What exactly is a welcome guide?
It is a magazine style guide that you prepare for your future brides to help them plan and know what they can expect from you on the wedding day. This tool also helps to manage a brides expectations for your services and what they will receive as your client.
As a bride, planning your wedding can be stressful. There are so many different large and small details that go into the planning and knowing where to start can be so helpful. This is one of the reasons why I created this guide.
This is my first year introducing my ‘Wedding Experience Guide for Melissa Jane Photography Brides” and I 
have already received such amazing feedback from my brides. I want to make sure that all of my clients have all of the information they need about me before the wedding date.
Before a clients wedding day, I usually schedule an initial consultation. This gives me a chance to meet the bride and groom in person and discuss some of the details of their upcoming wedding day. In this meeting, I will almost always forget to mention something. This guide helps to cover all of my bases and ensures that the information I want to relay is available.
Some items that I have included in my guide this year include:
- Information about me
- Testimonial from past brides
- Engagement session information (including a style guide)
- Tips for timelines and getting ready photos
- A sample timeline
- Group photography list (This is a list I ask my clients to provide of the family portraits they are hoping to get on their wedding day, I will make sure that I get most if not all of these images)
- Wedding checklist
- Frequently asked questions
- Preferred vendors (This is a list and contact information for some of my favourite vendors that I have worked with. Example: Florist, Hair and Make-up Artist, Decor, etc.)
- Contact information and how to reach me
Some other reasons you should include wedding guides as a part of your business are:
Professionalism – This guide sets you a part from other photographers. You are offering a complete guide, filled with photos of some of your favourite past weddings, testimonials and all the information a bride needs with she is starting her wedding planning journey.
Happier Brides – When you offer your clients added information and perks to their package, you will see happier and more appreciative clients. Creating an awesome experience for each new client that you meet is not only good business practice, but it helps to boost your business with awesome referrals and reviews.
Expectations – There are so many photographers out there for your clients to choose from, but they have chosen you! Now it is important to manage their expectations by explaining all of the awesome perks and added details you include.
Having a welcome guide for your brides will definitely set you a part as a photographer offering an unforgettable experience and confidence from your clients that you know what you are doing and have it covered.
Want to print your own wedding guide? Check out MagCloud.