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.

Most wedding professionals have an endless list of daily tasks but not enough time in the day. Hiring a top tier virtual assistant can help streamline your systems and handle those time-consuming (and annoying) tasks you keep pushing off. Let’s learn how:

Here are the top tasks a virtual assistant can do for your wedding business:

Email Management

This task can be as thorough or as simple as possible. Between sorting your 100,000 unread emails to answering nonstop incoming inquiry emails (yay for you!), current clients and vendors. Inboxes are usually a wedding professional’s worst nightmare. Let a virtual assistant handle it so you can focus on doing what you actually love! For example, a VA will keep your inbox clean and labeled accordingly.

CRM Management

Having a clean and organized CRM system can literally make or break a business. Having an extra pair of eyes on your Honeybook or Dubsado will make sure nothing is missed. This typically includes workflow and automation management as well. Your virtual assistant will have constant eyes on your systems and processes and additionally making adjustments to assure invoices get paid, questionnaires get sent out and more.

Calendar Scheduling

A huge time-consuming task wedding pro’s deal with is scheduling calls and sessions with inquiries and current clients. A virtual assistant can take that task of going back and forth with dates, times and locations. You can sit back and see your calendar fill up without you lifting a finger (besides shooting over your availability).

Administration / Housekeeping Tasks

Running a business, there is always something that needs to be done. A virtual assistant will be your sidekick to handle any additional tasks you don’t have time for. For example, creating and sending you a list of who has booked and how much they paid. Another example is sending Thank You notes to your clients.

Ready to step up your game and get your life back?

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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.

Are you a wedding photographer feeling overwhelmed with the endless tasks that come with running your business?

From managing emails and schedules to ensuring every detail is perfect for your clients, it can be a challenge to find the time to focus on your business.

This is where a wedding virtual assistant steps in. Imagine delegating those time-consuming tasks to a skilled professional who understands the unique nuances of the wedding industry.

In this article, we’ll explore how a wedding virtual assistant can transform your business, allowing you to reclaim your passion and grow your enterprise more efficiently than ever before.

What is a virtual Wedding Assistant?

At its core, a Wedding Virtual Assistant is a specialized professional dedicated to supporting wedding photographers and other businesses in the wedding industry. Unlike a general virtual assistant, their expertise is finely tuned to the unique challenges and tasks that come with wedding planning and photography.

By taking on these essential but often burdensome tasks, a Wedding Virtual Assistant enables wedding photographers to focus on their craft and business growth. They work behind the scenes to ensure that your business runs smoothly, clients are delighted, and your brand remains consistent and professional.

What Tasks Can a Wedding Virtual Assistant Do for Your Business?

A Wedding Virtual Assistant is an invaluable asset for any wedding photography business, equipped to handle a wide array of tasks. These tasks, while crucial, can be time-consuming and detract from the core activities of your business. Here’s how a Wedding Virtual Assistant can help streamline your operations:

1. Email and Inquiry Management: They manage your inbox, ensuring timely and professional responses to client inquiries. This keeps your communication efficient and helps in building strong client relationships.
2. Client and Vendor Communication: Beyond just emails, they handle all forms of communication with clients and vendors. This includes scheduling meetings, coordinating with venues, and ensuring that all parties are aligned and informed.
3. SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) Clean-Up and Management: Your Wedding Virtual Assistant can optimize your business’s SOPs, ensuring all processes are efficient and up-to-date. This streamlines your workflow, making your operations more efficient.
4. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Clean-Up and Management: They can organize and manage your CRM system, ensuring that your client data is always current, accurate, and effectively utilized for business growth.
5. Pinterest Management: With their understanding of the visual appeal and trends in the wedding industry, they can manage your Pinterest account to showcase your work, attract potential clients, and stay on top of industry trends.
6. Material Revamping: They can revitalize your business materials, such as guides, questionnaires, and brochures, ensuring they are not only up-to-date but also visually appealing and aligned with your brand.

A Wedding Virtual Assistant is more than just a helper; they’re a versatile partner who can take on a diverse range of tasks, allowing you to focus more on the creative and client-facing aspects of your photography business.

Why a Wedding VA is so beneficial for a business

The true value of a Wedding Virtual Assistant goes beyond just handling routine tasks. They play a critical role in the smooth operation and growth of your wedding photography business. Here’s why they are an indispensable part of your team:

1. Industry-Specific Expertise: Wedding Virtual Assistants possess a deep understanding of the wedding industry’s dynamics. This expertise allows them to handle the intricacies and nuances that make wedding events unique. From staying abreast of the latest trends to understanding the subtleties of wedding etiquette, they ensure your business always remains relevant and attuned to client expectations.
2. Effective Communication: Their ability to communicate effectively with clients and vendors is invaluable. They act as your brand ambassadors, ensuring that every interaction reflects your business’s values and standards. This not only strengthens client relationships but also builds a network of reliable vendor relationships.
3. Streamlining Operations: A Wedding Virtual Assistant is the linchpin in organizing and managing the multitude of tasks involved in wedding photography. From scheduling shoots to managing post-production workflows, they ensure every aspect of your business runs seamlessly. This operational efficiency allows you to focus on creative pursuits and client engagement.
4. Enhanced Client Experience: With a Wedding Virtual Assistant taking care of the details, the overall client experience is significantly enhanced. They ensure that each client feels valued and attended to, which is crucial in a service-oriented industry like wedding photography. Happy clients lead to repeat business and referrals, key drivers of business growth.
5. Scalability and Flexibility: With their support, scaling your business becomes more achievable. Whether it’s expanding your services, taking on more clients, or exploring new markets, a Wedding Virtual Assistant provides the flexibility and bandwidth needed to grow your business strategically.
6. Work-Life Balance: Perhaps one of the most significant benefits is the improvement in your work-life balance. By delegating administrative and operational tasks to your Wedding Virtual Assistant, you reclaim time – time that can be spent on personal development, relaxation, or exploring new creative avenues.

Demystifying Wedding Virtual Assistant Integration: Minimizing Training, Maximizing Expertise

What gets the most confusing when a business owner wants to hire a VA, is that they think they will need to take time aside to train them and may keep pushing hiring one off because they are already limited on time. I am happy to inform you that VA’s come with their unique skillset that you would hire them for. Think of a roofing contractor (I just bought a house so this is the first thing that popped into my head), you hire them for their expertise and you don’t have to train them on what or how to do something. They already have the knowledge, tools and experience! Now, I do not mean that your virtual assistant will be able to run your business exactly the way you have been right off the bat. I always tell my clients to please expect about three weeks for me to learn how they speak to their own clients, to learn their structures and more.

Next, How Will I Stay On Brand if My Virtual Assistant Handles Communication?

I get asked this every single first initial call with a new wedding inquiry of mine and I totally get it! You have built your brand and your business is your baby. You speak to your clients in a way that matches your own personality mixed with how you want them to portray you. So, how would that work if your virtual assistant handles your emails? From my own business standpoint, I have created a very thorough onboarding process from me doing my own research on your past emails, to you answering a questionnaire that helps me gather the necessary information to just speaking with you and picking up on how you communicate. It all gets inputted into my noggin and I make sure to create templates that match your brand and voice but add personalization’s to each one when responding to your clients and inquiries. I am also always open to adjust my approach based on any feedback you provide along the way and I take pride in this!

Now the fun question that makes everyone a little queasy:

Can I Afford a Virtual Assistant?

This is ultimately the biggest factor in hiring a virtual assistant and this will be determined based on your own personal priorities. We all want to make the most money and keep as much money as possible, right? Hiring a virtual assistant is a huge investment and should not be looked at as just a one-time expense. This is because a virtual assistant is someone who will be there with you and help your business GROW. You cannot expect that to happen with just one month of support. It takes time and nurturing which is why it is considered a long-term investment. Finding a virtual assistant is not hard… there are many out there but finding one who you connect with and who believes in the same things as you is very important (at least to me).

When you look at a virtual assistant’s pricing guide, remember their rate is based on their individual experience and knowledge. Look at it this way – you have set your wedding collections pricing and I bet you it is based on all of the years of educating yourself, buying equipment, and years of experience. The same goes for virtual assistants which is why pricing varies.

I cannot tell you directly if you can afford a virtual assistant but I CAN tell you that hiring one can be that special piece to the puzzle to help you scale your business. Try not to look at it being “an extra expense” but instead look at it as a way to get you to the next level of your business, to gain your sanity back by not having to worry about all the things and to get excited about your business again!

How I Became a Wedding Virtual Assistant

I swapped my office manager hat for something a bit more… bridal. You see, I used to be all about juggling schedules, organizing everything down to the last paperclip, and keeping an office running like a well-oiled machine. Then one day, it clicked – why not use these organizational skills to help out the folks in the wedding world?

So, here I am, your go-to Wedding Virtual Assistant. It all started with noticing how many wedding photographers – maybe just like you – were swamped under a mountain of emails, appointments, and all that admin jazz. I thought, ‘Hey, I can totally help with that!’

Creating my own virtual assistant business was like setting up my very own adventure. It’s been about diving into the beautiful chaos of weddings and making sure everything runs smoothly for photographers who’d rather focus on capturing those once-in-a-lifetime moments than worry about inbox overload.

And let me tell you, it’s not just about answering emails or updating calendars. It’s like being part of a team, your behind-the-scenes partner, making sure you can focus on creating those amazing shots while I handle the nitty-gritty.

Xoxo, Sam

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I hope this has helped you learn a little bit about what a virtual assistant is and how one can help your business. Feel free to check out more details on my Instagram.