Styled Shoots

How to Promote Your Wedding-Related Business Online Successfully

How to Promote your Wedding-Related Business Online Successfully

Photo by Zachary Hartzell Photography


To successfully promote your wedding-related business online, you need to create a marketing strategy that will help you achieve your goal. Running such a business is specific enough therefore requires a strategy that will attract the type of customers you need. Since you don’t require customer loyalty, but a wide scope audience to get your brand out there, online promotions are the way to go!

Familiarize the market with your fashionable gowns and other products and services you have to offer by focusing on a wide range of audiences online. If you don't know how to do so, here are 6 tips and ideas that will help you set up a marketing strategy to transform your business from a local shop to a known brand!

1. Build an online world-of-mouth community

Online presence and community are essential for a fashion business like yours. No matter the industry you work in, word-of-mouth is always the best promotion. But if you operate online, you cannot control the flow of word of mouth unless you build an online community. Focus on your online presence by creating social media accounts besides your website that will help you interact with your customers.

Spread the word about your brand by offering a discount to friends and family of those who leave a positive review on your pages. It will increase engagement and direct traffic to your brand, as well as, make your existing customers your brand ambassadors.

2. Focus on quality photography

The wedding day is usually one of the most special and important days in future newlyweds' lives. They want perfect organization as well as beautiful memories, and you're there to help them achieve that! Your gowns and fashion attire need to be just like they have imagined it, so to attract future customers and potential buyers, you need to have quality photography of items.

Hire a professional photographer to take gorgeous photos of your wedding dresses and suits that will make each couple want to purchase from you. Don’t just photograph the attire you have to offer, but the whole experience it comes with it. Online photography tends to be the inspiration and attracts people to your business. A great studio for something like this located in the northeast is foxandfinchstudio.com. There is plenty of room to spread out so you can capture behind the scenes photos and clips. This will allow you to engage with your social media following in a more personal way.

Photo by Zachary Hartzell Photography

3. Google and social media ads

Organic reach is fantastic for your business, but if you want to be successful online, you will need to invest in paid promotions. Organic reach won't be enough if you want to achieve success so, promote your business on search engines like Google and social media like Instagram. That way you can target audiences that are characteristically adequate to your brand.

On top of that, with paid promotions, you will choose who you'll target based on social-demographic features and location which will help your business grow. Online ads have proven to be highly efficient for businesses like yours, so carefully target your audience and introduce your products to them with creative ads.

4. Influencers and promotions

Social media posts and ads sometimes aren't enough if you want to connect with the audience on a personal level. Even if you have the prettiest dresses and classiest suits with high-quality photography, you can lack engagement. How can you achieve engagement if you don't see your customers face-to-face when promoting?

In modern times, using influencers and micro-influencers is crucial for businesses. Collaborate with social media influencers that operate within the wedding branch and promote your products via their recommendations. Whether you decide to pay them to take photos in your apparel or gift them a dress for their wedding, it's one of the best ways to get your brand's name out there and gain more traffic to your website.

5. Implement customization options

A wedding day is usually once in a lifetime event that should be special for everyone. Therefore, your wedding business needs to be able to fulfill different kinds of requests in pursuit of originality. Whether you do organizations or focus mainly on the fashion side, implementing customization options will take you further than your competitors! How can you customize your products?

Brides and grooms usually have special requests regarding their apparel or outfits for their best man, maid of honor, and bridesmaids. Help them create the perfect atmosphere by implementing Unmade software that allows them to choose patterns, colors, and shapes of outfits they will wear. With such a customization option on your website, you will generate more revenue and attract more customers!

6. Create blog posts

In the end, you can't run a wedding-related business without creating content regarding it. From social media captions to blog posts, your business's content needs to be engaging and informative at the same time! Achieve that by writing blog posts on your website and guest blog posts on other pages with related subjects.

Help your customers pick your business by solving some of the most common dilemmas wedding days carry like ways to beat pre-wedding anxiety and take care of your mental health amid your big day. Also, don’t forget to optimize your articles for search engines and implement keywords that will make finding your business online easier!

Final thoughts

Running a wedding business is as exciting as it is nerve-wracking. While you're making someone's bug day special, you need to ensure you stay on people's radars when organizing weddings. So, use these tips to promote your business online and gain more marketing popularity and customers!

Willow Brook Styled Shoot

     Early last fall we helped out with an equestrian styled shoot at Willow Brook Farm. This gorgeous, family owned and operated venue in Northampton, PA is extra special in that they have horses on site. There are lots of pretty horses around to make all your princess dreams come true. Their tent can seat up to 300 guests and their grounds offer plenty of space for enjoying the scenery. 

     Alyssa Andrew worked her magic behind the camera to capture all the rustic, bucolic beauty at Willow Brook. Allium Design provided the vibrant florals.

     Abby and I opted to style the scenes with an English country theme, incorporating vintage equestrian accessories. We painted little gold ponies to dance around on the tea table. Sugar Babe Cupcakes provided the delightful cupcakes in wedgewood blue to coordinate with our little, wedgewood cake stand. Josh Early Candies, a local chocolatier provided the bon bons. Nicole Fuller, the facilities coordinator and part-owner of the farm, offered her grandfather's painting to sit astride the goodies. 

     The sprawling landscape is complete with several barns, a pond, a lime kiln, and did we mention...horses? 

Napolean Sofa

      Doesn't our Napolean sofa look divine with that bouquet?

      Janel of Leeluka Styling chose a victorian-style wedding gown to model. She and her husband graciously modeled for the shoot. Katelynn Walsh Make-up Designs provided the make-up artistry. 

Elmwood Park Zoo-Styled Shoot

Elmwood Park Zoo-Styled Shoot

      Quirky styled shoot at Elmwood Park in Norristown, PA. 

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Burnside Plantation-Mod meets barn

On July 28th we did two styled shoots in one day (never again folks, never again). Luckily for us, both shoots turned out fantastic! We're featuring the one that took place at the Burnside Plantation in Bethlehem, PA below. 

Once again, as seems to be our lot, we were peppered with rain throughout the day. We also had a major wardrobe mishap as the dresses we had ordered literally got lost in the mail. Then our "Bride" for the day had a family emergency, but we had a stellar team to work with and we weren't ready to throw in the towel yet. So, we chose to press on and I'm sure you'll agree, we made the right call. 

 Burnside Plantation provides several wonderful backdrops for photos. It's full of rustic, historic, and natural beauty. Burlap, lace and wildflowers work beautifully in this space, but Sarah Kudlak from Juniper and Dash envisioned a unique, bold, mod take on the traditional barn wedding. It's a refreshing look and proves that this venue can work with any style. Sarah K. created a palate of tomato red, bright peach and cobalt blue. She rigged up this super simple, sweet ceremony backdrop in the orchard.

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Alexandra Gergar of Alexandra Whitney Photography was our fearless leader. She's a very thorough photographer with an eye for angles and details and she captured some gorgeous shots. 

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Jill Kozar, owner of Jill Kozar's Up-Your-Do not only did hair for the models, but she stood in as our Bride as well! We played up her purple hair with a blue sash. Her jewelry was provided by Nicole Bridal . The dashing man by her side is her husband, Joe. 

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The bridesmaid, Rebekah Defreest, wore a simple, blue dress. We were going for a 1960's style, but with a modern, eclectic flair.

Kelly Quinlan of Face the Occasion provided make-up for the ladies. Kelly added just the right amount of eyeliner and a retro pout to create a subtlely vintage face. 

 

Sarah Petryk from Allium Design wowed us as always with her incredible florals. Zinnias, dahlias, and even dill, burst forth in vibrant shades. 

 

We featured several of our favorite pieces from the 60's. Our card catalog, stuffed with flowers made a fantastic escort card table. Our Alice trunk made an appearance in the lounge set up in the corn crib (a popular location for cocktails). 

Amy from Cozze Cakes graciously provided a cake to sit atop our Jacobean Buffet. 

 Sarah Zero of Jackalope Heart, created beautiful table numbers, menus and stationary to coordinate with the theme. 

A big thank you to all the talented folks that gave their time and energy to this shoot. It was a fun one!

Up in the orchard we had the misfortune of stepping on a rabbits nest! Baby bunnies scattered everywhere and we all scrambled to get them back in the nest. I used to volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation clinic and I proudly claim to be an animal nerd. So here's a little behind the scenes photo of our bunny adventure.

And here's a tip: if the bunny's eyes aren't open, it still needs its Momma. A bunny can be handled without being rejected by its Momma, so don't hesitate to pick it up and put it where it belongs. May bunnies never spring out at you on a photo shoot!

Durga-Boho Shoot

In May, we provided a few pieces for a styled shoot at the gorgeous Woolverton Inn in Stockton New Jersey. Our Eleanor Couch, Caroline Side Table, Penelope Arm Chair, European Farmhouse Table and an assortment of chairs all took the trip. The Inn was literally magical. The place was covered in intoxicating lilac bushes and jaunty sheep. The day was drizzly and overcast, changing hourly as the clouds rolled on. It felt like a day spent at an English countryside inn. 

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Melissa from M2 Photography applied her boundless energy and incredible talent to the 8 hour shoot. 

Lauren and Liz from Belovely created amazing florals including a Belovely favorite flower, the exotic king protea. They are also responsible for all the styling and the delightful floral crowns. Check out their website for classes teaching the fine and fun art of floral crowns. They are located just outside of Philadelphia, PA. 


They set the table with dishes from Anthropologie and a delectable assortment of grapefruit and blackberries. 


The ladies also created a one of a kind backdrop for photos, with hand-painted flowers. 


This shoot was designed to promote a gorgeously practical collection of bridesmaid's dresses created by Durga-Kali. Believe it or not all of the dresses in these photos are reversible! One side comes in a dizzying array of colors and styles, the other side shines in black satin. They wear effortlessly and you get two dresses for the price of one. What an ingenious idea by Durga Sundaram-McCurdy, the founder and creator of these lovely dresses. 

Gina Kay Osborne, owner of  True Beauty Marks worked her magic with hair and make-up. Every model was given a unique look and all 6 of the ladies looked remarkably fresh hours later as the sun set and the photo shoot came to a close. 

A note about the models. They were absolutely fearless. Notice that they are barefoot the entire shoot. Abby and I kept trying to protect them by pointing out poison ivy and wild rose bushes creeping along the ground. But, they paid no heed and yet no one left bleeding or itching to my knowledge. Hats off to you ladies!


Until next time my lovelies!

Spring Wedding Shoot

In April we put together our favorite photo shoot to date. Once again, Alison Conklin worked tirelessly, capturing every detail down to the wedding rings and the cake crumbs. We got about half of our furniture in place when the rains came. It rained for a good hour or more as we set up. But the show must go on and we just prayed it would stop when we really needed it to. 

Inside, our fearless allies kept plugging away. Naomi Storey, owner of Storey Threads modeled a vintage, lace wedding dress for us. Steve, a waiter from the best restaurant in town, Bolete, stepped in as "groom". While the rain poured and our moods soured, Kelly Quinlan from Face The Occasion did Naomi's make-up. She gave her a fresh Spring look that really brought out her gorgeous eyes. Jill Kozar from Up Your Do wowed us with the loose braid she did for Naomi. 

Sarah, from Allium Design provided the incredible florals and provided styling assistance as well. It was pleasure to watch her work. She makes it look so easy, but her arrangements come out flawlessly organic. 

By the time we were ready, the rain hadn't let up. But that's what vintage umbrellas are for! 

We had just gotten our Geraldine Vanity and were so excited to see her in action. So, here she is. Every Bride needs a place to freshen up. 

The garland is from our friend Faith, the extraordinary Momma behind Ordinary Mommy

We couldn't wait to get our hands on these desserts from The Flour Shop in Bethlehem, PA. They provided delicious macaroons, almond cookies and our delightful bunny-topped cake. The cake topper is from BHLDN.


This dress that we used for the second part of the shoot is also from BHLDN. Naomi styled herself with jewels and a vintage, fuschia, birdcage veil. 

A huge, heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who participated in this shoot. We loved this team! In spite of the rain, it turned out to be a gorgeous shoot. We're so proud of these photos and the efforts of all who made them as beautiful as they are.

We can't thank Alison Conklin enough for her participation in the building of our business. We could not be here without her. She is immensely talented and incredibly kind. Abby and I are so thankful for her friendship. This is the last of our photo shoots with her for now. So, enjoy!

Into The Woods

Another cold day in early Spring, when the snow still clung to the ground but the sun was shining, we staged a small party in the woods. Megan and Brent modeled for us once again. Hillary provided make-up and Alison Conklin photographed it all. 

Abby and I chose to style with pale pink, gold accents and vintage lace. Abby moonlights as a florist and did the flowers for the shoot. The snow actually provided a fantastic carpet for this Spring set-up.

This is Hillary, our beautiful make-up artist who kindly jumped in and modeled for us as well. She's lounging on our Library Bed. 

We staged a simple, elegant table setting with vintage china and silver. 

Megan and Brent share a chocolaty kiss. 

For the lounge we chose our Eleanor couch, a versatile piece with hints of pink and stripes in blue satin, and our fabulous Ava settee. Ava was found in Swarthmore, PA. She has gorgeous, red velvet upholstery and she's personally my favorite lady on our team.

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Once again, we had a fabulous day working with Alison Conklin and Hillary, Megan and Brent. Many thanks to all their hard work and participation in this shoot. 

Cheers!

Meg

 

Junkyard Romance

In March we styled a romantic shoot in the cleanest junkyard you'll ever see on film. We asked a couple we know, that have modeled in the past, to don some vintage duds and smile pretty. We dressed Megan in a classic, organdy prom dress from the 1950's. The day was below freezing, so we draped her in a vintage fur and tried to keep her warm whenever possible. Her teeth were chattering through much of the shoot, but she never complained and she looks amazing in the photos. 

 Once again, Alison Conklin was our incredible photographer. 

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Megan has an ageless beauty and dramatic, green eyes. Her make-up was flawlessly applied by another talented young woman named Hillary. She provides on site make-up artistry and is a joy to work with. She has a background in production and works on sets as well. Feel free to reach out to us for contact info for any of these young talents. 

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Megan and Brent are a real couple and their love for each other can be seen in so many of these photos. We enjoyed capturing their real life romance. 

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After this scene we put Megan back in the car to warm up and drove down to our next site. We set up our Gregory Barrister Bookcase with a set of vintage encyclopedias and board games. 

Alison decided to pull out her black and white film camera and take a few shots. 

And here's our favorite shot from this junkyard romance. Thank you to Brent, Megan, Hillary, D and J's auto in Coopersburg, PA and of course Alison Conklin for a super fun, offbeat day. 

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