Taiwan Wedding photoshoot with Iwedding

I received a call from the the lady boss, Alice fromt Iwedding. She told me that I have to top up $200 for the vehicle rental to my wedding photoshoot destination at Sun Moon Lake. I got a shock! How come there are so many additional cost that I have to bear on top of the bridal package that I bought from her?



Alice said, the taiwan photography studio is asking for additional transportation cost anywhere outside Taipei. In heart, I was thinking. Iwedding should be the one paying the taiwanese side. There is no reason for us to pay the taiwanese since we bought the package in Singapore. These hidden cost was not made known to us in the contract neither was it transpired to us during our group discussion in February before chinese new year. Alice assumed "this is common sense" that we automatically should know that we have to pay this extra cost. In the first place, the contract sold to us is "Bridal photography in Taiwan/Macau/Bali (choose any one at no additional cost)

Other than the air port tax which we have to pay. There are no miscellaneous costs made know to me that I have to pay for the 4D3N photoshoot in Taiwan, even the air tickets are supplied by them. I am only left with only 1 week before I leave for Taiwan and all the hotels I booked are already confirmed. Now have to change all my plan?

I called Taiwan side and spoken to the consultant, Juilie, we met in Feb. She explained to me that all trips made outside Taipei have to pay additional transportation cost and the cost she claims from the singaporean bridal shop. She does not know that Alice is asking for additional top up from us. Alice made it sounds like "I though Juilie already told you very clearly that there is a surchage in the meeting?" Well... even Sky did not know that there is a surcharge we have to pay. How can 2 person hearing the same thing miss that out?

It all started with the packge sold to us was actually undercharged by about $1500. We give-and take and have already top up another $200 and taken out the bridal car rental service. It is not our fault they undercharge us. So now we still have the original Taiwan 4D3N trip photography with air tickets, Photography service and videography service on actual day (no photos developed), bridal car decor + 2 bridal gowns, 1 evening gown and 1 tea dress. All 5 jackets for the groom and dads and brother. Good deal.

Since the photography is 4D3N, we actually planned for 1 day photography in Taipei and 1 day photography to Sunmoon lake which occupied the 2 days photograhy. After all the happy discussions, Alice then tells us that there is an additional $1600 charge for the additional 1 day photograhy to Sunmoon lake. She explains that actually they only do photography for 8 hours for the package we bought. The top up of $1600 does not come with additional photos to my original package somemore. We did not buy that of course. In the end, we agreed to just go to sun moon lake (8hrs photography). This is the point of time when Alice did NOT mentioned a single word about $200 surcharge we have to pay. So happily, I went home to start planning and booking my own hotel. Who knows when she 'suddenly' remember that "$200" she suppose to charge us for the trip to sun moon lake. Then she finally decided to tell me the day before I'm suppose to collect my gown for the trip next week to bring the $200. When I told her that i really do not know have to pay and she told me on the phone "I donno lah, you and settle with Juilie in Taiwan". That really make my blood boiling already. How can she be so irresponsible?!

She simply assume we know that all these costs are "automatically" known by the customer. I believe a lot of couples also kenna conned into it. So the packge sign already then bo bian have to pay then have to pay loh.

Good thing, i called Juilie in Taiwan before going to the Bridal shop and understand the whole picture. So I purposely made a scene at the bridal shop in the presence of another indian couple going through their photos. Purposely say until like "IWedding trying to cheat money". Before i want to bang table and decided to say I want to complaint to CASE, the lady boss's husband came into the picture and agree that they will bear the cost to avoid upsetting my already planned itinerary. (Shouldn't I be grateful or not?)

So we left the shop after all is clarified, paid the $600 refundable deposit for my 4 gowns and 3 men suit.

I was looking at the rental form and saw, there is a dry cleaning fee of of $80 per gown rental. Pay again! Is that how it is suppose to be? I have to pay for the gown dry cleaning cost also meh?? No wonder, Alice can be so nice to let me bring so many gowns to Taiwan. Chey!

From now on, I will be very weary when I deal with Alice. But seriously speaking, they are still nice pple ah. If not we also very jialat if they refuse to absorb the costs. Just need to ask the question "Got extra charge or not" all the time. She just got to make known the extra costs to us can already.

Thank god, I don't have to redo out itinerary now and Im leaving for Taiwan on 7 mar 2010 on EVA Air :D