This is a continuation from one of my previous posts: Part I. 

The contract prohibited us to bring our own cameras and we have not gotten the digitals yet, so I won’t be able to post any pictures until we get them from the photographer. Photos below are some more from Masa Li Li’s website.

From Masa Li Li

Selecting a photo studio and scheduling a shooting date was just the beginning. The night before our photo shoot, we got a text message to arrive at 10am at the studio after eating a full breakfast. We were also given some other specific instructions, which included to get a good night’s rest and to drink less water the day before. The full breakfast was because we were not going have much time for lunch, however the studio did provide a light snack mid-day. 

Our one-day package had 5 outfits, which meant 5 different shoots. The first three were destinations were exteriors: old abandoned estate, flower garden, and beach/seashore. Our last two were indoor-studio shoots. 

From Masa Li li

10am: We arrived at the studio. Immediately, we were sent into makeup & hair for both bride and groom. (Yes! Even the groom had to wear makeup.) Got dressed into outfit no.1. The makeup artist discussed with me how my hair was going to be done for the second and third outfits, since she doesn’t come along with us for the exterior shoots.

11:30am: Photographer, his assistant, bride and groom were put in a van. We were off! Our first stop was fairly close by, about a 20 minute drive, an old abandoned estate. Cool! This estate had an interior courtyard with a fountain in the middle (no longer working). Vines and grass were overgrown all over the place. Although much of the floors inside the building were collapsed, the columns and steps on the exterior were great backdrops. The first shoot lasted about 30 minutes or so. Before we got started, the photographer instructed us to not smile for this shoot.  

12:30pm: Back at the van with the windows covered, GT helped me change into outfit no.2. The photographer and his assistant helped reapplied my makeup and changed my hairstyle to match the outfit. We immediately departed for our second destination, which was about 30 minutes away.

1:00pm: We arrived at a plant/flower garden with clear skies and lots of sunshine. It was absolutely beautiful, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Not only were there other couples dressed up like us with photographers trailing after them, there were a lot of  spectators as well.  Being shy was not an option. There were people taking pictures of us with their cellphones. This shoot took a lot longer, since we had to walk around to the different fields of flowers. For this shoot, we were to smile as much as possible.  

2:30pm: Back at the van with the windows covered again, I changed into outfit no.3. For the beach, my hair was to be natural and flowing. The photographer sprayed my head down with water and I brushed through all the curls and hairspray on our way to the coastline. By the time we reached the shore, the sun was replaced with layers of clouds and a bit of drizzle. We continued on. This was the toughest one, in my opinion. Not only was it cold and wet, but the corset of the dress was jabbed into my ribs. I have to admit, the photos from the beach were worth the temporary discomfort.

4:00pm: Packed up and on our way back to the studio. Phew! Three down two more to go!

From Masa Li Li

5:30pm: Back in the makeup artist’s station, I was getting my hair recurled, makeup redone. Shoot no. 4 and 5 were done indoors. Other than the sales office, the studio had a few other locations on that same street set up for interior studio shots.

9:00pm: Finally! The day was done.

Two days later, we were back at the studio picking 30 images out of 175. This was not an easy task! These 30 images were to be printed on little cards, bookmarks, and postcards for our guests, as well as placed in an album.

From Masa Li Li

We’re getting the digital images this week. So I’ll post them soon, so keep an eye out for them!