This post is part of my Holiday Price Tag series, where I share the nitty-gritty of my holiday spending, giving you a transparent look at what different trips actually cost me.
If you’re curious about other destinations, don’t miss these posts:
- Cost of a 12-day couple trip in Kyoto, Osaka & Tokyo in Japan
- Cost of a surf & bike trip in Yilan, Taichung & Taipei in Taiwan
- Cost of my multi-pitch rock climbing trip in Longdong, Taiwan
- Cost of my diving trip in Gili Trangawan & Bali
Hi, I’m back to share a quick breakdown of my pre-wedding shoot in Jeju. I found it so helpful to read other people’s cost breakdowns when we were planning, and now it’s my turn to contribute. I hope this helps others like me who are trying to navigate the dizzying world of pre-wedding shoot prep!
Cost breakdown of my pre-wedding shoot
Before diving into the numbers, it helps to know what K and I were basing our decisions on:
- Costs: We are not keen to spend a fortune on our wedding. Even traveling overseas for a pre-wedding shoot already felt like a massive treat, so we wanted to keep our expenses as lean as possible.
- Style: We’re going for the clean, bright, and natural aesthetic. Nothing too overly dramatic or studio-heavy!
The above guided us in how we chose our photographer and makeup studio.
Next, if you are planning a shoot in Jeju, the first thing to understand is that the island operates on a Studio-Dress-Makeup ecosystem, often referred to locally as Deu-Me-O (Dress, Makeup, Audio/Photo).
Instead of booking a single massive agency that handles everything, you often mix and match a freelance photographer with a partnered makeup and gown styling studio. It gives you more flexibility, but it also means tracking multiple moving parts.
Photgraphy
We paid S$584.50 for a local Jeju photographer, Lovegrapher, inclusive of the $5.85 Wise transfer fee. This amount was paid in full to secure our booking.
Not gonna lie, there were very few reviews for him online, and I was very hesitant about transferring a three-figure sum to a stranger overseas in one shot.
But we took the leap anyway. Thankfully, everything turned out well when we met Jay in person a few months later for the actual shoot!
Hair, makeup & suit/dresses
We went with Lara makeup, who had a partnership with our photographer. Actually, their studio was our 3rd or 4th choice because our top picks were completely booked out on our shoot date.
It seems like popular Jeju makeup artists have their slots filled up way in advance, so book early!
However, we had absolutely no regrets. The team at Lara was amazing, friendly, and incredibly helpful.
Our package price came to S$525.57 and entitled us to:
- 2x dresses
- 1x suit
- 1x makeup for bride and groom
- 2x hairstyles for bride and 1x hairstyle for groom
We paid $178.93 for a deposit (inclusive of a S$3.56 Wise transfer fee) and settled the remainder via YouTrip when we arrived at the studio.
A quick commercial break here.
When I was at Lara, nothing quite prepared me for the sheer, unadulterated efficiency of Korea’s bridal studios.
A major culture shock hit the moment I stepped into the changing room and realised I wouldn’t be in there alone. Instead, two assistants marched right in behind me. Before I could even process anything, they immediately went to work.
I felt like I was in a factory line: they’d help me into a dress, cinch me in tight, and the curtains would open for K to snap a quick reference photo. Before we both could even blink, the curtains would fly shut again, and they’d strip the clothes right off my back to prep me for the next gown.
Rinse and repeat this 15x for the 15 dresses they brought out for me to try. Zero modesty, zero downtime, and I love the efficiency!
Okay, back to the expenses. On top of the package, we also paid our on-site makeup helper S$216.60 to assist with touch-ups, dress changes, and general logistics during the outdoor shoot.
Quick tip: Take note that the helper only accepts cash, which we didn’t bring enough of. We scrambled to find an ATM in the dark and cold once we headed back to the shop, but to no avail. Thankfully, Wise came to the rescue again and we managed to pay her what we owed.
We also prepared local Singapore snacks for our makeup artists and Jay to try!
Attire
K’s suit fitting was actually done in a separate partner tailor shop in another location.
But because his suit was covered under the makeup studio package, our extra attire expenses were minimal. We spent S$26.00 on his accessories (shoes and an inner shirt) and another S$26.00 on dry cleaning after the shoot because we went into the sea for some of the shots!
Decoration
The flowers were S$126, which were pretty pricey, in my opinion. So much for thinking that Jeju was the land of flowers and that fresh bouquets would be cheap and readily available at every corner.
To be fair, we left our bouquet hunting to the absolute eleventh hour (1 day before the shoot) and had a mad scramble deciphering KakaoMaps.
When that failed us, we took the path of least resistance and asked the MUA studio for a flower shop recommendation. The florist they partnered with delivered the bouquet directly to the studio, and we settled the bill via Wise, our best friend.
The bouquet which I lugged back to Singapore (& K was super disapproving towards :I ) because it was such a pity to leave them behind!
Aside from the fresh flowers, we also spent S$30.28 on four drinks at a local cafe. This was effectively our entry ticket to the flower field that we wanted to shoot at. Buying a round of drinks is the mandatory cost of admission to use their blooms as our backdrop.
I also got a bubble blower (~S$5) from Taobao as a prop to use for our shoot.
So, why Jeju for the pre-wedding shoot?
The choices we narrowed down to were Taiwan and Korea. In the end, we went with Jeju for two simple reasons:
- Aesthetic: The classic Korean makeup style and clean, minimalist approach to bridal styling better suited the look we were searching for
- Yet to travel to Jeju together: I actually went to Taiwan last year and Jeju at least a decade ago. And since K had never been there before, choosing it for the shoot gave us the perfect excuse to tack on a few extra days and treat the trip as a wonderful, scenic break together.
In total, we spent S$1,534.95 on our pre-wedding shoot in Jeju. We didn’t exactly have a fixed figure in mind, but I think we tried our best to keep costs low and this was as good as it could get. Money is meant to fund your moments of meaning and this is a moment that will live on as memories for us 🙂
Love,
Val