Searching for a wedding photography package can be a rather grueling one. First of all, you need to decide on the country; should you take it locally or overseas? If overseas, which country? Should you fly a photographer overseas or engage a local? And then you need to know what to look out for when negotiating the package.
I think I’m going to get a lot of hate from the agents, but ah well, here goes. Here’s what nobody tells you about how to book a Korean wedding photography package in Korea.
I personally decided to have the shoot done in Korea after some deliberation.
Why take photos in Korea?
- The weather is amazing in spring / autunm! Your makeup won’t melt off and you won’t sweat.
- Koreans are the pioneers when it comes to beauty, makeup and photography. The kind of studios they have cannot be found in SG at all. Just think of k-pop! Need I say more?
- The price is actually S$1,000+ less than the price of shooting in sg.
- I decided against taking it at places I really adore, like Europe & NZ. Why? Because the landmark will overshadow the couple. Most of the time you’re left wondering who the couple are because they are so far away that their faces can’t be seen clearly. I personally prefer to have the pictures focus solely on the couple and their expressions, and korean studios are good with that.
- The shoot is taken indoors for the most part, scenes that look like they’re taken outdoor are actually done indoor. You will not be at the mercy of the weather.
This was indoor, in the studio
6. BONUS: If you time it right, you can shoot with cherry blossoms!
Most couples book a package through an agent. The agent will liaise with the korean studio & dress rental in korea and may sometimes provide packages that also include actual day photography and dress rental. Here is a list of some of the popular korean wedding photography agents in Sg:
1. IDO wedding
2. Hello muse
3. Sarang wedding
4. Kwedding
5. Mrkwedding
6. Eungi
7. Wedding Ritz
8. Perfect love wedding
However, you can also book a studio DIRECT, which works out to be at least S$1k cheaper.
Here is a list of studios:
1. chungdam studio
2. Moonlight scooter
3. May studio
4. Lumiere studio
5. Scandi
6. L’amant
7. Donghaeng
8. Wonkyu studio
9. White Africa
10. Piona studio
11. Soo avenue
12. La Boum
13. I love jini
14. Bong studio
15. Spazio studio
The studio I chose is: Bong studio, because they have an indoor + outdoor package and the range of photoshoot settings is very diverse – from classy and romantic to colorful and retro. Oh and of course, they include shooting with cherry blossoms!
The Bong studio package that I picked
The 2015 Cantabile Package (indoor + outdoor) / (2,300,000 Won~)
Includes:
– 1 day for fitting
– 1 day for indoor & outdoor photoshoot
– 2 White Dresses, 1 Colored Dress,
– 1 Tuxedo,
– Hairdressing and make-up
– 20pages album, 20R size Frame (if you opt out of this it will be 100,000 won less) -Overseas Delivery fee is extra.
– all Original Photos will be sent to you
– 20 Edited pictures
-Dress helper fee is included. (200,000 Won)
-Interpreter fee is included. (100,000 Won)
We made a deposit – 30% of the total amount, and opted out of the 20 page album.
Things to note when negotiating pre-wedding photoshoot packages:
- Additional charges for premium dress rental
- Additional charges for skincare ampoules which are applied prior to makeup
- If you will get all the original photographs
- Album printing and delivery charges
- Number of scenes you get
Bong studio collaborates with wedding dress shop and salon, La Viju mariee, located at gangnam.
Contact
Their Facebook page here for more sample pics
Their official website here
Find out more on behind the scenes of a pre-wedding photoshoot at Bong Studio, here!
I’ve got some really good news for all you readers! I’ve specially requested to Mr Bong to give an additional 10 edited photos to my readers, all you have to do is mention my name “Esther” and you will get:
- 30 edited photos – digital copies (instead of 20!)
- 30 pages photo album (this is assuming that you print 1 photo per page. You may get less than 30 printed photos if your printed photos are bigger than a page)
Esther K 
Hey Esther. Thanks alot for your post. Its not easy to find an honest review. I will definitely look out for bong studio and the list above. I was worried after reading some comments on other agencies Facebook. So may i know if there are any hidden fees or anything we have to look out for other that the mentioned above? Do they require us to go for haircut before styling? Roughly for bong studio, how much did u spend in total with all the extras? Such as ampoule, etc. Thanks.
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Hi! Thanks for your comment and I’m glad that you found it helpful. Basically Bong studio is not an agency, so they won’t charge you extras unlike agencies that will try to get you to top up for “premium ranges” of outfits, makeup and salons. I was really happy that there was no extra charges, what I ended up paying is exactly the same as what they told me up front. They didn’t ask us to go for a haircut nor did they hardsell any ampoules 🙂
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hi would like to check if accessories will be provided?
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Hi, thanks for your comment, yes I was provided with a few earrings, hair accessories and shoes. The dress helper will match them for you on the photoshoot day 🙂
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Hi there, I want to book with bong studio as well. How did you book with them? I’ve sent them a message but they only speak Korean and I can’t 😦 did u manage to do the shoot without a translator? Thanks so much in advance for answering my questions.
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Hi Loan Duong, thanks for your questions and great to hear that! I sent them a message through their website 🙂 The person responded in English and she was also around as a translator during the actual shoot. Hope this helps!
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