Excited to snag this year's 2013 Bride's Choice Award from
Wedding Wire. The "award" is based on reviews from your clients, so it's pretty great to get that recognition. Onnnnnnn the other hand, I was curious so I looked and no fewer than 139 photographers in DC received this year's awards. So there's that. (I put this here as a notice to non-experts - that is, my potential clients - that basically everyone gets this award so don't give it too much weight in your decision who to hire.)
But, naturally, I'm going to take this opportunity to shout (okay squeak - I am on my blog that no one reads) about something in the industry. Why is this a "bride's choice" award? Because basically everything in the wedding industry is about talking to women. I was at a wedding photography conference this past week and many people used the words "brides" and "clients" interchangeably. It's true that many women take the lead on wedding planning but that doesn't mean their guys don't care or aren't involved. And for plenty of couples, the work is shared equally, or tasks divvied up. And -
gasp - some couples don't include any women, like a review from one of my clients, a man who married a man.
That's the rant and the advice (for my industry colleagues) is to cut that shit out. Because dudes buy stuff. They are sometimes better at buying stuff or more into tech things (photography anyone?). They have opinions and desires and fears just like their lady counterparts. And if you ignore them, it's to your own detriment. I currently have a couple of outstanding inquiries from guys and I have certainly been booked in the past when I was first contacted by men. Would those dudes have reached out if I were all bride-bride-bride? Maybe. I don't know. But I don't want to be that girl. So penis props, fellas. I feel ya (or rather, I don't feel ya, that would be super-inappropriate.)
