26/3/2011 Day 2
Sun rises pretty early in the east… at about 6+, the day light peeps through the window curtains greeting us. We rose with an excited feeling as today is the long anticipated day. Our breakfast was hanging at our door which consists of two sandwiches with egg, bacon and meat floss filling, together with two packets of fruit juices. We top that breakfast set provided with the instant cup noodle we bought last night.
After washing up and packed up, we headed out to IVY Bride. By 8.17am, to be exact, we are on the train heading to IVY Bride.
And by 8.30am sharp, we arrived at our destination to begin on a journey that we will never ever forget!
Vicky, wifey’s makeup artiste was already there with Xiao Kai my wardrobe assistant which soon after joined by Yang Sir, our photographer for the day. We started off by making up while Yang Sir planned our photo-shoot locations according to the weather and our likings. Vicky did the set up for the hair first and then proceeded with the face. While waiting for the hair to set, she changed into her gown before doing the hair do. And boy oh boy! The effect was stunning!
And that’s both of us after makeup and dressing up! Smile! =D By 10.45am our driver Huang Sifu was already waiting for us. After getting all the necessary gears into the MPV, we set off for the day!
Due to the weather condition, instead of choosing the beach area and waterfall sites which would be freezing cold, we concentrated in Taipei City itself. As we wanted a pic with us buried in sea of flower bed but not wanting to go Tai Chung for the shot, hence our photographer Yang Sir brought us to a plot of private property grown with all kinds of flowers. And there we took our first shot.
After that location, we proceed up to Yang Ming San. Yang Ming Shan is actually one of the eight national parks in Taiwan. The National Park is famous for its Cherry Blossoms which was one of the reasons why we picked the place. The first stop in the national park was to its nursery. After few shots at their garden path, we changed into the second dress. To change, Huang Sifu opened the back of the MPV and drop down a foldable cloth made changing room. He was gentleman enough to even volunteer to safe guard the changing process by standing beside it and holding on to the door making sure the wind doesn’t blow away the cover. After the changed is done, Vicky redo the hair to match the dress. As the temperature was getting colder and strong wind is blowing, the thoughtful Huang sifu quickly find for a warm scarf to drape over my wifey to keep her warmth.
Once the change is done, we proceed to the next location which was the “Black Forest” to get the mythical scene. Unfortunately, it was raining and the mist was too thick for an ideal shot and sadly we had to miss the place. We then continued on the journey to the following location for the cherry blossoms scenery. As it is situated at a much higher ground than the rest, the temperature recorded was only 8oC! At the time we arrived, it was blowing strong wind which made us freezing cold. We had to fight the wind with our umbrella to walk to the cherry blossoms and the gust of wind was so strong that it blew away one of the umbrellas and spoilt another one. Huang Sifu jokingly said if we were to spoil one more, he will need to charge us for it. =P Luckily after that no more umbrella casualty.
Though it was freezing cold and was still drizzling, the team especially Yang Sir maintained their professionalism and kept their words of encouragement to us, telling us to hold on in order to capture the perfect shot. In order not to make us freeze to death, we have to give credit to Yang Sir for being able to pose us and still manage to take good shots at a record time! Following the cherry blossoms scene, we proceeded to the nearby lake “Meng Hu” for few more shots before ending the second dress shot and calling back to the cozy MPV.
Before we know it, it was already 2pm. That explains the synchronized stomach grumbling =P We reached at the next venue of our photo-shoot location. It was a park meant for bridal photo-shoot equipped with all kinds of paraphernalia such as the wind mill, baby grand piano, swing, pond, bicycles and etc. The park also has a restaurant and facilities necessary for gown changing. After paying the entrance fees of NT800, we went to the restaurant to have our lunch. As time was of the essence, we changed into our third set of dress while waiting for the food.
When the food arrived, we wolfed it down instantly. The bowl of hot noodle soup warmed our stomach and instantly we felt energize again. After a brief rest and some final touch up on the make-up, we went out for our third set of shooting.
We spent about an hour plus at this place. Unfortunately due to the cold weather, we were not permitted to try out other shots such as the bicycles or the swings on the water. Nevertheless we did captured what we needed. Once we were done with the third dress, using the facilities there, we changed into our fourth gown before heading out to the next spot. The fourth gown was an exclusive white gown, another designer gown of IVY Bride. Apparently you don’t alter the dress to fit you but you alter yourself to fit the dress. =P
A pose to halt men…
NOT… Pose was actually taking warmth from the burner… hehe
When we were ready, we headed to the next set of location. For the fourth dress, we went to a field and a Taiwanese Church near “Fisherman Wharf” for more shots. Though it was drizzling then when we reached the church, however, thanks to the drizzles that made the effect of the pics as though as it was snowing! We especially love those stunning pics taken there!
After taking those shots at the church, we proceed to “Fisherman Wharf Lovers’ Bridge” for our final dress and also the requested night scene pictures. Just next to the location is a spacious public rest room. We changed there and so did another couple. As it is dusk by the time we changed, the wind was pretty strong and temperature has dropped further! Sensing our weariness, Yang Sir assured us that we are doing fine and the ordeal would soon be over. Trusting him, we put up our best and took the final few shots before finally wrapping it up. As soon as the last shutter clicks, the team gave us thumbs up and applauses giving us the overwhelming feeling, smiling from ear to ear. As everyone was famished by then, we went to the nearby Subway Restaurant to grab a 6 inch and a hot cuppa to warm us up before heading back to Taipei IVY Bride. Exhausted from the day, all of us fell asleep throughout the journey of about 45 minutes. When we finally arrived back at IVY Bride, the staffs were excited and greeted us. They immediately served us warm tea while waiting for us to relate our experiences. We all chatted for awhile before reluctantly leaving the shop.
From bottom left anticlockwise, Kelly, Jolin, Lisa, Vicky, Yang Sir and Xiao Kai.
All in all, though the weather was not ideal as what we wanted for our photoshoot (blame it on global warming =S), however the team managed to make the best out of it and created stunning photo for us despite the bad weather. It is a truly sweet and memorable experience! Something that would always bring us smiles when walking down the memory lane... Thank you IVY Bride and each and every one of you (Kelly, Jolin, Yang Sir, Vicky, Xiao Kai, Bi Xiang, Huang Sifu and all the other staffs of IVY) who made this happened!
