell how passionate she was about the shoot that she even brought her own props as a back up! Prices wise, it was very reasonable. In fact, the most value for money PG I have came across.

We received over 400 photos from her (not that quantity matters). It was difficult to filter as we loved most of them! Here are some examples for your reference: 

(This is where your assistant will come in handy... as a calefare!)

(We love the vibes of this photo. Check out all the passerbys smiling & posing in this photo)

Photo credits: Justrealle Photography

Location: Jalan Besar, The Great Madras Hotel, The Prudential Marina Bay Carnival

Makeup: Autelier Makeup (Julie Kim) 

Other tips & advice:

When it comes down to PWS, it is important that you provide good direction to your photographers on the mood you would like to capture. Sharing references of similar shoots in a similar context or location helps with visualisation, provides ideas and lowers likelihood of misalignment.

Your photographer can only work his/her magic only if you are at your best. It is, therefore, very important to be relaxed and maintain that smile throughout the shoot! To help you warm up, consider bursting into laughter together (fake of course) on the count of 3. It sounds silly, but that was how we created our ‘happy’ photos.

Make contingencies in the event that things don’t go according to plan. One thing you can’t control is the weather, so always ensure you have a wet weather plan or be prepared to reschedule.

On the logistics, make sure you are well packed. These are things that would come in handy on your shoot:

• Makeup: Lipstick, loose powder and facial blotters for touching up
• Facial & wet tissue
• Sun protection: Sunglasses, umbrella, fan
• Change of clothes: additional outfits / shirts, normal civilian clothes (to wear post shoot), slippers, stick-on-bras (it can fall off if you perspire too much)
• F&B: bottled water, snacks to munch on etc.
• Props that bring out your personality or are in theme with the style of shoot (in our case, we brought a vintage bike, old school glasses, suspenders, vintage books)
• It is also best that you get a friend (preferably someone who can drive) to tag along for the shoot. While you are getting ready for the shoot at the next location, this friend can help to park the car so that you avoid losing time. This person can also serve as your PA, porter or calefare :P

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