Here is where I talk all things navigating life as a momtreprenuer and give advice / tips on hiring a virtual assistant for your wedding business.

If you’re a wedding photographer feeling buried under emails, inquiries, and half-finished workflows, you don’t need to work harder. You need better systems.

That’s where a systems strategist virtual assistant for wedding photographers comes in.

In this post, we’ll break down exactly what a systems strategist / virtual assistant does, how streamlined client management systems help you book more weddings, and why platforms like Dubsado and HoneyBook are essential for scaling a profitable, sustainable wedding business.

What Is a Systems Strategist / Virtual Assistant?

A systems strategist / virtual assistant is not just someone who checks email or schedules tasks. This role focuses on:

• Designing and optimizing your backend workflows specific to YOUR business
• Setting up and managing CRM systems like Dubsado or HoneyBook
• Automating and tightening up client communication
• Creating scalable processes that support growth

Unlike a traditional virtual assistant, a systems strategist looks at your entire business ecosystem, from inquiry to post-wedding, and builds systems that work for you, not against you.

Why Wedding Photographers Need Strong Systems

The wedding industry is fast-paced, emotional, and deadline-driven. Without strong systems, most wedding pros experience:

• Missed inquiries
• Slow response times
• Inconsistent client experience
• Burnout during peak season

A well-built system ensures:

• Faster lead responses (which = higher booking rates)
• Clear client expectations
• Fewer manual tasks
• More time for creative work

How Dubsado & HoneyBook Increase Bookings

Both Dubsado and HoneyBook are powerful CRMs designed for creative service providers but only when set up correctly.

A Strategic CRM Setup Includes:

• Automated inquiry workflows
• Branded proposals and contracts
• Smart questionnaires
• Payment schedules and reminders
• Internal organization and tags

When hiring a Honeybook systems strategist: your CRM is optimized, your business feels polished, professional, and trustworthy which directly impacts your conversion rate.

What I Do as a Virtual Assistant & Systems Strategist

As a virtual assistant and systems strategist for wedding professionals, I specialize in:

• Full Dubsado and HoneyBook builds
• CRM audits and cleanups
• Custom workflows for photographers & other creatives
• Proposal and questionnaire creation
• Automation strategy
• Client and vendor communication

I work behind the scenes to create systems that feel seamless to your clients and effortless for you.

The Result: More Bookings, Less Stress

Clients don’t just book talent: they book confidence, clarity, and professionalism. Strong systems communicate all three.

With a Systems strategist virtual assistant for wedding photographers, you can:

• Book more aligned clients
• Increase response speed
• Reduce mental load
• Build a business that supports your life

Ready to streamline your business and reach the next level? Inquire now to book my current rates.

grab my steps for hiring a virtual assistant guide for free

purchase my client experience guide with email templates

Hi – if you are here that means you are either feeling the slow season effects already or you are wanting to prepare prior to hitting it. Either way, you are doing great!!

I may not be a wedding photographer but I manage multiple photographers businesses through and through as their virtual assistant and OBM. Answering their emails, sending follow ups to inquiries, making sure invoices are being paid and couple’s questions are top priority. I see first hand how slow season can affect a business. Let’s make sure you don’t!

First, when is slow season?

This may look different depending on where you are located but for my clients (who are in the Louisiana, Tennessee and Florida areas), summer time is where it hits. The months between May to September seem to be the slowest due to couple’s not wanting to sweat to death during their toast at their reception – which, I can’t blame them! Now if you’re more north, that may be different.

Next, what happens during slow season?

Since you don’t have any weddings during this time, means you are probably are not getting paid. We all know what that means! Less coffee shop or Amazon splurges – yikes! That also may mean you are having to rush specials or discounts in order to make up the missing income.

Let’s now discuss tips on how to avoid being hit hard of slow season –

Update your website, girl!

This is the perfect time to update your galleries, adjust your packages based on what did well previously and make some tweaks to your design overall. It is essential to have an updated site to showcase your most recent and best work! It may be slow season but couple’s are still searching for photographers. Make sure to have all of your most precious work available!

Shift your focus to marketing!

Now is the time to market, market, market. Review your previous post to see what did the best and then pre-plan your next few months of content, captions etc. Make sure to also write and post those blogs! Marketing and blogging will help others see and share your work, especially if you’re tagging vendors (which you definitely should!). Plan your upcoming promotions, mini sessions and more.

Let’s talk about mini sessions!

You can load up on many different types of mini session events to supplement income without having to break your damn back. Incorporate cows, bunnies, mother’s day, father’s day, etc. You can make a decent amount just with these sessions.

Adjust your mindset and your finances!

Slow season is tough. It can be for me too, to be completely honest! But ultimately, you cannot allow yourself to get into a funk. Prepare yourself and your finances, and you’ll be A-Okay! Throughout the year, make sure you keep track of your income and expenses. Now, with this being said – you still need to invest IN your business. When you are investing in your business, make sure it is in a way that will help you grow, not just throwing away money. (hire a virtual assistant (hi!), hire a CRM pro to set up your Honeybook or Dubsado (hi, again!), social media manager (sorry, not me but I have referrals!).

Don’t go with the flow when it comes to your business. Make sure to prep and prepare BEFORE things get tough.

Want to learn more about my services that will actually help you and your business reach the next level? Click here.

>> Grab my How to Enhance your Client Experience guide loaded with ready-to-use email template’s and more!

It has been a minute since I have written a blog and I want to note how okay that is! We all put so much pressure on ourselves to always “show up”. Creating this Client Experience guide allowed me to stay busy but also take a moment to breathe.

Okay, now for the real reason I wanted to blog today. I just launched my Enhance your Client Experience guide for wedding photographers and am so excited! My goal as a wedding virtual assistant is not only to earn money and stay at home with my toddler, but to also share knowledge wherever and whenever I can!

Not every wedding pro has the budget to hire a virtual assistant, and that is okay! When you get there, I will still be here! But I wanted to give an opportunity for wedding photographers to still benefit from my service at a much more budget friendly level. My original plan was to only launch email templates but then getting asked A LOT on ways to help streamline tasks, I decided to add in extra topics which ultimately created a whole guide.

GET YOUR GUIDE NOW

Client Experience

Having a fantastic client experience should literally be your number one goal. It dictates your whole business – how many inquiries you receive, how many book you, how many refer you which means…. how much income you will make. Your client experience should WOW your potential clients and your current clients.

What you should include:

+ Freakin’ awesome email templates to grab your clients attention and make them feel special

+ Workflows so you stay on your shit and don’t miss anything

+ Automations to free up your mind of tasks you don’t NEED to do yourself

+ Materials that are carefully and beautifully designed and provide as much information as possible at every stage of the process with you

GRAB YOURS NOW

Interested in learning more about my virtual assistant services? Going into 2024, I have new and improved packages for any stage of your business. Let’s create success together! LEARN MORE

Hi Friend! I’m so glad you are here because this means you are curious. Curiosity leads to learning and growing! Finding the right virtual assistant is key to outsourcing successfully. The right VA contains knowledge, passion/nurture, a vibe you connect with and offers services you are needing (or willing to learn).

I wanted to share a little bit about my most popular package I offer to wedding photographers and planners, so here we go —

Most Popular Package

I have created packages based on what I have seen wedding creatives need the most. My most precious baby is my Business Management package aka CEO / all hands on deck support. This package is my bread and butter which is why it is priced the way it is. I become your CEO assistant who handles almost all backend tasks plus communication.

What is included:

+ Client and vendor communication

+ Email and inquiry management

+ CRM clean up and management

+ Scheduling / Calendar assistance

+ Contract and invoice management

+ Questionnaire / Guides etc creation and management

+ Timeline assistance

+ Special event support (styled shoot, content day, workshops, retreats, etc)

I take what you have created, get you completely organized and manage everything from there. This is perfect for the wedding creatives who are beyond busy and don’t want to deal with the tedious keep ups and communication. You want to keep growing your business without having to work even more or you want to focus on other aspects but need to make sure you get paid and your clients are taken care of.

The Why

The reason I created this package was to support the talented wedding photographers or planners by allowing them to stop being “owned” by their business. The motto I created (at least I think I created it) “You own your business, don’t let your business own you.” I feel this completely as a business owner! You created your business that started as a passion. You wore all the damn hats. Now you want to blossom even more but don’t know how. The easiest and best way to do it – outsource the annoying yet very necessary tasks.

I truly just want my clients to succeed but have a life. Nothing is worse than being business successful but having no time for anything else or actually enjoying it. A lot of the times wedding creatives get burnt out and lose focus on why they started their journey. My job is to help you find your passion again and help you thrive!

If you want to start off small, I have a “get started” package which is just a smaller version of my business management package. You can get your feet wet by choosing two to three tasks you want to hand off with the option to upgrade to my full support later on.

I have ONE spot left for my full Business Management and I want you to take it! Schedule a call to talk all the things.

You have made the decision to start a Wedding Virtual Assistant business or have already started but a little business-shocked by all of the steps. First, I want to say good for you, girl! This is the first step in creating a life you have always dreamed of. Please note, that there is no “get rich quick” or “scale quickly” tricks but I will say if you stay consistent, be uniquely you and be real… you will get there.

There are many reasons why you are wanting to grow a sustainable virtual assistant business. Maybe you are a mom to a young child, like me. You may be tired of being on someone else’s schedule and following their rules. If creating your own schedule, your own rates and have the ability to travel or participate in your child’s activities then this is exactly for you.

So, how do you get there?

Have a Good Mindset

Having a good mindset from the very beginning is more important than anything else mentioned in this blog. Know that every business owner has their ups and downs but it does not mean you are not meant to do this! Embrace your knowledge, personality and experience. Every person brings their own uniqueness and this is your time to shine!

Find a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT BUSINESS Mentor

First things first, I highly suggest you find a wedding virtual assistant mentor or coach. Personally, for one year I tried to make it on my own and I set myself back by doing so. I did buy guides at first but I needed one-on-one support. I bought a full course and then a few months later hired a 6-week mentor. Why did I do both? Good question! The course I originally bought did not include one-on-one mentorship but it was cheaper than the mentor I really wanted to learn from. When I finally set my financial fear aside, I took the opportunity to work with my dream mentor. Things finally made sense!

A true mentor will help you figure out your income goals and how to create packages that will meet those goals. They will help you come up with a marketing strategy that fits your brand. They may even create a posting calendar for you (depending on who you hire). A virtual assistant business coach will also help build up your confidence and be someone you can pick their brain during your coaching timeframe.

I am now offering virtual assistant 4 week mentorship to help you get your business to the next level. My mentorship program allows us to work one on one and make your vision clearer. You can fill out my contact form HERE to receive a full detailed proposal.

Be Yourself

Honestly a lot of new wedding virtual assistants copy posts and either don’t think about it or think it won’t be noticed. Now, I’m not saying you can’t get inspired or get ideas. If you do, make it your own or credit the person you were inspired by. We have all trial-and-errored, spent thousands of dollars in coaching programs and website design, and have created a marketing strategy that works for our business. Most of us want to help and see you be successful but please just make sure to do it properly.

Now with that being said, you may be thinking “well, what do I have that others don’t and why would someone pick me over someone else?”. These two questions will make or break your self-esteem! Utilizing your personality and personal experiences will set you a part from others. You will eventually start booking clients who match your vibe and love what you offer!

make connections and build relationships

Making connections and building genuine relationships with your dream clients will get you far! Some business owners would say to cold message. I highly suggest not including that in your marketing and lead generation technique. When you build genuine relationships you will come off as personable and real. It shows you truly care about them and their business rather than just trying to make a sale. Cold messaging creates a bad taste in peoples mouths so avoid doing that at all cost.

A few ways to build genuine relationships:

+ Comment on their posts and stories

+ Share their work

+ Give advice but only when they ask

create a business you love

You can create a business you love but still meet financial goals. By doing this, you allow yourself to enjoy what you do and it won’t feel like work. You started your business to be on your own terms, right? Here are a few ways to do so –

A few ways to build a virtual assistant business you love:

+ Offer services you enjoy doing – this is important! You can offer every service under the sun but if you don’t enjoy doing them, you will get burnt out quickly and find yourself dreading working every day.

+ Packaged services VS Hourly – totally a preference but I personally love and suggest offering services in a packaged based option opposed to hourly. Packaged based means you create a package with particular services you will provide monthly and your income remains the same. Hourly based means your client will buy a certain amount of hours per month which means your income could be different each month.

+ Create a work schedule – balancing work and life may not seem hard but when there isn’t anyone to tell you when to start or stop work, it can get tricky. Set up your Google Calendar and/or phone alarms that tells you your working hours and your breaks.

+ Time block and To-Do list – Girl, do yourself a favor and time block your tasks and create lists. You can either do it per client or per tasks. I currently have 5 wedding photographer clients but I also have a toddler at home so managing my time is very important. Time blocking is when you set a particular time to complete a tasks / client work. My brain works in two ways – I have the tendency to either get laser focused on one tasks until it is done or I am like the energizer bunny and hop around between tasks depending on what pops in my head.

If you are interested in talking and learning more about either how I got started as a wedding virtual assistant or want to book a mentorship call, please feel free to message me on my website!

Much Love,

Sam