I wanna travel! – How to Book More Destination Weddings & Elopements
I was recently asked what steps I took to start booking destination weddings and elopements. When I received the question, I went live on Instagram to share some thoughts, but I thought it would also make a great blog post. So here we are! The photographer that messaged me expressed her interest in wanting to do more travel and to have the ability to take on more of her ideal clients, rather than anything that comes her way to pay the bills. I feel like this question was two fold: 1) How to do you get more travel and destination work? 2) How do you reach your ideal clients? For this post, I’m going to answer the first question and how it worked for me. However, I feel some of these answers will work towards helping you reach your ideal client as well, especially if they are couples looking to travel or adventure.
This is important!
First, I think what’s most important to clarify is that things are not always what they seem. Damn social media! It’s so easy to look at other photographers and think, “holy shit! They travel ALL the time! They are so amazing!” The reality though is that is not always the case. Not every wedding I shoot is an elopement or destination wedding (yet? haha! A girl can dream!). I still shoot local weddings in Colorado for the majority of my work and am lucky enough that where I live is a destination in and of itself. So the minute you get into that comparison game and thinking you’ve somehow failed as a photographer because you aren’t traveling the world, STOP!! This does not define your success as a photographer! There are far more important things that define success as a photographer, like how you treat or get to know your clients. Praise and happiness from my clients matter far more to me than any destination elopement or magazine publication. It’s that satisfaction of knowing I made something beautiful and creative for these amazing humans, that I can now call friends, that keeps me going.
Love well!
This leads me to my first point. I promise you, if you love selflessly and treat people well (each and every client, connection, or friend), doors will open up for you! I booked my Belize wedding because she was a childhood classmate that remembered me being so sweet to her in middle school when she was struggling. I booked my Costa Rica wedding because I drank wine for 3.5 hours with the bride, got tipsy together, and more importantly got to know her and her life. I took time with these people. I cared for them and still care for them. My Costa Rica bride still hires me for family photos and says she would never ask anyone else to do her photos. Sometimes we as photographers get so caught up in our own agenda or what we want (gimme all the travel weddings!), that we neglect those that are right in front of us. Those people matter because they are human beings and deserve the very best of your talent and heart. And of course, you never know what friend your current client or vendor knows. So love well! This is why we are really here!
Now to get into more of the logistics of booking more travel and destination weddings…
Who are you marketing to?
Take a look at your website and your social media. Does it resonate with adventurous weddings or elopements? Do you post anything from adventures or travel? If your website and social media is loaded with table settings, flower girls, and giant weddings, you are not marketing towards the ideal adventure and travel client. This is a necessary shift. You get what you put out. So put out into the world what it is you want. You want a couple that wants to climb to the top of a mountain? Go do it yourself and post about it! Make sure travel and adventure oozes from every word on your website, every photo you share, and from all your branding!
Fake it til you make it!
Two years ago, when I knew I needed to make changes in my business so I was truly inspired and doing what I was passionate about, I started making this marketing shift. Adventure and traveling was something that really inspired my work. I craved it and knew I needed more of it to feel like I could truly be successful at what I do. I also found that elopements began to impact my heart far more because they got back to the real reason people get married instead of the production of a wedding. However, I didn’t have a ton of destination or travel weddings to put in my portfolio. What I did have though were photos of my current clients and my own adventures. So I started posting more of my hikes, travels and limited my wedding posting to photos that looked like elopements or intimate weddings. This not only let people know, “hey! I shoot adventurous elopements and weddings,” but also let them know that I actually enjoy these things, allowing them to feel a connection with me! If doing all that traveling and hiking up a mountain is not your jam, don’t market for it. You have to be yourself!
Out of Office
Even when I’m “out of office” and traveling for my own pleasure, I’m always thinking of ways I can make this work towards my advantage in my business. I’m currently sitting in a cute café in Marseille, France planning a shoot for Friday. Yes, I’m here visiting a very dear friend of mine, but hey, why not be productive with it too?! When I hike and see a cute couple, I ask to snap a photo. Or sometimes, I plan a shoot with my friends and make it look like an elopement. haha! These are all ways to take advantage of being out of town for personal things, yet still hustling to show that you shoot travel weddings and elopements. And if you’re like me, taking pics and being creative is fun anyways right?!
Bloggity Blog
I also started sharing blog posts about my own personal adventures on my website. I think this is another huge step in connecting with that ideal client. Someone will not book your for an adventure out in the desert of Utah, if you yourself have not adventured. One of my photographer friends also came up with another great idea for blogging while she was on her recent trip to France. She visited several local wedding venues, took photos of the empty venues, storied it on Instagram, and then wrote a blog post about the best wedding venues in France. You know that’s gonna drive some solid google searches to her website!
I started making all these changes in my own business just two years ago, and the true success of doing it was proven to me twice recently. First, I received a lead a few months ago asking if I even shoot regular weddings! This was music to my ears – with a slight panic that I may not continue receiving leads for regular weddings, but isn’t that what I’m trying to do anyways? So yay! And then I recently booked an elopement for the most ideal client I’ve ever had – live in a van, love their pup, want to hike six miles at sunrise to say their vows. This is how I know that doing these small changes work! It may take time though, as all good things do, so just be patient.
Lastly, as a precaution to anyone interested in doing more travel or adventure, know that these weddings and elopements take FAR more time and energy. You are scouting more, in the car, on a plane, fighting jet lag and germs, spending money to get places, buying food, and far away from loved ones. It can be all around uncomfortable and tiring. Therefore, the life of a traveling wedding and elopement photographer it isn’t always as glamorous as it seems. I spend so much of my time chillin on my own, wandering streets in new places or hiking around a mountain or ocean. I have chosen this life because I enjoy that challenge. It inspires me. And I choose to consistently live a life a exploration and hope that I will find future loved ones can do it with me. But for now, it’s a more lonely road and can be quite tiring. So make sure you’re up for the challenge.
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If you would love to talk more with me about how to amp up your business to doing more travel weddings and elopements, I offer one-on-one mentoring sessions. I would LOVE to meet you, get to know you and your dreams, and help you get where you truly want to be!
