Singapore city, Singapore (BBN)-A Singaporean couple have created a stir online after posing with a coffin in their wedding photos.
For Jenny Tay and Darren Cheng, both undertakers, death played a "central and important part" in the photo shoot, taken for their upcoming wedding in October, reports BBC.
"A large part of the shoot was definitely inspired by our jobs," said Ms Tay, who is also the daughter of one of Singapore's most famous undertakers.
"Wedding shoots are often staged at places which bring the most memories. For us, work plays such a huge part of our lives so we wanted to do it in style."
But that was not the only reason behind the couple's photo shoot.
"Death is a part of life and shouldn't be seen as taboo," Ms Tay, who has also written a children's book about dealing with death, told the BBC.
"It's important to talk about death; it's part and parcel of everyone's life. Many Asian societies often portray it negatively - we hope to be able to debunk that taboo by encouraging people to be open about death."
'PRETTY AND WHIMSICAL'
Wedding photo shoots in Singapore are traditionally taken by many local couples ahead of their banquets.
A Star Wars-themed wedding shoot and another one based on the zombie apocalypse were some of the other creative shoots by Singaporean couples.
The coffin-themed photo shoot, which was initiated by Ms Tay, took place in a waterway park in Singapore.
"We wanted it to be pretty and whimsical, not at all morbid, so we staged it there and not in an actual cemetery," Ms Tay explained.
"We also didn't want to scare people and the reaction to it has been very positive."
Ms Tay also said the shoot took a day to film, and the weather was "very hot".
Chinese geomancers have weighed in on the couple's shoot, and Ms Tay has decided not to display them at their wedding banquet so as not to "disrespect" any of their guests.
"Everyone has different opinions and it's not possible for everyone to share the same line of thought as us," she explained, adding that the couple will feature a set of "assassin-themed" wedding photographs taken in Japan instead.
'THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX'
But while guests may miss out on their coffin-themed shoot, the pictures drew a huge response on Facebook.
"Bravo to Jenny and Darren! They are very daring in their choice for a wedding shoot and I think it's paid off," said a Facebook user.
"It's literally 'til death do us part'," said another.
Other users were full of praise for the "unique approach" adopted by the couple.
"I think their shoot is creative and very tastefully done," said Molly Sim on Facebook.
"It's a very nice change from the cookie cutter wedding shoots that we see done at Marina Bay Sands or Sentosa all the time."
"This is what you call 'thinking out of the box' - something their children and grandchildren will talk about for decades," said another user Jeffrey Poh.
BBN/SK/AD