Wedding Photography When You are Planning an Out of State Wedding
(AKA Destination Wedding Photography Made Easy)
Destination wedding photography shouldn’t be overwhelming! Since many of my wedding photography couples host destination weddings in Colorado, I thought I’d write a blog post sharing ways I strive to make destination weddings as stress-free as possible.
Many of my wedding couples come from throughout the United States. I’ve been fortunate to be hired by couples from states like Nebraska, Illinois, Connecticut, South Dakota. Some couples want an outdoor wedding with the Rocky Mountains as the stunning backdrop. Or maybe they want an indoor Denver wedding venue, but want their wedding guests to experience some of the amazing activities that Colorado has to offer. Just some of my favorite Colorado things to do includes whitewater rafting; mountain hiking; wildlife viewing; or touring places like the Denver Art Museum, the Coors Brewery, and other microbreweries.
Maybe you are part of an out of state couple yourself, trying to plan your perfect Colorado mountain wedding ceremony and reception. These are some of the things I do to help make wedding planning from out of state / destination wedding photography easier and less stressful.
1. I am happy to conduct our initial client meeting (to see if we are a good match for each other) over the phone. Obviously, I love meeting my wedding couples in person to get to know them even better, but phone calls can work too. And once you hire me, I am happy to chat with you as much (or as little) as you would like about your wedding. Or we can email. I’m flexible!
2. All of my wedding couples receive their own log-in to my online client database. This database keeps track of our email correspondence, online questionnaires that save your answers (so you can complete them as your time permits), the contract, and payment information. Basically, everything is stored in one place online, which means that even if we haven’t met in person, communicating with each other is easy and organized.
3. If you are visiting from out of state to do a wedding venue walk-through, bridal dress fitting, cake tasting (or whatever the reason may be), I will do my very best to meet up with you, if you would like. Depending on your venue location, we could meet there and discuss your wedding day and favorite locations for wedding portraits. Or we could meet up in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, etc. and just grab a coffee or a Colorado micro-brew (or some champagne!) and chat about your wedding for a bit.
4. I am more than happy to use my 10 years of wedding photography (and thereby some wedding planning!) experience to make vendor recommendations. I know great wedding planners, florists, DJs, officiants, etc. throughout the state, and I would love to help make recommendations based on my understanding of your personality and the vision of your wedding day.
5. I love Colorado! I love being a tour-guide for this amazing state that I am lucky enough to call home. I love to hike/run/ski/camp/whitewater raft/visit mountain towns/go shopping in Boulder and Denver/eat at farm-to-table restaurants and authentic Mexican restaurants. I am definitely happy to provide insider info to make you and your wedding guests even more comfortable at your destination wedding.
All images © Susannah Allen 2015
