I have a question for you about your wedding photography clients …

Are you making it EASY for people to work with you? From the inquiry process to receiving their photos, and everything in between?

Earlier this year I photographed a destination wedding in Cuba… and the only thing that went well on this trip was the wedding itself.

The Most Stressful Destination Wedding

✈️ Before leaving my flights were changed and shortened my trip by 24hrs. Because I was still going to be at the resort for the same number of nights, I wasn’t eligible for any sort of refund.

🚗 I paid for a shuttle and had to dig through the travel agency’s website and some extensive fine print. Eventually I find out where to catch the shuttle and they never sent me any information. When I got there, one staff member told me to get on a bus to the resort and took my luggage. 5 mins later he told me to get off the bus and sent me in a car – without my luggage – instead. (Thankfully I never let my camera gear out of my sight when I travel, so it stayed with me. I’ve never been so relieved to see my suitcase when they loaded it off the bus!)

Day Two + Three

🩹 On day two, I needed Band-Aids because my sandals had torn apart my feet and I had used all the ones I had brought with me. The pharmacy wouldn’t accept my $20 US cash or $5 Cuban pesos. They wanted me to go back to my room to get my credit card… for a $0.60 purchase.

❌ On day three I tried to book a private express check-in for my return flight because I was 100% done and ready to go home. I was told they only accept credit cards, but when I went to pay, they said they couldn’t take my type of credit card. (Ya’ll, it was just a Mastercard! The same one I used to buy Band-Aids.)

How It Ended

🍁 On day four my flight was delayed heading home, and I wanted a bottle of water for my wait. When I went to pay for it, I was met with yet another issue… because the flights from this terminal were all flying back to Canada, they were only accepting CAD cash as payment.

All of that on top of having no running water, no flushing toilets, no power, and doors that didn’t lock… I couldn’t have been happier to get home.

At every single turn, the travel company and the resort could not have made it more difficult to work with them.

They literally lost out on more than $150 in sales from me within four days because they kept refusing my forms of payment. All I could think was, “This is why it’s so important to make your client’s experience easy.”

Making the entire process easy for wedding photography clients sets a tone that will help you stand out from your competition. By offering a user-friendly and streamlined experience, you build trust with your clients. That trust is everything! You never want them to doubt that hiring you is the right choice for their wedding day.

So let’s talk about four ways you can make this happen:

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Online Scheduling

The amount of time I used to spend emailing my wedding photography clients back and forth with options for dates and times to try and figure out when they wanted a session is more than I really want to think about. And it seemed like I had one client a week who wanted to ask for dates or times that I wasn’t actually available.

Then I created an online booking calendar, and it hasn’t been an issue since. Whether it’s for a wedding consultation, engagement session, pre-wedding meeting, or any other things I do, I have a link to a calendar customized to show my availability. The best part is that it’s connected to my Google Calendar so I never have to worry about getting double booked.

Streamlined Booking

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but pleeaaassseee stop using paper contracts and snail mail. Get set up with a system like HoneyBook! Then you can send complete, branded booking packages that include everything all in one place.

Simple Payment Options

Speaking of payment options… Don’t be like this resort, making people jump through hoops to pay you. Embrace simplicity by offering easy payment options. Yes, friend, that means accepting credit cards, too.

Listen, I get it. Paying credit card processing fees is annoying when you’d really like to keep that money in your pocket. But. Think of it as a long-term savings account in a way. Your credit card fees are tax-deductible, so it will save you money down the road. And it will increase your overall sales. Why? Because paying by credit card is easy!

Easy Access To Important Details

Nothing makes for a great experience quite like making sure everyone knows what to expect at every point during your time working together. Whether it’s on your website, in a welcome guide, or sent out in a simple email, anticipate any concerns your wedding photography clients may have and offer reassuring answers. You know best, that’s why they hired you!

This small touch can turn potential clients into lifelong advocates for your business. Advocates who are repeat clients and drop your name anytime they hear someone needs a photographer!

Sometimes Less Is More

We all know the simple pleasures in life, like a perfectly bite-sized dessert. The same idea applies to the number of images you deliver to your clients! It’s part of your job as a wedding photographer to cull your photos, selecting only the best of the best moments that tell a curated story of their wedding day. Quality over quantity! Delivering too many photos can really be overwhelming, and that’s not the feeling you want to leave your clients with.

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An easy, straightforward process shows your professionalism and commitment to delivering an amazing experience, making sure your clients think of you for all their future milestone events beyond their wedding!

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Looking for more ways to build an incredible experience for your wedding photography clients?

Download this FREE wedding photography timeline template!

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Check out some other faves on the blog:

Unscripted vs Honeybook: Which Is The Better Option For Wedding Photographers?

Creating An Irresistible First Impression When Replying To A New Wedding Photography Inquiry

Getting Ghosted By Wedding Photography Inquiries?