'It's cosy and familiar': Couple hold pre-wedding photoshoot at Din Tai Fung outlet

For the past six years, LHK, who prefers to be referred to by her initials, has celebrated her birthday and other special occasions at Din Tai Fung with her husband-to-be, CYC. 

"I like to dine at Din Tai Fung for my birthday because it’s cosy and familiar, and it makes both of us smile," LHK told AsiaOne in an interview, adding that her husband always jokes that because of this, she's an easy person to please. 

In fact, the Chinese restaurant holds such a special place in the couple's hearts that they decided to do their pre-wedding photoshoot here. 

Din Tai Fung was a spot the couple had frequented ever since they started going out with each other. 

"When we first started dating, I learned that LHK loves Din Tai Fung, especially their plain egg fried rice," CYC recounted. 

"Being a broke student back then I never understood it because I thought they were so expensive! But over the years I have grown to love and occasionally crave Din Tai Fung too which we have always found funny."

So, it just made sense for the couple to snap some photos at the restaurant for the memories. 

"We decided that our pre-wedding photoshoot location places that were of significance to us, so Din Tai Fung popped up as one of the options!" CYC said. 

Preparing for the shoot 

When the couple, who are both in the finance industry, made the final decision to have their shoot at Din Tai Fung, they contacted the restaurant. 

"Din Tai Fung facilitated everything so well! We just dropped them an email and they were so helpful with arranging everything for the shoot," shared LHK.

"They suggested different outlets for us to choose where to hold the shoot and helped answer all our questions as it was our first time doing a shoot at a restaurant. We are so grateful to Din Tai Fung for this!" 

The couple eventually settled on the chain's Great World City outlet. 

While it seems like the entire restaurant was booked up for them, the couple revealed that they didn't have to do so. 

"Din Tai Fung kindly opened the place up for one hour before their opening hours for us to do the shoot," shared LHK. 

For the occasion, LHK donned a beautiful forest green cheongsam, while CYC was smartly decked out in a black suit. 

LHK also had a beautiful bouquet of flowers, complete with Din Tai Fung mascot plushies. 

Of course, they had to have some food on display. Because what's a restaurant without its food? 

So, the couple got some favourites like the Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing, Fried Rice with Pork Chop, and of course, Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao. 

These were prepared for the shoot before the restaurant opened for business. 

A fun shoot 

CYC and LHK weren't the only ones who enjoyed the experience — their photographer, Teri Tan, did too. 

"I’ve shot weddings and proposals at other restaurants before, but this was my first time doing a pre-wedding shoot in an empty restaurant!" the 26-year-old told AsiaOne excitedly in an interview. 

"It was a special experience. We had Din Tai Fung staff on standby to help with anything we needed which I really appreciated as I am a solo photographer!"

Teri added that the big glass windows and high ceilings at the Great World City outlet were also "perfect" because of the lighting. 

While pre-wedding photoshoots may seem like a stressful affair for both the photographer and the subjects, Teri revealed that this particular one wasn't. 

"It wasn’t hard! I was more excited for the shoot than anything else," she said.

Prior to any shoot, Teri usually does research on what the place looks like, the lighting situation and so on.

She also comes up with a list of ideas for poses and activities to add life to the photos. 

"For this shoot I knew I wanted lots of interaction with their favourite dishes and with the baskets of xiao long baos! At one point, I asked the customer service staff if I could stack up as many longs [baskets] as possible for a shot I had in mind and he so helpfully brought them all out from the kitchen for me!," she shared. 

"The staff's support throughout the shoot was really amazing and I appreciated everything they did for us." 

She added that working with LHK and CYC was a breeze. 

"I always try to make my couples feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera so we spent more time having fun! It honestly felt like they were on a date and I was documenting it, which I loved," she recounted. 

ALSO READ: KFC sponsors part of couple's big day with fried chicken bouquet, photo booth and more

melissateo@asiaone.com