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How to Attract Your Ideal Clients

How To Book Destination Weddings And Elopements In Your Wedding Business

October 12, 2023

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I'm candice!

I'm Candice, your new tell-it-like-it-is BFF (and purpose cheerleader). Are you ready to grow and scale a profitable business with purpose–and one that gives back to your meaningful life? Thought so!

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What's your brand cocktail for success?

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*cues up to the bar* Let's start the tab, shall we? Take the quiz and find your brand cocktail for success.

When you first enter the wedding industry, you are often eager to book anything you possibly can. We've all been tempted to work those crappy weddings for the promise of something, anything, you can add to your portfolio. The novelty wears off fast though. If you have been dreaming about how to book destination weddings and elopements, you are in the right place. In this article, I'm going to share with you how to get destination wedding clients.

As a wedding planner for over 13 years, I've learned a thing or two about booking the kind of clients you want (you can read more about my journey here if you are curious)! My wedding business, which I sold in 2019, started in Connecticut. When I met my now-husband, I eagerly started booking weddings in his destination where I now live and love – the dreamy little island of Barbados! Today, I am going to share with you 6 steps you need to take to book more destination weddings.

And if you want to fast track building out the destination wedding side of your wedding planning business, I recommend grabbing this resource on how to become a destination wedding planner in my shop.

If you have been dreaming about how to book destination weddings and elopements, you are in the right place. In this article, I'm going to share with you how to get destination wedding clients.

Make sure your website and branding make it CLEAR that you offer destination wedding and elopement services.

I know that it sounds too good to be true but sometimes simply saying that you offer destination weddings and elopement services is enough to have people book you. Don't assume that your ideal customer automatically knows that you are ready and willing to book their destination wedding. We are going to talk more about how to attract destination wedding planning couples in the next few steps, but you need to start here first. After all, what's the point of attracting destination wedding planning couples if your website and branding aren't going to seal the deal?

At the very least, advertising destination wedding services prompt wedding couples to start a conversation. Even if they don't end up booking you for a destination wedding, you never know if they will send referrals your way. When it comes to branding, be clear over clever. If you are dreaming of becoming a destination wedding planner, make it clear in your marketing!

Select 3-5 destinations you want to be known for. Don't worry, this list can grow over time.

I know, I know. Nobody ever wants to commit to their niche, right? If you have been dreaming about destination weddings, chances are you also have dreams of traveling the world and exploring many different locations with your wedding couples.

Bear with me while I hit you with a cliché like “Rome wasn't built in a day”.

When you first start to advertise that you were open to destination wedding business, focus on just 3 to 5 destinations that you really want to be known for. Once you become the go-to wedding authority in your space for those destinations, you can start to expand to even more dreamy locations.

Research venue options that your ideal client would be interested in. If you don't know who your ideal client is, you need to grab my Client Cocktail!

Seriously, let me just insert a shameless plug here. You may think you have a pretty good idea of who your ideal client is, but after teaching hundreds of wedding pros how to create their ideal client avatars (and the feedback I've received), I can guarantee you that you don't know them as well as you think you do.

They are NOT just somebody between the ages of 30-35 with a household income of $200,000/year who loves shopping at Nordstrom and frequently drinks Starbucks (or whatever you have written down in your notebook right now).

The first step to booking your ideal clients (destination weddings, elopements, or otherwise), is a deep understanding of what they truly value (whether they admit it to themselves or not). For just $47, my ideal client cocktail will be the best money you've spent on your wedding business this year. Marketing your business to attract ideal clients is a lot easier when you know EXACTLY who you are talking to.

If you have been dreaming about how to book destination weddings and elopements, you are in the right place. In this article, I'm going to share with you how to get destination wedding clients.

Align yourself with those venues, resorts, cities/towns, and areas through discoverable content like blog posts, Pinterest pins, and geo-tagged Instagram posts.

Once you have a deep understanding of the venues, resorts, cities, and locations that your ideal client would be interested in, you need to focus on creating as much quality searchable content that leads back to you as possible. Writing blog posts, creating Pinterest pins, and geo-tagging Instagram posts are great ways to get in front of what your ideal clients are already searching for.

I practice what I preach, ya'll, after all – how did you find me today? There's a good chance it was through searchable content!

Don't let imposter syndrome get you! Don't worry if you haven't worked at the places you are trying to sell yet. Use stock images with credit if needed.

Who hasn't felt imposter syndrome from time to time? I hate to be the one to break it to you, but as you embark on this new adventure to book more destination weddings and elopement, there is a good chance that imposter syndrome may rear its ugly head.

If you are reading this blog post and have made it this far, here's what I know about you: you are resourceful enough to figure things out as you go. Remind yourself of that often.

Book the Wedding Planning Clients You WANT

When I started my wedding business in 2007, I told my accountant I was planning on doing the first few weddings for free or very low cost, so I could build my portfolio. The advice he gave me was pure gold, and I'm sharing it with you today.

He said to me, “Candice, I don't know much about wedding planning, but I do know a lot about home building. Oftentimes, home builders enter the industry with the best of intentions, to do work for free or very low cost to build their portfolio. In reality, what ends up happening is that they get stuck at a certain price point and have an incredibly hard time breaking out of it because the work and their portfolio doesn't match the work they want to book.”

You need to start where you want to land. Boom, mic drop.

He might not have had any experience in the wedding industry, but boy was his advice spot on. Looking back, I'm so glad I took the time to listen. I ended up building my business on a DIY WordPress website using janky stock images and replacing them as I got better and better. Compared to the stock images we have access to now, I have to laugh a little bit!

The ultimate guide for becoming a destination wedding planner.

In your marketing, tell stories about what you WOULD do there as a wedding planner/photographer/vendor.

Now that you've gotten crystal clear, all that's left to do is spread your message far and wide and wait for your ideal clients to find you and book you. In your marketing, tell stories about what you would do there as a wedding planner, photographer, or another vendor.

Not quite sure how to effectively use stories in your marketing? Make sure to listen to this podcast episode!

For example, using a stock image of a beach, talk about how you recommend your customers book venues that have access to a private area of beach instead of in front for the whole resort to see. You have the inside scoop, of course (that's why you did the research first!). Another example? Share stock images of food and talk about how you help your couples choose a wedding menu. Seriously, the sky's the limit, and if you don't have real weddings to talk about (yet!), that doesn't mean you can't share what you DO know.

If you have been dreaming about how to book destination weddings and elopements, you are in the right place. In this article, I'm going to share with you how to get destination wedding clients.

How to Book More Destination Wedding Couples (+ Become the “Go To” Destination Wedding Planner)

Can you tell I'm passionate about getting wedding planners (and other wedding vendors) the businesses they have always wanted? Finding (and booking) your ideal clients is one of the things I'm known for. If that includes booking destination weddings, I am so glad that you found your way here. Below, you will find a quick summary of the 6 steps I recommend to book more destination weddings and elopements. This WORKS, ya'll.

  1. Make sure your website and branding make it CLEAR that you offer destination wedding and elopement services.
  2. Select 3-5 destinations you want to be known for. Don't worry, this list can grow over time.
  3. Research venue options that your ideal client would be interested in. If you don't know who your ideal client is, you need to grab my Ideal Client Cocktail!
  4. Align yourself with those venues, resorts, cities/towns, and areas through discoverable content like blog posts, Pinterest Pins, and geo-tagged Instagram posts.
  5. Don't worry if you haven't worked at the places you are trying to sell yet. Use stock images with credit if needed.
  6. In your marketing, tell stories about what you WOULD do there as a wedding planner/photographer/vendor.
  7. Grab my Playbook on how to become a destination wedding planner.

Bonus Step: DM me on Instagram and tell me when you've booked your first destination wedding or elopement customer!

Ready to book destination weddings and elopements? Add “Destination Wedding Planner” or “Elopement Photographer” to your portfolio? I'm excited to see what you do. Want to make narrowing down your ideal clients even easier? Grab My Client Cocktail! Inside, you'll learn how to attract, sell, and serve your ideal clients. Whether they are dreaming of Italy or Mexico…

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For More Wedding Industry Business Secrets, Follow Me on Instagram

Weekend mode ✨activated ✨

It’s been a month since we moved into our home and most mornings, we sit outside here with our coffee and talk about the day ahead.

Someday, I hope to sit out here with the women in my mastermind and talk about our years and lives ahead. ✨✨✨

For now, good morning ☕️ and happy Saturday

#barbados #backporch #candicecoppola #weddingproinsiders #weddingindustry #weddingplannereducation #weddingpros #weddingindustry #newhomeowner #saturdaymorning #saturdaymood
Happy international Women’s Day! ❤️ When I was thinking about what this day means to me, I think about all the amazing women in my life - and how lucky I am to know them.

Thank you to every woman in my life who has listened, laughed, shared, uplifted and taught me valuable lessons. Every day I feel lucky to serve women and support women. 

Shout out to @techsavvycreative who is smart and kind and the sweetest friend! ❤️❤️❤️ #internationalwomensday #womensupportingwomen #womeninbusiness
Raise your hand if you let shiny object syndrome wreck havoc in your business 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

Steven Greitzer from @ourprovenance joined me for a tech talk this week on the podcast! We definitely chat about the mistakes we make when it comes to tech - and how you can be more intentional with the tools you use.

He also shares his predictions for tech this year! 2023 was definitely all about ChatGPT and the rise of AI, and Steven has some opinions about what you can expect in 2024. 

If you’re not familiar with Stephen, he’s the founder and CEO of Provenance. After spending many years officiating weddings and coaching first-timers to do the same, it became painfully clear that the only resources out there for wedding officiants were generic Madlib templates, convoluted blog posts, and outdated scripts.

Today, Provenance has a suite of AI tools that has been helping thousands of couples, officiants, and guests design personalized and meaningful ceremony scripts, vows, and toasts for modern-day weddings.

With over a decade in the tech space, and now a tech founder himself, Steven was the perfect guest to have on this week to break down tech trends we need to watch out for!

It was an awesome episode and I’m excited for you to tune in and hear Steven’s predictions. 

#provenance #weddingplanning101 #weddingplanningsoftware #weddingindustry #weddingideas #candicecoppola #powerinpurposepodcast #aitools #weddingtrends #weddingpros

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