Micro weddings became the dream wedding for many couples during and even in the post-COVID pandemic era. Brides and grooms slashed their guest lists to ensure that they were following government guidelines, and with that, wedding photographers also pivoted their businesses to keep up with the new normal. Those who didn’t entirely switch to a micro wedding photography business just added ‘micro weddings’ to their list of services to keep themselves afloat during the pandemic. But even now, when things are back to their pre-pandemic status, couples around the world are still opting for micro weddings. If you are planning to build your business on it, the tips in this blog could help you build your roadmap.
What Are Micro Weddings?
Micro weddings are smaller and shorter ceremonies with around fifty (or fewer) of the couple’s close friends and family members in attendance. However, don’t confuse them with elopements, and don’t be fooled by the size of the guest list. While the number of guests at these weddings may be less than 50, micro weddings come with all the details and grandeur of a traditional wedding, including the venue, florals, decor, etc.
Suggested Read: Ceremony Photos Inspiration By Shootdotedit Customers
5 Tips To Run A Micro Wedding Photography Business Successfully
1. Use The Right Marketing Strategies
The key to running a successful micro wedding photography business is to market it right. Whether you use email marketing campaigns or your social media platforms – the aim is to raise awareness about your brand; to make sure that people know about you and the services you offer. The more you expose your brand, the more likely you are to attract your ideal clients. This is especially crucial if you are starting the micro wedding photography business from scratch as opposed to just adding another service to your pre-existing wedding photography business.
Know exactly the kind of client you want and figure out their preferred online platforms. Once you’ve done your research, create marketing material that you can use on those platforms to attract potential clients. But make sure you are portraying your brand in the most authentic way. Try not to jump on trends or simply do what other wedding photographers are doing. Create your own marketing game plan and stay true to your brand so that couples can get a glimpse of what they will sign up for when they choose you as their micro wedding photographer.
Related Read: Photography Marketing Tips: The Wedding Photographer’s Guide
2. Get To Know Your Couples
When a couple books you as their micro wedding photographer, it’s important to spend time getting to know them and their preferences. You can do this through face-to-face meetings, emails, questionnaires, and by having touch points with them till the wedding day (and even beyond for post-wedding sales). Micro weddings are all about intimacy, so you should try to get to a level where your couple would be comfortable with letting you into their private space.
Also, don’t just stop at getting to know your bride and groom. Ask them about their wedding party, closest family members and friends, and whether there’s anything specific they’d want you to focus on on their wedding day. Micro weddings come with the benefit of not having to focus on too many things at once, but it also means that you can’t miss a single important moment at the wedding. Getting to know your couples will help you in anticipating moments that go beyond the shot list.
3. Prepare As Usual
Speaking of shot lists, every micro wedding needs one that is curated with attention to detail. Just because it’s a shorter and smaller wedding doesn’t mean that you don’t need a shot list to stay on track. In fact, because you will have less time to take all that must-have wedding photos, try to keep an eye out at all times. So, always keep a shot list with all the important moments handy at all times.
Besides a shot list, we’d also recommend that you make location scouting a part of your micro wedding photography business workflow. Having an idea about the venue and the available lighting will help you prep for the big day. Moreover, you will also be able to get an idea about the angels and vantage points you could use for the ceremony photos. And lastly, make sure your gear doesn’t give up on you. Keep your cameras and batteries charged, remember to pack extra batteries, and make sure you have all your lighting equipment.
4. Get On Vendor Lists
Another way to expand the clientele for your micro wedding photography business is to network and work with vendors you like. When you establish strong professional relationships with other vendors in the industry, they’re more likely to refer you to clients who come their way asking for micro wedding photographer suggestions.
A great way to get on preferred vendor lists is by making your relationship mutually beneficial. For example, if you are trying to get on a venue’s preferred vendor list, then you could take and share some photos of the venue that they could use for marketing purposes. Similarly, since you will anyway be taking detail shots of the decor at your couple’s wedding, you could share some photos with the decorator, which they can use to market their business. This way, they will remember your sweet gesture, and you’ll be the wedding photographer that they loved working with and refer to their micro wedding clients.
5. Offer Live Streaming Options
Since a micro wedding guest list includes no more than 50 people, your couple might want some friends or family members to attend the wedding virtually. During the pandemic, Zoom/virtual weddings became the new trend, with couples choosing to get married in the presence of virtual guests. Even though the regulations have changed now, couples who choose to go the micro wedding way might still want some of their friends and family to witness their union from the comfort of their homes.
Live streaming their micro wedding might not be in every couple’s wish list, however, if you are adding micro wedding photography to your list of services, you might want to keep this as an optional offer that couples can add to the package they choose or simply add it to one of your wedding photography packages. This way, if your couple wants more people at the wedding, they can have that without increasing the number of guests at the actual venue.
Focus On Delivering An Unforgettable Experience
Most couples choose to have a micro wedding because they want to celebrate and spend their special day making memories with the ones they love the most. As their wedding photographer, spend some time getting to know them properly, so they feel comfortable having you photograph their intimate ceremony. As far as expanding your client list goes, besides curating a world class portfolio and using digital marketing strategies, you could also try to establish relationships with other wedding vendors. Word-of-mouth marketing is still alive and thriving, and sometimes, it’s the only form of marketing you will need to run a successful micro wedding photography business. Lastly, a micro wedding is like any other traditional wedding – just with fewer people. So prepare as you would for a traditional wedding. Finalize your shot list, get your equipment ready, and always bring your A-game.
Read More: 6 Tips To Ace Elopement Photography
One of the keys to running a successful micro wedding photography business is to establish processes that set you and your clients up for success. And at ShootDotEdit, we are passionate about helping you build your business, which we do by lessening your post-production workload with our professional photo editing services. To learn more about how we can help your business, check out our pricing plans.