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October Engagement Session at Holcomb Gardens
Tonight was the absolute PERFECT night for Lindsey and Brendan's engagement session at Holcomb Gardens and Butler University's campus. The temperature was perfect for a fall day, and the fall colors on the trees are just now peaking. Leaves were falling all around us as these two love birds posed romantically. It's so hard to know what October will look like in terms of weather and peak tree colors, but this October has certainly not disappointed.
Holcomb Gardens and Butler University was the perfect spot for an engagement session for these two since Lindsey and Brendan met at Butler and graduated from this University a couple years ago. I absolutely love when couples choose a location that is special and meaningful to them for their engagement session. And Holcomb Gardens just happens to be one of my favorite locations to shoot here in the Indianapolis area. There is a beautiful trail where you can walk all the way down to Newfields and Hundred Acre Woods. There are also so many fun bridges and I love the stairs by the bell tower. I've also recently discovered a parking garage rooftop with stunning views. It's the perfect spot for sunset photos in my opinion. I'm obsessed with the photos I got to take of Lindsey and Brendan up there tonight.
This couple was SO photogenic and romantic. I loved all of their interactions with each other. I barely even had to pose them, because they just knew what to do and looked so stunning while doing it.
Lindsey and Brendan, I loved getting to photograph your engagement session, and I'm already so looking forward to your wedding at Balmoral House next September! I can't wait to get you two back in from of my camera again! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full engagement session gallery!
Intimate Backyard Wedding
Yesterday, 10/10/2020, was the most popular wedding day of the year by far...perhaps the most popular day to get married ever. Brides and grooms love their double digits and this year has plenty of them. Plus, with October having perfect weather, it's always a popular month for weddings. What a perfectly magical day it was. It was sunny and in the 70's, the fall colors were peaking, and leaves were falling. Valerie and Caleb could not have asked for a better day to get married.
Unfortunately, the current pandemic forced these love birds to change their original wedding plans from a large wedding at the dunes in Michigan to an intimate backyard celebration at Valerie's parents' home. These two took everything in stride and were such a joy to work with at all times despite all of their set backs. Their intimate wedding was stunningly beautiful. From the ceremony arch, to the whimsical farmhouse style table in the backyard, to all of the flowers in the garden in the background, all of the details from this wedding were amazing! And Valerie and Caleb got to celebrate their marriage with those closest to them that the love the most, which is what really made the day perfect.
Valerie and Caleb, it was SUCH an honor to get to be your wedding photographer! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full wedding day gallery!
A huge shoutout to Valerie and Caleb's amazing vendor team:
Photography: Michelle Poteet Photography
Flowers: Flowers from Fifty Flowers & Watering Can, arranged by the Bride and Mother of the Bride
Cake: The Cake Lady Small Desserts: From My Side of the Kitchen
Hair and Makeup: Taylor Strange Catering: From My Side of the Kitchen
Bridal Gown: Madi Lane
Bridesmaid Dress: Azazie
Bridal Shoes: BHLDN
Bride's Ring: Bride's Ring- Gabriel & Co
Groom's Ring: Manly Bands
Men's Attire: Men's Warehouse
Rentals: Rentals- Mutton
Rentals Alterations: Bridal Design and Alterations by Asu
Anderson, Indiana Wedding
Yesterday was Cassandra and Daniel’s second wedding day, and I loved getting to celebrate with them twice! One of the benefits that Covid has brought is the ability to celebrate twice for those who had to postpone their wedding day but decided to still get married on their original wedding day. Cassandra and Daniel were married back in May but finally got to celebrate with all of their friends and family yesterday.
Back in May, Cassandra and Daniel were married on Cassandra’s family’s property where I’ve had the pleasure of photographing many other weddings as well. For their reception, they chose Park Place Church of God on Anderson University’s campus as their venue. It’s such a beautiful church, and was certainly a great choice. One of the things I loved about this wedding is that Cassandra’s oldest sister got married in the venue as well, so we got to recreate some fun photos from that wedding.
Since Cassandra and Daniel were already married, there were a few things that were a little different about this wedding than usual. First, I loved that Cassandra and Daniel decided to walk down the aisle to the ceremony together. Since Cassandra’s father had already given away his daughter, this time, a married couple walked down the aisle together. I also loved that during their ceremony, they decided to share some things they have learned during their first five months of marriage. Both of Cassandra and Daniel’s weddings were amazing and so much fun to photograph!
Cassandra and Daniel, it was SUCH an honor getting to be your wedding photographer…twice! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full wedding gallery!
Vendors:
Photography: Michelle Poteet Photography
Hair: Alissa Englert
Makeup: Hannah Wampler
Catering: Kanda winfield
Bridal Gown: Davids bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Azazie
Officiant: Brad Fox
Fort Harrison State Park Wedding
Yesterday was such a special day. Even though Covid forced Manuel and Jessica to cancel the big wedding they had planned, we still had an amazing day taking bride and groom portrait for them. These two have been through have been through the same stress that so many other 2020 brides and grooms have unfortunately been through this year. It's such a tough year to try to plan a wedding. But through it all, I loved how these two kept a positive attitude, knowing that the most important thing was that they were married and they had each other. That is way more important than having a big wedding.
Jessica and Manuel actually had a small ceremony almost exactly a year ago where they got legally married, so we decided to take their bride and groom portraits close to their one year anniversary of being married. And we got to take them in the exact same location that they got married in, at Fort Harrison State Park, right by the river. It was such a beautiful location! Since these two had been saving reading their vows to each other for their big wedding, they decided to read their vows to each other yesterday under their beautiful arch. It was such a special moment that I loved getting to photograph.
Also, check out the amazing details that I'm including photos of as well! Jessica is such a talented artist that made almost everything herself! I was so impressed with all of her work!
Jessica and Manuel, it was SUCH an honor to get to be your wedding photographer! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full gallery of bride and groom portraits!
Are you looking for a wedding or engagement session photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Butler University Engagement Session
Kelsey and Tony's engagement session was one that I've been looking forward to for so long! I've known Kelsey for years. She's actually roommates with my sister. And it's been so great getting to know Tony as well and seeing this beautiful love story unfold. These two are so fun together, and I loved finally getting them in front of my camera.
We started off our session at Four Day Ray in Fishers, because it's where these two love birds had their first date. I love when couples choose locations that are meaningful to the two of them and their relationship. Next, we headed over to Holcomb gardens and we got to use some of my favorite locations. I love shooting along the White River on the pathway there. It's one of the most beautiful spots in Indy in my opinion. We also used the stairs by the bell tower before ending our session on a parking garage rooftop at sunset.
Kelsey and Tony are such a great couple, and I can't wait to photograph their wedding at Vision Loft in March. They decided to get married on their two year dating anniversary. How fun is that?! I love when couples choose a date that is significant to them for their wedding date. I already know that their wedding is going to be so amazing and such a fun day.
Kelsey and Tony, I LOVED getting to photograph your engagement session, and I absolutely cannot wait to get you two in front of my camera again on your wedding day. For now, enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full engagement session gallery.
Are you looking for a wedding or engagement session photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
The Montage Indianapolis Wedding
Hailey and Nathan’s original wedding day was yet another casualty of Covid. It has certainly been such a difficult year for Covid brides and grooms, but I absolutely love how Hailey and Nathan made the best of their situation and remained joyful throughout their wedding planning process, despite having to reschedule. Their original wedding day was supposed to be in June at the Montage Indianapolis, but they moved their wedding to this past weekend. Luckily, they were still able to have the big wedding that they imagined with only a few changes, like having guests wear masks.
It is so obvious to everyone around Hailey and Nathan and to everyone who witnessed their wedding day, what a great match these two are for each other. They love being around each other, and their happiness is contagious. During Hailey’s maid of honor’s speech, the guests learned about all of the endless ways that Nathan loves to show Hailey how much he loves her. And it’s so clear how much Hailey adores Nathan. I loved getting to photograph their love all day long.
Hailey and Nathan, it was SUCH an honor to be your wedding photographer! I am loving editing your full gallery, and I can’t wait to send you the rest of your wedding photos. Until then, enjoy these sneak peeks! Congratulations again and best wishes for a beautiful marriage!
A huge thank you to Hailey and Nathan’s amazing wedding day vendor team:
Indianapolis Wedding Photographer: Michelle Poteet Photography
Venue: The Montage Indianapolis
Caterer: Kahn’s Catering
DJ: Tom Schoeller
Hair and Makeup: Halcyon House of Hair And Red Carpet Reflection
Bridal Gown: Gretchen’s Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Morilee
Jewelry and Rings: Jewelry Gallery and Jude Ridge
Men’s Attire: The Men’s Warehouse
Save the Date’s, Invitations, and Programs: Ann’s Bridal Bargains
Videography: Kaliegh Smith with Kale Creations
Officiant: AJ Cox
Bridal Portraits at Iron and Ember
I absolutely loved getting to take MeKayla’s bridal portraits at the Indianapolis Styled Shoots Across America shoot last week. I’ve gotten to photograph MeKayla before, and she is always such an amazing model. Iron and Ember in Carmel was the absolute perfect background for these portraits. We took all of her bridal portraits outside of the venue on the beautiful lawn. This was such a unique set up with a lounge set, a bike with amazing basket florals by Knox Florals, and lots of fun accessories for MeKayla like a big floppy hat.
The vendors for this shoot were absolutely incredible to work with. Heather from Heather Benge Events put together such an amazing styled shoot, just like she always does. The florals by Knox Florals were absolutely amazing. I loved MeKayla’s bridal bouquet. And the rentals added such a unique touch as well! I also loved how Black Swan Beauty did such an amazing job with MeKayla’s hair and makeup. I can’t wait until the next time I get to work with a lot of these amazing vendors. And I can’t wait to be back at Iron and Ember soon!
Enjoy a few of my favorite photos of MeKayla taken at Iron and Ember!
A huge thank you to the amazing vendor team:
Creative Partners
Indianapolis Wedding Photographer: Michelle Poteet Photography
Host: Styled Shoots Across America
Planning & Creative Direction: Heather Benge Events
Venue: Iron and Ember Events
Vintage Rentals & Decor: Lost and Found Rentals
Event Rentals: A Classic Party Rentals
Flowers: Knox Florals
Stationery: Interprintations
Hair & Makeup: Black Swan Beauty Indy
Linens: Nuage Designs Inc.
Cake: Moist Cake Co
Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes
Gown Designer: Galialahav
Model: MeKayla
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Classic Wedding at Iron and Ember
I was so excited to get to be back at Iron and Ember for another amazing shoot. This is one of my absolute favorite new venues in the Indianapolis area. It’s located in Carmel and has such amazing natural light. It’s a beautiful, white, blank slate that makes the perfect backdrop for a wedding ceremony and reception.
All of the vendors from this styled shoot did such an amazing job. I was so happy to work with so many of my favorite local and national vendor friends that I haven’t gotten to work with in way too long. Heather from Heather Benge Events is THE most amazing wedding planner who always plans the most elegant, elaborate, over the top, and amazing events. She absolutely knocked it out of the park again here in Indy.
Those of you who have been following me for a while know how obsessed I am with florals, Knox florals did SUCH an amazing job with the flowers for this shoot, just like she always does. The table florals, especially were so unique, and I absolutely LOVED getting to photograph them!
Enjoy these sneak peaks from one of my absolute favorite recent shoots!
A huge thank you to the amazing vendor team:
Creative Partners
Indianapolis Wedding Photographer: Michelle Poteet Photography
Host: Styled Shoots Across America
Planning & Creative Direction: Heather Benge Events
Venue: Iron and Ember Events
Vintage Rentals & Decor: Lost and Found Rentals
Event Rentals: A Classic Party Rentals
Flowers: Knox Florals
Stationery: Interprintations
Hair & Makeup: Black Swan Beauty Indy
Linens: Nuage Designs Inc.
Cake: Moist Cake Co
Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes
Gown Designer: Galialahav
Models: April & Jake
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Chicago Elopement
Covid has changed so many wedding plans for brides and groom this year. Unfortunately, Randall and Ivy's big wedding day was on the list of the casualties caused by the pandemic. But I love that they didn't let any of this get them down, and they really made the best of the whole situation. Likeso many 2020 brides and grooms, they chose to still get married this year on their original wedding date in a small ceremony with their closest friends and family. And they moved their big wedding day to next year when they'll have a reception and get to celebrate their marriage the way they envisioned with all of their friends and family at their wedding.
Randall and Ivy's intimate wedding ceremony was so so special. It was so evident how much love these two have for one another. It was also clear just how loved they are by their friends and family who witnessed their sweet vows to each other. I loved getting to photograph this beautiful day. And how much more special is it that they get to do it all again next year. You can never have too many excuses to celebrate your relationship, in my opinion. So I love that these two get to celebrate their love with friends and family twice.
Ivy and Randall, it was SUCH an honor to get to photograph your wedding day! I can't wait to get the two of you in front of my camera again next year for your big wedding reception! Until then, enjoy these photos from your sweet elopement.
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Eagle Creek Engagement Session
I had such a great time hanging out with Valerie and Caleb at their engagement session yesterday evening at Eagle Creek Reservoir. This is one of absolute favorite spots for engagement sessions in the Indianapolis area, and it was such a lovely evening for photos. Whenever I photograph couples at locations I've been to quite a few times before, I love to challenge myself to discover new hidden gem spots or to at least do something new, cool, and creative with the space. Yesterday, I was thankful that Valerie and Caleb trusted my vision and my ideas for locations. I discovered an adorable little dock that I haven't gotten to shoot at before that had the most beautiful view of the sunset. It went so well with Valerie's long, flowing, pink dress. We also used one of my favorite trails as well as a cute bridge and walkway for some variety.
Valerie and Caleb are such an awesome couple with a really cool story! They met during their time at Purdue University, and they actually met on the very first day of their freshman orientation. They started dating their junior year of college, and ended up getting engaged on their post-graduation trip to Yosemite National Park. Caleb proposed on top of a waterfall during a hike! When I heard this story, I knew immediately that I would get along well with these two since I also love to travel and hike. Yosemite is one of my top favorite National Parks, so I was totally blown away when I heard their sweet story for the first time. After how much fun we had last night, I already can't wait for photograph Valerie and Caleb's wedding!
Valerie and Caleb, it was such an honor to get to photograph your engagement photos last night! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing the rest of your photos!
Muncie Farm Wedding
Although this past Saturday was Natalie and Ivan's 4th version of their wedding that they've had to plan so far thanks to Covid-19 and 2020, it was absolutely perfect. I love how relaxed these two love birds were the entire day. While she was getting ready, Natalie told me that as long as she and Ivan woke up married the next morning, they would be happy. That is exactly the kind of attitude everyone should go into their wedding day with. A wedding day is about the love the couple has for each other and for their family and friends. And above anything else, it's about marrying the love of your life. In times like these, flexibility is essential. I'm so thankful for the flexibility of this awesome couple as well as the entire incredible vendor team. Magical Moments Event Planning and Special Occasion Designs by Chrissy were amazing to work with as always. It's always such a pleasure to get to photograph their work, and Ivan and Natalie's wedding day was no exception.
Ivan and Natalie were married at their home and horse farm in Muncie, Indiana with a few of their closest friends and family. One of the things I love most about these two is that they are not afraid to go non-traditional. Their wedding day was so unique and was entirely about who they are as a couple. They didn't feel the need to do things the way most people do, just because that's the way things are usually done. After photographing as many weddings as I have, I appreciate more and more the non-traditional and authentic weddings that show case real love and real people.
Natalie and Ivan, it was such an honor to be your wedding photographer! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full wedding gallery!
A huge thank you to Ivan’s and Natalie’s Amazing Vendor Team:
Indiana Wedding Photographers: Michelle Poteet Photography
Wedding Planners: Magical Moments Event Planning
Venue: Natalie and Ivan’s home and farm
Rantals: A Classic Party Rental
Hair Stylist: Kaylee Phelps
Makeup Artist: Autumn Stockton
Officiant: Nick Fatout
Florist: Special Occasion Designs by Chrissy
July Engagement Photos at Newfields
It was SO good to back at Newfields this afternoon for Lanie and Bryan’s sweet summer engagement session! It had been way too long since I was able to take photos at my absolute favorite spot in the Indianapolis area. Like most of the world, Newfields has been closed for quite awhile due to Covid-19. They finally opened back up recently with tons of new safety measures and precautions in place. Luckily, Lanie and Bryan were willing to be patient and wait for Newfields to open back up so we could shoot their engagement session there, since it’s one of their favorite places in Indianapolis as well. It’s not hard to see why. The Newfields campus and gardens is stunning in absolutely every season of the year.
Lanie and Bryan are getting married next year in Maine, but they wanted to take their engagement photos here in Indiana where they currently live, since Indianapolis is a special place for them. It was SO fun to work with these two love birds who obviously have a blast with each other all the time. I had no trouble getting them to be cute and sweet and cuddly with each other. They were all about it, and I loved that about them. They were such troopers, too, for putting up with the 90 degree temperatures today. You never know what the heat will be like in July here in Indiana, but they were such good sports about it.
Lanie and Bryan, it was such an honor to be your engagement session photographer! I had so much fun meeting and working with the two of you today! I wish you so much happiness and love for your future together. Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full engagement session gallery!
Are you looking for a wedding or engagement session photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to send me a message over on my contact page to see if I still have your wedding date available!
Summer Wedding at BASH
Brittany and Joe’s wedding day was a dream! It was such an honor to be able to capture such a beautiful, emotional, and special day. One of my favorite parts of the day was when Brittany read Joe’s letter to her after she finished getting ready. She couldn’t help but tear up thinking about getting ready to marry the love of her life. I also loved Brittany and Joe’s sweet first look at Coxhall Gardens. Brittany and Joe included their adorable son, Joey as the ring bearer in their wedding. He was so cute in his tiny tux, and I loved getting to photograph him as well.
The ceremony and reception were both so beautiful, and it was so obvious to everyone just how much love Brittany and Joe have for each other. And I loved getting to photograph them having a blast with all of their closest friends and family throughout the entire day. Brittany and Joe, it was such an honor to get to be your wedding photographer! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full wedding gallery!
Brittany and Joe’s amazing wedding day vendor team:
Wedding Photographer: Michelle Poteet Photography
Wedding Planner: BASH
Florist: Laurilyn Farms
Cake and Other Desserts: Love at First Bite
DJ: Complete Events and Weddings
Hair and Makeup: Something Blue Stylists
Catering: Jonathan Byrd's
Wedding Gown: Marie Gabriel Couture Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Lulu's
Save the Dates, Invitations, and Programs: Minted
Ceremony Venue: Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Reception Venue: BASH, 828 Venues
Getting Ready Hotels: Ironworks Hotel Indy, Marriott Indianapolis North
First Look and Portrait Location: Coxhall Gardens
Second Shooter: Andrea Crawford
Rentals: Blue Blossom Florals and The Pink Elephant
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Geist Reservoir Engagement Session
Erin and Natalia’s sunrise engagement session on Geist Reservoir was totally worth waking up before the sun for! Sunrise engagement sessions are perfect for this time of year, because we can take all of our photos before it starts getting too hot. It’s also nice because there is hardly anyone else awake at that time, so we don’t have to worry about getting other people in the background of our photos. I loved getting to photograph these two love birds in their backyard right on the lake, because it’s such a special place for the two of them. They both love taking the boats and paddleboards out on the water together. We also used a park in their neighborhood that also included the lake in the background before heading over to Ritchie Woods Nature preserve for more photos at the end of our session. I loved all of the locations we used for these photos!
Natalia and Erin are getting married next year at Balmoral House, one of my favorite venues in the Indianapolis area. Since these two are both soccer players that love being active and outdoors, the indoor/outdoor flexibility of Balmoral House and all of their property was a perfect fit for them. I already can’t wait to photograph these two again on their wedding day after how amazing their engagement session was!
Erin and Natalia, you two are awesome, and I LOVED getting to photograph you at your engagement session. I already can’t wait for your wedding day next year. Enjoy these sneak peaks while I finish editing your full engagement session gallery!
Are you looking for a wedding or couples session photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Traders Point Creamery Engagement Session
Ally and Ben were THE cutest at their engagement session last night at Traders Point Creamery. We had so much fun taking adorable photos and exploring the entire property. This location is so special, because it’s where Ally and Ben will be getting married in just a few short months! I’ve been looking forward to their wedding for so long, because I LOVE Traders Point Creamery and have been dying to shoot a wedding their. Plus, of course, I love Ally and Ben’s love story, and I just couldn’t wait to get these two in front of my camera.
They had so much fun with the session and just hanging out with each other getting to be all cute and cuddly. I love when my couples think of their engagement session as a fun date night where they get to dress up and have fun together. Having the photos afterwards is just an awesome bonus.
It was so fun getting to explore all of Traders Point Creamery. This place is amazing with such diverse background options for photos, from the red barn to the fields of wildflowers, to the beach, dock, and ponds, this place has it all. They even have chickens and cows running around. See if you can spot the cow in the background of some of the photos.
Ally and Ben, I absolutely LOVED getting to photograph you two last night, and I can’t wait to have you in front of my camera again in October! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full engagement session gallery! I can’t wait to send you the rest of your photos.
Are you looking for a wedding or couples session photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Feel free to reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Intimate Wedding at Balmoral House
Despite two canceled destination weddings and rain forcing them to change their wedding day plans again this weekend, Hilary and Chris may have been the most joyful bride and groom I have ever had the pleasure of working with. This sweet couple had such a laid back, go with the flow, down to earth type of attitude about their wedding day that made photographing them so fun!
Their wedding day was intimate with only 17 guests and a zoom link for everyone else. I loved that they still had an entire wedding day with a sweet ceremony and a fun reception with their closest friends and family. Balmoral House was the perfect location for such a small elopement. With all of its indoor and outdoor ceremony and reception locations, there are so many options to choose from as well as rain backups, like Hilary and Chris were able to utilize.
I love the lighting of the main room in Balmoral House where Hilary and Chris held both their ceremony and reception. The huge windows and beautiful fireplace are such a gorgeous backdrop for sweet wedding day vows. Luckily, it stopped raining long enough for us to get some beautiful bride and groom portraits around the stunning grounds at Balmoral House, which has multiple acres of photo backdrops. And the reception was so fun with a mimosa bar for the guests. How fun is that?!
Hilary and Chris, you two are such an amazing couple, and I know you have a lifetime of happiness ahead of you! Enjoy these sneak peeks while I finish editing your full wedding day gallery!
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! You can reach out to me over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!
Eagle Creek Anniversary Session
I can’t believe it has already been a whole year since I photographed Katie and Justin’s wedding! Time sure does fly, but I was so excited to see these two again for their one year anniversary session at Eagle Creek Reservoir last weekend. And I was even more excited to meet their tiny adorable golden retriever puppy named Goose! There’s nothing that makes my heart happier as a photographer than getting to photograph a cute puppy at a couples session! Goose was a little sleepy but totally adorable and so well behaved for how young she is! And of course, Katie and Justin were just as fun and photogenic as ever. I absolutely loved their wedding day at Finely Creek Vineyards last June. And I love their love.
It’s always such an honor to get to photograph my sweet couples at so many different stages throughout their relationship from engagement to their wedding day and anniversary sessions and family photo shoots afterwards. What better way to celebrate such a special life event than with a photo shoot. We lucked out with the perfect day at Eagle Creek with such a beautiful golden hour. This park is quickly becoming one of favorite places for engagement sessions and anniversary photos. It offers so many different location options with diverse backdrops throughout the park. It has beautiful fields, stunning trails, and of course, the gorgeous views of the reservoir.
Katie and Justin, I LOVED getting to photograph you two again, and I was so glad that goose got to join this time as well. Enjoy these sneak peaks! Your full gallery will be on its way super soon!
Are you looking for a wedding or couples photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! You can reach out to me over on my contact page: https://michellepoteet.com/contact. I can’t wait to hear from you!
How to Market Your Wedding Photography Business for FREE
Hey there, photographer friend! I’ve been in your shoes. When you are first getting started with your wedding photography business, you probably don’t have tons of funds to invest into marketing. But you know what? You don’t need any money to market your business! I built my business entirely on FREE marketing, and you can too! I’ve put together a list for you below of ways that you can market your wedding photography business for FREE!
Post Regularly On Social Media
Posting regularly on social media is so easy but so overlooked by photographers. I built my business mainly from using social media as a free advertising and marketing tool to reach new wedding photography clients. The specific social media platform or platforms that you should be focused on are going to depend on who your ideal client is and what your price point is.
As I’ve gained experience with wedding photography, my prices have increased. And I’ve found that as my prices have increased, I’ve needed to change up my marketing strategy. When I was first getting started with wedding photography, I was pretty inexperienced and my prices obviously reflected that. At that time, I was able to book the most engaged couples through Facebook groups. That was where my ideal clients at the time were searching for their wedding photographer. When my prices were more about average/slightly higher than average, and my ideal clients started becoming a little more high end, I found that I booked the most wedding photography clients through Instagram.
Instagram specifically has been an amazing marketing tool for me. For the past 2-3 years, about 75-90% of my couples found me through instagram. Now that my prices are a higher than they were the past two years, this number has decreased to about 50%, because I’m focused on different marketing tactics to reach my new ideal clients. Instagram has brought me so much business, and still does! So I would be happy to share some of my best Instagram strategies with you:
Use relevant, specific hashtags. Focus on location specific hashtags like #IndianaPhotographer
Geotag your locations. This allows couples near you to find your account.
Interact with others. Like and comment on posts from other local wedding vendors. This helps to build relationships and helps other vendors’ clients find you.
There is so much more than I could dive into when it comes to Instagram, but it would be a little too much for this one blog post. Hopefully these three tips can help get you started.
Start a Blog
If you have been putting off starting a blog, I totally feel you! It took me so long to start my blog. I thought of it as just another task to add to my to-do list when I was already getting plenty of business without one. The reason I was finally convinced to start my blog is that it’s super helpful for SEO. It brings people to your website instead of them just staying on your social media accounts. You OWN your website and blog. Instagram/Facebook own your social media accounts. Instagram and Facebook are great ways for clients to find you, but you want to funnel those people to the space that you own.
One thing that really helped me when I first started blogging was building blogging into the workflow I was already using. I was already editing sneak peaks after every wedding day. So instead of posting those sneak peaks on Facebook, I started posting them on the blog. Most of my couples share their blog post since it’s the first time they’ve seen some of their wedding photos. This brings all of their friends and families to my website. It’s great for SEO, AND it’s great marketing for me. When people are already on my website, they are more likely to take a look around while they are there.
Use SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This essentially means that I want people to find me when they are searching on google for a photographer. There’s a few different ways that I try to improve my SEO in order to get found on google:
Blogging. I talked about this above, but there are lots of SEO benefits to blogging. Google rewards websites that frequently update and add new content to their websites. Blogging is a great way to do this.
Using Key Words. Think about the words that people would search in order to find your website. I want people to find me when they search “Indiana Wedding Photographer.” But I also think about other key words like venues in my local area. I get found a lot but using key words like “Laurel Hall Wedding.” People book their wedding venue before they book their photographer (usually), so I want my photos to pop up when engaged couples are searching for photos taken at their wedding venue.
Naming Your Photos. When you export your photos from lightroom, name them using key words. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can name each photo a different and very specific key word relating to that photo. I usually name all of my photos based on the title of the blog post (for example Indiana Vineyard Wedding1.jpg; Indiana Vineyard Wedding2.jpg; etc.).
There is so much more that goes into SEO! Way too much to put in this one blog post, but hopefully these three quick tips are helpful!
Share Your Galleries with Vendors
Sometimes as photographers, we get very protective over our photos, and we can be a little but stingy with our galleries. I know that we have all been burned before by someone stealing our photos and not crediting us. I get it! And I understand copyright law. I understand why some photographers want to charge vendors to use their photos. However, I think the amazing relationships that we can build with other vendors is worth the risk of someone potentially using our photos without crediting us. Plus, if someone doesn’t credit you, I have a great way of giving myself “sneaky credit.” I just comment on the photo saying something along the lines of “I loved photographing this wedding. It was so great getting to work with you!” That way, people who see the photo will know who took it, but I’m still being super kind and non-confrontational.
After every wedding day, as soon as I finish editing the full gallery and send it over to the bride and groom, I send over the full gallery to each of the wedding day vendors as well. The vendors are always SO appreciative, because this isn’t something that every photographer does. My thought process is that those vendors put so much time and energy making the wedding amazing, and my images would not be what they are without the work from the vendors as well. Other wedding vendors who are not photographers need amazing photos of their work for social media and their websites. If you are one of the few photographers who send full galleries to wedding vendors, they will be so much more likely to recomend you to clients over other photographers who are more stingy with their images.
Free Photography for Venues and Planners
Now, hear me out on this one. I KNOW that we as photographers don’t like to work for free. No one likes to work for free, right? And in general, I don’t recomend doing free work, because it tends to devalue the industry. This is one of the few exceptions for me, personally. Remember how I said earlier that with my current prices, I’ve started gaining most of my clients from different sources than I did when my prices were lower? Well, guess how most of my clients find me now. Through venue preferred vendor lists and wedding planner referrals. These are the two vendors that engaged couples typically book before they book their photographer. Therefore, it is super important to network and build amazing relationships specifically with wedding venues and wedding planners.
One of the most obvious ways that you can offer free photography to these types of vendors is to offer free headshots. I’ve done free headshots for tons of different wedding venues and wedding planners. They are usually so appreciative! Although, I will say, a lot of photographers have this same thought, so venues and planners may already have great headshots from other photographers. Or maybe you’ve already taken headshots for specific vendors and you want to continue to build up that relationship. You can also offer personal photography for free for venue sales managers as well as wedding planners. Get creative. Offer family photos, couples photos, or anything else that those individuals might need. They are going to be so appreciative, and you are going to be one of the first people to come to mind when one of their clients is looking for a wedding photographer.
Plan Styled Shoots
If you don’t know what a styled shoot is, it’s essentially a fake wedding where vendors come together to create something that their ideal clients would love. Styled shoots are amazing. It’s a great way to network with other wedding industry professionals. You can show off your skills and what you’re capable of. You have the flexibility to be creative since you don’t have to worry about delivering very specific photos to a client. You get to take the types of photos YOU want to take instead of worrying about what a client wants. All of the vendors will post the photos, you’ll all tag each other, and you’ll get so much cross promotion. Styled shoots are also an amazing way to get published, which I’ll talk more about below.
I do want to put a disclaimer in here that you cannot build your entire portfolio on styled shoots. Like I said, styled shoots are amazing, but you need real world wedding day experience as well. Clients can’t tell the difference between styled shoots and real wedding days, and it’s not fair to potential clients to make it seem like you have a ton of experience that you do not actually have. You can definitely put SOME styled shoot images in your portfolio, but you also need tons of photos from real wedding days. You need photos from throughout an entire wedding day so clients can see how you shoot getting ready photos in an ugly hotel room, how you deal with a pitch black reception, and how you shoot portraits in harsh sun in the middle of the day. Absolutely participate in styled shoots, but also please accurately represent your real wedding day experience to potential clients!
Submit Photos for Publication
There are so many benefits for getting your photos featured in magazines and online wedding blogs:
Social Proof. When blogs and magazines publish your photos, it helps to reassure your clients and potential clients that your work really is as amazing as they think it is. Being featured on the cover of a hard copy magazine is especially great for social proof. I get so many positive comments from my clients when my photos are on magazine covers. It’s also so fun for the couple who gets to be on the cover as well.
SEO. I know that everyone thinks it’s especially cool to be featured in physical, hard copy magazines, but being published in online blogs is actually what is best for SEO. We didn’t talk about this in the SEO section of this blog, but getting backlinks to your website from other websites is another great way to improve your SEO. The more “authority” the website linking to yours has, the better. You also get tons of clicks to your website if the blog has a lot of viewers.
Getting Discovered. When you get featured in local blogs and magazines, a lot of local couples, who use those blogs and magazines for inspiration, will discover you and your work! It’s a great way to reach local couples who have the potential to hire you.
Now let’s talk about HOW to get your work published. You can find lists online of every wedding blog and magazine. You can go to their websites, find the ones that are a good fit, and submit photos that way. You can also use a service like Two Bright Lights or Matchology where you can submit photos for publications to multiple blogs at once. These services also help to match you with the publications that are the best fit for the session/wedding and for your photography style.
Here’s a few quick tips in order to have higher chances of getting your photos published:
Focus on shooting more vertical photos as opposed to horizontal. Most blogs and magazines prefer vertical photos both for graphic design/layout purposes and for optimizing photos for Pinterest.
Focus on detail photos. I know that your favorite photos are probably the bride and groom photos, but blogs and magazines need to publish photos that inspire engaged couples, their ideal audience. These couples are looking for things like reception floral inspiration, invitation inspiration, wedding shoe inspiration, etc. So focus more on submitting those detail photos than bride and groom photos.
Only submit to blogs/magazines that are a good fit. Some blogs and magazines prefer dark and moody photos. Some only accept images taken on film cameras. Some publish classic weddings while some publish alternative weddings. Make sure you find the publications that are the perfect fit for both the style of your work and the style of the wedding.
Treat Your Current Clients Like Gold
With all of this being said, please don’t get so caught up on finding your next clients that you forget to treat your current clients well. Not only do they deserve it, but it’s also great for marketing. Word of mouth marketing is the best form of marketing that your business can have. When your clients have an amazing experience with you, they will tell all of their friends about you and leave you amazing, raving reviews. Treating your clients well is one of the best things you can do for your business.
I hope you found all of the information helpful! Tell me, photographer friend, what is the first thing you’re going to do this week to start marketing your wedding photography business for free??
Would you rather watch this in video format? Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR7MNEGLStw
Best Friend Session
When Andry and I went to Charleston, South Carolina last month to photograph Joe and Colleen’s leap day wedding, a couple of our best friends decided to come with us on the tri! I figured it would be such a great time to get photos of Hannah, Briana and myself! And we had the added benefit of the beautiful scenery available to us in Charleston, South Carolina! We had beautiful lighting during sunrise, and we also lucked out to have no one else in this park because it was a week day.
We started with photos in Hampton Park with the spanish moss trees lining the pathway and the beautiful white gazebo in the background. My main goal while we were in Charleston was to get tons of photos with Spanish Moss trees as our background! I totally accomplished that goal. For our second location, we went to rainbow row in downtown Charleston. We found a super cute blue wall with amazing plants in the little window boxes. I loved the lighting there and just had to have some photos with the pastel wall. It worked so well with our dress colors.
Andry took the photos of the three of us, as well as me with each of my friends and I took the photos of Hannah and Briana. These photos were SO much fun, and I was so excited to get some fun photos with two of my favorite people! Enjoy some of my favorite sneak peek photos from this session below!
Are you looking for an Indianapolis, Indiana Wedding Photographer or a destination wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Please send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available! I can’t wait to hear from you!
Creative Solutions if You Have to Reschedule Your Wedding Due to Covid-19
It’s a crazy time to be living in. I certainly did not expect a pandemic to occur right now, and I’m sure this is the last thing any spring 2020 brides and grooms expected either. My heart BREAKS for all of the couples who need to cancel or postpone their weddings due to covid-19 and all the new ordinances and regulations on gathering sizes that have come along with it. I know that this time can be so difficult and stressful. Planning a wedding is stressful enough without a pandemic! I’ve put together a few creative solutions to rescheduling your wedding for you to hopefully ease at least a little bit of stress during this time.
Postpone Your Wedding
The most obvious answer to everything that is happening right now is to postpone your wedding. Luckily, most vendors are being so understanding and flexible with their rescheduling policies. Please reach out to your priority (or most expensive) vendors before deciding on your new date! You can cut down on the back and forth with your vendors by sending out a google doc with date options where your vendors can submit the form after checking off which dates they are available. If your venue and vendors are super in demand, you may need to reschedule for a Friday or Sunday or the off-season. Off-seasons or less busy times of the year for weddings depend on where you are located. Here in Indiana, our off-season starts in mid-November. Typically, July and August are a little less busy as well.
I know that this can be such a sad experience since I’m sure that you have been looking forward to marrying your best friend for so long! The last thing you want to do is wait even longer. You can make the experience a little better by deciding not to just sit around being sad on your wedding day. Make it a special day with the love of your life if you can! Go out and do something to make the day special and celebrate your love, whether that means going out for a hike and picnic, writing personal vows to say to each other that day in a location that is meaningful to you, or just dancing in your living room to your wedding song. Every day is a good day if you get to spend it with the one you love. You can make the day that was supposed to be your wedding day, a day full of love and joy even if it didn’t go how you imagined that it would.
Elope Now. Have a Party Later
This is a personal favorite choice of mine. Why? Because this is what my husband and I did. As soon as we got engaged and started planning our wedding, we realized that we didn’t want to wait 8 months to be married, but we still wanted to plan a party to celebrate. So what was our solution? We had a small, intimate ceremony about 3 weeks after we got engaged. My parents and our best friends were there, and Andry’s parents skyped in from Madagascar. That day was SO meaningful to us! 8 months later, we had our big wedding where we said our vows and celebrated with all of our friends and family, and Andry’s parents came from Madagascar to be with us in person. It’s becoming so popular for couples to get legally married before their wedding day, and there are so many different reasons for it! For some, it’s logistical or religious. Maybe a couple wants to live together but isn’t comfortable living together before they’re married. For some, they feel less pressure or stress on their wedding day knowing that they are already married and this is just a celebration for fun. I promise, you can make BOTH days special and amazing. Plus, I can tell you from experience that there is a super fun perk to this option: you get to celebrate TWO anniversaries every year! I’m a firm believer that you can never have too many excuses to celebrate your relationship.
So how does this work with your vendors? I can’t speak to every vendor’s policies, but I can tell you what I’m doing for my couples. I’m allowing my couples to split the coverage they’ve booked between two dates. Usually that looks like 1 hour of coverage now and 7 hours later or 2 hours now and 6 hours later. You’ll probably only need ceremony coverage, bride and groom photos, and a few guest photos for your small wedding. If worse came to worse and we didn’t have enough time for all the photos you want for your big wedding later, I always gift my couples at least an hour of coverage anyway, so I wouldn’t worry if you’re one of my couples ;)
Live Stream Your Wedding
Another great option if you don’t want to reschedule your wedding is to reduce your guest count and set up a live stream for guests who aren’t able to make it! This works super well so that all of your friends and family can celebrate with you, but you’re not putting anyone at risk. If older or immunocompromised family members don’t feel safe attending, they can still be part of all of the action virtually.
If You Have to Cancel
One of my couples had to cancel their wedding entirely, and we’ve been coming up with some solutions so they can still at least have the wedding portraits that they have been dreaming of. It’s hard to make solid plans with how quickly the current state of events is changing, but we are tentatively planning to take some portraits on their wedding day, just the three of us; take portraits at (what would have been) their wedding venue at a later dater; and take photos at a celebration that they’ll have at a separate time. We had actually already taken all of the bridal detail photos before the wedding day, so they at least have photos of the details they spent so much time working on.
I promise that no matter what, there are always creative solutions so that you can still have what you dreamed of and so that you can still have an amazing and special wedding day (or days). Hopefully your vendors are more than willing to work with you to make your dreams come true.
