Like most I was hit pretty hard by the economy. Being a small business owner I had to adapt in order to make ends meet. Last year I made a hard decision to discontinue all paid advertising and focus more on those brides that found me through word of mouth.
As a small business owner it probably wasn’t the best decision but as an artist, that craves validation it couldn’t have been better.
This season I’ve been part counselor, part maid of honor, wedding planner. I’ve spent 3 nights half asleep talking to brides well past 2am. I’ve helped with flowers, timelines, seating arrangements, djs and much more. The photos I’ve captured have blown my toughest critic away (me) and brought my brides to tears. My clients this year have been raving about me. Two of my brides (after their wedding) told me I need to charge more for the kind of work I do. I went to one of my bride’s bridal showers and she had almost all of the images from our engagement shoot blown up and hanging all over her walls. I’ve had locations force their business cards in my hand and during several wedding receptions my brides have given me shout outs over the microphone. I’ve cried over sweet thank you notes. Most of my brides after their wedding told me they couldn’t imagine this day with out me. I’ve worked harder this season more then any other season, gone way past up and beyond for my couples but the reward is that I have some very happy brides (and that’s al that matters to me). My heart wants to do summersaults and cartwheels. Can’t wait for next season!!!