Review: Pre-wedding Photoshoot in Korea Part 2 (Pre-photoshoot)

Monday, 27 May 2019 at May 27, 2019

Welcome to part two of our pre-wedding photoshoot journey in Korea!

In today's blog post, I will be sharing with you the hiccup we encountered, as well as the preparations we did prior to the actual photoshoot in Korea. I didn't expect this to take up one blog post on its own, but surprisingly there were so much preparations to do before the trip to Korea! If you've read part one, then you'll know that my boyfriend and I have chosen Wonkyu Studio (I'm just gonna call them 'Wonkyu' from now onward), and specifically, we have chosen to go ahead with the Masterpiece studio which is one of the 6 stunning studios offered by Wonkyu.

After paying the deposit and signing the contract in November 2018, we thought that everything was finalized until sometime in January 2019, Wonkyu suddenly contacted us and told us that the Masterpiece studio will be under construction during the time we were supposed to have our photoshoot. (...) We definitely felt unhappy and stressed out because we have already booked our air tickets and paid the deposit by then, but instead of kicking a huge fuss, we figured out that what we needed to do was to solve the situation at hand calmly with their staff. Wonkyu gave us 2 obvious solutions, one was to change the date of the photoshoot, and the other was to change the studio. Changing the date was tough for us since we have already booked our tickets and the renovation dates were already fixed during most days of our trip. So at that time, we really only had one choice left which was to change our studio.

Like I mentioned, Wonkyu offers 6 studios and the prices differs. There are 2 other studios that costs the same as Masterpiece, but we weren't that interested in them although they do look very stunning as well. The only studio we were interested back when we were browsing through the portfolios was Sixth Floor, but we went with Masterpiece because Six Floor is the most expensive studio offered by Wonkyu and we felt that the Masterpiece was good enough. So, praying hard, we proposed to switch our studio to Sixth Floor without any additional charges.



Turns out this hiccup was a blessing in disguise as Wonkyu Studio agreed to let us have Sixth Floor at the price of Masterpiece, and they also had better dates available for us! Woohoo! After we've signed our new contract, it's time to anticipate and prep for the photoshoot! A month before the photoshoot, we received a PDF briefing that basically outlined the timeline of the photoshoot, what to bring, what will be provided, what we should do before the photoshoot, etc. We also received a call from Wonkyu who went through the briefing with us.

• Follow their Instagram pages!

You don't have to follow my sequence, but all of Wonkyu's portfolios look amazing and I think for the most parts, it's because their models are so damn good-looking and of course, photogenic. I wanted to see what an average, normal, non-model person will look like in the same setting and so the first thing I did was to follow Wonkyu's Instagram pages (wonkyu's | sixth floor's) where they'll share photos of real couples! From there, I can also see some new poses that weren't included in their portfolios and if I like them, I'll save them in my phone for reference.

• Save the studio's sample in your phone.

The next thing I did was to save the entire Sixth Floor portfolio in my phone to familiarize myself with the scenes available. Spoiler? During the dress fitting, the staff and translator will verbally refer back to the portfolio to see which style suits the theme and background, so it's good to know which are the scenes they are talking about! We also used the photos as a guide to plan our looks which I will discuss next.

• Plan your outfits.

Instead of going to the dress shop (in my case, it's Rosa Sposa) and picking out the dresses yourself on the spot, it is advisable to find out what designs of gowns you like, as well as find out what necklines and silhouette you prefer in advance so the staff can filter them out for you and pick the dresses for you. So for this part, Pinterest definitely came in useful! Here are a couple of images I saved!


For my first white wedding gown, I wanted one with a ballgown silhouette, preferably with an off shoulder neckline. For my second white wedding gown, I wanted a slim fitted dress with lace or diamonds, and I also wanted a gown with puffy sleeves and so I made sure to find some gowns with similar designs to what I have in my head. I'm pretty familiar with what styles I like and dislike (eg. high necklines), but if you're unsure, you can find many wedding dress guides on Pinterest too.

• Prepare more outfits and accessories.

For the groom, only 1 set of tuxedo will be provided. So to avoid looking the same for all photos, my boyfriend and I decided to go and shop for more clothes (i.e. another suit) and accessories (i.e. neckties) for him. We also made sure to bring along some of his formal work shirts and pants as only one white shirt and one black pants will be provided. Apart from the groom's outfit, we were also allowed to prepare one set of casual outfit and so we took it to Pinterest once again to find some inspirations.


For the bride, I felt that sufficient gowns and accessories are provided (clip-on earrings are also available for those who doesn't have any piercings!), and so I did not bother buying any additional items for my looks. But if you wish to prepare even more accessories for the bride, I will recommend bringing another pair of shoes because they only have one design at the studio. Necklaces, bracelets and rings are also not provided.

• Save images of your preferred hair and makeup styles.

Similar to the gowns, I was advised to save images of my preferred hairstyle and makeup looks. For my makeup, I wanted to go with something feminine, as well as something I'm familiar with, so of course... I chose something that's pink and coral. For my hair, I just wanted a natural wavy look.

• Others 

Some things can be photoshopped, such as your skin, and your body shape - so no need to get stressed over having the perfect skin or the perfect figure! But some things cannot be photoshopped and those are your hair colour, overgrown roots, body hair, and ungroomed nails. So prior to our trip, I made sure to go for my hair appointment at Hair Plus Korean Salon, shave, and I also trimmed my nails so they look neat (I went with bare nails to keep things looking simple and timeless).

Once you've made all these preparations, it's time to jet off to Korea for the photoshoot which I will be talking about in the final part of this "pre-wedding photoshoot in Korea" series!

Labels: korea, korean, review, seoul, tips, tutorials

Review: Pre-wedding Photoshoot in Korea Part 1 (Picking a Studio & FAQ)

Monday, 13 May 2019 at May 13, 2019

Hello and welcome to part one of my "pre-wedding photoshoot in Korea" blog post series! Since this is my blog after all, let's start with a short story-time. It all started on this fateful night during dinner in August 2018, when my parents popped this question to me, "when are you getting married?". I choked on my food before answering, "are you asking the right person?". Well, yeah, they were asking the right person. For some reasons I always have the impression that I'm still young, which is good in some sense, but not really when in reality you're sorta just procrastinating the "adult duties" such as planning for your wedding. Their concern was definitely kind of like a wake up call for me as I calculated and realised that crap, I don't have much time left till I'm 30.

I'm the kind of person who needs to have everything planned and organized, and so right after they threw that question to me, I started doing some planning for the future with my boyfriend. After a little bit of planning, we felt that we need to get our pre-wedding photoshoot done first because of a couple of reasons. No, we're not getting married in a few months time so don't bother asking. But I'd say the main reason is, I was 26 and I don't believe my skincare regime is powerful enough to keep me looking like a 26 year old for long, and I wanna look young in the photos! Another huge reason is that we want to have our photos taken in Korea and we already had plans in 2018 to visit Korea again in 2019 so, why not do it at the same time?

That said, we, or rather I, started sourcing for a studio in Korea. Before I started my research, I was a little bit worried because pre-wedding photoshoots are not cheap, moreover if you're planning to do it in a different country, things can get confusing, such as, I didn't know if I needed an agent, a translator, and whatnot. But surprisingly... The entire process was pretty easy! Therefore, for part one of this three parts series, I'm going to share with you how we chose, and book a studio in Korea.

I personally feel that the very first step is to browse through different pre-wedding photos online to find out the type that suits your taste best. Do you prefer indoor, or outdoor shoots? Simple, or extravagant? There are a ton of choices available, so make sure to narrow them down to the ones that you like. As you already know from what I've mentioned earlier on, my boyfriend and I chose to have our photos taken in Korea and I think the main reason is simply because the aesthetics suited our taste better. We also came to an agreement that the both of us prefer indoor shoots. Once you've decided on those, it's time to find some studios.

An obvious disclaimer: Since we will be taking our photos in Korea, this is based on my experience looking for a studio in Korea. So if you're looking to take your photos in like... Taiwan or New Zealand, or somewhere else, this isn't the right blog post for you.

I started by browsing through Hello Muse which is a Korea pre-wedding photoshoot agent. Another popular agent is Mr.K Wedding but I personally prefer the layout and website of Hello Muse. At Hello Muse's website, you get to see a good amount of different studios and sets available. Of course, if the studio doesn't work with Hello Muse, you won't be able to find them on there, but I find that the selections on Hello Muse are more than enough.


Each option you see is basically a set, so once you see something you like, click on it to find out the name of the set as well as the studio that is offering it (example the set below is provided by "Pium Studio").


After I have about 5 options in my excel file (excel is my life), I e-mailed Hello Muse to find out more details about the packages and on top of that, I also went to search for the studios on Google so I could e-mail them directly to ask about their prices and packages. Remember to indicate that you're a foreigner when inquiring about their packages because they do have different packages to cater foreigners (and trust me, you'll need it unless you speak fluent Korean!). It is also at this point I realize that not all studios are foreigner-friendly as some of them responded back in Korean, telling me that they can't speak English.







Q:What is the price range?

A: For Seoul studios, price ranges from S$2000 onwards. But I believe S$2000 is more for outdoor shoots, while the average for indoor studio shoots starts from S$3000 ~ S$5000. Shoots in Jeju are more expensive.

Q: What are the differences between a S$3000 and S$5000 photoshoot in Korea?

A: As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for", so the difference in price can be additional things included in the package, or simply "better quality" of the basic things provided. During my research, I found out that on average, here are the basic things that should be included:

Wedding dresses and tuxedo, hair and makeup service, accessories and shoes for the bride, 1 x photo album, 1 x framed photo, CD or USB with all photos taken, shipping charges for the album and photo frame, transportation during the photoshoot, an assistant, a translator, and editing service only for the photos chosen.

Some of the additional things that may cost the price difference are:

Extra gowns, extra night or outdoor scenes, additional day for gown and suit fitting, more pages in your photo album (the minimum pages I saw was 20 pages while the max was 40 pages), more printed photos, preview service (meaning you get to preview them before the printing), video slideshow, e-invitation cards, snacks or food provided during your photoshoot, etc.

"Better quality" of the basic things may be:

Designer gowns and suits, hair and makeup service is outsourced to top beauty salons in Korea, higher quality frame, senior photographer and editor, etc.

Q: What are the differences between liaising with an agent and directly contacting the studio?

A: The price differs and it's mainly due to the same reasons as stated above (i.e. different things offered in the package as agents usually work with different beauty salons and dress shops). Also, not all studios are able to communicate in English, so if you are really, really, keen to get your photos taken by a studio that doesn't have a staff that speaks English, you're better off sticking with an agent.

Q: Isn't it more costly to have your photoshoot in Seoul as compared to in Singapore due to other expenses like air tickets and accommodation? 

A: Firstly, since my boyfriend and I were already planning a trip to Korea, we will still incur the travelling expenses regardless of whether or not we will be getting our pre-wedding photoshoot done in Korea. Secondly, for the sake of answering this question (as many people including my family has asked me about it), I approached Artiz Studio, a really popular Korean studio that actually has a studio here in Singapore (so you don't have to incur those travelling costs), to ask about their prices and for the same price, we definitely got a better deal in Korea in terms of what is offered in the package.

After following a bunch of these studios on Instagram, comparing prices, reading reviews, we narrowed down our choices to Wonkyu Studio, GaEul Studio, and Chungdam Studio.

GaEul Studio has some really captivating, magical, and fairy-tale liked backgrounds, and my boyfriend also really liked the rooftop shoot that they offer (click here to view their samples!). I was keen on them since we both liked their concept, plus they were also more affordable compared to the other two. But the thing that made me strike them out of my list is that both the dresses and the hair and makeup service will be provided and done in-house and I'm just not digging that because I think hair and makeup plays a super important role and I'd prefer to get mine done at a proper, reputable beauty salon.

Chungdam Studio is a super popular one with lots of positive reviews. I was attracted to them because they offer an outdoor shoot at an abandon theme park!


Just look at how pretty and unique these photos are! They have a few packages available and so the price varies, but the one I was interested in was their indoor + outdoor package which includes the theme park shoot + an indoor shoot with more backgrounds. Price wise, they are pretty reasonable as well. However, after looking through the photos, we felt that the style didn't really reflect what we were looking for. The photos are very bright and has a young, cheery vibe to it which... Really isn't our cup of tea.

Therefore, after many months of consideration, we finally decided to go with Wonkyu Studio. Random fact: Wonkyu Studio's portfolio on Hello Muse was actually the very first one that caught my eye so... It feels kinda trippy that in the end, I went with the very first one I clicked on.


Wonkyu Studio is one of Korea's top pre-wedding studios and they have even worked with various celebrities and popular variety programmes such as "We Got Married" and "Running Man". The wedding dresses and tuxedo they provide are from Rosa Sposa, a designer dress shop located in Gangnam that has also worked with many Korean celebrities, so you know that you'll be spoiled for choices. On top of that, you get to choose between 2 celebrity beauty salons, Jenny House and Soonsoo! Take a look at some of the works by Soonsoo (all pictures credits to the rightful owners):




That being said, the prices of their studios are... Expensive... In Korea standards of course, because like I said, our package included so much more than what you can get here in Singapore for the same price. In this case, we decided that we didn't mind spending more for Wonkyu Studio as we felt that our pre-wedding photos will be hung up on our wall and placed around our future home for hopefully as long as we live, so if we need to stay with these pictures for the rest of our lives... We have to make sure that we love it and we really love the overall style and mood that Wonkyu Studio's photos deliver.

Wonkyu Studio offers a total of 6 different indoor studios (or "sets") and the price starts from approximately S$4,400/- (3,600,000won). Choosing between the studios wasn't difficult for us at all since a particular studio has already gotten our attention since the beginning, the Masterpiece studio (as pictured above). Wonkyu Studio practices a strict fixed price policy so you can rest assure that there will not be any additional charges... Or further discounts. That said, to get a better deal out of this "fixed price policy", you can always try asking them to include more things for you, or wait for promotional periods where they'll gladly offer you more things in the package.

My boyfriend and I are not risk takers and so putting in our deposit took us great efforts as we had to make sure over and over again that Wonkyu Studio is our final decision. We actually missed the promotion period due to us not wanting to commit so early, plus we haven't booked our air tickets then. But finally in November, we decided to lock in our choice and well, go for it! Thankfully, Wonkyu very kindly agreed to give us the promotional package and so here's what's included in our package:

Photoshoot with Studio Wonkyu's top photographer and assistant, all photos taken during the shoot, 2 white wedding gowns and 1 evening gown or mini dress, 1 set of tuxedo, hair and makeup by celebrity beauty salon, all accessories including lace caplet and boleros, exclusive re-touch by Studio Wonkyu for 30 photos which will be made into a photo album (made in Korea), 1 Mulasec frame (100cm x 67cm, made in Korea), international delivery for the album and frame, assistant, translator, transportation. *Additional promotion items: 1 mini dress, candid snaps, 2 x 8R printed photos with frames, photo slideshow.

Note: This is just what we were offered when we booked our package in 2018. Items included in the package and prices are subjected to change. Communicating with Wonkyu was a piece of cake because they have offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. After I sent them my first e-mail, they appointed an English-speaking staff from Indonesia who assisted us all the way through. We also communicated through Whatsapp which was so convenient for the both of us so I highly recommend you to contact them directly to get the updated information!

After we've paid our deposit and signed the contract, we thought everything was confirmed and finalized. Little did we know that things could still go wrong after that. In part two of my "pre-wedding photoshoot in Korea" blog post series, I'll be sharing with you what went wrong, as well as the pre-photoshoot preparations you'll need to do, so see you in the part two! x

Labels: korea, korean, lifestyle, review, seoul, wedding