I'm agree with you. Usually you feel the right person (at the moment) the first three four seconds when you cross the eyes. Also talking before pull down the first month full of love where you like shake the world and everithingh is around you two.
I have been lucky enough to have very well organized brides. Any destination weddings that I have photographed, all contact was made through email and phone calls. As long as everyone is communicating clearly, things should go well.
From the bride's perspective I think the person to person interaction is still important it's just not necessarily going to be the first point of contact or first impression. Do to work and life schedules it's hard for couples to meet with a lot of vendors so they turn to the internet to help sort through all their options and determine which ones are going to be worth their time to visit in person.
My advice would be to create a strong internet presence that provides the couple with enough information to make an informed decision about you and your services. I say this because when I was planning there was a number of vendors that I researched and liked their work/portfolios but they didn't have their pricing or other pertinent information on their website and wouldn't give it to out through email, they required a face to face. I didn't meet with any of these vendors because I had no idea if they would be within my budget or if they even provided all the service I was looking for and didn't want to waste my time.
That's a very interesting comment. There is certainly a debate about whether or not it's best to list pricing on our web sites; but it would never have occurred to me to withhold that information when asked for it. I always tell potential clients how much I charge when they e-mail me to ask. I don't want to waste anyone's time by meeting someone who doesn't have the budget to hire me.
First of all, change your attitude! ~ please take that lightly!! You are not 'dealing with' or 'handle-ing' them, they just may be your target market! They are more comfortable going to the internet for information and if you are considered accessible and have built credibility online, they will come to you! Do you have a blog, enewsletter, twitter account or Facebook Fanpage? The more interaction you have with fans, the better, host giveaways, offer specials, post interviews, testimonials, client pictures, offer samples, etc... That will build your credibility. Once you have these set up, your sites will work for you 24/7. An added bonus!! You might invite all new contacts (from events, etc...) to join your Facebook Fanpage. Offer them special deals and added value.
Also, visit Jennifer Fong, she is a social media guru! She offers very affordable trainings and free weekly enewsletter. And Christine Gallagher is also fabulous!!
The up and coming generations will be more and more tech-savvy, get some training so you can meet them where they are at and feel comfortable with it. Best wishes!!
As a wedding officiate I don't meet many of my couples until the day of - especially if they are coming from out of state or country but I must say I have seen an increase in couples that are local or couples flying in for a couple of days that want the meet and greet. I love making face to face contact with my couples as it really helps me personalize their ceremony. I can get a sense of their style and lifestyle when we meet.
Well, I'm one of those brides who planned just about my whole entire wedding online...most of it sight-unseen or no face-to-face meetings at all. Maybe I was foolish in doing that, but lucky for me everything worked out perfectly. I can tell you that in researching DJs and photographers, if they didn't list their prices online I figured they weren't listing prices (not even a range) they were most likely too much for my budget and so I didn't even bother to email them to find out. The one I went with didn't have prices - but their motto was "twice the show, not twice the dough" so I did email to ask, and they were very affordable. I found my photographer on the internet also. I chose her because she was reasonably priced and I liked the photos in her online portfolio. I booked the wedding chapel via email, and I did go in to meet with them once or twice prior to the wedding. My husband bought our bands online from Apples of Gold. I bought my dress online at Nordstroms, and the veil from Veilshop.com. I got great bargains and the internet made planning my wedding so much easier than running all over town! I did a lot of DIY projects, most of which I researched online to learn techniques, etc.
I guess the bottom line is with the technology today, we need to be creative in order to find ways to take advantage of the positives the internet has to offer.
I've had very few brides who wanted to do everything without meeting me face-to-face at some point, but nearly all of them found me on the internet. The internet has been both a blessing and a curse. It's difficult to figure out which sites actually send brides my way (Google analytics helps to some extent because I know which sites are sending brides to my website, but when I finally meet them at their consultation they don't remember where they found me). Some sites, like The Knot, have a contact system that lets you know the bride found you on their site, but most don't (and I never found The Knot to be worth the outrageous price they want). I've also had a lot of brides book consultations online and then not show up. I think it's so easy to book a lot of meetings online that they overbook themselves and can't be bothered calling and cancelling. I'm experimenting with Facebook and Twitter, but haven't really figured out the best way to use them to attract clients.
Has anyone found any listing sites (both free and paid) to be particularly useful?
I'm still playing around with this as well. Trying to figure out which sites work and which don't. I also find that some brides find it easier to dismiss the notion of there actually being a real person on the other end. Recently I had a bride whom I emailed back; request that I telephone her ASAP. You'd think that would be a good sign; but when I telephoned and told her who I was she hung up without saying a word. I understand deciding between e-mail and telephone call that she's not interested anymore; but the pure rudeness shocked me. I was actually tempted to e-mail her back to express my shock in her rudeness; but fortunately I know how to behave better then that. Internet certainly can make things easier; but it can also make things harder.
As an officiant I have very rarely performed a ceremony without meeting the couple face to face, at the very least, one time. Unless my clients call or e-mail me to perform their ceremony in the next day or two there is always a meeting first.
The internet, for the most part, is wonderful for initial contact but should always be followed up with a face to face. It is my belief that I can perform a much nicer and more personal ceremony when I have learned a little about their personalities. Personalities are better learned through talk, eye contact, etc.
I might see in a groom that he is extremely shy so I need to find a way to make him feel as comfortable as possible. I wouldn't know this if I hadn't met him personally.
Lee Laroche - Founder
NH Justices of the Peace A-List Organization
since 2007
I agree with your statement about it making things easier and harder (from our end at least). It's easy to put information into a lot of hands for little $. But that face-to-face meeting makes it so much easier for us to truly get a potential client to really understand how we can fully help them with their wedding plans.
What irks me are the brides who, through wedding directories, request information and say they are looking for your type of services, but when you contact them they tell you they aren't interested. Then why did you make the request in the first place? I suppose that's better than being hung up on -- how rude, she should be embarrassed.
