Under this consultancy, I worked with award-winning wedding planner Katrina Otter Weddings, and our friendship started back in 2013 when we met on Pinterest! A shared love for beautiful weddings, stylish interiors, and, of course, being business owners led to our first meeting and inevitable collaboration. With my passion for branding and design and Katrina’s talent for planning, we made a great partnership.
We have told many wedding venue stories, working with new-to-market venues taking their first tentative steps into the industry through to established businesses looking to attract a new client or update their brand image.
So, if you’ve been thinking about creating your first marketing campaign or perhaps want to be more involved, here’s everything you need to know.
Why styled shoots?
Styled shoots are a perfect way to launch into the wedding industry or rebrand your business. Your visuals are key to attracting the right client. Your images can be used on your website, across your social media accounts, submitted to digital magazines and blogs, and featured in your marketing collateral.
Consistent, appealing and downright gorgeous, the images you’ll receive from a well-planned styled shoot are priceless.
Even though Katrina and I have pretty different businesses, styled shoots quickly allowed us to mark ourselves as experts in a crowded marketplace. Our shoots also elevated our presence, and we gained industry recognition while attracting our ideal clients.
Styled shoots are an excellent opportunity to be creative and maybe work outside the boundaries of a client’s brief. Perhaps you want to showcase a different wedding style at your venue, maybe you’re brand new to the market, or you may have a newly renovated area that you want to show to potential couples.
Styled shoots are also great for networking and meeting wedding suppliers. As a wedding planner, Katrina has used several suppliers we’ve worked with on shoots for her weddings and events. So, if you’re looking to update your recommended supplier lists, this is an excellent way of testing the waters with new suppliers.
How to create your focus
Firstly, consider your dream couple and what they would look for at your wedding venue.
Don’t go off-brand with your styled shoots, and don’t just follow the trends. Clients and publishers will see through this – your shoot has to come from you and you alone. Don’t create a shoot around something because you think it’s ‘popular’. Consider the longevity of your images; shoots aren’t cheap, so you want to ensure the images you receive will work super hard long-term, so don’t go after a trend or anything with a strong theme.
Next, get inspired! Don’t immediately hit Pinterest for this; look at other things you’re drawn to – colours, textures, fashion, interiors, a particular flower or landscape. Perhaps there’s a motif at your venue or a historic link you want to work with – a book or poem works perfectly.
When you’ve got an idea of how you want your styled shoot to look and feel, hit Pinterest. It’s the easiest resource and a great way of communicating with multiple team members. We set up a shared board and started pinning things that inspired us, albeit with a focused approach. When pinning, list elements you’ll cover on the shoot, such as getting ready, ceremony, fashion, cake, tablescape, and stationery. Once inspired, it’s time to narrow everything down and create a lookbook.
What is a lookbook?
A lookbook is a visual guide to how your styled shoot will go. We include details such as the overview, colour palette, and date. Then, we break down the shoot into its elements—fashion, beauty, hair, accessories, bouquets, flowers, ceremony, stationery, cake, tablescape, lifestyle, and any particular details we might want to capture.
The lookbook has two functions: to keep you on track and ensure your decisions remain consistent. However, note that the lookbook is a guide and isn’t there to stifle the team’s creativity! So, don’t be too strict.
The second function is to attract key wedding suppliers to collaborate on the shoot.
Choosing your collaborators
Always approach the suppliers you want to work with directly, and never start by sending out a styled shoot supplier call on any social media platform. For a styled shoot to work, you need to curate the right team and ensure the suppliers you work with suit your styled shoot vibe.
When approaching the supplier, email them first, saying that you’re planning a styled shoot and would love to share your moodboard with them to see if they’d like to work with you. At this stage, include the date of the styled shoot.
Once they’ve responded with interest, follow up with your moodboard. Hopefully, it’s a yes! Don’t be disheartened if it’s not for whatever reason (dates clash, other commitments, location, etc.). Who’s next on your wish list of suppliers?
It can be quite a lengthy process to secure the right time, so we usually give ourselves 2-3 months to prep for a styled shoot. This allows you time to secure your collaborators and then communicate with them individually about what they will be contributing.
Be inclusive in your choices
Creating an inclusive shoot isn’t just about the people in front of the camera, it’s also about who’s behind the camera contributing to the team.
When choosing your team, how inclusive are you? Are you reaching out to the same suppliers over and over again? Widen your network, reach out to suppliers you haven’t worked with before, and champion the UK wedding industry.
The Photographer
Your styling may be awesome, but the photographer’s interpretation is what genuinely matters. When choosing a photographer, make sure the fit is right.
The relationship with the photographer is key—it’s a super tight working relationship between stylist and photographer, and neither should cramp the other, but there must be honest communication.
We usually love to include a videographer, but consider the style of both photo and film and ensure they are a good match.
The Model
A model can quite simply make or break a shoot.
If you want to invest in this area, visit online agencies’ portfolios. Alternatively, seek out other styled shoots and see if anyone stands out to you.
2020 saw the rise of the model couple. Real couples are the best, folks. Again, scroll through social media using the #modelcouple and see who pops up.
If you want to create a same-sex couple shoot, look for a real couple.
Budgets – how much does a shoot cost?
A key factor to consider on a styled shoot is who pays for what?
Styled shoots are usually collaborative. Everyone brings their expertise/service to the table. A florist pays for the flowers, the stationer pays for the paper/printing, and the photographer pays for the film.
As the stylist/planner and host of the shoot, we will usually pay for the model and any expenses, such as providing food/drink for the team. If we’re working on a commercial campaign for a wedding venue, these costs will usually be invoiced to the client, and they will also provide travel expenses for the model and any possible contributions to the florist if a big installation is required.
At first, this can all seem quite daunting, but you need to see the outlay as part of your marketing budget. So, what do you want to allocate to this per year, and how many shoots per year do you want to achieve?
If you’re hosting the shoot as the venue, you might need to offer accommodation to the team if it’s a long day.
Crib sheet
Communicating with your team once they’re on board is key, and as venues, you will all be used to a schedule or three! A crib sheet for a styled shoot will usually include:
For people off-site who may be contributing to the shoot, include them in the crib sheet and be clear on how long you’ll have their items and when they will be returned.
We usually send this to the team 1-2 weeks before the shoot so that we can receive any amendments and dietary requirements.
Shoot day!
Kick-off with a meeting, introduce yourself and then allow the team to say hello and let everyone know what they’ll be contributing to the shoot on the day.
In this meeting, discuss any important health and safety requirements for working onsite at your venue. Let everyone know how to contact you and where lunch will be served. Usually, it’s best if people can grab something as and when they have a free moment instead of having a communal feast, so ensure food is available for a 2-hour window.
If you’re doing the styled shoot to feature on a particular blog or in a specific wedding magazine, then make sure you’ve researched and know exactly the shots and details those publications need.
After the shoot, a thank-you email the next day will be gratefully received! You can also let the team know the next steps and that you’ll be in touch as soon as you have images to share with them.
Kit bag
On the day you will most likely need:
When should I plan a styled shoot?
If you are just starting your business or planning your first styled shoot, then there are times of year to avoid!
Submitting your styled shoot
Before starting the submission process, you should know where you want to be published. But I will say to treat each submission personally.
Read and absorb the submission guidelines for the particular publication and follow these and only these rules. Blogs receive many submissions and are guaranteed one way not to get featured is to completely ignore the way they like to work.
Submitting to multiple blogs at the same time is a BIG NO.
Don’t do it.
You won’t win friends at the publishing platforms if you’ve submitted to another platform simultaneously. It can get a bit awkward, and no one likes to play second fiddle should your first choice come back accepting your shoot. So, you should aim for one blog at a time and honour the individual exclusivity clauses.
Don’t be disheartened if a blog or magazine says no; simply have a plan B or C.
It is important to keep the team up-to-date during this submission process. We usually share some sneak peek images with them for use on social media. These images are usually just a hint of the shoot and styling, keeping exclusivity for the blog that publishes the whole shoot.
However, if you’re hosting a shoot at your venue, I would negotiate an immediate 10-15 images you can use on your website and third-party platforms. Waiting for embargoed images to be released can take months. You’re wasting precious time if you cannot use them for marketing.
Include credits when sharing images with the team so everyone can easily share on social media!
Once published – share the love!
When published, don’t rely on just the blog to spread the word! Ensure you’ve made it easy for your team to get on social media and tag everyone involved.
Always thank the blog – whether in the comments, on social media or an email.
Your brand
As venues, you may frequently receive requests to collaborate on shoots. Remember, only say yes to those suppliers who are right for you and your business, and ensure the styled shoot vision matches your ideal client.
If it doesn’t, it’s OK to pass politely.
Some lessons learnt…
Finally, here are some lessons we’ve learnt along the way:
If you’re doing styled shoots but not getting published:
Lastly, have fun. Shoots are hard work, and sometimes, there can be a little friction on the day. But remember why you’re doing it. You’re there as a collective to create. It’s what you/we do. So enjoy and reap the benefits of the beautiful outcome.