The Christmas season is all about love and family, so we figured it’s time to share something very personal happening in the Praise family today! We are truly delighted to be able to share our Founder and Editor Jas’ pre-wedding session with you! Today she’s taking off her Editor hat and sharing with the world just how she plans her dream engagement / pre-wedding sesh! When the bride-to-be is a wedding magazine editor, you can pretty much bet that her engagement will be absolute gorgeousness, and with the help from talented artists and Allen Fu Photography behind the lens, all the swoon-worthy details are here to inspire!
Initiating the Plan
Praise Wedding Founder & Editor – Jas: My fiancé Shine and I both grew up in Canada, where we will most likely host our wedding. We were undecided about taking pre-wedding or engagement photos for the longest time, until we had the idea of making it meaningful by going back to where we were born, Taiwan, to have our photos taken.
We didn’t want a traditional “pre-wedding” session were everything seemed so formal and posed, we were hoping to create a new “prewedding-mix-engagement ” style to capture us in our natural states, with details we actually love and scenes that could really reflect who we are.
After speaking with our talented photographer, Allen Fu, and incredible planner, Grace4Events , we knew we could make this dream come true!
After we found the perfect venue – Moncoeur , we started going through portfolios to find other amazing artists who we believed could help us carry out our dream.
Our planner, Grace, helped us contact the top artists we’ve picked: Chic ô Fleurs for decoration and floral design, Jeanie Huang for makeup and hair, Candy Wedding for dessert designs, White Bridal for wedding gowns, and JoJo Ma for stationery designs.
Make It Personal!
Jas: The #1 most important thing for Shine and I was to make this photo session truly personal and belong to us. As an editor, I’ve seen tons of amazing inspiration daily, but at the same time, I knew that we must start by narrowing things down to our absolute favorites.
I was certain that my ideal engagement session must have three main themes – a casual date, a Christ-centered moment, and a romantic backyard wedding styled session with details we love.
For the design palette, lavender hues are my favorite, and Shine loves everything white and clean.
For apparel and styling, we really wanted to keep things as simple as possible, so we would look just like ourselves (you probably know what I mean about not looking like yourself in photo shoots). We wanted to wear our own clothes for the casual date, present a pure and elegant look for the Christ-centered theme, and add a vintage touch to the backyard styled shoot.
After sharing these thoughts with our vendors, we gave them 100% trust to carry things out. Having a clear vision of your desires and fully trust professionals you work with (and of course, picking the right vendors) are two keys to successful planning.
Photoshoot Planning
From the planner – Grace4Events: It was a great honor for me that Jas had entrusted me with planning her engagement photoshoot! I was so excited to have gathered all my favorite vendors for this shoot, thanks to Jas!
Before the shoot, Jas and I talked about some of the elements she wanted to have in the shoot: she wanted lavender as the main color throughout the shoot since it spoke of nature and romance. Jas and Shine both wanted to be in a church since their faith is an integral part of their relationship. After many weeks of research we finally set on our location in Moncoeur.
After confirming with Jas and Shine, I then communicated with all our vendors, make-up, floral, graphic designer, cake etc., to make sure that everyone was on the same page.
Jeanie, our amazing make-up artist was able to bring out the natural beauty within Jas, and I was screaming silently when I saw how beautiful Chic ô Fleurs had put together the floral arrangement along with the invitation by JoJo Ma, and the Cake by Candy Wedding! It was so elegant and perfect that I felt like I wanted to get married… again!
Thoughts from the planner
Grace4Events: To me it was not simply planning an engagement shoot, but more like making a dream come true! Of course, the dream was realised not only because of the planning, but the hard work and preparation all our vendors had put together was really the key to our success, and lastly we wanted to thank Jas and Shine for their trust and how far they have traveled!
Thoughts from the Photographer
Allen Fu Photography: I was very honored that Jas and Shine trusted me to record such an important occasion for them, and it was one of the most memorable shoot I have done in a long time! They planned so many interesting details in their shoot I felt like I was a kid in a candy store, I could not put down my camera! Everything from the floral arrangement, wedding dress, wedding invitation, the make up, to the cake were perfect!
The only thing that was out of our control was the weather, it held up the whole morning while we were shooting, but rain starts to pour in the afternoon and we were worried that we won’t be able to shoot the outdoor floral arrangement which we had planned, but thank God that the rain soon clears for us to catch the last bit of daylight!
I felt what really worked for this shoot was that everything was planned with different elements, and the rest was really getting Jas and Shine comfortable enough to show what love they had for each other.
The Bridal Look
From the Stylist – Jeanie Huang: Jas had three different looks throughout the shoot. She wanted to keep things simple, natural, and elegant to look just like herself.
Her first causal look with a shrunken denim vest and mini pleated skirt was stylish and comfortable. The nude makeup and messy low ponytail presented a natural, carefree style, and looks just like something you could do yourself on a casual date. We wanted to get Jas comfortable to start the shoot.
Jas’ second look features nothing but elegance. The sleeveless wedding dress with illusion neckline and back is truly gorgeous! I added an earthy color tone to her eye makeup, and just a touch of pink on her lips. We also did a loose updo for her to show the super chic back designs of the dress.
Her third look is vintage-inspired, with the sleeved lace gown and hair accessories. We changed Jas’ updo style a little bit to better show the beautiful V-shaped laced design at the back, and added some contour and highlight to her makeup.
Romantic Styled Design and Decoration
From the Florist – Chic ô Fleurs: Backyard wedding theme provides intimacy and focuses on flowers and nature. We used lavender hues for the decoration, seating , tablesetting, and the floral designs, with just a touch of peach and yelllow to warm up the mood!
Since “nature” is the main focus, we also incoporated some natural greens, fruits, and vines we found on site, to bring more freshness to the overall style.
You can’t have a backyard wedding without delicious treats, and the theme should be carried out through all elements, including the treats! After discussing with the dessert designer, we decided to present a lavender ombre cake with layers inspired by a wedding dress. We also added floral decoration to make it further stand out to look like a “bride”. All the other desserts shared the same “lavender” theme with pretty handmade details and illustration!
Thoughts from the Florist and Decorator
Chic ô Fleurs: It’s our great honor to work with amazing artists to present such a creative shoot (which is very rare in Asia)! It’s a joyful and unforgettable experience!
When we first had the outdoor backyard scene setup, all of a sudden it started to rain like crazy, and everything got wet! We ran in the pouring rain trying to clear things up and hoped that the sun would come out again.
After a few hours of wait, the rain finally stopped, but the grass field was filled with wet mud and bugs. We were just too eager to get this project done right, and didn’t care that our pants and legs were all soaked in mud. We managed to get everything organized again to restart the shoot, and we are so happy to see the awesome results!
Sweet & Beautiful Dessert Designs
Candy Wedding: A “romantic lavender field” was the picture I had in my mind when I was designing the treats, and I’ve incoporated this vision into the cake, cookies, and cakepop designs to achieve the romantic, natural look in the sweetest way!
Thoughts from the Dessert Designer
Candy Wedding: We had lots of fun during the photoshoot, and we were so happy that Jas loved our desserts! Working in the poor weather was a challenge, but it was definitely worth it! When we saw Jas holding the cake and had the sweetest smile on her face, we felt like the rainbow came out from our hearts! We are so thankful for all the praise we received from Jas that day!
Thoughts from Jas
Jas: It feels very special taking off the Editor hat and sharing my own story with my beloved readers. Thank you for supporting and loving Praise Wedding!
Shine and I both feel so blessed that we had the chance to work with some of the most amazing artists who seriously gave us more than 100% effort! It’s amazing to see our vision come alive!
I was utterly blown away at the talent of the team: the gorgeous floral arrangement and decoration, creative desserts, natural makeup and hairdo, romantic staionery designs, perfect planning, and beautiful photos that took my breath away! They exceeded every dream and inspiration I had planned in my mind.
If you are on the fence about doing engagement photos, I highly suggest it; it’s the best opportunity to capture who you are as a couple without worrying about all the traditions, expectations, and rules. Be true to your dreams, find the most reliable helpers, make the best out of it, and just be you!
Find the amazing artists:
Photographer: Allen Fu Photography | Planner: Grace4Events | Venue: Moncoeur | Flowers & Decoration: Chic ô Fleurs | Makeup & Hair: Jeanie Huang | Dresses: White Bridal | Desserts: Candy Wedding | Stationery Design: Jojo Ma
Other Items:
Jas’ Baby blue boots: Vanger | Shine’s Shoes: Vanger | Bow Tie: Zara | Shine’s vest: Eastream | Jas’ Denim Vest: Talula
