We’ve MOVED!

We are SO thrilled to share with you our new home.  Please make sure to bookmark our new site and change it on your reader:

Our new address:

www.sageweddingpros.com

SEE YOU THERE!

Insider to Insider: Laurel McConnell, Owner of Laurel McConnell Photography

Photo courtesy of Barbie Hull Photography

Laurel McConnell is seriously one of my favorite people in this industry.  Her photography is amazing, gorgeous, incredible, delightful and talented.  But, it’s Laurel herself that I adore even more.  She is funny and smart.  She is witty and bright.  And, she has an incredible spirit and fire.  Laurel is a marketing maven and any wedding business could learn a lot from her on branding, niche, and having a “company voice”.  (You’ll know what I mean if you read her blog and once you read her interview below.)  Her personal flair is on everything she does… and that’s what makes it so special.

Laurel McConnell
Owner, Laurel McConnell Photography
Based in Seattle, WA (but travels worldwide)
laurelmcconnell.com
Established 2001

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

Other than the obvious (happy giddy love and gooey gushy moments & feelings) it’s the anticipation of what exciting things could happen and the cool things we’ll find. Each time we change locations or focus on a new part of the day a whole new world explodes in front of us, waiting for it’s turn to be documented.

It’s like each day is a scavenger hunt- I put all of my energy into finding the light in each situation, absorbing the energy of the people around me, and being in the right place at the right time for the moments that are happening before my eyes. Bride bathed in the most beautiful light that it takes your breath away, CHECK. Ring bearer picking his nose, CHECK. Dad crying when he thinks no one can see him doing it, CHECK. Series of a surprise proposal during the reception of his best friend’s wedding, CHECK. Talk about an exciting day.

What is your best tip for time management?

I’m probably the worst person to ask about this because photographers have SO much pre and post production for each shoot and client that we drown and end up missing dinner, but I like to save a little bit of time each day for my “research” (blog reading, newsletter reading, market trends, social networking, etc) so I feel like I got a treat and got to “goof off.” I got to have a little bit of fun and can move on, and really get stuff D O N E. But really… I turn off my email and phone, lock the door and shut the curtain, and work solid straight through lunch and sometimes dinner: I call this my little Workcation. You can always tell when I’ve had one because there are like 5 blog articles in a row, and then hear nothing but crickets for the next three weeks while I face the music of the missed calls and unanswered emails!

What is your little marketing secret?

If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, now, would it?! But I can give you two hints:

1. Being genuine in your personal relationships with other people in your industry when you network. Your network of other photographers and professionals is your biggest ally and loudest cheerleading squad.

2. Finding something people generally like outside of what you do for work that you can write about on your business blog to keep folks coming back for more. In otherwords: yep, you guessed it, CUPCAKES are my little marketing secret.

What is the funnest (most fun) trend you are seeing in the industry?

The wedding photography industry is so ridiculously trendy, it’s dizzying and distracting, so I’m going to be a little abstract here. The one thing that stands out once you take away all the photobooths, generic post-processing ready-made actions, and retro-vintage-thingamabbobers is CREATIVITY AND INGENUITY. The hottest new trend is to be creative and differentiate yourself from other photographers with a difinitive STYLE. People are trying new things outside of their normal realm of shooting, marketing, image-processing, writing, reading, listening, and letting it inspire them to carve out a niche and style that is highly marketable to the types of clients they want.

If you were starting your business all over again, what would you have done differently?

Not a dang thing. There are millions of awesome workshops, blogs, and chatty photographers who are willing to share more now that what was available when I came out of commercial art school. Heck, you don’t even need to go to school anymore, most budding photographers I meet aren’t or didn’t. But you know what…. I feel like the route that I took, learning things the HARD way, finding my own way to do things, shaped and molded my style, business skills, and personality in such a way that if I did anything differently, I just might blend into the masses.

YAY!  Thanks Laurel!

Happy Fourth of July!

I’m taking a 3 day weekend for the holiday… Hurrah! Hope you are taking a deserved break this weekend to spend with friends and family.

I’ve heard that most of you will be enjoying this long weekend… but in case you need a reminder, I’m referencing this post on the importance of taking a break… Read here. Enjoy your time off!

Something you should know (part 2)…

Your competitor can also be your greatest ally.

I came into the wedding industry from the fashion industry.  I worked for a company that imported and distributed apparel from France.  We sold to huge department stores and tiny boutiques. My job as West Coast Sales Manager was more of a game in mediation and dispute resolution between competing stores.  The bad energy between people was poisonous to their businesses and it was poisonous to the industry.

So, naturally, I began my business thinking that anyone who also was an invitation designer was EVIL.  Boy, oh boy, was I wrong.  I moved my teeny little business (at the time) from LA to Seattle in 2005.  Seattle people are very friendly and warm and inviting.  Businesses blossom by word of mouth.

When I did my first Seattle Wedding Show in 2006 I was in uber-disbelief that my competitors actually came up to my booth to introduce themselves to me. “Wait.  What?  Huh?  Did that just happen?” is what I thought to myself.  And, slowly the ice began to melt.

Over time, I’ve learned more about my competitors.  I’ve also learned more about my business.  I’ve learned about my niche.  I’ve learned about their niches.  And, I’ve learned that we all add value to this industry.  We all have a different place in this market.  There are very few people that do it just like I do it.  And, there are very few people that do it just as my competitor does it.  I’ve also learned that these businesses are amazing and unique and different and beautiful. By better knowing my business and their businesses I can better inform the customer.  I can better teach the customer about stationery. They have been a great resource for me to refer someone who is not a match for our style of product, thus making me a “go to” for stationery knowledge.

So, this is something that you should know…
Get to know your competitors. Knowing them and their businesses will help you carve out your niche.  It’ll help you add value to the wedding industry and your industry segment.  It will help you differentiate yourself.  And, having a unique niche in your market is what will give your business value without taking away from someone else.

And, with that… go hug your competitor… I dare you!

My Competitor: The very talented Brown Sugar Design Studio

Los Angeles Meetup!

I’m dying to meet you Los Angeles area wedding pros!

Please join us for a Meetup:

June 16 – 5 to 8pm (ish)
Barbrix
2442 Hyperion Avenue (Silverlake)
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Here is the link to RSVP:
RSVP for Los Angeles Meetup

If you don’t want to register through the meetup site, you can also email SageWeddingPros-at-gmail.com .