Little did I know at that time that I was on a path that would suck me into this industry like nothing ever has! The more people (photographers and bride and grooms) I met, the more encouragement I received, and the more weddings I shot… I was hooked! I knew that everything about my life would change! And it did!

There was something about the way I fell in love with weddings. I noticed that my brides’ eyes lit up every single time I would mention walking down that aisle to greet and marry their groom. I fell in love with the look on a groom’s face when he saw his bride for the first time in her wedding gown on their wedding day. I felt emotional when a father would dance with his daughter during the father daughter dance at the reception. And the look on a mom’s face as she watches her baby boy become a man is just priceless.

I was hooked. I no longer “just” wanted to shoot enough weddings to cover the cost of my equipment. What I wanted was to surround myself with love. I noticed that what made me the happiest was when I was capturing those HUGE moments on a wedding day that usually go by so quickly that a bride, groom, and their families never even really notice it because everyone is running on auto pilot. But even more than that… I noticed that what I loved the most was the reaction from my brides when I would share their wedding day photos with them for the first time.

I do not even know when it happened, to be honest. But one day I just realized that I was a professional wedding photographer. And like many people who get into this industry, admitting that out loud is sort of difficult. But I spent over two years developing my style, my craft, my brand, and my business practices. And in doing so… somewhere during that time I fell in love with what I do. I fell in love with the friendships that I have made with my clients and with other wedding vendors. I fell in love with everything!

I have held off on sharing this exciting news with any of you because to be honest… everything just seems so surreal. I still have many moments when I doubt myself and have to ask, “Wendy… what in the world do you think you are doing? Who do you think you are?” And in those moments I am reminded of why I am doing what I do. I am reminded of why I love my job as a PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. And that reason is because, as cliche’ as this may sound… I LOVE LOVE! And I love my clients!

So what is this exciting news that I’ve been holding back since before Christmas? Well here it is! I have been invited to speak at Showit United in Vegas during WPPI next month on the Creating New Clients panel! Showit United is an event put together by Showit that sold out in less than five minutes! EEEEEKKKK! Just typing this out here on the blog both excites me and sends me into a nervous frenzy! This is only my second speaking opportunity outside of my own community. I am a nervous wreck if I am being honest… because I will probably get up there in front of that room full of people and choke! But what is even more intimidating to me is who I will be sharing the panel with. I will be sharing this panel with Zach and Jody Gray, and Trevor Dayley. These guys are REAL PROS and have been REAL PROS for a long time. I do not have a CLUE what I will have to offer on this panel, but the simple fact that I was invited is seriously an honor!

So to those of you who will be attending Showit United in Vegas next month during WPPI… HOLLA! I hope I get to meet many new faces, and hug tons of necks! If you get a chance, make sure to find me and wish me luck. Because I am seriously a nervous wreck and have already started chewing my fingernails. LOL!

You may have noticed that the look and feel of my website changed. I actually launched the new look last night… sort of like a ninja in the dark. I did this quietly because really… it is not 100% complete. But I was so excited about the change that my clicky finger got a little antsy and went ahead and hit the publish button. It’s all good! I’m in love with my new look. But I thought I might go ahead and make mention of the new look over here on the blog because there will still be a few changes that will take place.

This style group was designed by Julie Story! You may remember several weeks ago when she offered up one of her style groups for me to give away! I fell in love with it and knew that I had to have it for myself!

Have I mentioned how much I love my Showit website?!

Change is good! Change always gives us a fresh start, a clean slate, a new plan, and can sometimes light a fire under our rear ends to do greatness.

I would love for you to take a look around the site! If you see any typos or broken links, be a dear and let me know! Sometimes I get so excited I get a little ahead of myself.

Let me start by saying that branding your photography business means more than getting a fancy logo or website. I say this to you because when many photographers are starting out, that is as far as they think when creating their brand. I did this too! Yes your logo and website is extremely important in expressing your brand, but there is so much more to it than that. Your brand is what people think of when they hear your name. It is more than what you put out there for everyone to see. It is how others perceive you and your business.

When I was first starting out as a photographer I would shoot anything and everything that would come my way. Let’s face it… new photographers are eager to shoot. We are ready to get recognition and we never want to turn down money! Can I get an Amen? But you know what? This actually holds us back. Our clients want to hire an expert. They want to hire someone who specializes in what they need. So narrowing down your specialty is vital! If you love shooting Seniors, then specialize in Seniors. If you love shooting infants, then shoot infants. If you are like me, and love shooting weddings… then focus your business on weddings! If a bride goes to your website and sees a hodgepodge of various types of photography, you will more than likely get overlooked. Defining your specialty makes you a specialist. You are suddenly an expert. And this is the first step in creating your brand.

So how do you stand out? How can you create an awareness of your brand when there are so many talented photographers out there? Consumers have so many options these days. And while there are many ways to brand your business, I choose to brand based on ME. Let me explain. With a sea of talented photographers out there, the only thing I can GUARANTEE to my potential clients that I have that nobody else out there has is ME. There is only one me! When you go to my website, you will see photos of ME on the front page! I want people to see ME. I want people to connect with ME… not just my work. I have included a huge “about me” section on my website where people can go to learn more about me as a person… not just a photographer. This allows people to connect with me personally! And connecting with people personally is the backbone of my business. But even more than that, it is why I do what I do. It is why I became a wedding photographer. It is why I LOVE being a wedding photographer!

The next two steps are really easy… and fun! In order to help create brand awareness for your business it is important that you network with other industry professionals as well as stay active on social media. One way to network with other industry professionals is to visit their blog regularly. Leave comments for them. And keep going back. Also… show up to planned community events within the industry. Make friends with your local photographers and/or wedding vendors. Become someone that they can trust and depend on. Within social media, be active! Communicate with your local photographers and vendors through social media sites such Twitter and Facebook. But also remember that you ultimately want to connect with your potential clients as well.

On Social Media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, you want to keep your brand consistent. Use the same profile picture for each site. Keep your look the same across the board. You want people to recognize you. On Facebook create a business page where people can click on the Like button. Update your status several times a day, and let your personality shine. Create conversations on your Facebook page by asking questions that people will relate to and WANT to respond. Share your blog posts by copying and pasting the link into your status update.

With a little help from people and companies that know way more than me, I have been able to brand my business in a way that has taken off over the last 14 months. With the help of Showitfast, I have been able to create a unique website that allows me to be unique. And the tools that Showitfast provides me to keep everything consistent within social media is priceless. I went from spending nearly $300 a month on advertising with sites such as Wedding Wire and The Knot, to only spending $39 a month for Showit. And the number of weddings that I have booked have tripled in the 14 months that I have focused on this type of branding.

I finally ALSO decided to invest in a designer to create a look that best fits ME. When photographers are first starting out, there is not much of a budget to work with. So we always think that we can just create our own logo and be done with it. I know… I was totally one of those people who thought that exact thing. But if you are like me, you are a photographer… NOT a designer. My pathetic little logos that I was able to create in Photoshop… well I thought at the time that they were great! But I look back at them now and think, “What was I thinking?!” So I finally invested in a consistent look to help me be me! Kim with Madilu Designs specializes in creating a look especially for photographers. The work that I had her do for me is a little more custom than what she does for most photographers in the sense that I wanted something different! I wanted different pieces than the usual pieces that photographers think of because I have spent so much time branding myself through Showitfast and Social Media, and I wanted that to remain consistent in my printed material as well. You can see the welcome packet and extras that she and I have been working on for the last several months.

I totally wish I had started out three years ago knowing what I know now. It would have saved me tons of time AND money! And since many of you have sent me questions about branding, I wanted to share with you my strategy. This may not be the best way, and it is definitely not the ONLY way. But it is MY WAY, and it works for me. If you want to dig deeper into my strategy, get with me for a mentoring session.

Want to connect with me?

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/wendycphotos

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/wendycunningham10

WEBSITE: http://www.wendy-cunningham.com

So in honor of my sunny vacation and a girls’ week in the middle of the ocean with Kellie, I leave you with this song! This will be me in about twenty-four hours! I hope you all have a great week!

I know I shared with you Kim and Chad’s engagement session in Murfreesboro. And later after their beautiful Opryland Hotel wedding in Nashville I shared with you their wedding sneak peek. So I also wanted to share with you the final custom client site that features everything all together in one place… and like I like to say… “all tied up in a pretty little bow.”

If you want to open Kim and Chad’s client site in a separate window, click here!

Over the course of the year Scott and I have worked very closely with them during their wedding planning process, and they have come to mean so very much to us. I’m telling you internet… I have the greatest job ever! THIS is why I love my job!

Since I have shared with you their engagement session AND their wedding sneak peek, I want to share with you how it all gets tied up into a pretty little bow! Check out Becky and Mike’s custom Client Site! It features their engagement session, as well as all of their wedding photos via the PASS gallery where they will be able to share everything on Facebook as well as download all of their digital files all from within their gallery! No more fooling with DVD’s… and that my friends is LIBERATING for me and LIBERATING for Becky and Mike.

ENJOY!

To view their client site in a separate window, click here.

“It would be more resourceful to make a decision on where you want to go and miss the mark than to fail to decide right from the start.” – Dane Sanders

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up some place else.” – Yogi Berra

“To reach a port, we must sail – Sail, not tie an anchor – Sail, not drift.” – Franklin Roosevelt

“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” – Seneca

Vision For The Future

With the close of 2011 and new beginnings for 2012, I cannot help but focus on dreams, goals, and accomplishments! I can honestly say that many of my personal AND business goals for this past year were not met. But many of them far exceeded anything I could imagine. Dreams that I did not even realize I had came true! I do not deserve the opportunities that have been presented to me as a photographer. But I am too smart not to take those opportunities and be grateful!

It is these opportunities and accomplishments that were a surprise to me that made me think… Think BIG and allow myself to dream! But dream for what? So after being invited by, and encouraged by Karen Stott to join her on her 101 Goals In 1001 Days adventure, I am allowing myself to have vision for my future… both personal and professional. So here it is… a bucket list of sorts.

101 Goals In 1001 Days

1. Visit the Sistine Chapel

2. Tour Europe for 30 Days

3. Attend one of Rebecca’s body building competitions

4. Go on a cruise

5. Go with Jessica and Michael to Kenya on a mission trip

6. Teach Peyton to read

7. Go to a Cardinals game – and not hate it

8. Buy a new house

9. Graduate Tyler from high school via home school

10. Hire a housekeeper

11. Complete the P90X program

12. Shoot a real Cedarwood wedding

13. Complete my promo video

14. Take a Napa Wine Valley vacation

15. Decorate all common areas in my home with modern vintage style

16. Bi-weekly date night with my hubby – THAT HE PLANS – ahem ahem

17. Spend a weekend in Louisville with Rebecca being nothing but SILLY

18. Read the Bible from front to back

19. Vacation in Sydney, Australia

20. Visit the Grand Canyon

21. Photograph a dust storm in Arizona

22. Outsource my Accounting

23. Eat sushi and like it

24. Learn to speak Italian

25. Get over my fear and go cliff diving

26. Photograph The Great Wall of China

27. Get my gun carry permit

28. Fly a kite

29. Make a delicious homemade cheesecake

30. Get over my dairy food phobia

31. Plant a garden

32. Make a quilt

33. Shoot a 50′s inspired wedding

34. Tell my husband and my children that I love them every single day

35. Make more time for my family

36. Set and stick to office hours

37. Spend Christmas in New York

38. Get published again

39. Start Christmas shopping in January

40. Read at least one book every month that will help strengthen my business

41. Do at least one weekly random act of kindness for a stranger

42. Focus on nothing but the positive

43. Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty

44. Locate and visit Mrs. Jurlee Sanders – a very important lady from my childhood

45. Visit my family in Louisiana at least twice a year

46. Build and support an amazing network of photographers in Rutherford County

47. Attend one of Dane Sanders’ Fast Track Leaders conferences.

48. Donate blood

49. Finish writing my book

50. Spend a week at a 5 star spa retreat

51. Go to a Renaissance Festival and actually eat a fried oreo (shivers)

52. Give up drinking Dr. Pepper

53. Forgive myself for my ugly mistakes

54. Write a hand written letter to each one of my children to let them know how special they are

55. Swim with dolphins

56. Go snorkeling

57. Have our own family photos taken at least once a year

58. Forgive others

59. Get Rutherford County involved in a huge Help Portrait event

60. Buy Super Bowl tickets for Scott

61. See the Radio City Christmas Spectacular

62. Go on a waterfall adventure in Hawaii

63. Find something fun, cheesy, and crazy to do with Scott – like dance lessons – ball room dance lessons! YES!

64. Be more strategic when it comes to making business decisions

65. FINALLY complete a 365 project

66. Set a trend for pajama jeans! LOL

67. Hire an assistant

68. Learn how to make fried chicken

69. Replace every single light bulb in my house with economical light bulbs

70. Become more of a Suzie Homemaker

71. Never run out of clean towels or socks

72. Begin a ministry for teens who have survived a tragedy

73. Get my office more organized

74. Do something amazing to give back to my community

75. See and photograph the Northern Lights

76. Take a helicopter ride with my husband

77. Be asked to speak at a large photography conference

78. Go on a picnic with my husband next to a waterfall, and fall asleep next to him on a blanket

79. Take my children to Disneyworld

80. Cut out all red meat and pork. Eat chicken and fish only

81. Get all of my branded welcome kit materials printed and put together

82. Shoot a destination wedding in another country

83. Get my gymnast figure back

84. Participate in a flash mob dancing to I’m Sexy And I Know It

85. Perfect my workflow

86. Run a 1/2 marathon

87. Visit at least five new Tennessee waterfalls I’ve never seen before

88. Begin a year long daily devotional with my children

89. Launch my workshops – FEARLESSLY

90. Write random notes onto sticky notes and leave them all over my childrens’ bedroom wall.

91. Share my testimony in public – without fear

92. Pray hard every single day

93. Reconnect with my cousins Kathy and Kay Lynn

94. Dare to dream EVERY DAY!

95. Live by example for my daughters

96. Keep my mobile site updated

97. Take a road trip with my best friends – in a convertible so I can stand up and fly in the wind like a crazy person.

98. Spend more time helping new photographers

99. Make ammends

100. Love others and allow them to love me

101. Trust in God’s plan 100%

Happy New Year my lovelies! Instead of resolutions, I have laid the path for the future. Because unless you know where you are going, you will never know when you get there!

Would love to hear from you! Comment!

You are engaged! Now what?!

First I would like to congratulate you on your engagement! This is a very exciting time in your life, and I am sure that you want it to be perfect! But where should you start? Sometimes planning a wedding can seem a bit overwhelming, but I am here to tell you that it does not have to be.

Start HERE:

Once you have that beautiful ring on your finger, there are four things you should start considering.
1. Your wedding budget
2. Your wedding venue
3. Your wedding date
4. Your wedding photography

Your wedding venue and your wedding photographer should be the first two vendors that you hire. And the sooner you do this the better off you will be. Most brides are encouraged to book their venue and their photographer at least one year in advance. There are several benefits to doing this early. One benefit is that you can be sure to secure a date that works for you at the venue you can’t live without. Same thing goes for hiring your photographer! If you do not book early enough, you may be running the risk of that photographer already being booked on the date you prefer! Keep in mind that most brides are planning their wedding at least a year in advance, so venues and photographers are filling up their schedules early as well! Another benefit to booking your venue and photographer early is that most are willing to set up some pretty amazing payment plans! I know I do. And the more time you give yourself to plan, the more payments you will be able to break your fees into.

Choosing A Venue:

Choosing a venue can be daunting on its own. There are so many things to consider. But it should be the very first vendor that you book!
1. How many guests can the venue accommodate?
2. Will you have to book a separate location for the wedding reception? (Not necessarily a bad thing)
3. Is your date available?
4. Does the venue or venues allow alcoholic beverages?
5. Does the venue provide you with a room to get ready in before your wedding? Or will you have to have an alternate location for that?
6. How much time does the venue allow the use of the facility before the ceremony time begins? (This could effect the amount of time allowed for photography)
7. Will the venue require you to use their caterer, or will you be allowed to bring in your own?
8. What percentage of your wedding budget will your venue(s) cost you? Will the venue(s) work with you on payment plans?
9. Does the venue allow outside decorations? Or will it even NEED outside decorations?

I’m sure there are so many more things to consider, and each scenario will be different. But this at least gives you a starting point.

Photography

Choosing your photographer is not as easy as it sounds. Nor should it be. When you are searching through Facebook searches, Google searches, bridal shows, and recommendations from friends, be sure you are looking for the particular STYLE of photography that you can’t live without. Many brides will focus on the cost first. This should not be your first concern. I understand that money and your budget is important. But if you end up settling for a lower priced photographer, your wedding images could suffer that decision. And face it… once the wedding day is over, all that is left is your photos. Besides most wedding photographers are willing to negotiate things in order to help you stay as close to your budget as possible considering that you are anywhere in the same ballpark. And if for some reason they are unable to meet your budget, they SHOULD be willing to help you by recommending others who may be able to meet your budget while still ensuring that you are hiring a professional. Just to be real, your wedding photographer will probably be one of the most expensive wedding vendors you will hire. But they will also be the ONE VENDOR that you will work with the closest throughout your wedding planning stages! If I can lend you ONE PIECE of advice it is this:  There are too many people out there who own fancy cameras and a fancy website, and call themselves a professional. DO YOUR RESEARCH. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! 

Choosing Your Photographer:

1. Do your research. Look for the STYLE of photography in which you want your own wedding to be shot. Style should always be the FIRST thing you consider. Do you prefer candids? Traditional? What about post processing? What you see on a photographer’s website SHOULD be what you can depend on getting back from them yourself!
2. Follow a few photographers on Facebook, and get a handle on their personality. You definitely want to hire a photographer that you can see yourself being friends with, because you will be working very closely and very intimately with your photographer during your wedding planning stages as well as on your wedding day.
3. How important are digital files from your wedding? How does that photographer deliver your digital files?
4. How important to you and your parents are wedding albums?
5. Ask to see complete weddings. All photographers can have a few great shots on their website. But it is important to see a complete collection of wedding photos so that you can get a better idea of what your complete collection will be like as well.
6. Does that photographer have a backup plan in case of emergency or illness?
7. Is everything covered in the contract?
8. If you find a photographer that you absolutely cannot live without, do whatever it takes to book them! Negotiate! Are you willing to change your wedding date if the date is what is standing in the way? Are you willing to consider saving money on flowers or catering in order to add money to your photography budget?
9. What do you see that photographer doing for his or her current and previous brides? Watch for this on blogs and Facebook!
10. What about engagement photos?

I hope that you find this information useful. Planning a wedding is such an exciting thing to do. THIS is the day you have been dreaming of your entire life! This day will only happen once! And I want to see you have the most amazing day of your life. Better yet… I want to be a part of it! I seriously love love love my job! I love being a wedding photographer! I love building friendships with my clients! I love capturing the emotions from a wedding! And as cliche’ as this may sound… I LOVE LOVE!

Contact me about your upcoming wedding! And be on the lookout for a guest blog post from one of my favorite wedding coordinators coming soon. Vickie Stanton of Bella Weddings is going to share a few more tips to planning your wedding! I can’t wait to share that with you! She is amazing and will rock your world!

Until next time my lovelies!

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Merry Christmas friends!

Be sure to watch the video at the end of this post! My 15 year old son wrote a song and played it for us on Christmas morning! BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

Earlier this year I made the trip out to Atlanta to spend a day with Becky and Mike before a conference that I was scheduled for. It isn’t very often that I make a habit of spending the night in my clients’ homes but I really wanted to spend some time getting to know them better. I knew from the start that they were one of those couples that would become great friends! Becky and Mike welcomed me with huge open arms, entertained me with amazing food and delicious cupcakes, and my very first trip to IKEA!

My emotions were running all over the place on their wedding day. So much so, in fact, that Becky’s mother stopped to pray over me. That actually made me cry even more… but for a different reason. LOL. The entire day was such a roller coaster of emotions for me because I knew I had to do an amazing job for my clients, but I was extremely happy to be a part of their big day… and ultimately I was watching my FRIENDS get married to each other. It was amazing!

Our day began at the Embassy Suites at Vanderbilt where Becky began getting ready.

After hair and makeup, Becky arrived at the church where she got into her dress and prepared for a very emotional first look with her mother and father.

Becky and Mike did not want to see each other before the wedding, so we spent a little time with each of them getting as many different combination of pictures as we could before the ceremony. I must say… this was one very fun bridal party! I really enjoyed getting to know all of the girls and the guys!

I’m pretty sure this is the most amazing wedding pianist I’ve ever heard… Alexis Cruz, Nashville TN.

Eastland Baptist Church is amazingly beautiful! Simply beautiful! It was decorated for Christmas and it was breathtaking with the cathedral ceilings and chandeliers! And I have to give credit to my amazing second shooter, Rebecca Payne for grabbing this shot from the balcony during the ceremony!

The wedding reception was held in the beautiful, historic Belmont Mansion! It was also decorated for Christmas and absolutely beautiful! It was the perfect backdrop for this beautiful couple!

I couldn’t help but take a few pictures of everyone enjoying the same day slide show from across the room! I think everyone was thrilled to see photos from the wedding on the same day as the wedding! There was a crowd gathered around the slideshow every minute! But my favorite moment is when the flower girl found it! The expression on her face was priceless!

I love love love all of the special touches that Becky incorporated into her wedding to make it “her!” The vintage feel was perfect at the mansion! And I simply adore the gift table where Becky gave her guests the perfect place to put their cards to her and Mike!

And her decision to use sparklers on this dark winter night as she and Mike departed for their honeymoon… sighs! Perfect!

Congratulations Becky and Mike! I seriously can’t tell you how much the two of you have come to mean to me! I am so happy that you contacted me about shooting your Nashville Destination Wedding! And I am so happy that we met and have become friends! Atlanta is not that far from Nashville… and Scott and I simply MUST get some Becky and Mike time every now and then! Besides… I’m going to need to make a trip back to Atlanta soon to go to the Vortex!

Hope you guys had a blast in St. Lucia!

Wedding Vendors:

Wedding Photography: Wendy Cunningham; Nashville, TN

Second Shooter: Rebecca Payne; Louisville, KY

Wedding Venue: Eastland Baptist Church

Wedding Reception Venue: Belmont Mansion

Wedding Coordinator: Brandon Rich with Rich Events

Officiant: Bob Russell; Louisville, KY

Pianist: Alexis Cruz; Nashville, TN

Hair: Ashley Newton

DJ: Irwin Entertainment

Food and Catering: Down South Delights

Cake and Desserts: Sweet 16th