Though I had written about my experience with WhiteLink (WL) in my previous chapters, I thought it would be easier that I write a post about my review of them so that one could see it in a post instead of having to read through all other posts to find bits and pieces of feedback about them. When people first asked me about the bridal shop which I signed my wedding package with, their reactions were always something like “huh.. why did you sign with WL?” or “er… it’s not a company I would sign with la~” They then proceeded to list the reasons for them not signing up with WL. I saw similar reviews of WL online too: that the attitudes of the staff were not good, their white gowns were not white, they were expensive/not the most-value-for-money bridal studios around etc. However, I had already signed and placed a deposit and I could only hope that I would be one of the lucky ones who would not regret signing with them. Here’s my review:
Bridal Package – 3.5/5
WL was the only bridal studio Sunshine and I visited before we signed our package with them. It was not that we were very attracted to their package, but rather, Sunshine thought their offer was reasonable and did not want to visit other studios anymore (refer to Chapter 3 for more information). It was only after signing that I realised that we did not get a very good package: there were much more studios offering better deals such as lower prices, more photos included, more gowns (as mentioned in other chapters, my mum helped me to bargain for an additional gown and a ROM dress on separate occasions after that) etc because we topped up for a gown and due to certain service lapses. Given another chance, I would have bargained for a lower price/more photos before signing.
Choice of Wedding Gowns and Suits for Grooms – 4/5
As mentioned in Chapter 9, I had fun trying out the various gowns my then-coordinator brought out for me, based on my selections and those he thought would look good on me. I had not been to any other bridal studios to try out their gowns and hence, could not compare the number of gowns and suits available at WL. However, I was satisfied with their selection. For the groom, though they had comparatively lesser choices to choose from, I was still quite impressed that they managed to offer Sunshine four different types of suits, each with a different feel when Sunshine wore them.
Service – 2.5/5
After my coordinator left WL, I had never been attended to by my new coordinator before. I was attended to by different coordinators who happened to be available when we went there for our appointment. I felt that there was no rapport built and that the coordinators helping us for that visit just wanted to get it over and done with. This was very apparent at our last visit to the studio before our wedding when our fathers were there to pick up their suits (see Chapter 21).
Accessories and miscellaneous items – 4/5
I felt that WL had a good range of accessories, be it for the hair, jewellery (necklace and earrings) or bow ties for grooms. I was offered different sets of accessories to choose for my actual wedding day and the coordinator who assisted me for the selection that day were able to offer some suggestions to help me match them with my gowns: Looking at my actual day photos, I thought they complimented well with my gowns. However, they had limited bridal corsages and though my bridemaids were in blue, WL had only pink wrist corsages to match them.
Photographers – 3.5/5
We had their in-house photographer for our pre-wedding shoot and both Sunshine and I agreed that he was superb! He was able to direct us into various poses, take shots with different angles and feels, accede to my request for a particular shot, and make us comfortable at the same time. It was during our pre-wedding shoot that we realised that he was not going to our photographer for our actual wedding day! Apparently, WL outsources their actual wedding day photography services to some unknown people and this was not mentioned at all throughout our interaction with them until their in-house photographer told us that couples would have to top up if they wanted WL’s in-house photographers for their actual wedding day. The outsourced, external photographer for our wedding day really paled in comparison to the in-house photographer. Not only does he not know how to get us to position ourselves (or to position himself) for a good shot, he was unable to take a shot I specifically requested: he cropped away the bottom of the photo when he sent it to us because the shot was not good at all, despite the fact that he spent quite some time asking me to redo and redo that particular shot that day. However, what infuriates me the most (even till this day!) was that he could not even take a decent shot when the objects in his photos posed for him! Many of the shots taken were not sharp, in fact, blurred in some places here and there! This was really something which buffered me: how did a “professional” photographer manage to take shots which were blur when the people were posing for him and not moving at all?! Omg! I had to rely on my relatives’ photographs for some of the shots! At least theirs were sharp and not blurred. I feedback this to his boss after I collected the photos from him (and handed over the money for early morning surcharge and extra top-ups) but I was ignored. Sigh.
Overall experience – 3.5/5
WL often posts photos of their couples buying food for them as appreciation for the help/service that the couples had received from WL. I had looked forward to the day when Sunshine and I buy something to thank them as well. However, when our wedding was over, I could not bring myself to buy something to thank them for all that they have done. To me, thought WL may be good in their hardware (gowns and accessories), the experience and service I had was mediocre. Given another choice, I would have definitely insisted on doing more research before signing up with them (and most probably would not have signed with them already).
Read Chapter 24 – Review of Novotel here.
Read Chapter 26 – Review of Yoyo Studios here.
