5 Strategies to Book More Weddings

Each week, I'll cover strategies, ideas, tips, and tricks that will give you your dream wedding business too. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Let's dive in. Hi, friends. This is episode 9, and today we're gonna talk about 5 simple strategies that are gonna help you to book more weddings.

I love this one because over the years, and I've been doing weddings for over a decade now, but I've gotten really, really good at booking weddings, really good at doing consults and then having them say almost right away, yes, we definitely want to work with you. And that's the kind of experience that I want for all of you guys. So after a lot of experimentation, a lot of trial and error, I have finally, I think, come to a really great place of confidence with booking weddings, and it didn't come easy. I did tons of weddings consultations in the beginning where I would go in and be all nervous. I would have this plan.

I would have a list of questions of stuff I would ask them, and I would try all these different things. And each time I figured out what did work and what didn't work, what helped my consults to go more smoothly, how I got to build I learned how to build connections with couples, I learned what made it easier to get them to trust me This was over many many many many consults, so each time I learned a little something. The way that I do it is, of course, going to be totally different from the way you do it. You do it because everybody has their own style, but I think these five strategies that I incorporate now with all of my new couples every time that I am talking to a new couple, whether it's by email or in person or over a web meeting, I always use these 5 strategies. So I wanted to keep it kind of simple for you and go over 5 different strategies you can use to book more weddings.

So, let's start with number 1, be professional. This is a very, very important, often underestimated thing about professionalism. I talked about this a little bit in my last podcast episode, but it's so very important and this is how you can be professional even over email, even over a web consult. You could make sure you set up a date and a time. The way that I like to do it is once they contact me, I'll say thanks so much for getting in touch.

Here are 3 dates and times that I'm available. Let me know which one works best for you. Now I want you to notice that this is totally different than you being like, yes, let's talk. What are you free tomorrow or let what time are you free this week? That gives them the idea that your time is completely wide open, that you have nothing else going on, that you're not busy.

And then they might go back and forth a 100 times you working around their schedule or they might be like, can I get on a phone call now? And you'll be like, yeah. Even though you're driving, you need to pull over and talk to them. That's not being professional. Being professional is letting them know indirectly that your time is valuable.

You are a professional at what you do and you have a lot of shit going on and they need to work within your schedule. So I like to set up a date and time ahead of time and and then get it all in writing. Then before their actual meeting I'll send them a reminder don't forget we're going to meet tomorrow at 12 p. M. Eastern time or whatever it is.

Then they're ready to talk to you, you know, and I also say before that meeting if you need to cancel for any reason send me an email at least 24 hours in advance and we can reschedule. That way you'll know if you're not going to be a no show and you're not going to get any no shows because you've been very straightforward about when this meeting is and how important it is. And this is also gonna make the new couple take you seriously. They they're gonna show up ready. They're gonna show up ready for you to lead them.

That's another part about being professional. You got to take lead of the conversation right at the start. This isn't a friendly it is gonna be friendly, but it's not like let's just chit chat. You have a plan for the meeting. You're gonna take charge of the conversation and you're gonna lead and guide them through this conversation with a purpose.

You're not gonna waste their time. You're there to find out what they're looking for, what their needs are, what their vision are vision is, and how you can help them if you can help them. So you want to try to take lead and guide them through this meeting right away. And the other part about professionalism is being on time. So if I'm doing a zoom meeting or a Google meet or a phone meeting, I'm calling them exactly right on time, right at 12 pm.

If it's a Google meet kind of web video kind of chat, I'm gonna be on early. I'm going to look professional. I'm gonna take the time to make sure that my hair and makeup is done, that I have a nice blouse on and that I look like a professional because that is going to go a long way with them. Then I'm going to guide the conversation, I'm going to introduce myself. I'm going to be friendly but I'm going to build a connection in a very professional way.

The first strategy, be professional. Keep this in mind when you're doing any kind of new meeting with a couple. Couples really want to know that they are in good hands, that they can trust you and they can trust you because they know you've got experience, you're a professional, you've been doing this for a long time and whether or not you have been doing it for a long time how you present yourself is everything. So strategy number 1, be professional. Strategy number 2, this one took me years to figure out but it's so important and it's more listening less talking.

I still want you to guide the consult, guide the couple, you know take charge of the conversation, but instead of doing all the talking I want you to get them talking. Ask them questions that are going to get them talking, ask them questions that are going to push them to tell you more. You want to know about what their fairy tale wedding experience is like, what their vision is, what their worries are, what their concerns are, where their venue is, all the details get them talking to have them and a really simple way to do this is like here's what I know about your wedding can you tell me more? Can you tell me everything about it? Because the more details you give me the better.

Give me an idea of what you're looking for, tell me about your vision. You'd be surprised, couples really love talking about this stuff. Brides have been dreaming about this day since they were like 10 years old and they want to tell you everything. They want you to just listen and be excited with them, so I take a good amount of time really listening to them, really getting a feel for what it is they're looking for by putting myself in their shoes. I think about it as though I am their best friend and they're telling me about their dream fairy tale wedding day and I want to know about all of it.

I'm excited for them, I'm excited with them. I want to know all the details, so more listening, less talking. When they stop talking, ask them a little more, tell me a little bit more about this, is there anything specific that you had in mind for this part of the wedding? Get into the nitty gritty details, have them tell you the stuff that they they want to have happen and the way they want it to play out, and then you'll get a good feel for the feeling that they want to have during this wedding day. What?

Are they more of a laid back easygoing couple that just want to have fun or are they super detailed and they want everything to be perfect? Or are they really concerned about their parents and what mom's gonna think. You want to get to know them as people and their vision in as much detail as you can. Again, more listening, less talking. The third strategy, and this will be super helpful to you and if you're not doing this strategy yet, please start because it's going to make a huge difference in how couples relate to you and how easy it will be to book them.

So this third strategy is figure out their worries and concerns and then address them directly. So here's what I mean by that. I want you to dig into their brain a little bit. Ask them, is there anything that's worrying you? Is there anything that's stressing you out right now? Like, tell me about it. What kind of stuff is making you feel uncertain about this process or what's bothering you? What's worrying you? Is there anything specific? Then again just listen.

Usually one of the couple, the bride or the groom or 2 brides or whatever, one of them is going to have a very specific concern. And this is so so key to you being able to book them, understanding their concern and addressing it directly. So for example, it might be a concern with budget. We really want to do this oceanfront wedding, we want to have 50 guests, we want to have a cocktail hour, we want to have these beautiful flowers, specifically peonies and hydrangea or whatever, but we don't know if we can do it because we can't we don't know like how much everything's gonna cost and we're not sure if we can afford all the things that we want and we don't even know if it's possible. So then you now know, right, that they have a budget issue.

They're stressed about money and it's obvious that what they really need in order to feel reassured is to know whether they can afford to do this or not. So what I would do at that point is to find out, okay, tell me all about your vision. And then in my head, I would be pricing it all out and then I would say, well, just based on that, I think it would cost around $30,000. And you like, what is the budget that you're working with? And I would straight up directly ask them, and they might say, well, we have a $20,000 budget, but we are hoping that would also include this and this and this.

And then you could say, well, I it's possible that it could, but you would need to be willing to cut something. So I could do a sample budget outline for you and show you how everything could work. So right there I didn't give them exact numbers but I told them I can help you figure it out And that's really what couples need to hear. They need to know that you're the person that can help them figure it out. They don't need you to fix it.

They don't need you to change your pricing to adapt to their budget. They need you to help them figure out what they can and can't do and how to do it. And that's how you get them to trust you, and that's how you build connection, and that's how you get them to want to choose you over another, you know, photographer, wedding planner, or whatever it is you do because you are the one who really took the time to get to know them, to get to know what their problems are, and to help them figure out a way to make it happen even though they have these problems. So of course they're still gonna wanna have the wedding, they just might need to cut some stuff. So what are the best things to cut?

What are the best ways to save money? That would be an easy way to show them a possible path to a solution that would work for them and that's the kind of help that couples are looking for. What kind of inside knowledge do you know that you can give them to help them with these specific worries or concerns? What I also like to do is I like to restate it out loud to them so I can tell that you're worried about budget. Of course you would be, there's no way for you to know what everything's going to cost because you've never planned a wedding in hawaii before, right?

So let me do a sample budget breakdown for you and help you figure out exactly what you can and can't do. Then hopefully that will give you a better idea of how we can bring this wedding to life. Couples love that because you're the one person that's like making things clear for them. You're like, ah I can help you figure this out. That's really what they need.

They need to know that whatever their vision is, it is possible. Maybe with some tweaks and changes but it is possible. So that's why the 5th strategy, figure out their worries and concerns, address them directly. Okay, strategy number 4, show them their vision. I really like to do this and I think it's super fun and helpful to give them a very detailed look at what their day could feel like, how it would play out, what you do specifically, how the day would feel, the feelings that you're going to they're they're going to experience by having you on their team.

So this works really, really well when couples are stressed too because you you could say, okay, here's how my timeline for the day would play out and go over exactly what you're going to be doing. And then here's the things that I'm gonna be doing that's gonna make your day easier, that's gonna make you feel more relaxed, that's gonna make things simpler, that's gonna make it more fun for you. And it could be, like, whatever specific things because there's different things that photographers do or wedding planners do or officiants do, but a lot of the things that you do create a feeling of ease or relax relaxation or comfort or safety or fun and excitement. That is the feeling that brides need and want to feel on their wedding day. So you need to show them in detail how you create this type of experience for them.

What do you do that's different from another photographer that makes their day easier? What do you do that's different from another wedding planner that makes their day more fun, more simple, like, so that they can just be in the moment and not have to worry about anything else because that's really what they want. So give them a very clear detailed out, you know, examples. Tell them stories about how their day would play out specifically to their venue, to their some wedding details in comparison to you. So how you fit into their day and what you do to make it easier, more fun, more relaxed.

These are things they need to hear because then they will connect you with this dream wedding day experience. You want to make it sound fun and exciting and easy and you know beautiful. If you're a florist, you probably want to play up on the the beauty, the way that it feels when they walk in that fairy tale feeling. Playing up on their feelings and connecting it to their vision and you and your expertise in what you do is really really going to help sell them when they're making a decision between picking you over somebody else. Okay the 5th strategy is to show off your expertise.

This is such a good one, you guys. Like you, whether you have 3 weddings under your belt or 300, you are an expert in comparison to them. So don't let the fact that you're a little bit newer play this down because you are still an expert. You know a lot more about weddings than they they do because this is your job, right? Because this is what you want your job to be because this is your being.

So you want to play off and show off your expertise wherever you can and be super specific about this. You want to throw this in in your consult, in your conversations, in your emails wherever you can. You could do this in so many different ways. So if they say they're getting married at this specific venue that you've worked at before, you know about it. You know the the issues with it.

You know the different cool places that they should have this ceremony. You know where how far the walk is from the, you know, parking area to where the ceremony site is and you know it's too far to do in heels, so you want to give them tips about bringing flats. Or you're a photographer and you know these perfect spots at that venue to take photos. You want to tell them, I know all the great spots. Have you heard about this spot, this spot?

They want to know that you are the one who has experience. You know what you're doing. You can give them little tips and tricks specific to their venue or their needs. I also like to ask like what are the other vendors that you're booking and I can give them feedback about them. Well here's what I know about this person, here's what I know about this person, and here's some things to look out for.

Any kind of very specific help you can give them in regards to their specific wedding details, their venue, their vendors, their timeline, their vision, their wedding party. Any kind of tips you can give them is going to be super helpful to them and this is how you show off your expertise. Tell them things that they might have missed that they wouldn't know because they haven't done a bunch of weddings because they don't there's no way for them to know these things. They've never planned the wedding before. Tell them about the drive time, like the things that they need to look out for, the things that they need to be very aware of and take note of, the things that you're already thinking about as you're talking to them as they're telling you all these details.

Tell them. Show off your expertise. And it's really, really key to them building a connection and seeing you as an expert, as an authority, as someone they can trust. And if they see you as an expert in this field, someone they can trust, someone that they've already built a connection with because you've been listening and not doing all the talking, you're also building rapport by asking them about their concerns and then addressing them. And then on top of that, you're a professional, right?

You showed up on time, you look like a professional. You're not just talking the talk, you're walking the walk and you are also like just being there for them in a very real and genuine way. This is what books more weddings. It's just these really simple tweaks and yes, it's going to take practice. You're not going to get it the first time, the second time, but if you can implement even one of these things, it's going to make a huge difference.

If you can implement all 5, I am telling you, it is going to help you book more weddings, guaranteed. So let me recap. Five strategies to book more weddings. Number 1, be professional. Show up on time, look professional, take the lead, guide the conversation, build connection but be professional.

Number 2, more listening, less talking. Ask questions, have them elaborate. Listen more, put yourself in their shoes. Think of it as though you're this their best friend and you just really want to listen to them, get excited with them. Number 3, figure out their worries and concerns and then address them directly.

And that was a really big one, remember you need to ask them straight up ask them what's worrying you, what's concerning you, What's stressing you out? And then address that that specific concern and tell them what they can do to to make it easier. What you do to make it easier. Reassure them, make them feel at ease around that specific concern. And number 4, show them their vision in detail.

So talk about how the day plays out, talk about what you do, and then play up on the feelings that you bring to their wedding day. Is it ease? Is it relaxation? Is it fun? Is it a smoothness to the wedding day?

What kind of experience do you bring? And relate this directly to feelings, how they're going to feel on their wedding day. You want them to get into that feeling place to build that rapport and connection with you. Then number 5, show off your expertise. That will depend based on the type of wedding business you have, but show off very specific things that you know about this couple's venue, vendors, vision, timeline that you can help them with.

Things that are going to show them something that they didn't see before, things that they need to be thinking about, things that they need to be aware of. What do you know that they don't know that you can help them with? This is how you become the expert or the authority. All 5 of these things put together is guaranteed gonna book you more weddings. So, I hope that this episode was helpful.

It was kind of a lot but I think super jam packed with tons of really, really, really great information that is going to help you secure more weddings, and that's really what I want for you. So I hope everybody has a great weekend. And if you have any questions about any of this stuff, please email me, nicole at weddingproacademy.com. I would love to help you further. You can also check out my course at weddingproacademy.com and have a great weekend.

I will see you guys all next week. Bye for now.