You get around 10 seconds (if that!) to make an impression on a consumer. If they don’t like what they see in the beginning, you might not ever get a second chance. First impressions truly are critical. You might take beautiful photos, sell beautiful cakes, or have great catering. That consumer will never know because you had a horrible website. I found this a lot less prevalent with photographers, it was more other vendors like venues, caterers, florists, DJs, etc. This is even more important for these vendors though. A consumer might see a photo they like and stay on the website… they can’t eat a cake, or smell a flower on the website. It’s crucial to make an impression & invest in good PROFESSIONAL branding. I have an amazing designer Amy from Candy Apple Studios. She does amazing work & I love how professional she is.

You might still be wandering if it helps, I promise it does. I have had countless compliments on many of my branding materials such as branded envelopes, my splash page, and how I package my prints. It makes a good impression to have good, consistant, & professional branding. So please all the amazing vendors out their with amazing products to sell who are getting skipped over because of a bad website… get a designer & get business!! You have to have a good brand for any one to ever care about the product you sale… and unless your a graphic designer it has to be done by a professional!

http://heatherandwalter.com/

The other big news… WE PICKED A VENUE! Since the photographer question has been answered, I have been getting this question daily! I am happy to announce, we have officially booked a venue & the question is now answered.

We are getting married & having our reception at Hightower Hall at Historic Brattonsville in McConnells, SC. This house was built for the 3rd generation Brattons in 1856 & recently went through a 2 million dollar extensive green restoration. A green restoration means they used all of the original materials that were usable to keep authenticity. It is an Italian Villa Mansion that is registered in the national historic homes register. For the full history, please visit this link.

This house was also used in filming for the movie The Patriot. The outside of the house was used in one scene & the inside stairwell & window is used when Heath Ledger & Mel Gibson are watching a battle outside.

A revolutionary war battle called “Huck’s Defeat” was also fought close to the house. So there is a lot a of history surrounding this house & we are really excited to get to have part of our history here.

The ceremony will take place under the oak trees with a tented reception behind the house. I am really excited about it & can’t wait to start working with my planner (a post about her soon!) on decorating this place amazing!

Vendor Myth #1
I always heard as a photographer, to encourage the brides to meet you & get on the phone with you immediately before you discuss pricing. Maybe, I am a strange bride. I will give anyone benefit of the doubt, but I really don’t think I am any different than any other. (brides feel free to chime in!) I did not like being told I can’t know the pricing over an email. I ruled everyone out that did that to me (and not just photographers, every vendor!) Sure, I LOVE to meet my brides before they book, and I LOVE to meet my vendors before I book them, however if they are well over my budget, why would I waste my time going? If every other bride was like me, I was overwhelmed with people I was talking to. I was probably talking to around 30-40 different vendors. If I spent 30-40 minutes on the phone or at a meeting with every one of them, I would have spend 15-25 HOURS just meeting with vendors to book 2-3 of them. I am not saying you have to change your practices as a business, nor that you shouldn’t ask a bride to meet with you. Just some food for thought from a current bride. It’s annoying to have to put your phone on silent because vendors are calling you like crazy or having to be told NO you can’t have my pricing until I meet you. Us brides have to narrow down our list somehow & quality narrowed mine down first, and then I needed my budget to take it down even further. Some brides will turn you down for prices, but at least be considerate to their time & email the price list out. It helps a lot!

Vendor Myth #2
This plays off the first one & is short. DON’T AUTOMATICALLY CALL YOUR BRIDE (and really don’t keep calling when they won’t pick up). This really could have just been me, but I am a professional photographer & I use my phone for business. I don’t like having vendors call over & over when I am waiting for business calls! Common sense would say… if a bride emails you email them back, however if they call you call them back. What is the point of having an email if all you are going to do is call? Vendors don’t realize (I know I didn’t!!) how many other vendors brides are dealing with. No joke, I was getting 10-12 calls every day. It was frustrating, because I had to keep my line open for my clients!

Vendor Myth #3
Brides are overwhelmed so be patient with them & BE RESPONSIVE. I had NO clue how much I was taking on & I work in the industry and have been to sooo many weddings. Check back up with them in follow up emails, it lets them know you care! Plus they might have gotten busy with something that came up & need a reminder. Also, I can not stress this one enough BE RESPONSIVE & PERSONAL!! This was my biggest pet peeve in vendor searching. I turned down a LOT of great vendors, because it took over a week for them to respond. In a world of iPhones & laptops, there is no reason to keep a bride waiting that long. Nor is there any reason to send out a form email! If I got sent a form email, I crossed them off the list. I contacted some of the TOP of the TOP in many of the vendors & I got personal and fast emails. So why can’t the vendors who aren’t as busy show the same courtesy? A bride wants to get to know you, not the same email you send to every bride. Also a bride should be contacted within 24-48 hours. It’s frustrating to wait that long, especially when you are on a timeline. I had the biggest problem with venues on responsiveness. I had a couple times I was trying to get in touch with the venue for over a week, and then find out it got booked (and probably in the time I was trying to contact!) Brides are on timelines & have to book certain things before they can book others, so don’t keep them waiting! (i.e. Venue before Caterer, etc.)

Bride Myth #1
Brides, PLEASE respond back to your vendors when you don’t want to book them. It’s common courtesy! Just keep a list of who you contacted & make sure to respond back. I know I forgot to respond to some people & I feel terrible, because I didn’t keep a list in the beginning. On the flip side, it’s really nice just to hear back “no, sorry I found some one else”. No one is going to yell at you or hate you (and if they do, that is completely unprofessional!!) Just be nice to them, and tell them no thanks. There is also nothing wrong with saying why either, as long as you are nice about it. Vendors would love to know how to improve & it’s nice to hear “You were great, I just found someone more in my budget.” If anyone is like me, when someone doesn’t respond you think the worst & it’s nice to hear it wasn’t that you are terrible, just out of the budget!

Bride Myth #2
BE FLEXIBLE IN YOUR DATE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. This is a pet peeve with me about brides. A lot of brides settle on a date just because they love it & settle for vendors they don’t like because they refuse to change. Prioritize your list & book the most important thing for you and the others ASAP before nailing down a date. My wedding started as June 9th, 2011. It has changed 3-4 times since. I knew my photographer was my most important so I nailed down my date as May 21, 2011 when I booked them. A date really isn’t important, as cool as you think it is. July 19th, 2004 was any normal day in 2004 but it’s special to me because Walter & I started dating that day. Any day becomes just like that just because it’s YOURS. I know maybe times I have had 5-10 people interested in one day & if they would be willing to change ONE weekend, I wouldn’t be booked. So make sure you get your priorities right, I promise your date isn’t as important as your vendors!

That’s it for today. I hope I helped some, to give the bride & the photographers perspective from both sides! I would have never known any of this until you get put on the other side of the issue. Let me know if you want anything addressed about how I felt as either the bride or photographer on any matter & if I have dealt with it I would be more than happy to post it!

It’s my turn now to be the bride, to be on the other side of the camera, and it’s harder than I thought it would be. I have so much more respect for my brides (not that I didn’t have much before) now that I am going through the process! It is overwhelming to say the least. Now I am glad to say the hardest part is OVER. Everyone has been asking “Who is going to shoot your wedding?”. It’s the first question I get asked. I can now say that it is going to be…

BenQ Photography from Dallas, Texas!!

It was the hardest decision of my life & there is so much amazing talent out in the world of photography. Ben & Chrys stood out though. Their work is so fantastic. They work with both natural light & lighting, they also shoot in both digital & film sometimes. I am so excited to have them fly here May 21, 2011 (it’s official now!) to shoot our wedding!! Since I can not describe how fantastic they are look at some of their amazing work: