Book Early! Don't Let This Happen To You!

Last night, I spoke with a potential client about her wedding. At the time we spoke, I did not realize that I was already booked on her wedding date. So we made an appointment to meet at my office and as I was getting ready to set the appointment in my calendar, I looked at the date of her wedding and discovered I had already booked her date in June with another bride!

My client who booked me did so almost exactly one year in advance of her wedding date! By booking early, she had secured the date which of course leaves anyone else looking to book me for the same date, out of luck.

I felt terrible about this as the potential client seemed to be a perfect fit for me as a client. But I called her back and told her what I discovered. She was just as disappointed as I was.

Later that evening, she wrote me an email which I would like to share here:

"I have to admit, after looking at your blog and website, I am truly disappointed that you are unavailable for my wedding day. I think I would have really liked you as a photographer. Your shots are great and your knowledge amazes me! I only wish I would have started looking at photographers earlier!"

Wow, that just tears my heart out! As much as I would like to help everyone looking for my services, I can't. I can only help one client per day.

So please, if you find a photographer you like... book him / her immediately! Don't let this happen to you. Often the best photographers will book up to a year in advance. But that doesn't mean that you can't find a good photographer with just a month or two left before your wedding. As much as we photographers would like to book every weekend, it's not easy to find new clients that have weddings on different weekends just to match our schedule. And, we often turn away more people than we book simply because of situations like this one. So if your wedding is coming up, don't hesitate to at least call and find out if the photographer of your choice is available because he / she might very well be. It's just the luck of the draw, as they say...

I referred this bride to another photographer, however. I don't like leaving nice people out in the cold without somewhere to turn. I'm sure the other photographer will do an excellent job for her and she deserves that. To me, she seemed to be a client I would have loved to have.

To last night's bride, best wishes to you and your fiance if you are reading this...