It may seem daunting to try entering into the luxury high end wedding space. But breaking the process down into manageable steps can make the challenge more accessible. Yes, you can start booking high end weddings.

I like to think of high end weddings as having three very important factors: work, experience, and relationships. Let’s look at each one of these.

Your work’s gotta be good

You gotta be GOOD at wedding photography to book high end weddings. If you want to level up from average-paying clients, you have to level up from average photography! When I say “work” I mean both the technical and creative aspects of your photography. 

By technical, I mean, you should be familiar with the functions of your camera equipment and use it with a fair degree of competency. 

By creative, I mean that your work really does stand out among the rest. People don’t hire you at this point in your career because you gave them a discount. In fact, they are willing to pay a premium for your work because it’s that beautiful.

Not there yet? That’s ok. Now you know what to work on! Take a course, find a mentor, or invest in yourself until you begin to progress in your style and competency. 

Already there? Time to move on to tip #2…

You need to give them an experience

The average wedding may just be happy with great pictures. But in the high end luxury market, couples want more if you’re going to book them for high end weddings. Now, you can only make your pictures look so good. But there are other ways to spruce up their experience. Here are some examples of a luxury experience…

• We give gift boxes
• We include luxury album packages
• We wine and dine our couples
• We interact with our clients on photoshoots in a way that is disarming and adventurous
• We deliver Instagram sneak peeks of their wedding photos within 24 hours

Just to name a few.

In a phrase, we provide much more of a celebratory experience than a wedding photographer on a budget might. That’s what high end couples are paying for!

You need to invest in relationship

Part of the high end experience is working with wedding photographers who can connect with you, not only as a client, but as….dare I say it, a friend. 

We LOVE connecting with people, so this comes almost naturally for us. If it doesn’t come naturally for you, you can still work at becoming a little bit more present, aware, and friendly as you photograph your clients. 

This will put their experience over the top! And if your work is already great, you have the makings of a high end wedding photographer.

Are you excited but not quite sure how to get started? Below is a getting started checklist for aspiring destination wedding photographers. Hope it helps!