Oh boy, this topic is near and dear to me. When I decided to become a wedding planner, I was sick at home binge-watching some wedding TV shows, and before you knew it, I picked up a pile of wedding magazines and decided I would be a wedding planner. And yes, I had no idea what the heck I was actually doing. I have good news, though (15 years later!) – if you’re looking to build your portfolio as a wedding planner, you are in the right place.
Let’s just say I’m about to save you a ton of time and money, and maybe, just maybe, you can learn with a little less trial and error.
Building your portfolio is often one of the first and most anxiety-inducing steps you need to take when you decide to open your wedding business. In marketing, the eye buys, and it can be hard to reel in your ideal clients if you don’t have a portfolio representing the type of work you want to do.
Hold up – are you looking to launch your wedding planning business? You should probably click here and sign up for my free masterclass!
Before I share some tips and tricks for building out your portfolio, a little shameless plug, if I may. If you are new to the wedding planning biz and you’re looking to launch your wedding planning business, this is for you.
My free masterclass, How To Launch Your Wedding Planning Business THIS Year & Book Your First 5 Clients, will show you EXACTLY what you need to do to get your wedding planning business started AND booking clients. Come join me for this FREE, LIVE training – click here to sign up now!
Okay, now back to what you came here for.
First, styled shoots are one of my favorite ways to build your portfolio because they show YOUR vision and allow you to connect with other local wedding vendors.
If you’ve been in business for a while, you probably realized that some of the over-the-top micro weddings you have been admiring on Instagram are, in fact, styled shoots.
I believe that when you’re just starting out, styled shoots are one of the absolute best ways to build your portfolio as a wedding planner because you are collaborating and networking with other vendors and showcasing the work YOU want to be doing. You have control here!
Hosting styled shoots is a great way to ensure you’re not putting out photos of mediocre budget weddings (from the clients who have hired you) and wondering why that’s all you’re attracting five years later.
You don’t want the first event you design to be on somebody’s wedding day. After all, with weddings, there are no do-overs. Styled shoots can be more expensive than other ways to build your portfolio (it’s not uncommon for “hard costs” to be shared between vendors) but when you are first starting out, you don’t always (ever!) have the type of clients that you wish would hire you.
You know… the ones with the six and seven-figure wedding budgets throwing magazine-worthy weddings that give you instant street cred.
Second, book a brand shoot to help your customers connect with YOU and fill the gaps in your portfolio when your photos are scarce.
Ultimately, there are dozens – if not hundreds – of wedding planners in your area who do the same thing as you. The good news is, nobody does it quite like you.
There IS more than enough room, trust me. Branding photoshoots are a great way to show behind the scenes… even if you don’t have a ton of real ‘behind the scenes’ yet.
Branding photos are also a great way to show that you mean business. After all, someone who is willing to invest in high-quality brand photography is somebody to take seriously. Trust me – your selfies aren’t doing that for you. People want to invest in people who invest in themselves.
You can showcase your sparkling personality while rearranging a tablescape and straightening out some of that luxury cutlery you rented for the day.
Next, create behind-the-scenes content for social media.
I don’t know if you follow me on the ‘gram, but I rarely post on my feed anymore. I always try and show up on stories because it’s way easier to do on the fly (and a lot more fun!). Even if you don’t have any real weddings yet, you can show tons of behind the scenes of you at different rental companies (learning more about what they have to offer), venue tours around your area, you setting up your wedding planning software, or even putting together a design board.
Even if some of the work is just hypothetical at this point, the options for behind-the-scenes content is endless, and it is a great marketing tool. Remember – you don’t need to know everything – you just need to know more than your ideal client.
Finally, use stock images to round out your portfolio.
I’ve talked about using stock images before because I think they’re a great option when starting out. Seriously (and I’m willing to jump on my soapbox for this), there is no excuse for stealing images in 2021. Pinterest doesn’t count as a source! I can’t even tell you how many times my work has been stolen, and it’s a good way to tarnish your reputation in the industry fast.
I started my own wedding business 13 years ago, and y’all, the only available stock images were janky. Nothing like we have today. However, I still used them all over my website and replaced them as I acquired more content. A few of my faves are Haute Stock and Styled Stock Society, and yes, it’s worth having a subscription for higher quality stuff!
You aren’t going to have a magazine-worthy portfolio overnight, but it really doesn’t need to take as long as you think!
I’m always walking the line between keeping it real and telling you that I believe from the bottom of my heart that you CAN have the business you want (whatever that looks like!). I hope this has given you some encouragement to put yourself out there and start building your portfolio as a wedding planner. You don’t need to play small (because let’s be honest, it gets boring).
If you are picking up what I’m putting down and want some more, I would love to see you inside The Planner’s Playbook. Trust me, you are going to want to join us now before the doors close to snag some sweet bonuses and perks.
Let’s round up how you can build your wedding planner portfolio when you’re just starting out:
- Create, design, and plan a styled wedding shoot.
This helps build your portfolio and shows off your signature style.
- Hire a photographer to do a brand shoot.
You’ll be able to share images of yourself on social media and your website to create a connection with potential clients.
- Create behind-the-scenes content.
Your phone has a powerful camera – use it to create content showing you working on building your business.
- Use stock images for your marketing.
There’s nothing wrong with using stock images to help grow your business!
Want more? Check out this video on my YouTube channel ↓
Explore More Wedding Industry Resources
- Wedding Planner Marketing: How to Attract and Speak Directly to Your Ideal Client
- How To Get Wedding Clients When You’re Just Starting Out
- How To Plan A Styled Shoot As A Wedding Planner
- Wedding Planner Problems: Here Are Some Of The BIGGEST Problems Wedding Planners Deal With
- How To Become A Wedding Planner With No Experience
- Day of Coordination: The Pros and Cons as a Wedding Planner
- How To Book Your FIRST Client As A Wedding Planner
- How To Get A Wedding Planner Job In 2024
- What Are The Best Resources For Wedding Planners?
- Should You Work For Free As A Newer Wedding Planner To Gain Experience? My Honest Opinion
- How to Book Destination Weddings And Elopements In Your Wedding Business
- How Much Should You Charge As A Wedding Planner? Learn How To Figure Out Your Wedding Planner Pricing
- 4 Strategies That Will Help You Book MORE Of Your Ideal Clients
- Why You’re Not Attracting The Right Clients and How to Fix It
- How to Start a Wedding Planning Business
- Wedding Planners – Should You List Your Wedding Planner Pricing Packages On Your Website?
For More Wedding Planner Business Secrets Follow Me On Instagram
Nobody is coming to choose you or your business.
I said this to a student last month who had been in the business for years. Her process was dialed in. She had weddings on the books. But the work she was getting didn’t reflect what she was actually capable of, and she’d been waiting for the right client to come along and finally give her the chance to prove it.
That’s not how it works.
If you want to be booked for the work you actually want to do, you have to start showing it. Styled shoots. Venue tour reels. A post that says “manifesting this venue for my next dream couple.”
If you sit around and wait for a dream client to pick you so that you can prove what you’re capable of, you’re going to be waiting around a long time.
On the flip side…
Another client told me how she pivoted out of the $70K weddings she didn’t want by telling two prospective clients their budget was actually going to be $120K.
Both signed.
She didn’t wait for permission. She decided. She chose.
I want you to do the same.
What’s one thing you could post this week that shows the work you want to be hired for — not the work you currently have?
Last month I hosted my mastermind retreat for women in the wedding industry in a very special place: my home!
I got the guts to do this last Spring after reading a book by @oliverburkeman_ called Meditations for Mortals (a book so important I actually gifted it to all the attendees!).
There’s a phrase in the book that became my inspo for this retreat, and it’s called scruffy hospitality.
The gist: don’t wait until your house is perfect to invite people in. If you wait that long, you’ll never invite anyone in.
I knew that having the women I coach 1:1 in my home for a week to talk about business, share meals, drinks, learn, and laugh would be more meaningful than a fancy hotel or conference room.
And that’s because something special happens when we are invited into another persons sacred space. We feel a deeper connection to them and ourselves.
The whole book is structured around the idea that perfectionism is the thing stopping most of us from actually doing the work that matters.
Waiting for the house to be perfect before you have anyone over for dinner is just one flavor of it.
On the podcast, I shared more about the retreat and the story of why I host it here — episode 202 if you’re interested.
It got me thinking about YOU and what you might be delaying in your life or business because it’s not perfect yet.
Many of us are waiting for the business to be perfect, the website to be perfect, the portfolio to be perfect before we invite people in.
But what if you’re meant to invite people in now, when things (and you) are not perfect? What would that change for you, and what opportunities could you receive because of it?
Xo,
C
Photography by @c10ike 💜💜💜
WHAT a week. WHAT a group. WHAT a privilege.
The WPI Spring Retreat 2026 in Barbados is officially in the books and I’m still floating!! Five days of strategy, sun, sisterhood, and entirely too many beautiful conversations with seventeen women who I am wildly, ridiculously lucky to coach.
When you become a coach, nobody tells you that the cup goes both ways.
I poured into them all week, and they poured right back into me.
I learned something from every single one of them. About leadership. About refinement. About what it looks like to build a business and a life on your own terms without flinching.
I am more convinced than ever that this is my purpose. Being a guide for women who are writing their own stories is the work I was made for and I feel SO grateful that I get to do this.
If you’ve been craving a community of women who actually GET what you’re building, come talk to me. WPI is the room I wish I had at every stage of my career, and the door is open.
And if you’re the one building a room for others, please keep building. The women who need you are out there. Make a seat for them.
To my WPI clients: I love you. Thank you for one of the best weeks of my life!
Not pictured: @c10ike, the most amazing friend and our official retreat photographer! 💜💜💜
Tax man loves to see us coming 😂
but seriously, is there nothing better than having a business that affords you the opportunity to travel to new places, experience new things, and meet new people?
Just a few days left until our next mastermind retreat kicks off at my home in Barbados! 🙌🏼
Will we see you at the next one?!
Photography @c10ike
All, Building Your Brand, Growing a Business, Ideal Clients, Instagram Marketing, Starting a Business, Wedding Industry Marketing, Wedding Planning Advice
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