Attention Bride To Be:

How To Avoid The 7 HUGE Mistakes Most Brides Make When Planning Their Wedding!

 

Dear Bride To Be,

This letter is not for every Bride To Be… is it for you?

 

If you are looking to have an “average” wedding – one that is stressful and not very organized, one where the guests hardly get to see you, one where you are so exhausted that you can hardly smile. One where it seems like you’re constantly putting out “fires” and solving emergencies. One where “so many things just went wrong”…

Then this letter is not for you. I’m sorry for wasting your time. Please read no further.

But…

…if you’re a bride who wants her wedding to be PERFECT, and the most romantic, beautiful and emotional day of your life; if you want to enjoy every minute of your day; if you want to be the most ravishingly beautiful bride your friends and relatives have ever seen; if you want to spend wonderful, quality time with your guests; if you want to remember with happy tears in your eyes all the love, emotion and joys of the day…

Then this is going to be the most exciting letter you have ever received! Really!

My name is Marcus Anthony, and I LOVE weddings! I’ve been photographing them for 5 years – not because I have to for the money, (I have a very successful portrait photography business that makes me a very comfortable living) but rather because I WANT to, because I love the emotion and romance of your wedding.

Here’s How To Have The Most Magical, Romantic, And Emotional Wedding Day Of Your Dreams!

If you’re still reading, let me congratulate you. This means you want to be the most beautiful bride anywhere. You want your wedding to be a wonderfully emotional and romantic day. You want to have everything go smoothly and perfectly,   You want to have a great time. You want to see all your guests, and have them also have a fun time. Well, here’s how to do it:

Here’s The 7 Huge Mistakes, And How To Avoid Them!

 

Huge Mistake #1: Not Meeting The Actual Person Who Will Be Photographing Your Wedding!

Believe it or not, the photographer you select to photograph your wedding can make or break your wedding day. Yes, I kid you not, your wedding day – not just your photographs! Why? Because he or she is THERE – with you and your family, in person – interacting with all your family and guests – and representing you every minute.

Now, HONESTLY, we’re not just talking about photography here – we’re talking about YOUR WEDDING – how YOU FEEL on your wedding day, and how smoothly and romantically everything goes. You see, your photographer determines this, by the way he helps you plan your wedding, the way he treats you and your loved ones, and the way he conducts himself throughout the day.

   Most brides don’t realize that many studios hire part time photographers to photograph their weddings for them – high school and college kids, friends, relatives, etc. This means that you go to a studio, talk with a “salesperson,” look at their samples, and make a decision – without really knowing who will be photographing your wedding!

And if it’s not just the right person doing the photography, and interacting with all your family and guests, everything can be ruined!

So, when you’re talking with a potential photographer, ask them the following questions:

1. Who did these photographs you are showing me?
2. Who, by name, will be photographing our wedding if we hire your studio?
3. We want to MEET this person, BEFORE we hire your studio.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Then, when you meet this person, ask him or her the following questions:

1. How will you dress at my wedding?
2. Did you do ALL the samples of wedding photography we saw in the sample books? If not, show us YOUR work, please.
3. How long have you been photographing weddings?
4. How long will you be at my wedding?
5. Before you leave our wedding, who do you check with first to see if there’s anything else we would like you to do?
6. Do you work from a checklist of photos? (You NEVER want a photographer who needs a checklist doing your wedding photography! He’ll spend all his time looking at the list, and miss all the wonderful, romantic and spontaneous moments of your wedding! Any photographer who is any good won’t need to follow a checklist – he or she will KNOW all the photographs that need to be captured.)

Then, decide if you REALLY LIKE THE PHOTOGRAPHER, as well as his or her work! Because this person is going to be spending a lot of time with you and your family and friends, on your important day.

By the way, just so you know, here’s my answers to those questions:

I’m the ONLY photographer at my studio. I will be photographing your wedding personally. I will dress in a nice suit and bowtie (NOT A TUX! I don’t want to take anything away from your groom and groomsmen and the fathers, and I also don’t want to dress casually, and not represent you professionally.)

I have been photographing weddings, as I mentioned earlier, for _____ years. Can you fill in the blank? Just checking to see if you’re paying attention! It’s 5 years!

I’ll be at your wedding until you, your husband (how exciting – your “husband!”), your parents, and your husband’s parents all say they have nothing else for me to do. I NEVER will leave your wedding without checking with all of the above people!

I use no checklist. Instead, I learn the names and relationships of all the members of your wedding party, and both families! I refer to them by name, and I know their relationship to you, so I can be constantly watching for those special, magical and spontaneous moments that will be so meaningful to you to have photographs of!

Huge Mistake #2: Not Selecting A Photographer Who Has A “100% You Will Be Thrilled” Guarantee!

What happens if you aren’t happy with the photography, or the way you and your friends were treated, or if the photographer left your wedding before he was supposed to, etc.

This is of the utmost importance! The guarantee (make sure it’s in writing!) tells you just how committed they are going to be in taking good care of you, and doing a great job.

And, just so you know, here’s our IRON CLAD, 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE: You will be THRILLED (not just ‘satisfied’) with how we represented you and your family at your wedding, and also THRILLED with your photographs, or we will do whatever necessary to have you be THRILLED with them, or we will return ALL YOUR MONEY. Period. No hard feelings either. We want you to LOVE everything we do for you!

You see, we understand that you can’t do this over again. This is a “one-time-thing” and everything MUST be perfect! You have our written guarantee that we’ll take really good care of you!

Huge Mistake #3: Not Asking The Photographer For Testimonials From The Brides They Have Worked With In The Recent Past!

This seems so obvious, and yet brides miss this one all the time, and pay a BIG PRICE for it after their wedding! Be sure the photographer has lots of happy brides and grooms, who have taken time to write and tell the photographer how happy they were with both him, and his work! We’re talking TESTIMONIALS here! From real people, with their full names, and their city and state, so you can call them if you want to, just to “check them out” and make sure that they really said what the photographer says they said. (That’s a hard sentence to read, but you get the point! Sorry!)

I’m sorry to be so skeptical, but we live in a time in history when you have to be really careful to be certain that people are telling you the truth.

You will notice that we are always showing you photographs and testimonials from many of the brides and grooms whom we have been honored to work with on their wedding day. Also notice that their FULL names, city and state are listed, so, if you really wanted to, you could look them up, and call them.

Huge Mistake #4: Not Hiring A Photographer Who Is An “Emotional Story Teller!”

One of the things that you really want to look for in your photographer, is someone who is an EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER! An artistic photographer whose images combine to tell the EMOTIONAL STORY of your family, your friends, and your wedding day. This is really important, if you are looking for photographs which will be PRICELESS to you for years and years to come!

And here’s why this is so important! If an artist is an EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER, there’s a really good chance that he will be compassionate about not ruining the romance, beauty and emotions of your day. You see, only a true romantic can truly understand how important this day is to you, and how perfectly you want it to go.

And a true romantic will be sensitive to NOT INTERFERING WITH THE EMOTIONAL ROMANTIC FLOW OF YOUR DAY!

I could tell you so many horror stories here. But let me just mention one so you understand how important this is.

Back when I was just starting out in photography, I heard about a photographer who was hiding behind some flowers up at the altar (something that I will NEVER do!) and he dropped a lens on the marble floor with a huge crash, and then swore out loud so loud that everyone heard it! (He obviously wasn’t a romantic EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER or he wouldn’t have ruined the romance and religious significance of the ceremony by hiding behind flowers where everyone could see him come and go – and, of course, there is NO excuse for profanity!)

So, looking for a romantic, EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER, who will beautifully tell the story of your love for each other, and for your family and friends, will also result in someone who will respect you and your wishes, and conduct himself in only the most professional and friendly way, because he understands in the most intimate way, the importance of the “Story of Your Wedding Day.”

And, by the way, my brides tell me that they really love the way I emotionally tell the story of their wedding day through photography. That’s why I became a photographer – to tell the wonderful true stories of romantic couples in love.

Huge Mistake #5: Hiring A Photographer Who Will Photograph More Than One Wedding Per Day!

It is not my intention to say anything bad about any other photographers in the area. I know most of them personally, and count many of them as my friends. However, it is really important that I alert you, in this letter, to some of the problems that you otherwise would never know about.

Well, here’s a “biggie.” Most photographers will cram as many weddings into a day as they humanly can. Many times, this means they must rush from your wedding, to get to another, and then rush from that one, to get to another.

This type of photographer just isn’t going to be able to capture the EMOTIONS, ROMANCE, LOVE, AND RELATIONSHIPS between you and your husband, and also between you and your family and friends. That photographer just won’t have the sensitivity and enthusiasm and love for what he does to be able to capture those feelings. And he won’t have the time or energy.

You Won’t Believe This, But I Assure You, It’s True!

For example, I won’t mention any names here, but I once knew a photographer who photographed so many weddings in a single day, that the only way he could remember the names of the bride and groom at each wedding was to write their first names on masking tape, and stick it to the back of his camera! Not only that, but if he had, say five weddings, he would simply stack layers of masking tape on the back of the camera, and as he left one wedding for the next, he would just rip off that layer, and the next couples names were now showing! I swear to you this is true!

By the way, I ONLY photograph ONE wedding per day. You get me for the ENTIRE DAY. I understand how important this day is to you, and I am there for you!

This also means that I’m rested and energetic. It also means I’m enthusiastic about what I will be doing for you. As I mentioned earlier, I photograph weddings because I LOVE them, not because I have to do them. And since I only photograph one wedding a day, I’m not tired or “burned out on your important day.”

Huge Mistake #6: Hiring A Photographer Who Works Alone!

Be sure the photographer you hire has a “team” approach to taking good care of you on your day. This means that he isn’t going to be trying to work alone to photograph your important day.

You see, creating a really super, romantic, EMOTIONAL STORY of your day requires a huge amount of planning, care, and effort. More effort than just one person can do.

Let me explain.

I will arrive at your wedding with my Creative Director and Wedding Consultant, Kitty, who also is my fiance and business partner. She has a HUGE responsibility during the day, and is the true secret to our success in wedding photography.

She makes certain that you look fantastic, every minute of the day! She’s not going to be taking photographs (except during the ceremony) – she’s just going to be helping YOU with your dress and flowers, fixing your veil before a photograph so it looks PERFECT, fixing your train so it is perfect for the photographs, etc.

Plus, she brings you a drink if you’re thirsty in the receiving line. She finds your best friend from college if you ask for her. She helps you in any way she can to assure that you have a wonderful day, as well as wonderful photographs. And on and on and on.

We are a TEAM. A team that together, guarantees that you not only have a great time on your wedding day, but also assures you of having PERFECTLY EMOTIONAL photographs!

Let me explain:

The Magic Of “E.F.P” On Your Wedding Day!

You see, I don’t really look at it as “wedding photography,” but rather as “Emotional Family Photography (E.F.P.) created on your wedding day!” It’s all the emotions, relationships and personalities of all your friends and relatives, captured in beautiful images for you and your family to cherish for the rest of your lives. After all, isn’t that what you really want?

   “E.F.P.” is one of the major things that separates me from all the other wedding photographers in the area. I want to capture the love, relationships, personalities, and emotions of all your family and friends for you to enjoy and view with happy tears in your eyes for years and years to come!

Aren’t The People and The Emotions Of Your LifeWhat Matter The Most To You?

Because it’s the PEOPLE and the EMOTIONS of your life that are so valuable to you. Yes, you’ll also see the beautiful dresses and flowers. Yes, you’ll see the lovely ceremony, etc. But more, much more than that. You’ll feel the emotions that you and your fiancée feel toward each other and toward your best friends and family members on this magical day. Yes, FEEL them each time you view your photographs. That’s what I am driven to do for you!

You see, you want photography that “speaks” to you with love, emotion, respect, and the glorious feelings you will be feeling on your wedding day. You want your photography to “tell the story” of your wedding day, AND your families and friends. Most photographers, bless their hearts, just want to “record the event, and go home.”

I want you to cry when you see the photographs! Cry tears of happiness, because in those photographs are all the people you and your husband love and care about – showing their real personalities and emotions like you never dreamed they would! (Sadly, most photographers just want to get home before midnight, or hurry to the next wedding they are photographing.)

Don’t Miss The “Emotional Moments” Of Your Day Because Your Photographer Didn’t Have The Vision To See And Capture Them In A Sensitive, Romantic Way!

Your day will be filled with beautiful “Emotional Moments” that you will never experience again in your life. Those “Moments” are what I am driven to capture for you.

Here’s just two examples:

 

  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Don’t miss that moment!

The Magic Moment When The Love Of Your Life First Sees You!

Or the incredible moment when your fiancée first sees you in your wedding gown – perfect in every way – with your lovely flowers, the beautiful veil and headpiece – everything which you selected specifically for him – as the tears swell up in his eyes, and he tells you how very much he loves and adores you.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Don’t miss that moment!

A Magic Moment With Grandma

Or, if you are lucky enough to still have a living grandmother, the lovely moment when she reaches up and puts her arms around you, and with tears in her eyes, tells you how beautiful you look and how much she loves you, and how proud she is of you.

I could go on and on. Your entire day will be made up of brief, priceless moments like these. Let’s make sure first of all that your day is so beautifully organized and planned that these moments truly can happen, and then let’s help you to be so stress free, but excited, that you can enjoy and remember these wonderful, magical moments for the rest of your life.

How do we do that?

I’ll bet you think I’m going to say that you do this through the photography. Right? Wrong! The way we help these moments happen, and help you remember them, is to help you have a wonderful, romantic and emotional day! A day where everything goes perfectly. As long as we do that, the rest will take care of itself (providing your photographer knows exactly what he or she is doing).

That’s what Kitty and I will do for you.

Oh, if you ever talk with a photographer who says this to you, run away as fast as you can!

If he says, “Your photographs are all you will have after the wedding is over. Your flowers will be dead, your cake will be eaten, etc. – but you’ll have your photographs! They are the most important thing about your wedding!” – if he or she says this, then they’re NOT the photographer for you!

Why not? Because if he says that, he has a completely false impression of his importance, and will try to run your day and take charge! Don’t let that happen! Because the photographs ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING – the romance, emotions and relationships are the most important thing! A great photographer will be able to capture all the great moments, without detracting from the magic of your day.

Huge Mistake #7: Choosing A Photographer Who Is Not Committed To Helping You Look & Feel Your Best On Your Wedding Day!

You deserve to have a wedding day where you are the most beautiful bride any of your friends or relatives have ever seen. That’s the dream of every girl when she begins visualizing her wedding day. And you deserve to have that! Let’s see to it that is exactly what happens! How? Simple. Yes, you will select the perfect dress, headpiece, veil, flowers, shoes, etc.

Yes, you will have your hair and make-up done. But it goes much deeper than that. You see, beauty is also in the way you FEEL on your wedding day. The way your emotions show on your face, and the way you glow when you walk down the aisle and look in the eyes of the love of your life.

Many of my brides will understand this when I say it: When you hire us to photograph your wedding, you’re really paying for Kitty and I to be there. To take all the pressures and tensions out of the day for you. You know that we are there, and that we truly care about you, and will help you with EVERYTHING so the day goes perfectly. That’s really what our brides are paying us for. The photographs are free. They’re just an added “bonus!”

You see, if you, your husband (there’s that great word again!) and your family and guests are all having a wonderful time, you will be more beautiful than you have even dreamed you would be. Because there will be no tension there. And, by the way, your photographs will be WONDERFUL, too, because you looked so wonderful and were having such a great time.

See how it all “fits” together to result in a wonderful day, and wonderful photographs? You really can’t separate them!

A True Tragic Story Of A Bride And Groom, And What It Means For You.

Let me take a moment to tell you a true story. It’s important to you to hear this.

Last year, I received a phone call from a woman whose wedding I had photographed a couple of years before.

Here’s what she said, “Marcus, I just wanted to call you and tell you that our house burned down last night.”

I said, “Oh, Anna, I’m so sorry.”

She said, “We got out okay, and are fine. But I wanted you to know what I did. It’s the middle of the night, and the smoke detectors are going off. We grab each other and run for the door! But I stopped and picked up our Three Volume Set of Photography you did for us on our wedding day! I left the beautiful candelabra that was my grandmothers. I left the family heirloom bible that has been in the family for 3 generations. I left EVERYTHING, except those three volumes. Because they are so meaningful to me. Everyone who I love and care about is in those volumes. I couldn’t let them burn!

“Now, I understood that you have the negatives, and could have made us another set of photographs. That wasn’t why I ‘saved’ them. I saved them because those volumes contain all the emotions, love, romance, and relationships that matter in our lives! I just wanted you to know that. Thank you so much for the wonderful, emotional photographs you created for us.”

When she finished speaking, she was crying, and so was I. She had just put into words, what I had not been able to for my entire career.

You see how “Emotional Family Photography” can make your wedding volumes absolutely PRICELESS?

In my humble opinion, the tender fabric of your life is sewn together with beautiful, emotional moments between you and your loved ones, and I want to capture and express all those wonderful moments for you in your wedding volumes – and accomplish this without interfering with the emotions and romance of your wedding day.

Here’s What To Do Right Now!

Here’s what I strongly recommend you do IMMEDIATELY! Pick up the phone and call me at 910-444-0162 right now, or check out my contact form. Ask us if we still have your wedding date available. Here’s the problem – because we are so well known and respected in the community, and because we ONLY photograph one wedding a day, and because we strictly limit our weddings to no more than 20 each year, it is very possible that we will already be booked for your day or full for the year.

So DO NOT WAIT EVEN ONE DAY ON THIS! If you agreed with and liked anything in this letter, call us NOW. There is NO CHARGE AND NO OBLIGATION for this call! Let’s just chat a bit, see if your date is still available, and then, if and only if you would like to, we can set up a time to get together in person and talk about your wedding. There is no charge or obligation for this, either. The number again is 910-444-0162

 

Sincerely,

Marcus Anthony

 

     Dedicated To Capturing The Love & Emotions Of Your Wedding Day Through Sensitive Photography

 

P.S. Call us today to see if we even have your date still available! There is no charge or obligation for you to call us. We will just “chat” a bit on the phone, and give you some great pointers that will be helpful to you, whether you decide to come in and talk with us in person or not. We love talking about weddings! Call 910-444-0162 now!