'Bridal rehearsal, just with more blue paint': DJ Germaine Tan & fiancé on ‘Corpse Bride’ Halloween photoshoot ahead of wedding

987fm DJ and celebrity host Germaine Leonora Tan spent four hours being transformed into the character of Emily from the 2005 movie "Corpse Bride" for a Halloween photoshoot with her fiancé, Zouk Group CEO Andrew Li.

There was just one detail: neither of them has actually watched the film.

“This is where we expose ourselves: neither of us has actually watched it!” Tan told Mothership.

“Andrew read out to me the entire synopsis and thought the ending was incredibly bittersweet.”

The couple recreated the looks of Emily and Victor ahead of their own wedding the following week, with Tan in blue make-up and Li sporting a longer-haired wig.

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Dressing is a Halloween baby tradition for Tan

Tan, who turns 31 on the 31st, said being a "Halloween baby" made dressing up an annual tradition for her. With her wedding approaching, the theme felt particularly fitting.

“Entirely mine - Andrew would want me to make that very clear!” she said of whose idea it was.

Tan called the shoot a "little bridal rehearsal, just with considerably more blue paint", and although she had shown Li a reference beforehand, she suspected he only fully grasped what he had agreed to once he was in the make-up chair.

“There was a moment when I think his life flashed before his eyes.”

While she has not watched the film, Tan said she could relate to what she knew of Emily.

“She’s a hopeless romantic and a little dramatic. That felt like fairly familiar territory.”

Transformation to blue took four hours

The transformation was the work of Celebrity and Fashion Makeup Artist Kenneth Chia and hairstylist Christian Maranion, who worked on Tan’s wig.

Chia, who has worked with Tan for about three and a half years, told Mothership that the timing made the idea an easy one to agree to.

“I love people who love to serve a look,” he said.

With Tan’s Halloween birthday and wedding approaching, Chia said, “There was no way I was going to say anything but yes”.

Tan had set her eyes on film’s poster as her goal for this recreation, so Chia kept a picture of the character in front of him as he worked freehand.

“We’ve built so much trust over the years working together, that I can jump right in with confidence,” he said.

Getting the blue right was particularly important.

“The correct shade of blue was also really important to me; otherwise it would’ve gone into Smurf or Avatar territory. Beauty is all about the nuance, even when you’re painting someone blue,” Chia said.

He began by mapping the contours of Tan’s body and pre-mixing the tones to keep the colours consistent throughout the application.

His background in editorial and beauty work helped, but achieving the right opacity, depth and softness on camera was still a challenge.

“It’s like highlighting and contouring but in a colour that doesn’t exist on your face. So any mistakes show up very clearly. There’s no hiding.”

He also had to adapt the animated character’s exaggerated features to Tan’s facial proportions.

Beyond the colour, Chia wanted to capture the “endearing humanness” he saw in Tim Burton’s characters.

The process involved what he called “cardio blending”, along with plenty of sweat. A time-lapse of the transformation was posted on Instagram.

After about four hours in hair and make-up, Tan spent another hour or so shooting with photographer Bryan Foong.

A 'significant act of love' from Tan's fiancé

Li’s hair and make-up took about an hour, although Tan joked that it might have felt much longer to him.

“He really hates having any makeup on his face, so this was a significant act of love,” she said. “Truly princess treatment - a man who’ll let himself be painted into a Tim Burton character for your birthday.”

Chia recalled Li entering the studio and seeing Tan in a bald cap, painted blue-grey from head to toe, with sad eyebrows. The make-up artist said this was probably when Li realised what he had signed up for.

Still, Li embraced the experience, Chia said, adding that sitting in a make-up chair could feel vulnerable.

“So brownie points to him for the trust,” he added.

As for Li’s assessment of Tan’s finished look, she recalled asking: “How do you like my look?”

His response: “It’s… very blue.”

“Four hours in hair and makeup, and that was my review,” Tan said.

She also struggled to stop laughing at Li’s wig. As he normally keeps his hair very short, she told him he resembled Andy Lau in his long-haired days.

S$170 on costumes and props

Tan said the costumes and props cost about S$170, and she is happy to lend them out to others.

“If anyone wants to borrow them for Halloween, drop me a DM - I’d love for them to have a second life,” she said.

There were additional production costs, but Tan declined to disclose those arrangements out of respect for the team involved.

As for Emily and Victor's sad ending in the film, Tan said: “We’re borrowing their outfits, not their ending!”

“If anything, seeing Andrew embrace something so far outside his comfort zone just to make me happy felt like a very good sign for our marriage."

"I might be the hopeless romantic, but he’s the one quietly doing the romantic things,” she added.

Looking forward to the upcoming wedding

With their wedding in Thailand approaching, Tan said they were both excited. She was also thinking a great deal about the food.

“I keep hearing that brides barely get to eat at their own weddings, and I’m really hoping that won’t be me.”

The couple, whom she described as huge foodies, have put considerable thought into their menus.

Their love of Thai cuisine means guests can expect dishes such as tom yum and khao soi, with the possibility of a little Thai market as well.

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