Getting to Know a potential bride {Be Loved with Kristin}

By: Molly Denson

Whoo hoo! A bride has contacted you about possibly photographing her wedding, and you are preparing to meet her at a local coffeehouse. It can be a little nerve-wracking (especially if you’re new to the wedding scene), but I’ll give you a few tips today to help your meeting run smoothly, and more importantly, be fun!

As a newly married gal myself, as well as photographing weddings the past few years, I can tell you with confidence: brides are excited about their big day, and are even more excited to talk about it! When I first meet with a bride, I begin by asking her all about her fiancé and how they got engaged. The girl is in love, and can’t wait to spend the rest of her life with the guy – she’ll enjoy the chance to sing his praises, especially when it comes to the engagement story! I’ve noticed that talking about friends/family/loved ones relaxes most people in most situations; this will be a good way to get to know her and help her to ease her nerves of meeting you (oh yes, she’s probably a bit nervous, too!).

After she’s had a chance to describe her wonderful fella and their engagement, I inquire about the planning process: what kind of wedding day is she hoping for? Where are the ceremony and reception taking place? Are those locations special to her? Will they have a big wedding party, or just a few close friends? Those are a few examples of wedding details that reveal more about the couple, and whether it will be a good photographic fit for you (some photographers only choose to shoot outdoor weddings, or they want couples who are creating a DIY wedding, etc.).

Once she’s shared her plans, I give her a chance to ask me her questions – trust me, most brides come with a list!  This is where you need to have prepped a little beforehand. You should come with a wedding contract, knowing your packages inside and out: what they include, pricing…everything pertinent to what the couple will be paying for. Many photographers have a wedding packet that they bring to these meetings for the bride to take home and review with her fiancé; plus, many people like having a hard copy of the info discussed. I like to go over the contract with the bride, letting her know my policies, timeline, and expectations. It’s ok to take a few minutes talking about these things – they’re listening! Allow her to ask away, and try your best to explain fully. This is one of those situations where more information is better than less!

I’m sure I’m different from a few other photographers when I say this, but I don’t ask the bride whether she wants to book me during our meeting. (Gasp!) The way I see it, new brides have a LOT of decisions to make, and probably have 1,000 thoughts going through their heads during the few engagement months. I believe that giving them a chance to think about it without you around and giving them a chance to talk about it with their fiancé or parents can be a more effective way to book them. (If I felt that a photographer was pressuring me to hire them for my wedding day, that would turn me off completely!) What I do instead is that I make sure she’s gotten a chance to ask everything she’s thought of, I’ve explained what a wedding day with me as her photographer would run like, she’s received my information packet and has my contact information…and I tell her that I would love to photograph her big day. I tell her to think about and discuss it with whomever she needs, and that I hope that I’ll hear from her soon! With 24 hours after leaving our meeting, I send a friendly email saying once again how much I enjoyed our time (I always love meeting brides!) and to please let me know if there’s anything else I can answer for her.

I’m so glad to tell you that I have a very busy wedding year for 2013! I know there are many, many different ways to go about booking weddings, but the main things I focus on during these meetings are: giving the bride a chance to talk about her fiancé and the wedding planning, giving her a chance to ask me questions, and sharing my information with her as clearly as I can. Oh, and buying her coffee is a nice touch, too! I hope you enjoy your wedding meetings as much as I do – please share with us in the comments if you’ve had successful coffee dates with brides that booked you!

Molly Denson

Simply M Photography