Our Engagement Shoot

I have always wanted a bonggang-themed engagement shoot. My first idea of a theme was "seasons", and we would have an underwater shoot, a shoot high up in the mountains and up in the air, and one that would involve fire. Ambitious, eh? But I realized it would be very costly, not to mention logistics heavy! (Plus the fact that we were neither photogenic nor of model material haha!)

So for our prenup shoot, I opted for a much simpler note (by the way, I was given the freedom to conceptualize because my fiance had no inkling about prenup stuff). I decided to buy matching outfits, scoured my sister's cabinet for my college cheerleading skirt, and convinced Cyril that we would rent a dress/gown and a coat. I did not have time to think about props, and my choices for locations were narrowed down to three: Buhangin Substation, Riverfront Corporate City, and Punta Dumalag Turtle Sanctuary. Anyway, I thought, the photographer would surely know what to do.

They definitely exceeded our expectations. 

Cyril and I rented a van from MIB Rent A Car for the whole day. Our first stop was the Style Gallery Salon of Arnel Accion to get my hair and makeup done.

Getting dolled up by my HMUA Arnel Accion..and yes that's Cyril at the back trying to get some sleep

Then we got in touch with the team of Richard Amora as we would fetch them somewhere before we proceeded to our first location.

Set 1: Davao Light Buhangin Substation, Mamay Road

Top: Matching tees by Folded and Hung

Shoes: Nike

We were still camera-shy and we kept squinting our eyes at the sun. It was very hot at the substation especially since there was no vegetation within the compound, and Arnel did a number of touchups on my makeup. My face felt like a frying pan.

We personally chose to shoot at a substation because we first met in Davao Light, and we wanted something to remember that by.

Set 2: Riverfront Corporate City aka. Crocodile Park

Dress and polo shirt by Soul

Well, I love the color orange and I was pretty much excited to wear our matching outfits. Other than the scorchig heat of the sun and the discomfort with walking a lot in my heels (sometimes on uneven ground and we had to watch out for horse dung), this was more fun than the first set. Orange complemented well with the green surroundings and Richard's team chose beautiful locations.

We were still a bit nervous and our jaws were getting tired, but Richard still managed to capture the best angles.

Set 3: Riverfront Corporate City aka. Crocodile Park

KCN top: Sister's jersey

KCN skirt: college cheerleading skirt

CLN jersey and shorts: Davao Light basketball team

Shoes: Nike

As we were getting more comfortable in front of the camera, Richard wanted this set to be fun and playful. Good thing I was able to borrow a set of pompoms for added effect. No need to explain, the pictures say it all.

Before we proceeded to our fourth set, we stopped for lunch at Vista View Restaurant, overlooking the city. We opted for the boodle but ended up not finishing everything haha! Great food, great company, great talk!

Boodle fight!

Then at around 2:00 in the afternoon, we were ready for our fourth and final set, each of us armed with a one-liter bottle for water for hydration!

Set 4: Turtle Sanctuary at Punta Dumalag

Gown and Coat by Wedding Haven

This was supposed to be the romantic set, and, frankly, I was not sure if I was up for it. I did not know how to project to the camera. Fortunately, Cyril was very game with everything and encouraged me to cooperate so that it would not take us very long.

Again, our main enemy was the sun (we did not apply sunblock!!!), but the view of the sea was very beautiful and Richard chose the best spots to capture nature's beauty and to let our love show (naks!).

After more than an hour of walking and posing along the shore with tiny pebbles and crushed corals, we explored other corners and angles. I had to change back from shoes to slippers and back to shoes again because it was very difficult to walk there in heels. Our feet hurt from standing on the corals barefoot, and even got our shoes wet due to the crashing waves, but the shots were definitely worth it. And during it all, Arnel would go down to our location to retouch my makeup, fix my hair, or dab at my sweaty (and oily) face. The driver of the van patiently waited while we did the photoshoot.

As we were on our last leg, a colleague (our ComRel manager) arrived on site and allowed us to shoot at the mangroves area. Another dreamy location, another beautiful angle. 

See what I mean? Amazing photos, aren't they? It takes talent to capture the best of the subjects and the background. But more importantly, it takes a big heart for suppliers to make their clients comfortable and grateful for the experience.

We packed up at shortly after 5 o'clock in the afternoon and stopped over at Chowking SM for a cool serving of halo-halo.

Some behind-the-scenes shots from GoPro
Thank you JPaqs for lending us your GoPro for free!

Hubby says "Cheese!"

And with this, once again we thank the following people with a big heart who made our prenup shoot memorable:

Photography: Richard Amora and Chu Perez of Richard Amora Photography

Hair and Makeup: Arnel Accion

Van Driver: Bobby of MIB Rent-A-Car

Overall, the whole experience was very memorable and fun, as we felt like celebrities for a day.  Our prenup was definitely way beyond compare.

(All photos except BTS © by Richard Amora Photography)