I’ve always dreamt of having a pre wedding shoot done overseas and had the privilege of getting it done in not only New Zealand but Penang, Malaysia as well!

I’m a bride to be myself and I understand the frustrations of planning a pre wedding shoot overseas cause namely :

1. Cost is a huge factor

2. Where on earth am I going to rent the gowns from

3. Do I trust the local Photographers

4. Communication

5. Is it safe since there isn’t an office in sg

It’s how you prioritise the 5 most obvious reasons when deciding on an overseas wedding shoot… and for me COST is def the most crucial factor since I’ve got the banquet to worry about as well.

Needless to say, many of us singaporeans have turned to our neighbouring country, Malaysia to support our ” dream wedding”. Which is what this entire post is about…

why not Penang for your wedding shoot?

I chanced upon Joiez bridal in Penang when researching for indoor/outdoor pre wedding shoots. Like any other bridal studios in Singapore, they provide not only gown/ suit rentals but makeup/ hair as well as photography! It never really crossed my mind to head down to Penang till one of friends mentioned ” why not Penang?”

I googled on the airfares and the 1 hr 30min plane ride for 2 merely cost $200+ via Air Asia! Super cheap + food and lodging there is very very affordable as well. Furthermore, Singapore currency is right now so much stronger than Malaysia ringgit… so you can save x3 the amount!!

I started researching on joiez bridal as they were one of the popular ones in Penang. Having 7 years of experience, I love their photography style which is very casual and candid. Nothing too posey or awkward.

The gowns are very similar to the Korean trend… whereby the bride dons on a basic gown and has many overlay pieces to change up the look!

If you’ve got a keen eye, you’ll be able to tell I’m actually wearing the lace overlay over the satin gown! This is one of my favourite solo shots of myself btw ❤️

After much calculations and googling on the reputation of joiez bridal, my Husband and I were SOLD and decided to fly up 2 months ago for the shoot!

The experience

All the liaising was done through whatsapp or phone calls with joiez bridal. They were very helpful in advising us on locations and hotel stays. They even helped us book 2 nights at E&O hotel!

Husband Sim and I wanted the shoot to be more classy/elegant yet fun and candid. We mentioned that we didn’t want to do an indoor shoot at their studio ( even though their settings are mad gorgeous, kinda regretted haha).

After a week of discussion, joiez bridal studio convinced us to have a few settings at the E&O hotel and along the streets to show what Penang has to offer.

Itinerary for Penang

It was a pity that Husband and I didn’t have much time to spare so we were only in Penang for 3 days 2 nights.

Day 1. We headed down to the joiez bridal studio to choose my 3 gowns. Husband Sim had 2 suits. We did a fitting there and then. Alteration was done on the spot in like 15mins!!

Day 2. Day of the shoot. We headed down to joiez bridal.. abt 10mins Uber ride from the hotel to get our hair and makeup done. I opted for loose curls and light makeup. I wanted to look more “me” in the photos. By 12 pm, we were at the hotel ready for the shoot! Still very “me” right? Haha it was one of my Husband requests to make sure I don’t “lose” myself in the shoots and look so dramatically different from photos and in person. Haha he loves me for my natural state awww 💕

E&O hotel

We had the luxury of a suite throughout our stay and what can I say!! The service is impeccable and I loveeeee the hotel breakfast! The spread is by far the best hotel breakfast I ever had! The hotel kinda reminds me of Singapore’s very own raffles hotel. Quaint and historic! Joiez bridal chose this dark navy gown for me with light shimmers and a plunging neck! I love this gown omg… it’s very comfortable and light weight. Walking around in this gown made is extra easy since I wasn’t carrying 3kg worth of tulle from scene to scene. We had 3 girls and 1 photographer throughout the shoot and they were Super helpful. Besides helping me choose this gorgeous gown to match the setting, they helped us adjust our hair, gown and suits. Everyone was so friendly which made the atmosphere very light! Brownie points for that cause without them, our photos wouldn’t be able to turn out this amazing!!We moved on to change out of our first outfit and took some pictures in our suite!I changed to a satin gown this time round with a floor length train! Very elegant and demure.. this was my favourite out of all the gowns I wore! I always found it hard to pull off a satin gown since the fabric is very very unforgiving… gotta be slim and tall in my opinion! The dress hugs me all at the right places! Featuring my assets of course and waist. It flows down perfectly! Even though I was barefoot in most of my pics in the room, the photographer managed to capture the better angles, ensuring I’m not that stumpy (haha)The toilet black and white scene shot! HAHAA let me share that it was very very painful to get this shot. The both of us were freaking uncomfortable as my Husband laid in the bathtub first and I had to climb over him without putting 100% of my weight. Then again, anything for a good shot right??

HahahahaThe last scene was an outdoor shoot down the famous Penang road side stalls. The weather is very unforgiving and i remember the both of us sweating buckets. Hahah another thing to note for outdoor shoots, – not as easy as it seems so…… be prepared!we changed into our casual gown and shirt for the outdoor scene! Being abit more cliche, we also wore our matching Gucci sneakers for a personal touch! This gown is gained the most “LIKED” on Instagram and I’m starting to see why!

The photographer and girls were very jovial which made the shoot so fun!! I think this is by far, the best shoot we’ve done? The most fun we had! The shots and poses all came naturally and we had very little guidance which is 💯👍🏻

Even Husband Sim, whom is camera shy also told me he had a very enjoyable time during the shoot! The girls and photographer were all very young which made it easier for them to understand our expectations and “click” with us to Ensure all of us are having a goodtime.

My take on the entire experience with @joiezbridal 💕

I liked how the team were very candid with me right from the beginning, explaining the prices and package details. They were transparent with everything that is included… hence no hidden cost ( eg, TOP up for eyelash, ampoules)

The gown range is also very wide and there are no difference to top up for for the gowns! Btw the gowns I wore were in collaboration with “Leanne atelier” ( same name as me!) and they do provide customisable wedding gowns.

They’ve also cater packages specially for couples like us! Whom are not locals but with the intention to have a shoot with them. Like my experience, everything was done within 3 days –

Day 1 choosing gowns

Day 2 photoshoot

Day 3 fly home

The after service provided was all done via whatsapp and emails whereby they discussed with me about the chosen photos, album design as well as photo editing styles. Everything was completed very promptly and I had zero worries on the follow ups! Courier for the albums and frames are at an additional cost from my side.

So the burning question… what’s the damage paid for the shoot with @joiezbridal 💵💰💸

Diving it out by 3 ( yay thanks to stronger currency), it’s just above 2k with no add ons.

My package includes :

3 gowns, 3 suits

3 sets of makeup and hair styling

2 scenes at e&o hotel

Out door shoot within Penang

Album 12 x 15″

Enlargement –

20″ x 30″ ( 1 piece)

10″ x 15″ ( 2 pieces)

50 edited photos printed in album and soft copies , 50 colour corrected photos in soft copies

Montage

I think it was an experience well spent!! On TOP of having a mini getaway and feed our bellies fat with Penang hawker food, we managed to squeeze in time for a pre wedding shoot with one of the most fun teams we’ve worked with till date.

Whoever said an overseas pre wedding shoot is costly should think twice now!

If you’re interested to find out more :

You can follow them on Instagram -@joiezbridal

Or whatsapp them at +60111077798

Check out my Instagram for more behind the scenes @leannelow

Thank you for reading! Email me @ leanne_low@hotmail.com if you’ve got any queries!

Will be happy tohelp 💕