Bridal Shop - Make Me Pretty

by Errolyn

This past weekend has been a whirligig of traipsing around SS2 for gorgeous gowns and glamourous photography at beautiful prices. :)

(Thought I said that very well! )

We spent approximately 2 hours at each bridal house - I don't know how some other couples visited bridal houses all over Klang Valley - I was getting tired out by 3! The first day, we visited de Casamia, RedBliss and Touch Wedding. de Casamia's photography was the most impressive and their design albums and skills in digital photography with special effects was commendable. They were also the most pricey at 4k over. The sales assistant (SA) Candy and manager, Mr Soo were very very nice people though.

RedBliss came highly recommended by a friend at work but we didn't have such a pleasant moment upon walking in - nobody was around to serve us! So we took our own liberties and flipped through the various albums lying all around. Finally, the boss walked past and realised we were potential BUSINESS - hahhahaha - she was very accomodating and her package was JUST sub 4k. However, upon comparison with the photography from our first shop, I preferred the first shop. RedBliss had a nice touch though where they offered a DVD with 'The Making of the Pre-Wedding Photoshoot'. It was a candid video documenting the antics of the couple as they 'struggled' through the photoshoot. That was fun.

In the end though, that hungry, all accomodating look in the lady's eyes was just too much for the paranoid couple that is us. So we didn't put down a deposit even with promises of a FULL REFUND. Sometimes, the 'please your customer completely' strategy backfires huh? I'm not sure if she would have reneged on any of her promises but …… They had pretty nice gowns though - Ju Han loved almost every gown I tried on!

Finally we had to rush through a quick chat with Touch Wedding before our dinner appointment that night. Their albums were sorely lacking in the sense that there was no proper sample album for us to view - in the end, they showed us a customer's album…hmmmm….You see, they only had small 4R pictures stuck onto a black background 'album' with no design or composition ideas whatsoever. Of course, they had gorgeous gowns but I was sceptical if I could ever wear them. Touch's selling point is its designer gowns though apparently, there weren't very many of them. I felt as if I had to be 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds to wear them. Their package was a bit more affordable than the others. Ju Han loved their gowns and liked the sales assistant who attended to us. I loved their indoor shots - they had a very dreamy, romantic in a dark way look to their photos. They seemed very much like glamour shots - really once in a lifetime, 'I stepped off the pages of a magazine' look.

Aiya, no decision yet, we rushed home for dinner and sat down at night to talk about the different companies and their packages. It's just difficult to choose cos it isn't a clear comparison between them. Some places are great at photography, some had good gowns while others still were more easy going and flexible with their packages and what was thrown in (free signature book, more poses, better prices for additional shots, free upgrade on large portrait…etc.)

Of course we had to go back again on Sunday and we had pretty much decided that we were going to check a couple of others out and then go back to Casamia to try to get the best package. We arrived, walked down the hill to the furthest away contender - Bridal Concept and voila! Signed up on the spot! We both loved the way the photos looked (it was a different style of photography, posing, composition and design of the album). We also loved all the gowns that I tried on and jackets that Ju Han got to try on. We had a nice signature book thrown in and the manager Andrew wasn't completely a doormat but helpful. So we didn't go anywhere else that day. Paid the deposit, set the dates for fitting and shooting and boy, was it a relief!

Upon coming home to check the Internet and others' reviews of Bridal Concept - AGAIN!!! - we found that our 50 poses and 10 mv was an 'upgrade' standard given by them and luckily there were many many good reviews of them and Andrew and the makeup artistes (MUA) and photographer (PG).

At sub 4k, the cost in the end should balloon to just 4k if we don't add ANY poses in the album.

By the way guys, shooting at FRIM is an extra RM100 (collected by FRIM itself) and apparently the Heritage Station Hotel requires prior applications. I love the Heritage Station Hotel! But then Bridal Concept does that dark, dreamy look indoor already so for my outdoor I should do some bright fresh ones - would love to do FRIM but I don't want the cost to pop 4k cos we already have to buy eyelashes, ampoules, push up bra, shoes, body foundation, hair colour (as usual). Factor that all in girls!

One lesson learnt though is that the bridal houses usually offer a very strict or basic package during bridal fairs. This is what we were told by them (not sure if they are just saying that cos we didn't approach them during the upcoming fair and they wanted to sign us up NOW NOW NOW! or if it's true). Usually they don't cut the price but give more freebies - for those of you who are visiting the fairs, sit down and discuss together first what you actually want and need. Do you actually need the 150 ji mui photos they are offering? Or the banner or that free photo frame? Make a list of your Must Haves and you won't be so easily distracted by the 'BEST DEAL', ' LOWEST PRICES' etc campaigns that are sure to abound.

Further, if you do want to sign up during a bridal fair - ensure you realise that you may need to top up here and there so make sure you get a package that allows your cost to rise to your budget (For example, if you budget is 5k, don't take a package that is RM4888 cos you are sure to burst through your ceiling price - get a RM3988 one and rest assured, you can top up whatever you want).

Also, they will of course bring their best album samples and best gowns to the fair for display - so do your homework, check them out at their shop itself before you visit the fair. That way, you know what they have and how they operate 'at home' plus sometimes, if you're lucky, you could catch Satisfied Customers complimenting them or Dissatisfied Customers arguing with them.

Every bridal house out there has good and bad reviews because no one is perfect - just choose those who commit 'mistakes' you can live with and those who only have a few disgruntled customers!

Yeay - bridal house - SET!

P.S. Hmmm, we've realised that our vendors are all from Singapore - payback for me I'm sure!
P.S.S. For those of you who don't know what MV stands for - well, neither do I….and neither do the Bridal House SAs!!! Hahahahahah. Basically, they are candid shots or partial shots like candid of the bride having her make up done or putting on her shoes or close ups of rings or eyes. Poses are choreographed composed full pics of the couple/bride/groom.