5 Things You Need Before Your First Wedding Inquiry
As you may know, time is of the essence when you receive an inquiry. Not replying back in a professional and polished way within 24 hours can severely impact your chances of booking that client. Rather than waiting till that first wedding inquiry hits your inbox and then scrambling to reply, here are basic things you need to have in place first.
1. Pricing Guide
When a client is interested in having you photograph their wedding, one of the first things they are going to want to see is how much it’ll cost them. It’s important to have some sort of offering neatly laid out in a pricing guide, rather than written into your email. This makes you look much more professional, and gives you more room to explain the process and benefits of booking with you. I recommend creating a PDF in Canva (grab a template from Etys, or make your own), or having a private page on your website.
2. Canned Emails- Inquiry Response
Before you receive that first inquiry, you should have a game plan for what you are going to say. It’s much too stressful to think up a polished response on the spot. So take some time to develop a canned response that includes all the key details you want to discuss with that client.
Do you have an organized way to collect your potential client inquiry and send along that canned email? Stay organized like I do with Dubsado!
3. Consultation Strategy
Majority of wedding clients are going to want to meet with you before they spend their hard earned money. Make sure you have a strategy in place for not only when and where you want to hold a potential consultation, but also a plan for how you’d like the meeting to flow and what you are going to say.
4. Sample Gallery
Sample galleries are like the test drive of wedding photography. Clients are going to want to see how you capture a full wedding day, and not just a few nice photos on your website. Have your best gallery at the ready for inquires. I put my galleries on Pixieset.
Don’t have wedding content yet? Check out my freebie here that shows you how!
5. Contract
Contracts are so important for keeping you and your business safe, and should not be rushed to the last minute. Do your homework to find a contract you feel comfortable with before you have that first client consultation. That way, if they are ready to book, you can feel confident that you are covered. I really enjoy The Legal Paige’s contracts.
I hope those tips were helpful in how to prepare for your first wedding inquiry! Don’t be afraid to adjust these things as you go. It’s very normal to make tweaks here and there as you get your process more refined.
Curious to learn more? Click here to explore more tips.
Want to take a deep-dive into the wedding consultation process or workflow? I’m here to help! Reach out here.
