Bripex Fair 2009

BriPex, is the LARGEST Bridal & Photography Exhibition in Northern Region, Malaysia.

The exhibition is jointly-organised by famous bridal houses together with well-known photographic equipment distributors. As a visitor, you can expect to get unbelievable discounts for wedding packages and access to a wide range of lenses, cameras, studio equipments and other photographic accessories. Events during the exhibiton include a photography competition, bridal show and LUCKY DRAW for the visitors!

Date:	10 - 12 APRIL 2009
Time:	11am - 9pm
Venue:	Penang International Sports Arena (PISA)
FREE ADMISSION + FREE CARPARK

I missed the fair... :O :O
Did anyone make it? Any comments?

Bridal House Review Candidate #6 : Crystal Brides, Penang

One word of caution about this shop - Enter At Your Own Risk! :) Having started with that, let me continue on with my summary of our visit there and the reason why I start off with a warning. Crystal Brides has 2 branches, the headquarter is located in Seberang Prai near Megamall Pinang and their branch is situated along Macalister Road.

Having entered the shop, we were approached by a young saleslady. We informed her that we were interested in viewing their gowns, so she had to postpone her package speech and took us around the shop. Similar to New York Bridal, the gowns at the ground floor are not for "usual" packages. Depending on the gown, you may need to pay around RM600 - RM1000 to rent one. The gowns at the 2nd floor was quite limited due to space constraint, I believe. However, there were some gowns that are "un-wearable" except for indoor photo shoot. According to the saleslady, they do not allow the gowns to be worn out as it was old and cannot withstand a lot of alterations and outdoor wear. What a strange reason!

Anyhow, when we finally returned to the ground floor, the saleslady started off on her sales speech. And boy, was it a long speech! First, she started off with telling us that they are the ONLY bridal shop that was allowed to take pictures with the furniture shop next door. Errr... ok. Next, she followed on by saying that their boss spent 100K to renovate the 3-storey headquarter building in Prai. And this matters to me because.....???? She went on about how wonderful their building was and how you would have to pay RM1999 for taking your wedding pictures in 1 (and I repeat, just one!) of the rooms with 1 (again, just 1!) gown. Hoookayyyy...

After we told her that we were not interested in a 1-gown, 1-room wedding album, she decided to tell us about the more normal package. The package that she offered to us was RM12,999. That's right, folks. That was not a typo. She really tried to sell us the most expensive package they have in the shop - which is nearly thirteen thousand! Absolutely crazy! Of course, we gave her face and listened to her as she slowly wound down from RM12,999 to RM9999 and RM7999, followed by the RM5999 and RM4999 packages. Trust me, by the time she got to the more standard package, our eyes were glazed over and we've stopped tuning into her frequency!

At any rate, she stopped at the RM4999 package and told us that she would give us a RM1000 discount if we signed up for it, making it a "cheap" RM3999 package. I can't even remember the details of the package now as I've already dismissed the entire shop as totally ridiculous! When we told her that we had an appointment (which was genuine) and would consider the package, she had a parting shot - "Going to check out other bridal shops say lar. No need to say you got appointment ler..." Great sales tactic. Use it more often to drive away potential customers~!

A total thumbs-down for this shop. As I said at the beginning of the post, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Bridal House Review Candidate #5 : New York Bridal City, Penang

We just happened upon New York Bridal City as we were nearby the France Taipei one in Prai area. Located along the same street, the mannequins wearing the dresses were pretty eye-catching. So we decided to go in and check it out.

The package that was offered by this particular bridal house was on the higher end (since we've already scouted around a few). The one that was offered by the sales assistant (who happened to be the make-up artist as well), was around RM2900. I've forgotten the exact price but I do remember that it wasn't attractive to me personally.

The dresses on display downstairs are beautiful and there were some eye-catching ones. However, we found out that these were the "New York Collection" and therefore, we will not qualify for those if we took the RM2900 package. :( More moolah to top up the package? Talk about a letdown! Anyhow, we decided to tour around the joint since we were there. The dresses were not bad but a bit Chinese-style. Colours were quite bright, so you can consider this place if you are looking for bright dinner dresses.

The sales assistant was quite informative and we found him to be more informative as compared to those from some other shops. Perhaps it is due to his years of experience (he claimed to have been in the business for many years). At any rate, if you don't mind paying a higher price and topping it up for the NYC dresses, you may want to give this shop some consideration.

Bridal House Review Candidate #4 : France Taipei Bridal House, Penang

We visited the France Taipei branch in Butterworth, which is located behind Pacific Megamall. You can find it by turning off the first exit after the Penang Bridge. Or alternatively, you can visit their shop on the island itself, it is located near Pulau Tikus area.

We had a good impression of the shop when we walked in as the decor was made out of wood. It gave a very nice effect and you can imagine taking your indoor pictures with the woody background. However, the drawback is that you can't take any outdoor shots without needing to go out on location as the branch is located in a shoplot, unlike DeSantia which had pools and their attached garden to give a more outdoorsy feel.

The sales assistant started us off with looking at their samples. The main differentiation in France Taipei is that they finish off their wedding albums with a lace edging around each page. This is supposedly to prevent that pages from sticking together in storage. Also, it gives a more feminine finish to the wedding album. We then toured the gowns that they offered. They had some good gowns on display and again there was a special France Taipei Collection, which comes at extra cost.

The package that was offered by the sales assistant was RM3199, which comes with 6 gowns and 40 poses. The saleslady did not offer any freebies, the package was stripped to the bare minimum - the gowns for the photoshoot, 1 bridal gown, 1 evening gown, 1 photo frame for the bride and groom. Thank you cards, photo DVD, photo frames for parents, etc - these were all not included. It would only be provided if we signed up on the spot and the amount of "freebies" would be given according to the percentage of what we pay. Paying 30% of the package price would only entitle you to 20 thank you cards. If you pay 50%, you will get an additional DVD. If you pay 100%, you will get photo frames in addition. Errr, seems a bit ridiculous to me.

Of course, I presume that one can further bargain and try to get a fairer offer. However, after being to several shops that gave a better offer at a cheaper price, I did not feel so inclined. Perhaps the branch in Penang will give a better offer, does anyone know?

Bridal House Review Candidate #3 : Milan Bridal House, Penang

Our next stop was to Milan Bridal House - located along Bagan Jermal Road, it is hard to miss because of the huge signboard outside. Not to mention that it's also nearby to other bridal shops (which will be featured in upcoming articles).

We walked in quite late in the evening as we had been scoping out other bridal shops. The saleslady was not quite keen for us to tour the dresses as she wanted to push her sales package. We had a quick look around the place, Milan is another bridal house that has a 3-tier gown package, the lowest tier being the standard gowns, followed by more deluxe gowns and the highest tier being the Milan Collection. The Milan Collection (or MC, as she called it) is supposed to be dresses that are designed by the Milan designers exclusively for them. However, we spotted a dress in the MC that was also featured in the DeSantia collection. *GASP* So, a word of advice to those who are considering forking out a load of cash for the MC, make sure you get a gown that isn't already in other bridal shops as a gown in the MC will cost you a cool additional RM600 to your bill!

Also, the package offered by Milan is not that cheap - the standard package that we were shown was around the range of RM2888! They threw in the standard stuffs (see my previous posting) as well as some musical box (a musical box that they decorate with your photos) and a funky photo frame. But forking out so much for a funky photo frame and a musical box? Try getting those at Living Cabin or S&J.

So it was a "No Way, Jose!" for Milan. On to the next shop!

Bridal House Review Candidate #2 : Regal Bridal House, Penang

Regal Bride is just a few steps away from DeSantia, so we made that our 2nd stop. The outside of the shop was not as decorated and spacious as the one from DeSantia, so the initial impression was that the package would be more indoor oriented and need to go out for the outdoor setting.

A friend who had taken her bridal pictures there about 4 years ago had paid about RM7000 for her package, so we were expecting the package to start from RM3000. Surprisingly, the shop assistant gave an even cheaper quote than Desantia - the package started at RM1999.

The package gave basically the same goodies as the one from DeSantia. However, Regal offered 2 wedding albums (instead of 1) but still with 40 selected pictures from a total of around 100-120 shots. The shop also offered 3 photo frames, 1 for the couple and 2 for each set of parents. However, the gowns offered in the package were 6 pieces with the corresponding suit (and pants if applicable) changes as well.

The gowns at Regal were not very impressive. They had many white dresses but the patterns seem a bit dated and worn. There were not many choices colourwise for wedding gowns as it seemed to use the same standard white cloth. If you are looking for a creamy colour or offwhite, this shop would not be your shop. The evening dresses also seemed a bit worn.

The shop did not allow any outfit trials. The assistant needed some persuasion before she would allow even 1 outfit to be tried. The service provided was a bit lacking and the dressing room should be cleared up (it seemed to be part-storeroom).

This shop did not offer much in terms of differentiation from the other shops and probably can be given a miss unless you are looking for that "WHITE" dress.

Bridal House Review Candidate #1 : DeSantia Bridal House, Penang

First stop to check out the bridal house is in DeSantia Bridal House. Located along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, this bridal house is housed in an old refurbished bungalow. The initial package that the sales assistants will offer you is their standard RM2188 package.

However, if you are looking for a simpler package, you can ask for the RM1888 package. There is even a RM1688 package available (you will need to request for it, though) with the following goodies :

Photo Shoot :
- shooting around 100 pcs – selected 40 pcs
- shooting area: Indoor + De Santia Outdoor Garden + 1 Outdoor of choice

Album :
8” X 24” - 20 pages - 30 photos + design

Photo with Frame, choose :
16” X 20” (1 pcs) and 11” X 14” (1 pcs)
OR
20” X 24” (1 pcs)

Photography Gowns:
- 2 pcs wedding gown (vip + s.vip + new design)
- 2 pcs evening gown (vip + s.vip + new design)
- 3 pcs traditional costume – can bring own or use the studio’s
- Groom coat (mix)
- 1 makeup with touch ups + 6 hairdo

Wedding Day Gowns :
- 1 pc wedding/evening gown (vip + s.vip + new design)
- Car deco for 2 cars
- Hand bouquet

Others :
- DVD with 30 photos and design + music
- CD with 30 photos full pixel
- music box
- album set

There are more freebies offered by DeSantia, plus they are quite open to negotiations. So if you have surveyed most other shops and know what you want, feel free to ask for the items that you want.

Most bridal shops will not provide the ampoules and eyelashes in the packages offered. So you will need to cough up additional dollars for these 2 items. DeSantia charges for these items as below :

Ampoules – RM35 per person
Eyelashes – RM25

Bridal House Shopping in Penang, Malaysia

Getting the perfect bridal house to capture your pre-wedding moments could be confusing and a hassle. Here is our guide to getting the bridal house that you want, specific to Penangites.

1. Know what you want.
Are you looking for a certain type of photography technique? Do you want more albums? Or is your main concern the dresses and outfits provided by the shop? You should have a general idea before you go into the bridal houses as it is easy to be confused by hard-selling salespeople.

2. Decide your budget.
Most packages fall into a range of RM2000 - RM3000. There are more expensive packages that run into RM4000 - RM5000 as well. Discuss with your partner on how much you want to spend on this package and then stick to the budget.

3. Don't decide on the first shop you go into.
Survey some shops, get a feel of their services and goods, ask around to get feedback on the shop. Don't sign up on the first foray you make into these shops as it is easy to be overwhelmed and pressured into signing.

4. Check for hidden costs.
Most bridal shops will not tell you on the additional items that you will need to purchase, such as ampoules and eyelashes. Ask them for the prices that they charge (it varies across different shops). Also, ask for any additional costs that they may impose such as the charges for extra shots or pictures.

5. Look at their samples.
Every shop has a variety of bridal books, make sure that you take a look through and see whether their style fits in with yours. Also, make sure to look at the dresses to see whether it suits to your tastes.

6. Ask for extras.
The shops are able to give you more than the "standard" package that they offer. Ask them for those items before signing up.