Decisions, decisions!
We signed up for the photo shoot package way back in January at a wedding expo in KL. We didn't take very long to decide as we knew we wanted to visit Taiwan and have our photos taken there. There were very few Taiwanese companies at the expo and to be honest, there were just so many people and the salespersons were trying to get every couple that were passing by to enter their booth. I was overwhelmed!
In the end, we chose New York Vogue (NY 1999) based in Pingtung, Taiwan. Before we signed, I quickly checked online for reviews but only managed to find one or two. As the price was much less than what we had budgeted for, we decided to take it and hope for the best.
Before the trip
NY Vogue contacted us very quickly to try to decide on the dates. We wanted to go around March while it was still Spring but Spring is a popular season and couples had to book at least a year in advance. In the end, we agreed on May.
Between January and May, there were several email exchanges between me and the service rep to confirm the itinerary, photo shoot location and other general questions I had. They usually respond in less than 3 days. Drafting the emails always took ages for me as I had to construct sentences in Chinese. It doesn't come as easy as writing an English email. That was good practice for me!
During this period, I also surfed the internet for reviews as I was slightly worried if we had really chosen a competent company. There weren't many reviews and those that I could find were mixed... some good, some bad. That was when I decided to do a review of NY Vogue after our experience so it could help other couples.
During the trip
Day One (Arrive Taipei- Bus to Taichung- 1 night in Taichung Madrid)
We arrived Taoyuan Airport on 9th May via Air Asia from KK and took a bus to Taichung. NY Vogue had suggested we stop over in Taichung for one night to visit Feng Chia night market before going to Kaohsiung the following day. They helped us pay for a hostel they collaborate with (Taichung Madrid) as this hostel requires advance payment. We would only need to pay NY Vogue when we get to Pingtung. Taichung Madrid is just a few minutes' walk away from Feng Chia night market. The room we got was quite small but it was cosy and had everything we needed.
A little hiccup when we arrived in Taichung. We took Ubus (統聯客運) and I know we had to stop at Chaoma (朝馬) station. We also had Waze ready with Taichung Madrid's address but we just couldn't find it. It was scorching hot that day- we gave up and took a taxi. As the official check-in time is 4pm and it was only around 2pm when we arrived, we were informed by the building security uncle that we had to wait. I was quite anxious as we had plans to meet our friends who were also in Taichung to explore the area around Miyahara. I didn't want to leave our luggage there because it was not a hotel with a proper reception. Thankfully the security uncle helped us call the minsu owner and she came down with the keys and allowed us to check-in earlier.
Day Two (High Speed Rail from Taichung -> Kaohsiung Zuoying -> Picked up by Peter -& Checked in at Xing Guang Da Dao Minsu -> Select gowns at NY Vogue)
We left Taichung via the High Speed Rail to Kaohsiung Zuoying. I bought the rail tickets online a few weeks ago and managed to get the early bird promotion price. Score! We arrived Zuoying slightly past 12 and only had to wait for a few minutes before Peter picked us up at the agreed location. We followed Peter to Kaohsiung city to pick up a couple from Macau who were going to take photos on the same day as us before going to Pingtung. They were really friendly and it was really nice having them around for the next two days!
We left Taichung via the High Speed Rail to Kaohsiung Zuoying. I bought the rail tickets online a few weeks ago and managed to get the early bird promotion price. Score! We arrived Zuoying slightly past 12 and only had to wait for a few minutes before Peter picked us up at the agreed location. We followed Peter to Kaohsiung city to pick up a couple from Macau who were going to take photos on the same day as us before going to Pingtung. They were really friendly and it was really nice having them around for the next two days!
Peter took us to Xing Guang Da Dao to drop our bags before taking us to NY Vogue. Upon reaching the company, we were assisted by Ming Yuan. The first thing was to settle the payment they made on behalf of us to Taichung Madrid (plus an additional NT 30 'transfer fee') and also the additional night stay at Xing Guang Da Dao as our package only included two free nights. Next was to choose our photo shoot location. This took less than five minutes as we had done our homework and were keen to have our photos taken at Chia Yi (嘉義戀戀山城攝影基地). The entrance fee was NT 3,500 and immediately payable.
Next was to choose three suits (black, white and grey) for Mr L. The additional two were to be chosen the following morning while I get my make-up done. They have quite a good selection of suit and we were able to decide very quickly. While Mr L was trying on the suit, the stylist who would be doing my hair and make-up the following day, Ni Ni, came to talk to me about the styles I preferred.
After that, it was my turn to choose five gowns (3 evening gowns and 2 white wedding gowns). I bought nu bra (NT 2,500) from them as the ones I brought were too thin (Sigh! Problems of being 'less endowed'). There was an obvious difference in quality between the one I bought from them and the one I brought so I willingly parted with my money. After all I can always use that on our actual wedding day.
Choosing the five gowns were a breeze as well. They have an extensive selection of gowns. I fell in love with the grey dress at the first sight. Choosing the blue gown was easy as well. The red gown was recommended by Ming Yuan. I was delighted to know they had the long-sleeved lacy white gown. I told Ming Yuan I'd love to wear a white dress with lace and sleeves and she was able to find that for me.
Slight alterations to the dresses were required so they would fit me nicely. They took my measurements and altered the dresses on the spot! I am not used to this level of efficiency and was very impressed :)
When this was done, it was time for dinner. They bought us 便當- our favourite! Our photographer (林sir) was still out shooting so we weren't able to speak to him. However, we got to talk to his colleague about the styles we liked (elegant, natural, no act cute poses). He took down the notes for 林sir and after that, we were off to the minsu to get ready for our beauty sleep!
I didn't exactly have the best sleep as there were mosquitoes around. I am prone to mozzie bites (they love me!) and I woke up in the middle of the night to find that my left eye was bitten. Quickly applied some cream, stuck an anti-mosquito patch on my shirt and went back to bed. I was like an 'all you can eat buffet' for the mozzies at the minsu and they feasted on me every single night I was there. Mr L was spared. Hmmmmp.
Day Three (Photoshoot Day!)
We woke up just before 6am to get ready and to have breakfast at the breakfast shop just few doors away. The minsu comes with a NTD 50 breakfast voucher for each guest. With the combined NTD 100, we were able to have a breakfast burger, pancake and two cups of soy milk. YUMM! We loved it so much we had the exact same thing- three days in a row!
Mr Wang picked us up at 7.30am, together with our new friends from Macau and off we go to NY Vogue!
Ni Ni worked on my hair and make-up immediately. I also ended up purchasing three bottles of ampoules (two for me and one for Mr L. It was NTD 1,500 in total. Mine were for sensitive skin and oil control, while his was purely for oil control) My hair and make-up took more than two hours but I must compliment Ni Ni for her mad skills! I have never felt so comfortable in falsies. Mr L does not usually like me in make-up but even he thought Ni Ni did a great job and according to him, he has never seen me look this good in make-up, not even when I got my make-up done by professionals in Brunei)
After meeting 林sir briefly, we started taking photos within NY Vogue's premises. I had only wanted to wear the lacy gown indoor and leave the remaining four for outdoor shoots. Before long, we were on our way to Chiayi (slightly less than 2 hours' drive away). After a quick lunch break (beef noodles yum!), we got to work right away.
The entire session felt really smooth and was not as tiring as I had imagined. 林sir made us feel very comfortable and gave us very clear instructions. The lighting assistant 阿清 (A- Qing) was very helpful and attentive throughout. He would remind me to change into my slippers whenever we had to walk longer distances and carry my heels for me. Based on Mr L's suit selection, he also brought along bow-ties and ties from the shop to our outdoor location for us to choose. I was very grateful for him. Ni Ni was also able to give me the kind of look I wanted for each outfit and prepared accessories that would match my dresses- right down to the hair extensions that matched my hair colour to create one of the look I showed her on our iPad the day before. Those were just screenshots of some of the images I had saved on Pinterest! Needless to say, I was very impressed.
We were done by aroud 6.30pm! Happy times! After that, they took us to have dinner at a famous Chiayi stall to have 'Huo Ji Fan' 嘉義火雞飯 and 'Lu Rou Fan' 滷肉飯 before driving back to Pingtung.
Day Four (Photo selection day!)
We went to the company by 5pm to begin choosing photos, assisted by Amy. We were so relieved to see how the photos had turned out- they were so much better than we had expected and ended up buying 20 additional photos (a mixture of just soft copy and additional hard copies to be included in the album). We also chose our favourite photo to be our 床頭照 and it was photoshopped for us right there and then. We aimed to bring our 床頭照 to Brunei as one of our check-in baggage. They also prepared our photo album box, music stand and a photo frame we had chosen to bring back to Brunei. This would save us a lot of cost as it reduces the weight of the items they would need to ship to Brunei for us.
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| A raw photo we shared on FB. Not our 床頭照. hehe |
Day Five & Day Eight
We left Kaohsiung on Day Five. Peter picked us up from the minsu and sent us to Zuoying to catch our 11am High Speed Rail to Taipei. By Day Eight (our third last day in Taiwan), we received our 床頭照, packed nicely for us to carry back home!
Now
We will be able to see our photoshopped photos by the end of the month. To be honest, we already adore the raw photos and don't really see the need for photoshop except to cover up some pimples and brighten up some photos.
Our experience with NY Vogue has been good so far. I hope it stays this way right until we receive the shipment of our photo album.
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