When we
decided 2012 was going to be the year we launched our photography business, we
knew three things were going to create a foundation for how we worked. Of
course we want to give our couples the best photographs we can possibly produce
along with great customer service. That goes without saying, and there was no
need to focus on those things because to us they're kind of "duh"
aspects to any wedding photographer or photography team. No we needed a way to set
ourselves apart, all while exposing our true nature to our potential clients
and especially those couples who chose us to be a part of their wedding day. So here are three things we realized were important to us.
1. We will never refer to ourselves as "rock stars". Sorry, but this whole fascination with wedding photographers somehow turning into celebrities drives us crazy. It's one big marketing campaign in the wedding photography industry, and we just can't buy into it. No, we are not rock stars. We're good at what we do, but that shouldn't make us celebrities. In short, we'll always be humble, and we'll never forget how special it is to be invited into the most intimate moments of a wedding day.
2. No matter what, we will show kindness. When we think about the type of person we want our son/grandson to become, simple kindness is the thing that matters most. Don't be a bully, be aware of the needs of others and when possible put theirs before yours, smile at everyone, hold the door for the old man more than a few steps away, say thank you and mean it, and treat people with love even when it may be difficult to do so. Sometimes it's so easy to forget to be kind to people. We never want to forget. So we will always speak warmly, smile often, and remember that life can be tough. There's no sense in making it tougher.
3. The 3rd rule we knew we wanted to build this business on, is the act of giving back. You can call it what you like... blessings, fate, luck, karma. We have a lot of it. No, life isn't perfect, but every night we get to close our eyes with something to say thank you for. So we've decided to make it mandatory for ourselves to give back to charities and organizations who support people who could use some of the good stuff we've got. We're working on adding a huge charity effort to our business model, and we'll be talking about this effort a lot more in the days to come, but today we're starting with a free wedding.
We didn't start our business by spending big bucks on advertising efforts, or fancy business cards. We didn't hire anyone to design our website. We started our efforts by offering a free wedding giveaway. After we announced this giveaway contest, we had a TON of couples enter by sending in their love story. Let's just say we needed a few tissues to get through reading them all. We chose our favorite 3 couples and now it's up to you to support the couple you want to see win a free wedding. After we decided on our finalists, we asked each couple to send in a photo, and a short blurb about who they are and why you should vote for them. Let us introduce them now...
1. We will never refer to ourselves as "rock stars". Sorry, but this whole fascination with wedding photographers somehow turning into celebrities drives us crazy. It's one big marketing campaign in the wedding photography industry, and we just can't buy into it. No, we are not rock stars. We're good at what we do, but that shouldn't make us celebrities. In short, we'll always be humble, and we'll never forget how special it is to be invited into the most intimate moments of a wedding day.
2. No matter what, we will show kindness. When we think about the type of person we want our son/grandson to become, simple kindness is the thing that matters most. Don't be a bully, be aware of the needs of others and when possible put theirs before yours, smile at everyone, hold the door for the old man more than a few steps away, say thank you and mean it, and treat people with love even when it may be difficult to do so. Sometimes it's so easy to forget to be kind to people. We never want to forget. So we will always speak warmly, smile often, and remember that life can be tough. There's no sense in making it tougher.
3. The 3rd rule we knew we wanted to build this business on, is the act of giving back. You can call it what you like... blessings, fate, luck, karma. We have a lot of it. No, life isn't perfect, but every night we get to close our eyes with something to say thank you for. So we've decided to make it mandatory for ourselves to give back to charities and organizations who support people who could use some of the good stuff we've got. We're working on adding a huge charity effort to our business model, and we'll be talking about this effort a lot more in the days to come, but today we're starting with a free wedding.
We didn't start our business by spending big bucks on advertising efforts, or fancy business cards. We didn't hire anyone to design our website. We started our efforts by offering a free wedding giveaway. After we announced this giveaway contest, we had a TON of couples enter by sending in their love story. Let's just say we needed a few tissues to get through reading them all. We chose our favorite 3 couples and now it's up to you to support the couple you want to see win a free wedding. After we decided on our finalists, we asked each couple to send in a photo, and a short blurb about who they are and why you should vote for them. Let us introduce them now...
Couple #1: Jessica and Jan
"Jessica is a Chicago/NYC city girl, who adores bikram yoga, manages events for rock stars, and is desperately learning Dutch to speak to her mother-in-law. Jan is a Belgian country boy who, of course, loves french fries, building huge stages for rock stars, and dreams of moving to an island. We’re quite a match. Pick us! And we promise photos full of strange, delightful, adventures."
Couple #2: Kristin and Shawn
"Six years ago, Shawn witnessed the loss of his best friendwhile serving as a Marine in Iraq. Not long after, he lost both his parents in two tragic, separate circumstances. Despite these hardships, he is a loving brother, godparent, friend, and fiancé to Kristin. They lookforward to spending their lives together!"
Couple #3: Priyanka and Seth
"As college sweethearts about to graduate from McDanielCollege, our greatest choice was to become best friends during our first classtogether. Almost four years later, we areexcited to become even better friends with every passing day and continuemaking memories as we take this wonderful step into marriage."
Now it's time to cast your vote for the couple you want to see win our Free Wedding Giveaway!
The contest will run for one week, starting today and ending next Saturday, May 5th. Each person can vote just once, so make sure to share this post with everyone you know to give your couple the most support and votes possible. The couple who wins, will receive a completely free day of wedding photography. Pretty cool huh? We think so. And we wish we could do this for everyone who entered, but that would make us a little crazy.
So on the count of 3, go vote!
1.. 2.. 3..
Good luck everyone!
My vote goes for Seth!
ReplyDeleteDid you vote by clicking on the link at the beginning of the web page?
DeleteThere is a link at the bottom of this post that says CLICK HERE TO ENTER. Or you can look at the top of the blog and click on the page tabe that says Free Wedding Giveaway :: Vote Here!
DeleteThanks for asking and good luck to everyone!
Priyanka & Seth!
ReplyDeletePriyanka and seth!
ReplyDeleteI vote for Kristin and Shawn
ReplyDeleteI too vote for Kristin and Shawn.
ReplyDeleteKristin & Shawn
ReplyDelete