Building a Relationship with Your Wedding Photographer | Jenna Simmons of Evan and Jenna Creative

Your photographer is one of the main vendors you interact with the most on your wedding day. They are part of intimate and romantic moments between you and your new husband. So I've got Jenna Simmons of Evan and Jenna Creative sharing how she builds a relationship with her couples before the wedding. Not everyone is comfortable in front of the camera, so it is very helpful to have a relationship with the person who is behind it.

The Couple's Story

The first thing I ask my couple is how they met and what they are passionate about. I love getting to know them and their relationship first and foremost. This allows me to capture their personalities as accurately as possible! It’s also so fun to discover common interests and connect over mutual friends and experiences.

The Wedding & Photography Style

Building a Relationship with Your Wedding Photographer | Katharine Marie Weddings with Evan and Jenna Creative

I then ask about their wedding. Logistical questions first - the venue, time, and date; and then the 'important stuff' such as their theme and style. I ask them where they are in their planning process and what their priorities are (e.g. photography, reception, ceremony, etc). Next comes their photography style; do they prefer formal pictures or more candid ones, light and airy or dark and moody? I want to be sure that I am a good fit for them so they will be happy with their photos! If it seems like we aren’t quite the look they are going for, we refer them to a photographer that is; it is super important to us that we book clients that we can serve well!

Practice Makes Perfect

It is essential to do your engagement session with your wedding photographer! This is a great time to get to know one another and become comfortable shooting together. The photographer needs to learn how you feel in front of the camera so they can help you overcome any insecurities. The couple will also learn the 'commands' and poses the photographer is likely to give them on the actual wedding day, which makes the wedding photos MUCH easier and faster! You know exactly what to do when your photographer says "Okay, now do the backward dip thing" and no time is wasted! Overall, it’s just a fun time to hang out with our couples and see them interact with one another in a stress-free environment. We love these sessions so much we include them free in all our wedding packages!I also meet with the couple a few weeks before the wedding to make sure I'm aware of every detail I need to know and answer any last questions they may have. We walk through the timeline for the day together so that everyone is on the same page and knows what to expect!

Building the Relationship

I try to stay in touch with my couples during the months between the first meeting and their wedding. Photographers are often well connected with other vendors, so your photographer can be an excellent resource. We follow most of our clients on social media, which makes it super easy and fun to keep up with what’s going on in their lives. Instagram is a cool tool for building friendships with people you don’t see often. I especially love keeping up with our couples after the wedding; we are already seeing baby announcements from some of our first couples! Personally, we are praying for our couples throughout the year as well. We pray that the engagement season would be a time of drawing closer to one another and to God. Our hope is that preparing for marriage won’t be overshadowed by wedding planning. While driving to the wedding, Evan and I spend the last few minutes praying over the couple and their wedding day. We pray for it to go smoothly and that love and joy would be the leading emotions as they celebrate their marriage. By this point, we truly care for our clients and just want to see them happy!I love that Jenna takes the time to really get to know her couples. This allows them to feel comfortable working with her. She actually took some branding photos for me over a year ago; it was so easy because she made me feel like a rockstar. You'll be spending a lot of time with your photographer, so a great relationship with them is a must!Follow Evan and Jenna: Website | Instagram | Facebook