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| *SoulEyes Photography>>>Wedding Photographer |
How did you find your Wedding Vendors? |
I am a photographer in Dallas, Texas and I am wondering how most of you brides out there have found your photographers and other key vendors. What sources were the most important to you? Which online and magazines/free publications did you trust more when looking at vendors? Thanks for the imput and good luck on your upcoming wedding!!! One of the most important things I wanted to do when I was planning my wedding was go to the Bridal Show they have every year. I think that was a good place to get contact info from wedding vendors. If you go, I would hand out pens or magnets with your name on it. Everyone gives out cards and they are easy to lose. You can also do a giveaway (maybe do one wedding for free but you get to use the pics in your advertising). Lots of potential brides who go to these things come with stickers that have their names, addresses and phone numbers already filled out so they can easily enter the tons of giveaways that take place there. If you have a local Bridal store, like David's Bridal, I would see if they allow advertising in their store (bulletin boards? business cards left on counter?). Again, maybe advertise a giveaway or a percentage off for all of their customers. A really good way I found a great photog (and reasonable too) was through Mary Kay. I was selling Mary Kay at the time and we had to go to weekly meetings. One of the events that was planned was a "glamour shots" night. The leader contracted with a photographer to take the photos (he set up in a back room with his equipment, lights, etc.). Then, in the front room, the leader and a couple of other women set up tables with makeup (they have plenty of this because they sell it) and helped make people up for their photos. They brought in feather boas and some sparkly jewelry people could wear for the photos. The photographer used soft lights or filters or whatever to make everyone look nice. The consultants (those of us that sold the product) were allowed to come for free, but for $10, we could bring another person with us. Some chose to bring daughters, etc, but some brought potential clients. It helped the consultants but it also helped the photographer. In a couple of weeks, we got our photos from that night (he gave them to the leader and she sorted them out and handed them out at the meeting). They came with his name and phone number on the back. I think it would have been best if he had given out price lists with his contact info. The women selling Mary Kay often come into contact with potential brides. They also see daughters getting ready to graduate, etc... Lots of potential for a photographer. If I were you, I'd go to the Mary Kay website and search for a consultant in your area (www.marykay.com and enter your zip code). They only put top sellers on the website. Then, contact the consultant and tell her that you are interested in setting up a glamour night. Ask her who leads the meetings in her area. I can't remember what they call the managers (it's bee a couple of years since I sold). Offer the consultant and any of her customers 15% off a wedding photography package for helping you. Then, get in touch with the manager and see if you can set this up. If so, promise everyone who comes to you for wedding photography as a result of this contact 10% off services. :) Have special cards printed up (at someplace like vistaprint.com) that have a special CODE on them that people can use. Take these cards (you can get 250 or 500 really cheap online) with you to the glamour night and let consultants take them with them to hand out to customers. Hope that helps! :) Good luck! :) i really used theknot.com a lot but mostly i went off of referrals. i always find it more comforting to have someone i know tell me it's a good vendor! I'm getting married in Vegas and my photographer comes through the hotel, sorry. My biggest choice was the hotel - and that was heavily influenced by their website - http://www.mandalaybay.com/thingstodo/we... My biggest resource was the good ole Yellow Pages. Word of mouth was most important to me. As far as online or magazines, I use theknot.com and a friend got me subscriptions to Modern Bride and Brides. Also, many reception sites have lists of vendors that they have worked with and trust. I shopped around a lot, looked at theknot.com and weddingchannel.com, and attended a bridal show. Some vendors were referrals or word of mouth, but I did find my hair/makeup place on the knot. I did contact some of the photographers on theknot, but the one I actually used I found via an email I received, I think they were affiliated with perfect wedding guide? I also would recommend getting on preferred vendor lists for reception sites or with caterers. I used theknot.com and weddingchannel.com as websites. I also got information at local bridal shows. I also asked around to people I know who have recently gotten married. Ultimately I believe I found my photographer on weddingchannel.com |
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