The Dreaded Question

A few weeks ago, one of my past one-on-one clients (Hi, Karis!) emailed me and said she’d been asked ‘the dreaded question’ …

Can I see a few examples of weddings you’ve planned or coordinating?

For a new wedding planner, this question is a nightmare!!! We get all tongue-tied, feel that pit in the bottom of our stomach & have no idea how to respond!! When I launched my first site, it was sweet & simple. When you arrived to the site, the landing page was the blog; I had no portfolio page and not one image of a wedding. Crazy, right?! At the time, I had “officially” planned 2 weddings with 1 of those being my own! I didn’t feel comfortable posting images of my own wedding all over my business site, so I chose to hold off on a portfolio until I had more images to share.

So what do you do when a bride wants to see examples of work you don’t have yet?

1. Be honest. Explain to her that you have just launched your business & have a few amazing projects lined up you’d be happy to share soon!! While I do believe in the saying “fake it ’til you make it”, when it comes to images of your work that’s a lot harder to do!! Being honest with your clients & potential clients about your business is the best thing to do in this situation. Is it scary? Yes. But you don’t want to mislead them in the beginning (or ever!) or you will never have their trust.

2. Stay positive. Friends! This is a GOOD thing! You are NEW and BUILDING your business!!! Will there be brides that don’t want to work with you because you don’t have a large portfolio? Yes!! That happened to me!! And while that’s hard in and of itself, they weren’t your ideal client to begin with!! The first 2 DSE brides I booked are PROUD of that fact!! I remember when I met with Ali to get her contract and she said “Am I your first bride?!?” – she was genuinely excited and couldn’t WAIT to be apart of the DSE brand! THAT’S the bride you want, friends!! The brides who have an immediate connection with you and can’t wait to plan their big day with you by their side – large portfolio or not!

It all boils down to being CONFIDENT in yourself, in your ability and in the brides you want attract. Remember that you are WORTH it, and if you meet a potential client who is making you feel guilty or badgering you about being new (been there, done that) then you need to do one thing: run!! You do NOT want to book a client just to book them. I know that can be a scary concept because you need clients in order to build you business, but you need the RIGHT clients, friends!! I have booked a client just to book them, knowing in my gut it would be a long road; y’all, it was the WORST road. Full of tears, stress & lots of time spent questioning my own abilities. You want the clients that will become an AMAZING representative of your brand; I have some of the sweetest brides and I am SO THANKFUL they trusted me in my first year!! YOU can have that, too!!!

Be honest, stay positive and remind yourself that the right brides will book you for YOU, with or without a large portfolio.

xo!! kat

(( Photo by Bulloss Photography – I’m loving their new brand!!! ))