Li Yang and her husband inspect wedding photos they took both by themselves and with the help of friends and locals during their trip to Ecuador earlier this year. Photo: Courtesy of Li Yang

On Li Yang's desk at her office is an eye-catching wedding photo that serves as a conversation starter and souvenir of her most recent trip. She is wearing a red wedding gown and holding hands with her husband in a small town square in Ecuador. In the background is a crowd of local people gathering to elect their new mayor. Li, 31, took five wedding dresses on her 40-day trip to Ecuador that began in January. Li was visiting her husband, who is contracted to work in the country until the end of the year.

"What makes our wedding photos different from others is that they were taken on a trip and there is a story behind each photo. I cringed looking at the identical wedding photos of my friends and other couples online. I didn't like them, and didn't want to spend too much money on my own wedding photos," said Li. "As a prudent Virgo girl, I can't bear the thought of being manipulated by a stranger and posing like a puppet for photos that seem to be produced on an assembly line."

China's booming wedding photography industry is renowned for its glamorous, extravagant shoots, even though some photos can appear kitsch with the use of fake backgrounds and garish props. This generic approach has persuaded some newlyweds like Li to seek more creative and personalized shoots by arranging studio-free photos taken during a honeymoon or exotic holiday. 

Just shoot me

Li's wedding photos coincided with the start of the rainy season in Ecuador in early February. Their first shoot took place in a desolate meadow near the small town of Taday, not far from Azogues where Li's husband works as a project manager for a hydropower station construction site.

Li's favorite photo was taken in the meadow nearby a grazing horse as her veil waved in the wind. Her husband snapped the moment before the horse wandered away.

"When the scenery is so beautiful, you don't need fancy photography skills or Photoshop experience to produce great pictures," Li said.  

Li took three cameras for her trip, but her expertise as an amateur photographer was limited because she was often in front of the lens. The couple improvised by taking photos by themselves, using their cameras' self-timer function and occasionally enlisting the help of a kindhearted local resident or colleague of Li's husband.

Rather than squeezing their photo shoot into a single day, the couple adopted a leisurely pace by setting aside two hours each day for their wedding photos. "We toured around and would just change into wedding attire and take photos when we saw nice venues, such as a park, woods or a church," Li explained.

Before their trip, Li studied various wedding photos and wedding dresses to learn about ideal couple poses and photo composition.

The couple couldn't resist posing for photos on a flight of stairs inside a church, a common setting for Chinese newlyweds' wedding photos. Their original idea was to poke fun by striking a clichéd pose, but Li said the photos "turned out to be surprisingly good."

"Several views were so breathtaking that we forgot to even take photos," she said, adding the main aim of the trip was to spend time as a couple rather than take the best possible wedding photos.  

Surprises in store

Compared to the fixed routines provided by professional wedding photographers, the best part of a do-it-yourself wedding photo shoot on a holiday is the element of adventure.

In addition to unplanned photos with horses, peacocks and other animals, Li's trip was also made memorable by an unexpected volcanic eruption. The ash-filled air was misty and dirty, which injected drama and difficulty into the photo shoot. "The first few photos turned out great, but it soon became too hard to even to open our eyes," she recalled.

Aside from grappling with the unpredictability of Mother Nature, there were other logistical problems. Li's wedding dresses took up a lot of luggage space, and finding an appropriate place to change into or out of the dresses wasn't always easy.

Then there were the challenges of avoiding animal droppings in paddocks or rescheduling shoots at churches that clashed with funerals or actual weddings. One of the most frustrating moments was when a person who volunteered to take photos for the couple accidentally pressed a wrong button that altered the settings that ruined the photos taken that day.

Seeing a Chinese couple taking their own wedding photos was a surprise for locals, too. In the city of Loja, Li and her husband were greeted by curious passersby offering their warm wishes as they posed for photos on a bridge on Valentine's Day.

"I guess they had never seen an Asian bride traveling and taking her own wedding photos," Li laughed.

Li Yang poses in her red wedding gown during her trip earlier this year to see her husband in Ecuador. Photo: Courtesy of Li Yang

Leaving hubby at home

Li updated her blog with photos of her trip online after returning to Beijing. Hundreds of friends and strangers commented that they too would like to combine travel and wedding photography, with some asking for tips.

But taking your fiancé isn't necessary for a memorable wedding photo shoot, as architect Qiao Xiaoshou discovered in March 2008 when she traveled to Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. Qiao posed for photos taken by accompanying friends at a local picturesque rapeseed field.

One of the wedding dresses Qiao wore was borrowed from a local photography studio. As she frolicked in the fields, her white veil waving in the breeze, she yelled "I want to get married!" at the top of her lungs. Her boyfriend, who still hadn't proposed at the time of Qiao's photos, was touched when he saw his budding bride, and the couple married a year after the shoot.

"Back then, packing wedding dresses for a holiday photo shoot wasn't yet a trend. I did it on a whim, thinking it would be extremely romantic," she said. 

In October 2011, Qiao traveled to Thailand with her girlfriends - and again packed her wedding dress. "The only inconvenience was that the huge dress took up half of my suitcase," she said.

On her second holiday wedding photo shoot, Qiao was surprised to learn the trend had caught on with many young Chinese newlyweds.

A search on popular Chinese travel websites including ctrip.com and lvmama.com reveals many travel packages are advertised as "best for taking wedding photos." This emerging form of tourism has even given rise to a special branch of wedding photography as studios seek to cash in on the phenomenon. 

Qiao Xiaoshou first combined travel with wedding photography in 2011 when she went to Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. Photos: Courtesy of Qiao Xiaoshou

Shi Xin in her wedding dress during her trip to Greece in November, 2012. Photo: Courtesy of Shi Xin

Tips for newlyweds 

Even though graphic designer Shi Xin had already had her wedding photos taken by a studio, she still decided to pack her wedding dress for her week-long honeymoon to Greece in November 2012.

"Taking my wedding dress to Greece was a last-minute decision. We thought if we had spare time, it would be nice to take photos," she said.

Equipped with three cameras and three different lenses, Shi and her husband booked their trip through a travel agency. In addition to partaking in sightseeing arranged by the travel agency, they managed to make time for a memorable Mediterranean wedding photo shoot.

Shi's favorite photo was taken on the island of Santorini. She is pictured looking back at her husband as he calls her name. "I love the photo because it was a casual, natural moment," she said.

Shi advises newlyweds to "take advantage of romantic, exotic views" and strike natural poses by sitting, playing or interacting with local people, animals or landmarks.

"The wedding veil is a very handy prop that is versatile for different poses," said Li, who suggests capturing the moment a groom raises it or allowing it to flutter in the breeze.

It's also worth keeping in mind that a trip can be exhausting, Li added. Couples might not have the time, strength or expertise to apply makeup or take photos as well as professionals. Li's recommended approach is to only pack the essentials, such as lipstick, blush and foundation, and apply eyelash extensions before a trip.

Pack some jewelry that's shiny but not expensive, Li added. Choose shorter wedding dresses and suits with lighter fabric that doesn't wrinkle easily. After all, a mundane task like ironing is hardly something you want to waste time on during your holiday.

"Carrying wedding dresses around is no easy task, so renting vehicles is also advisable," Li said.