What does it look like to be a Sam Wynn Bride?
This Wedding Wednesday is a little different than the normal “sharing about my couples, tips, tricks, or venues” post.
It’s going to be all about - What does it look like to be a Sam Wynn Bride? EEEEKKK! :)
First I want to say I adore every single one of my couples, and it is my PRIORITY to make the wedding photography process as EASY as possible! From landing on my page (FB, IG, or my website) to inquiring, to your engagement session, wedding day, and even the fun things I do right after ( I will share a snippet of something I do at the end that I have never shared publicly! :) )
OK, LETS GET INTO IT!
Before I share about some of the process of working with me, i want to share something first! It is SO SO SO important that you do some research on your wedding photographer before you book them, for SOOO many reasons! The main 2 being:
Your photographer is going to be the person you see THE MOST on your wedding day! Even more than you planner or family! They are going to be with you all the way from getting your make up done, to dancing the night away. I cannot stress how important it is to make sure that you love their personality, passion for their business, and the joy they bring when they are around because that really can affect your mood on your wedding day!
MAKE SURE YOU LOVE THEIR STYLE!!!!!! And if not, DON’T ask them to change it! Just find a new photographer :) What do I mean by this? If you are on Instagram and you are scrolling trying to decide which photographer you like most, you will notice that most of the pictures from each one look a little different. Different lighting and way of shooting, different coloring of the photos, different emotions they love to capture most, ect. Photographers work so hard trying to nail down “their style”, what they love capturing and feel comfortable and in their element capturing, and whether its more “dark and moody” or “light, bright and airy” THAT is what they do best, and what they have perfected their craft in! So if your dream is to have that bright and airy wedding photo, please don’t go to someone that has darker, more moody images and ask them for that, or vise versa, because that’s not what they have perfected, or love. Make sure you find someone that already produces the images you love, and YOU BOTH will be so much happier :)
NOW FOR THE WEDDING PROCESS!!!
PHEW!!!! YOU MADE IT! You finally decided you want to book your wedding photographer, and IT’S ME!
WHAT NOW?
Once I get the inquiry email that you have submitted through my website, I will typically reach out to you as soon as I see it! If it’s not right away its always within 24 hours, because I want to respect your time just as much as you are respecting mine!
In the emailing process back and forth, I will ask you all kinds of questions about your big day so I can learn as much about you and your groom as possible! Its normally in these emails that I can tell if we are going to be a great fit together, or if recommending another photographer is best, because they either want a different style than I provide, or I’m not available for their wedding date! I never like sharing that side of this business, but its the truth! Your wedding day is such a HUGE moment in your life, and you deserve the best, even if what your looking for isn’t my style. NOW, I will say that I have never had a couple inquire that I have had to recommend an0ther photographer for because of my style! Meaning the color of my images, and just the overall style, and emotion that I love to capture in my couples! Usually before inquiry they have decided they love my images and can see themselves on the other side of my camera!
Once we confirm that I’m available for your date ( wahoooo!!!!) I will send you a contract to read over and sign, along with an invoice for a 20% retainer that will be due to secure your wedding date with me! The retainer fee is 20% of your whole total! Once that is paid, and the contract is signed by both the bride and groom, that day is marked on my calendar for YOU!!
IT’S OFFICIAL NOW! YOU HAVE BOOKED A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER!!!!! Once you are on my calendar, I will get a Bridal Box ready to have mailed to you! This is something I love doing for all of my couples! Inside it will have my Bridal Guide, which is an 80 page magazine I made for my couples that helps them with engagement session outfit choices, wedding day tips, tricks, timeline help, what to expect on a wedding day, and so much more! Plus some fun goodies to make the wedding planning process a little more fun!
Once you receive that Bridal Box and the bride and groom both have a chance to read through the bridal guide inside, will finally get to schedule your ENGAGEMENT SESSION! YYYYAAAAYYYYYY!!!!! I will have you decide what season you want to do your session in, and then we go from there with scheduling a day! Some people love the fall look more, some want more green and flowers! It really just depends on what YOU want!
My engagement sessions are SO important to me, and such a HUGE part of the wedding process with me! They are ususally about 1.5 -2 hours long! Its where we get to meet, if havent met before. We get to know each other, and most importantly: I get to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera and teach you everything you need to know!!!! So when I show up on your wedding day I’m not some stranger, and I’m a friend you already know, and you already know all the things I will ask you do to!
Once we do your engagement session, you will have those images back in 24 hours! Then its on to planning your wedding timeline!
6 weeks out from your wedding date I will send you a questionnaire to your email for you to fill out, that just has some questions about your wedding day! Then I will have you email me a rough draft of your timeline! If you have a planner this is usually something that you and your planner will do, but if you don’t I will help plan one with you! Once we get a rough draft made, or emailed to me from the planner, all 3 of us (the bride, groom and myself) will get on a call ( I usually do a video call!) to go over it and perfect any things that needs to be changed and confirm its all right!
IT’S YOUR WEDDING DAY!!!!! You wake up and have the best day of your life, and I show up to capture it ALLLLLL, then dance the night away with you!
After your wedding day is over, you will receive your final gallery in 7 days! CRAZY RIGHT?? I love instant gratification, and try to give it any time I can! So being able to deliver a 8-10 hour wedding day in 7 days is something I ALWAYS strive to do!
Once you receive your final gallery, you will receive one last gift from me. Serving my couples is something that brings so much joy to me, so doing something that’s from ME is such a special touch that i would feel empty without doing. I do a hand drawn and water color painted image of your first kiss as husband and wife, and frame it to send to you! It’s something I have loved doing from the very beginning of my buisness because I don’t want to just be “a vendor that showed up on my wedding day”. I want to be someone that brought joy and happiness to your day, and even the days after! So, here is an example of the past 2 that i have made and sent to give you an idea <3
This one from Mikaela + Stanleys wedding I was able to snag a few flowers that they were using for her bouquet to add to it!
If you are a bride out there searching for a photographer, I pray you find the perfect one for you! My hope is that sharing a little bit of my wedding day process gives future brides some insight on how it works, and makes it a little less intimidating! Going above and beyond is something my heart craves, and I love being able to pour everything I can into giving my couples the absolute BEST Sam Wynn Couple experience ever!
Thanks for reading!
Xoxo, Sam Wynn