We happened to chance upon their roadshow in Singapore Expo last year and bought a package from them. There are only 2 Taiwan bridal companies with physical shops in Singapore and I thought it would be easier to communicate with the Singapore branch in case of any concerns. Do check out their Facebook pages here – Bluebay Wedding and Cangai Wedding. l decided to choose Bluebay (the Singapore in-charge is Maggie) as my friend complained that she was not satisfied with the photographs from Cangai Wedding and there were many rounds of editing to correct it. I always dreamt of having my bridal shoot in Taiwan and thanks to my fiancé for fulfilling this wish.
My Bluebay package (no actual day package) cost $2280 and consists of:
- The 12″x18″ album – l bargained till 39 photos
- 1 album of behind-the-scenes shots without edits – 60 photos
- 2 desktop photos (actually it was only one but l converted the 100 Thank You cards to another desktop photo as I feel it’s not suited for our culture here )
- 20″x30″ canvas mounted photo with frame
- 1 ferris wheel consisting of 6 small photos
- 1 guest book
- Photo album suitcase
- Electronic file of selected photos
Gown fitting
The weather everywhere is quite extreme nowadays. March was supposed to be warmer but when we arrived, it was raining. My friend who also went Taipei for her bridal photo-shoot 2 weeks later, on 21 March, told me that the weather was super hot and sunny! We decided to have our photo-shoot in March so that we can take photos of the cherry blossoms. Xiao Wen (a sweet, young lady) assisted me with the gown fitting and l selected 2 white gowns and 3 evening gowns. There was a huge selection of gowns to choose from but some of them look rather worn out, like it had been used many times. There were some newer gowns/designs as well, so do ask for the newer gowns if you prefer it. The gown selection area was comfortable, private and spacious. There was another bride choosing her gown at the other end of the room as the area could cater to 2 brides at the same time.
Photo-shoot
It started to drizzle later in the afternoon and was quite cold at 15 degrees that day. There were a total of 4 Singaporean couples departing for their photo-shoots on the same day. It seems like Bluebay is a popular choice among Singaporeans. We had Kiwi (photographer), Mei Zhen (Make-up artist), Xiao E (Lighting Technician) for that day. For the additional fees, l paid NT4000 for a box of serum to Mei Zhen and another NT4800 to the driver in cash.
Before we depart for the shooting destination, there was a brief communication with Kiwi to let him know our preferences. He asked me what “feel“ l would like for my album. Frankly, l have absolutely no idea and had not researched on that. I would advise couples to do some research and think about the “feel” you want, whether you prefer something romantic, young & bubbly or Korean style, etc. Actually, it would be better if Bluebay could provide some bridal magazines for me to browse through before he asked me this question.
Kiwi was rather humorous and cracked jokes to lighten the mood to make me smile naturally for the photo-shoot. Xiao E is a helpful and pretty girl, who helped to take care of me and assisted Kiwi with the lighting and equipment.
Mei Zhen managed to give me a natural make-up that did not look too thick. I got praises from my friends when l showed them my photographs. However, l found her to be rather fierce when she was applying make-up for me in the morning. She told me to give her a response so that she knows l understand her instructions. I tried but l really do not understand some of the mandarin she used and therefore could not give her any response! However, it was such a long, tiring day that l quite forgotten about what happened in the morning.
I experienced taking photos in the rain, pretending to pose and smile like it was a sunny day. It was freezing cold but l still managed to smile wearing so little! Fortunately, they quickly came over to wrap my jacket around me whenever l finished a shoot. I also had to changed my gown in a makeshift tent in public as l did not choose those thematic locations with entrance fee where they had proper toilets and changing rooms. I saw a bride from another bridal company changing out of her gown in full view of the public eye! It must be difficult trying to wriggle out of a gown with another gown on top to cover you! We finished the shoot at around 8.30 pm that day. It was a long, tiring but fun day.
I added another 16 photos to make up to a total of 55 photos for my album. Each top-up cost around NT1600. Overall, we were still satisfied with the photos but feel that the poses were not very special, it was just “safe” and normal shots of us holding hands and standing next to each other. The weather that day was also terrible which was why we couldn’t wait to leave each destination and that could have affected the quality of the photos. I like to stress that they did not pressured us to top up more photos as they knew we were going to buy some anyway. I heard of horror stories of some Taiwan Bridal shops not allowing the couple to leave or held them hostage till 1 am unless they bought more photos. But Bluebay is nothing like this, I found Bluebay to be professional as they have a reputation to uphold. Vicky also provided us with good advice on choosing the right album cover and frame.
Post Photo-shoot
We are now still waiting for the final edits to the layouts. I am really afraid that the album would not come in time for my wedding in July. I left all the email writing to him (directly to Bluebay Taiwan) as I wasn’t good in writing Chinese. They had gotten our instructions wrong once and l hope that my 5th layout edits will be the last one before l finally received my album (fingers crossed).
I love to hear from you, please feel free to send me your comments below.
Thank you for reading. 🙂
Joyce says
August 25, 2014 at 3:25 amNice wedding shots u got….
Pls upload more photos pls…
Miss Chocoholic says
August 25, 2014 at 9:21 amThanks Joyce…I have created the video above and all the TW photos are there…:)
Sue says
June 7, 2015 at 2:58 pmLovely Photos!
I have a question, I have read through so many blogs about wedding photo shoots that take place in Taiwan. Wedding Photography is a big deal there, I know. I just recently been catering to tourists who want to shoot in Japan. When you went to the bridal fair at Singapore Expo were there any other destinations that caught your eye, or was it the package deal that made you pick Taiwan.
Thanks,
Sue
Miss Chocoholic says
June 7, 2015 at 3:35 pmHey Sue! I think South Korea is a big destination for bridal shoots too given that K pop and K wave is such a huge trend right now. The cost of the bridal package would also be a concern. Couples who are more well off would definitely pick Italy and other parts of Europe. Taiwan, on the other hand, has beautiful scenery and is more affordable as well for couples who does not want to burst their budget. 🙂
Christine says
November 20, 2015 at 7:30 pmhi! i am considering bluebay as well. however, it seems like bluebay likes to get the couple to buy many ampoules. was it necessary? my friend did her shoot in singapore (hot and humid) but only use 2 (1 for hub 1 for herself) or can we bring our own ampoules? i also read somewhere that kiwi usually dont do tw shoot, how did you manage to get him? thank you!!
Miss Chocoholic says
November 21, 2015 at 1:20 amHi Christine, yes you can buy the ampoules here then bring over. But the reason why I bought 1 box of ampoules from my MUA is to maintain good relations. Imagine the MUA need to follow u for photoshoot the whole day, if u buy the ampoules from her and let her earn a bit instead of bringing your own stuff, she will also appreciates and do a better job. That’s just my two cents worth of course, but its really up to u. When I was in TW, I actually wanted another photographer, but he quited, so they give me the next most senior photographer, who is Kiwi. Kiwi is not too bad but I find his shots lack creativity and new ideas, compared to another couple who had a younger photographer with them. I think u could request to see their portfolio first before deciding on who to pick.
Christine says
November 21, 2015 at 9:21 amthank u for the advice! i thought is the BS earns. haha. i was told unable to choose my own photographer. and now kiwi n baby dont do tw shoots unless they happen to be in tw. bluebay market this duo on their fb for overseas shoot. we really like the horse pix!! so nice. this was recommended to us too. hope we can get him. lol.
Miss Chocoholic says
November 21, 2015 at 4:53 pmFor the horse, a older horse is better as they are less energetic & more obedient… Haha.. Maybe u can look for Elly in Sg (I always see her in BB roadshows)& see if she can help u with the photographer. She helped me last time…
Christine says
December 3, 2015 at 11:46 amonly manage to get 36 photos 🙁 the package price also change alot! now is 2.8k but she gave me the previous rate so I enquire that time was this rate. the photographer she say will try to let me have kiwi but MUA cant choose tho. my coordinator is maggie.
Miss Chocoholic says
December 4, 2015 at 12:53 amSuch things like wedding and housing renovation prices always increase a lot every year, that why we bought the Bluebay package early during roadshow and only went TW 1 year later for the photoshoot. Maggie is very helpful too and did give us lots of tips to prepare us for our TW trip last year! 🙂
Klauss says
March 28, 2016 at 4:06 pmIt is a pity that the weather was gloomy otherwise it would be more fun 🙂
xilda says
September 28, 2016 at 11:40 amHi may i know which hotel did you stay in taipei? did you have to stay near the bluebay office or ximending is good enough? thanks!
Miss Chocoholic says
September 28, 2016 at 12:40 pmHi Heather, we stayed at CityInn Plus Ximending hotel, and I like the service of the staff there…. You do not need to stay near BlueBay….Ximending is just a few stations away. I took cab there from my hotel on the morning of my photo-shoot because it was so so early….
Cheryl says
October 19, 2017 at 5:56 pmMay i know how heavy is your album?
Miss Chocoholic says
October 20, 2017 at 12:30 pmI feel it’s quite heavy but it also depend on the material you choose for the album which Bluebay has given me a few choices… I rarely need to move the album around, except for my wedding banquet day….
Sarah lin says
March 2, 2018 at 9:12 amHi i have recently signed a full package with bluebay but too engross and accidentally i make the full payment instead of deposit. I am worry on the end product when i have already make the full payment. Plus i am worry about the financial stability of the company (afraid company close down). May i know how long is the company in singapore?
Miss Chocoholic says
March 2, 2018 at 9:18 amHi Sarah, Bluebay is from Taiwan & I find them rather reputable & professional through my past dealings with them. Whenever I have issues, I just go down to the SG branch to look for the in charge. I think for your concerns, I would advise you bring forward your photo shoot plans earlier.
Ryn says
June 4, 2018 at 12:29 pmHi babe!
Thank you for being so willing to share with the BTBs who are signing with Bluebay.
So glad to come across your website with a review on Bluebay. Am super afraid to get ‘chopped’ as I’ve heard quite a number of horror stories from friends who’ve done PWS in Taiwan. So reading your review sort of made me more confident.
I recently went down to their shop to enquire about prices. Would really appreciate if I could ask you more over email.
Thank you!
Miss Chocoholic says
June 6, 2018 at 12:29 amSure! You can email me at [email protected].