We got to the studio to take our wedding photos around 9:30 am on Sunday. At that time Cathy got her hair and makeup done and discussed the final locations for the outdoor shots. We also looked at a few photo books and decided which poses we liked the most. From the looks of other wedding photo albums in Taiwan, the wedding photos seem to trump the reception in importance. The giant book of photos and an enormous framed picture always adorn the entrance of a reception. Small wallet-sized photos are also feverishly grabbed by guests on their way in. I have no idea what people do with the 4 or 5 different pictures they each grab after they’ve gone home.
After Cathy got the hair and makeup treatment and I got my hair done [in a fraction of the time] we headed to the photo studio. I met the photographer a couple months ago when he came to the school I work at to take class pictures of the children. I asked him a few questions and got his company’s business card. Later, I found out the studio also did one of Cathy’s sister’s photos.
The photographer and his assistant took great care and time in our poses for each shot. After a few poses we were sent back out for costume changes and hairstyle changes stopping only for a brief lunch break. The shots I took that are pictured here were taken in-between our time in the dungeon studio.
We packed the van and left for our outdoor shots around 4 pm. The weather was really hot and sunny. Our first location was a nearby cafe [near the Jhonsing Lotus Ponds]. Our pictures struck the curiosity of people outside cafe, one person approached our photographer to inform him that I was sweating profusely. Thankfully we left after a couple shots. Our next location was on one of the tree-lined streets in town. These shots required extra patience because we had to wait for the motorists to pass between shots. Cathy [or me] received a few honks and hollers from passing drivers. After that we were driven to a much more pleasant [shaded] area of a park for a few shots.
Shortly after that we were whisked to Nantou City for some shots in front of a western-style cafe followed by an old school. We were rapidly running out of daylight at this point when our photographer drove us up to a tea farm for some final shots before nightfall.
We returned to the wedding photo studio a little after 7 pm. Luckily, Cathy still had one smile left in her for the photo above.
Dude-big congratulations. Your bride looks absolutely radiant!
Thanks Mark! We get to choose the pictures we like on Wednesday evening…
Are we going to get to see some of the final results?
Be prepared for the hard sell on Wednesday evening. A lot of these photo studios make their money by “encouraging” couples to order extra copies beyond the number provided in the initial package.
I don’t know when I’ll get digital copies to post here Jim. As for Wednesday, we originally ordered 36 pictures, we got an additional 4 because we opted out of the giant photo printed on a wall scroll. After that we couldn’t decide on six to get rid of so we bargained down the original price for adding six pictures down to about 1/3 of their listed price.
Holy smokes!
Cathy looks absolutely stunning in every dress! Wow! Does she have a favourite? Sounds like they really do things right for weddings in Taiwan - how cool is that to have an excuse to take stunning photos with your beautiful bride? It’ll be so exciting to get the prints back. Congrats to you both!!
Hi Kiwian,
Thanks, her favorites were a black one she wore in the studio and the red one I pictured at the end. Unfortunately, we didn’t get many shots of her in the red one because it was the last one she wore and it was at the very end of the shoot when there was little daylight out. I think we get to see what it will look like before printing next week.
My wife and I had our wedding photos taken in Taipei - it was a wonderful experience - the photos turned out great. Hope you guys got a book made.
Nathan - we ordered the whole package: small and large book, giant framed picture, invitation cards, and xie cards.