Source: http://divaasia.com/article/9503
Article: by Pamela Chow



Just married - at the dairy section



EVERYDAY places such as MRT stations, supermarkets and even coffee shops are becoming hot locations for wedding photo shoots among couples here, who want something different, yet meaningful, in their albums.

More couples have been asking for unique locations and shunning conventional wedding photo backdrops such as Singapore Botanic Gardens and beaches, said wedding photographers.

Neighbourhood spots fit the bill as they are quirky and often hold a special place in their hearts, couples told my paper.

For example, supermarket chain FairPrice has seen a spike in requests for photo shoots in its outlets since April, said its spokesman.

Its outlets have hosted photo shoots for four couples in the last two months, compared to infrequent requests before that.

Dairy Farm Group, which runs Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets, gets an average of 10 such requests a month.

Ms Aw Xiuxing, 28, and Mr Kenny Lim, 31, had their photo shoot last Thursday at AMK Hub’s FairPrice Xtra, where they spent a lot of their time while dating, said Ms Aw, a public-relations officer.

She said of her fiance, a business-development executive: “Kenny is a foodie. He likes to check out interesting ingredients, which the supermarket has plenty of.”

Flight stewardess May Quah, 28, and her fiance, information- technology consultant Kevin Wee, 33, also had wedding photos taken at a FairPrice outlet at City Square Mall in January.

She said: “We like to do grocery shopping and it is quite a unique concept.”

Their photographer, Mr Terry Ng, 38, said that he has also photographed couples at playgrounds.

Public-transport vehicles and amenities here are also finding favour with couples.
SBS Transit said that it receives requests for wedding photo shoots on their buses and trains “from time to time”.

SMRT said that there have been few requests for wedding photography on the East-West and North-South lines, but they have been pouring in for the new Circle Line.

At least four couples have been photographed in stations along the line, part of which opened in April.

For teacher Angeline Yar and her fiance, engineer Lim Hoe Gee, both 29, Paya Lebar MRT station bore witness to their courtship – they used to meet there to go to school together – making it the perfect spot for their photo shoot last Friday.

For the same reason, Raffles MRT station was featured in the wedding album of office manager Naomi Kwang, 30, and businessman Joshua Farrell, 32, when they got married in 2008.

She said of the station near her office: “It’s a meaningful place for us, because he would always wait very long for me over there.”

Not all quirky locations were mooted by couples themselves.

Photographer Raymond Phang, 26, has photographed a couple at a coffee shop, where at his suggestion, they did an “ad hoc flipping of the pratas in their wedding attire”.

He said: “Not many couples are game enough for our concept shoots yet, but the requests are slowly increasing.”

Reflections:

I think this concept is rather interesting and fresh. In my opinion, it is more appealing to young couples as couples of an elder age may still prefer traditional places for photo taking. It is good for Singapore couples to be creative about their own wedding ideas. The new latest approach is a twist to the old, standard and common ways. Taking wedding photos at coffeeshops and bus stops are orignal ideas and this way, it'd make the couple feel more special and different from the rest. Most of these places also have certain meanings to the couple. It may be memorable or significant to the couple for choosing the place of their shoot. Some places may bring back wonderful memories when they happen to flip through the album of wedding photos when the couple is older. It'd be amazing.


KAHMIN :)