Your Wedding Biz has Plateaued for 6 or More Months - Now What?

Each week I'll cover strategies, tips, tricks that will give you your dream wedding business too. So much for tuning in today. Let's dive in. Hi everyone. Welcome to episode 33.

Today we are going to be talking about what to do when your wedding business feels stuck. Like when you've been at a plateau for like six or more months and you're just not getting any traction. I don't know if you're there now or maybe you've been there for more than six months but it's a pretty shitty place to be in And I wanna talk a little bit about why you could be stuck there and what to do to get out of it. So here's the problem. Your wedding business is at a plateau.

You are trying to book weddings, people aren't reaching out to you, or the ones that aren't your ideal couples, they're trying to be cheap about things, wanting things for discounted rates. Basically, you're taking whatever you can and discounting your prices, offering too much because nothing else is coming your way. You don't have enough business to be like, oh, I can't take this wedding, so you're taking any and everything. And you're just being way too available, answering calls at all times not on your time but just whenever the couple calls because you're scared that if you don't answer the call you don't respond right away that you'll lose them and you're working a lot you're probably like still doing a lot of wedding stuff still doing editing if you're a photographer still working a lot but not really getting paid for the amount of time you're putting in and All of these actions of taking in any and every wedding that comes your way, discounting your prices, offering to do more than what your package originally included without proper compensation, being way too available, all of that is starting to make you feel burnt out and discouraged and don't know what to do because it's just not working.

So that is all very common, first of all. Been there many of us that have made it past the ten year mark who are making 6 figures 7 figures in their wedding business have all been there. And here's the belief that you probably have right now if you're stuck in this place. You're believing that your value comes from booking weddings. Think about that for a second.

Like, if I book more weddings then I'll be more successful. So you're equating your value to booking weddings And instead of your value is what you bring to the company. So your value as a wedding photographer is is you. Your value as a wedding planner is YOU! It's who YOU are!

So what you need to do is shift that belief. Your business isn't going to become more successful or make more money from booking more weddings. I know that's hard to believe right now because you think, oh my god, if I just book like 10 more weddings, then I'd feel successful. If I just booked a wedding tomorrow, I'd definitely feel successful. But think about this differently.

You need to realize that the value is not in the booking of the wedding. The value is you. You are the magic piece that makes what you do extraordinary. The value is you. It's what you bring.

It's what you bring to the wedding. So if this is kind of hard to root to right now and you're not fully like believing it, it's not sinking in, Let me remind you. Let's do an example, let's say specifically about wedding photographers. So how does a wedding photographer bring more value? How do YOU bring more value to your wedding photography?

It's the way YOU shoot it. It's your style. It's your grace. It's how YOU make couples feel comfortable in front of the camera. It's the way that you get them to connect with each other and then how you capture that emotion or their love.

How you capture that on film because they were so comfortable. It's the way you make their wedding day feel easy. Maybe that's by guiding them through poses or by being really good at directing a larger group of people in a photoshoot making the day flow super effortlessly. Only you can do that. You were the one that made their wedding day so easy.

If you weren't there, their photoshoot might have been a total mess, total disaster. It's your expertise. That expertise could be around how you coordinate and plan out the photo session based around the light and how the couple feels that day so that they actually look and feel incredible at the time that they're doing their couple shoot so that the light hits them at the best angles at the perfect time. Then how you position them in a way that feels natural and looks the most beautiful, it's how you have the bride move their chin like a half an inch just so that her neck looks longer and she looks spectacular. Only you know to do that because that is your specialty.

You're able to get that beautiful, elegant, timeless shot. And then maybe you're also able to get all the required shots for her in a very quick time frame so that they don't spend hours doing photos, getting exhausted, and taking time away from their guests. Instead they get beautiful photos that look elegant, timeless, that they're going to be really, really happy with, but they don't spend hours doing it. That's because of your expertise. Maybe it's also your professionalism and how much experience you have, how you're able to do edits in a very timely manner, and get the couples sneak peeks within a day.

I have one photographer that I work with that does that and couples love that. She doesn't even advertise it, but she should because she sends them sneak peek photos within a day. They get to then post that onto Instagram. It's like a really, really cool thing. It's what makes her special.

Maybe you have experiencing editing in batches so that you can have a very quick turnaround without sacrificing quality. Couples get to have their full portfolio within three weeks. I don't know what it is you do, but what can you pull out that makes you super professional and makes you an expert in this that they're going to love? Maybe it's your personality. You make the day feel fun.

Your vibe professional but it keeps everyone laughing, making the day feel very easy and move fluently. It keeps the mood light and joyful and exciting and makes photos feel less forced, more natural, more fun. And if everything feels less forced, more natural, more fun, then they're going to get better photos because instead of a fake smile they have real laughter and real laughter always looks way better in photos because it's real. So, as you can see, just with these examples specific for a wedding photographer, it's you that brings the value. It's you that is the reason why the experience of working with you is gonna be so amazing.

It's what you bring. The reason why your wedding business is stalling or not attracting quality weddings or making you feel stuck is because you're probably only concerned with booking more weddings. You're thinking that if you book more weddings then you'll be successful because you'll make more money. But the truth is that you're not attracting more brides because you're focusing on the wrong thing. So you need to focus on why YOU bring value to your company.

Need to shift your belief from If I book more weddings, then this will be working. Or it might be if I book more weddings that'll make me successful. If I only book more weddings, you know? And instead I want you to think about this from a different view. See the value that you bring.

See your success now which is in your value. You need to connect with your value as a photographer, as a wedding planner, as a hair and makeup artist or whatever right now. What do you bring that is so special, that is so unique? Once you've connected to it, then you've got to get practice communicating it. So let's stick with the wedding photographer example.

What you could do is start creating social media posts about the value that you bring as a photographer. And you want to talk about this value on your website and remind couples of this value with testimonials that will back it up. That's how we practice communicating this value. We want to talk about what the bride and groom possibly don't want because a lot of couples don't even realize that it's a thing that they might get. They don't know that it's something that they don't want so you want to bring it to their attention.

Then you want to pull them back or zoom out into why working with you will ensure that that won't happen. Why working with you will ensure that their wedding experience will be so much better because of your professionalism, your expertise, your style, your vibe, the way you make things easier. You gotta get really, really good at communicating all of that. So here's an example of a social post you could do if you're a wedding photographer trying to communicate this. Instead of just showing, posting the photos of a wedding and saying congratulations mr and mrs Adams I was so happy to be a part of your wedding here's some photos or whatever.

That's what most people will do, right? They'll just post the photos with like a random description about the day. But you gotta remember that this social media post, it is for new brides and grooms. So what you want to be doing is trying to attract new brides and grooms by communicating your value to them as a photographer. What makes you unique and special, you need to be talking about that stuff in your captions.

And you're not doing that when all you're doing is saying, Congratulations, Mr. And Mrs. Adams. You know, the venue was beautiful, the flowers were beautiful, here's the photos. Like, they don't care.

They're not going to read the caption. It's not going to intrigue them at all. So, you want to try and connect with them about why they should hire you as a photographer and not just a, you know, random caption. So here's a sample example of a social media caption that you could write to go with, I don't know, any kind of wedding photography photo. It could even be like a carousel photos.

Okay, so the caption would be, Do we really need to spend that much on a wedding photo? It's one of the most common thoughts couples have when planning their wedding. You want stunning, timeless images, but you also want to be smart with your budget. Here's the truth: you're not just hiring someone to take photos, you're trusting someone to capture the emotion of your day. The quiet glances, the loud laughs, the in between moments you didn't even notice.

Here's what I bring to the table: A calm, confident presence to guide you through the day so you never feel awkward or unsure about where to stand, how to pose, where to look. Direction that feels natural so your photos look like you, just elevated. An artist's eye with a documentary heart, each frame carefully composed but never forced. Years of wedding experience, so no lighting hiccup, family dynamic or timeline shift will throw me off. A fun grounded vibe, so you and your crew actually enjoy taking photos.

You deserve all of this. You deserve to feel incredible on your wedding day and you deserve to have photos that remind you exactly of how that day felt. Let's create images that feel effortless, honest, and uniquely you. DM me to see if your date is still available. And then you could put in your name and your website.

So that is a caption that speaks to their problem, which is they don't know if they want to spend that much money on wedding photography. And then your value, right? What do you bring that other photographers don't? What makes you special? What makes it worth the cost?

Why does it cost that much? Because they're getting this amazing experience and that's worth it. So having a caption like this is going to connect with new potential couples in a different way. It's going to make them start thinking, Oh, maybe I want someone that's good at posing me. Maybe I want someone that has this experience.

Because it is an important day and I want it to be captured in a very special way. So you can also take this idea and incorporate it into your website with your tagline. So it's not just wedding photographer from Hawaii. It's photography that feels effortless, looks incredible, and tells your story beautifully. Or your tagline could be effortless, emotional, editorial photos you'll you'll feel forever.

Both of those are able to connect with the value that you bring to the wedding when the couple books you. And these little shifts or changes in your messaging, it really anchors in your value. Why they need you as their photographer. Why your art is worth the cost. It's more than just the number of edits or hours that you're there, which is what, you know, most brides and grooms automatically assume when they first reach out to you.

The same goes with wedding planning. It's like they think they're booking you for this many hours. They want this many edits. That's the value. But the value isn't in the edits or the hours. The value is in you. You are creating a luxurious experience for them And that results in incredibly special photography that you can guarantee that they're going to cherish forever. Can all photographers guarantee this? No, but you can. Right?

So that's the kind of thing you need to. You want to think about this and ask yourself right now, how am I showing up? Really think about that. Are you just putting photos up on your Instagram or on your website and hoping that couples will just book you? Hoping that someone that someone knows will recommend you?

Are you hoping that someone will reach out because they liked your photography? Maybe someone that you're hoping to get connected with someone who doesn't have a photographer yet and is like, Oh, let's see if this one's available. Well, that's not how it works. Couples need more than that. Think about how you're spending your time connecting with your value as a photographer.

And you need to get really, really clear on what makes you special. What makes you special and unique? Why is it so important that they work with you and not anyone else? What do you bring to the table that's different? What do you do that makes their experience, their wedding day, so amazing?

Can you get super connected to that and really grounded to that belief that it's you? You are the one that is the best of the best at this. And why? Like, why are the reasons why it's you? What do you do that's different from everyone else?

And I know you know this because there are things that only you do, things that you do better, things that you do differently, things that make you stand out. Are you talking about those things? Because you should be! Those are very, very important and the couple's never going to know that you do it if you're not talking about it. Because it's these special little unique things what is the stuff that's going to make you stand out.

It's what's going to make a couple book you. It's what's going to get your wedding business out of this plateau and start having some traction and moving forward. It's what creates success and a successful wedding business. It's what books you weddings. It's what makes you stand out.

It's what makes you magnetic. And it's what makes you money, right? It's what makes your wedding business profitable. So I use the example of a wedding photographer but it could really be swapped out for anything wedding planner, wedding hair and makeup artists, wedding videographers. Ask yourself: why do they need to work with me?

What value do I bring to their wedding day? What unique special qualities do I have that makes their day easier, more fun? Why does the value I bring outweigh the cost? Start writing all this down. Literally get out a pen and paper and write it down because writing it is also going to ground you mentally to the belief in it.

The more grounded you are to the belief, the more real it will be when you're talking about it. The more connected you will be, the more magnetic you become to other couples. You need to really believe all this shit, not just write it down just for the hell of it. I want you to really, really think about it and believe it. After you've written all down, write it with a pen and paper and then type it up.

Do both. And then if you need help with writing social posts, with coming up with a website tagline, you can just put all that into ChatGPT. Use AI. That's actually what I did to get this example for wedding photographers because I'm wedding planner and I was like here's how here's all of the things that makes me special as a wedding photographer. Come up with an Instagram post for me.

Start it off with a captivating question, tie it all together, and then give me a tagline for my website. And AI was able to give me ideas for that, and then all I did was tweak it a little bit so it felt more me, more unique. So you can actually use ChatGPT to your advantage to make things a little bit easier for you and to give you an idea of where to start. But make sure that you take that and give it your own unique twist. Make it feel more you.

Make it sound like your voice. Like it's YOU. Because only you know the value that you bring. Okay, so the point of all of this is that you need to get better at communicating your value. And the more that you believe in it, the more that you root to it, the more magnetic you're going to become as a wedding pro.

And brides can feel that shift. And once you're more connected to it, more rooted to it, you are going to book more weddings naturally, which will make you more money, make you feel more successful, you'll have more ease around your business. Things will start to shift for you and you will start to get out of that plateau of feeling like you're stuck with your wedding business. So, this was kind of a deep one. I'm hoping that it made sense to you because this is something that I completely missed when I was first building my wedding business.

But if you can grasp this idea of why your wedding business is stuck because you're just trying to book weddings and you're not focused on the value you bring and you're not good at communicating it and you're not connected to your value, that little shift will make you more money and book you more weddings. If you like this and you want to get more of this more little peeks into my brain, I do share a bunch of really helpful guidance on my biweekly newsletter so you want to get on that and that you can join at theweddingproacademy.com. That's my website and on the top little bar there there's a newsletter link and you can just add in your email. I send bi weekly emails that give you really quick simple advice that will help you make more money in your wedding business because I know what it was like to be stuck and I want to try to help as many people, especially women, get their wedding businesses off the ground and start making enough money so you can quit that other job and go full time at this ideally making 6 figures or more so definitely get on my list at weddingproacademy.com You want to click on the bar at the top where it says newsletter and get inside tips from me every other week.

They're really really good! Hope you guys have a great weekend and I'll see you next week. Bye for now!