My 2nd Visit to Miss Y Studio - Bridal Photography Package (Backdated Post)

Happy Lunar New Year to my readers. Now is still within the first 15 days of the CNY period so it is still okay to wish all a Happy New Year. Technically now is also the 2nd month into 2024 and I am trying my best to keep to my new year resolution of blogging more. I decided to do a backdated post on my 2nd visit to Joyce studio since my blog was been visited by quite a few local CDs who are interested in visiting her studio recently. This blog post should technically be considered under "My CD Journey (Part 20-B)" but in order not to complicate my readers. I take this post as a sharing of my experience and also have some FAQs for those who are interested in visiting Miss Y Studio. Just to clarify, as of again, I was not asked or paid to by Joyce to write this or to promote her studio. I am writing this on my free will because I had good experience and I like to share it with my fellow local SG CDs.

If you can recall, back in December when I travelled to Melaka for my first CD gathering organised by Joyce. I decided to travel up to Melaka on Friday instead of Saturday, which was the actual day of the event itself. Well... The reason for travelling up one day earlier was that I was going for my 1st official studio shoot in Miss Y Studio. 

Yes, this was the 2nd time I am visiting Miss Y Studio but back in 2022, I took a package called "A Day Girl’s Life First Experience" where I got the chance to try some female clothing like the red jacket and skirt outfit, a JK school girl uniform and three wedding gowns. However, the package did not include any professional photography studio shoot. Joyce just captured a few photos using my mobile phone for keepsake. For this visit, I took up the CD bridal photography package Set B where I will be doing a bridal shoot. The details of the package is as in the picture below...

If you can recall from my previous post where I picked by another CD sister KT for my Melaka trip... Well, I technically dragged KT to Joyce's studio with me, more about that later. The appointment with Joyce was originally scheduled at 10am but due to miscalculation on my end, plus bad jam because it was the start of the Malaysian school holiday period. I only managed to reach Miss Y Studio at 11am. Thank goodness Joyce was not angry with me but I felt extremely bad because I feel that she needed some time to rest for the big event which is happening tomorrow, the 1st CD Gathering. She waited for me while I just parked my car and rush up to her studio. A bit more info for those who are considering driving up to Melaka to visit Joyce's studio. There are a few parking spaces around her studio, those car park spaces in front of the shophouses are for the tenants there and there is a carpark area with gantry entry from the MacDonald side (yes, there is a MacDonald around her studio, such a nice amenity to have). We should park in the car park area with the gantry entry in order to avoid getting fine. The payment for the carpark was using Touch-n-Go (TnG) card. I forgot how much was the car park charges but just keep the TnG above 15RM should be sufficient. 

Back to the studio shoot, Joyce let me select the gowns that I wanted for the bridal shoot. Since I chose Package B, the choice was to select one white bridal gown and another gown of a different colour. So I selected a red corset type wedding gown which I somehow fall in love with after trying it. Before doing the make-up, Joyce wanted me to wash my face first to remove the facial oil and also to moisturise my face in preparation for the make-up application. This is quite a common practice. After that, I started to put on the nu-bra sets, brasserie, corset, panty and pantyhose then I was ready for Joyce to do her make-up magic. Too bad I did not put on my contact lenses because I think it will just take more time, so I decided to give the contact lenses a miss this time round. 

Remember that I dragged KT to Joyce's studio... While all the things that I mentioned were happening, KT was also trying to put on make-up herself. Thank goodness she found some activities to entertain herself but I do feel really apologetic for dragging her to the studio instead of checking in to the hotel first before coming to the studio... Really appreciate that she does not mind coming to visit Joyce with me. Thank you so much KT. 

So after the make-up was done, I put on the first white wedding gown while Joyce convert her area into the studio for shoot. Even though the setup was small, it was cozy and sufficient. I finally realised that Joyce does have a lot of props in her studio. You will see some in my photo below. Joyce used one to two continuous lights with soft boxes for lighting and she was able to get some very nice shots.

Even though I have done wedding shots before for my own wedding, but I was in a guy mode. Having to fully crossdressed as a lady and to be in a wedding gown for a bridal shoot was like a dream come true for Francesca, to become a beautiful bride. The whole experience was quite mesmerizing even though it can be quite tiring. After the white gown, I changed to the red one. I must say, this has been one of my favourite so far... Throughout the shoot, Joyce was actively making sure that I lift my chin and to tilt to my head to an angle that can help to reduce my puffy cheeks from showing too much. It was really not easy for her to be the Make-Up Artist and also to be the photographer but she definitely does her work and play her role professionally. 

After the shoot, it was quite tiring for me and I believe it is for Joyce also. Joyce told me that she will need some time to process the photos as she also needs to prepare for the CD gathering tomorrow and she will have to process those photos taken at the event first. I told her no hurry as I was already thankful that she agreed to do the shoot for me despite her busy schedule. As I have not yet check in to the hotel, I will have to remove my make-up and change back to my guy attire before leaving the place. It was really a pity as I was hoping to be able to just keep my make-up on and dress out and walk along Melaka street with KT. 

And with that, that ended my 1st official studio shoot at Miss Y studio. After bidding farewell to Joyce, KT and I went to my car and we drove to the hotel and we had a very late lunch / early dinner that day. So if you followed this post, you can see how the whole chain of events fitted in nicely. 

Here are some points for considerations if you are planning to come to visit Joyce studio by driving. The normal check-in timing for hotel is around 2pm to 3pm, unless you can request for early check-in but the earliest I guess will be around 12pm to 1pm at best. For Joyce bridal Package B, it will take around 6 hours. Even if we started promptly at 10am, we should end around 4pm or 5pm max, which is into evening time. So it may not be advisable or undoable to check in into the hotel first before coming over to the studio. The best plan will be to come to the studio first and do the shoot. As the shoot should end around evening time, it will be good to inform the hotel that you will be checking in late. The setback for this plan is, you cannot keep your make-up on as the reception counter at the hotel will want to verify you and your passport when checking-in... So you can imagine the surprise for the receptionist if you were to check-in into the hotel in CD mode... 

For those taking coach, you can refer to my first visit to Miss Y Studio here. Coach has longer travelling time and less flexibility but it is definitely more convenient, ease of mind and do not have to worry about driving or other drivers. There are quite a lot of services that take you from Singapore to Melaka, we got CityLine, KKKL and quite a few others bus services. You can either check out BusOnlineTicket or Easybook to see the buses available and the timing. While most of the time, the buses usually will pick up early morning like as early as 6am, there are also evening to night service. For those taking evening or night buses, do note that you will most probably reached your lodging area quite late, so it will be good to inform your hotel or AirBnB about your estimated arrival time. Do try to factor in jam at the customs...

As for the hotel and lodging, the reason why I recommended The Straits Hotel and Suites or Noble Resort Hotel Melaka is because the coach does a stop and pickup there. So, it is easier if you are taking a coach. The carpark is also quite large, spacious and bright. So it does give me a piece of mind regardless if I was travelling by coach or driving. If you are taking Cityline, the other coach hotel stops include Hatta Hotel Melaka and Casa Del Rio Melaka. For other coach service, they might drop you at Melaka Sentral (which is a coach and bus interchange I believe) or Estadia Hotel Malacca. You can also check out some AirBnB for lodging but at your own discretion. So please do your research on where the coach will drop you and also what are the lodgings around.

If you are wondering why I never post this blog back in December 2023, this is because the main focus for my December trip up to Melaka was for the CD Gathering. Another reason was that Joyce initially wanted to close the studio on Friday so that she can focus on the CD gathering which was taking place the next day. However, seeing that it has been long since I last visited her, she decided to make an exception and open the studio for me. Having said that, this should not be taken for granted as I know Joyce was quite worried about the CD gathering as it was the first time she was organising something so big. So I really appreciate her gesture and going the extra mile for me... Lastly, the reason for this backdated post was because I getting some enquiries about Miss Y Studio's package recently and I think it will be good to clarify some doubts and give assurance to those local SG CDs who are interested in visiting her studio. 

Below are some of the questions that I feel some of the CDs might have regarding Miss Y Studio. I am answering based on my best knowledge and interaction with Joyce.

MISS Y STUDIO FAQs 

Q: Does Joyce (aka Miss Y) understand English?

A: Yes, she does. Even though she is more proficient in Mandarin, she can speak and converse in English. 

Q: Is it a must to shave armpit hair and leg hair?

A: For armpit hair, it is a must as most of the gowns are sleeveless (that is why they looked so alluring). For leg hair, you can wear a higher denier pantyhose to cover up. However, I feel it will be really nice to shave your leg hair to enjoy the full extend of the hosiery on your legs. If you do not mind, you can check out Smoovee Skin Hair Removal services. They are opening quite a few branches around Singapore. Do check them out.

Q: Are the CD clothing such as the gowns clean?

A: Yes. Rest assured that Joyce put personal hygiene first and will clean them after use. That is why she will be quite specific about putting those items or clothing used aside so that she will clean or wash them later. But if you have your preference, you are more than welcome to bring your own, maybe the more intimate wear like bra or panty.  

Q: Do we need to do challenge like to walk in high heels in order to try on the wedding gowns?

A: For bridal shoot package, there is no challenge involved. The challenges was more for "A Day Girl’s Life First Experience" package and I think Joyce has revamped this package already.  

Q: Is it a must to pay deposit?

A: Yes!!! You are booking Joyce's time and it is to lock your commitment to attend the session. It is just like any services that you engaged, paying deposit is a form of commitment to the deal. 

Q: Does Miss Y Studio accept PayNow?

A: Unfortunately no... Even though it was announced back on 17th Nov 2023 that MAS is launching a Cross-Border Real-Time Payment System between Singapore and Malaysia (see report here) but it does seem that this service is only available for certain group of users like some payment system operators. Maybe in the future I hope. 

Q: Is setting up for overseas remittance difficult?

A: Even though this process may seem quite dauting initially, it is quite simple actually. The payee address can be left blank if I remember correctly. Worse come to worse, just ask Joyce for more details.

However, there is good news. I just found out some ways of doing overseas remittance to Malaysia without the need to setup an overseas remittance account. You can check out my post here.

I hope that this post can help to clarify some doubts and remove the reservations that some of the local SG CDs might have with regards with Miss Y Studio. However, as again, a disclaimer statement here. Experience is a very subjective thing, what I experienced may work for me but may not work for you, so it really depends. I guess the key to enjoy your time at Miss Y Studio is to go with an open heart and open mind, and also open communication with Joyce and give her ample time to plan and process on her end. Cheers.