July 3, 2018
In 2011, I wrote a blog about officially launching my “Fairytale Wedding” campaign. As it happens, 7 years later, things have changed : ) I don’t want to delete and edit the original information, because I think it’s important to see our history so we can measure how far we have come, but note that while I still stand behind Fairy-tale beginnings and endings, I have refocused my wedding world and call it “Forever Afters”: www.foreverafters.com But for a little history, read on!
January 23, 2011
Yes, I am officially in the wedding business now. At least officially. But first, to my lovely current and future portrait clients, never fear! My portrait photography is still going strong. And, in fact, I intend to only take on a limited number of weddings each year – definitely no more than 10 – so that I can still continue to work with the amazing babies and children and families and Real Women (TM) that feed my creativity!
I love weddings. Let me just start by saying that. The reason I felt the need to even grow the wedding branch of my business is that I cannot imagine a year going by when I do not have a wedding on the calendar. Weddings, for me, are the chance to bring out my philosopher poet romantic side (and if you know me, you know this side of me is pretty dominant!). I cannot imagine a better way to spend a day than creating glamorous, sexy, creative, fun, totally unique images of two people ridiculously in love. But here’s the catch, I’m not for everyone. And I don’t expect to be!
One of the things that being a photographer has taught me is that I have a unique and identifiable style and personality that either speaks to people, or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, that doesn’t offend me at all! I know a client loves my work when they might think I am too expensive but rather than settling on a cheaper product they save for me. And that’s not patting myself on the back – that’s just me saying that clearly there’s something about what I do and how I do it that isn’t just about business, but about being the right fit. This goes tenfold for weddings, I think. And this is how I hope to operate my wedding business – based on personality, the art of what I do, and being the right one for you. And this is also why I only want to take on a limited number of weddings each year.
I know there are so many wedding photographers in the world. But I also know, luckily, that there are clients for whom I am the perfect fit – simply put, I don’t want to be everyone’s photographer! I want to be the boutique wedding studio you come to when you know that my work speaks to you at a volume you can’t ignore. I want to be the photographer you come to when you know that you want those artistic, creatively lit, alternative, fun, simply gorgeous photos that “Uncle Harry” or your friend John or anyone else can’t give you. I want our personalities to mesh so that we might even be friends long after your wedding day cake has been consumed. I want to help you illustrate the story you’ll tell to your children about your wedding day. I want to be that pair of jeans you wear when you know you want to look fabulous : )
I always love to link to other photographers who say it better than I ever could, so recently I came upon a blog post by Marc Eric, a photographer out of NOLA. His post really helped me realize that it’s ok to not be for everyone. And it’s OK to wait until word spreads to and between the people who know that what I have to offer is special. So, that being said, what I’m looking for is that special couple who will love what I offer : )
As a side note, one of the steps towards launching this campaign was participating in my first bridal show. On January 22nd, I had my very own space at the South Georgia Bridal Expo. I really enjoyed the process of staging my work in a way that communicated my style and creativity, and talking to the brides who really seemed interested in what I offer. I also was thrilled to network with some of the other vendor’s and local photographers whose work I admire – Javon Longieliere, Clarus Photography and Gandy Photography to name a few. I love that there are so many creative people here in South Georgia! Check out the photos from my table below. You might even see someone you know in one of my canvas images : )
