Forget those soft-focus pre-wedding shots posed in studios or taken in run-of-the-mill locations such as the Botanic Gardens and Fort Canning.
These days, couples are marking their impending nuptials by choosing offbeat venues to create decidedly unforgettable wedding albums.
One pair made a splash by posing in a hotel bath tub.
Another couple roped in a security guard for their shoot in February at Colbar in Portsdown Road.
Finance analyst Lee Sze Yeng, 32, said she and her 38-year-old marketing representative husband picked the place as 'he has a keen interest in architecture and we wanted a nice and brightly coloured background for our shots'.
Brides and grooms are saying 'I do' to these alternative venues to stand out from the crowd, even though some photographers here say that unusual locations might cost up to 40 per cent more than regular studio shots.
Take teacher Lee Jia Ling, 36, and engineering consultant Matthias Wellingson, 44, who plan to get their pre-wedding photos done at Zirca nightclub in Clarke Quay next month.
Wellingson says: 'My wife-to-be wanted a place that was out of the ordinary. She thought a mega club like Zirca will look visually exciting and creative.'
Others are romantics who want to commemorate the place where Cupid's arrow struck.
Bakery owner Denise Chau, 28, and Web marketing executive Leslie Goh, 34, plan to have their photos taken at the Tiong Bahru wet market as that was where they first met.
Chau recalls: 'He was buying flowers at my mother's makeshift stall and when I saw him search so carefully for the perfect bouquet for his mother, I was touched and thought he would make the perfect boyfriend.'
She adds: 'It might look and feel strange to wear my wedding gown and drag it all over the market but I can imagine that it will be an experience I will look back on fondly.'
MORE WANT TO BE DIFFERENT
Wedding photographers, whose fees are between $2,000 and $9,000 for a three-day shoot, confirm that more couples are clicking with quirky locales.
A check with 17 photographers found that once-popular spots like Pasir Ris Park and Fort Canning have been replaced by unusual or far-flung locations.
Ken Teo, 33, founder of four-year-old Colour Dots photography, says: 'Increasingly, more couples are excited by the prospect of having something different.'
The number seeking unusual shoots has grown from one in 10 four years ago to almost all couples today, he notes.
He adds that the Internet has also exposed people to other possibilities.
Javier Hun, 43, senior photographer at the aptly named Out Of The Box studio, has seen an 80per cent jump in the number of couples opting for unconventional shots.
'People have become more visually savvy,' he explains. 'They are more widely travelled and many have studied overseas, so they are exposed to a greater variety of visual art.'
Wealthy clients have even bought him business-class tickets to Hawaii, Rome, Paris and the Philippines to have their wedding snaps taken.
The Eiffel Tower is a particularly popular choice, as couples like to recreate the famous 1998 French tourism advertisement showing lovers embracing each other in front of it, says Hun, who charges $5,000 to $9,000 for a day's shoot.
Other clients have paid up to $3,000 to book a yacht for a day in order to have their photos taken at offshore islands, he adds.
Shooting in odd locations is not always a piece of (wedding) cake though.
Wellington Kuswanto, 31, a freelance wedding photographer of three years, says putting up with annoyed security guards comes with the turf. You also have to wade through reams of red tape for the necessary permits.
For instance, certain locations require permission from the authorities such as the Land Transport Authority.
While these unusual pictures certainly create special memories, some brides, such as freelance model Clarice Tan, 23, feels they are 'unnecessary and silly'.
'Most people who wear a huge gown or full suit and pose lovingly in the middle of a club are just showing off the fact that they are getting married,' she says.
'Where is the romance in all that?'
This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.
