What the Process of Working With Me Looks Like

Considering hiring me as your elopement photographer? First of all, I’m honored🤙🏼 

Second of all, I know how big of a decision that is! You’re about to invest a lot of money into the person who’s going to capture one of the biggest days of your lives, and it can be even more nerve-wracking when you’re not sure what to expect. Especially if you’ve never worked with a professional photographer before.

So I wanted to write this post outlining what the process of working with me looks like – that way, you know exactly what to expect. Keep reading to get a picture of what it would look like working together!

Phase 1: Inquiry

The first step toward working with me: your inquiry! This is when you first reach out to me and this is how I’ll know you’re interested in working with me.

Getting familiar with my pricing

Before you inquire, I highly suggest you take a look at the pricing that I’ve got laid out on my website here. Too often I’ll have a couple reach out who didn’t look through my pricing and therefore didn’t really know what to expect, which can make it a little harder to see if we’re a good fit once you inquire. 

I’m not a fan of hiding any pricing – transparency is key! So read through my pricing page to make sure you know what I offer before you inquire – that way, you’ll already have an idea of what you’re wanting. Or you’ll at least be familiar with it when we get on a call!

Filling out my contact form

The next step once you know you’re interested in working with me is to fill out the contact form on my site.

This form is the first I’ll ever hear from you (unless we’ve been chatting in the DM’s at all previously), and the first way I’ll start getting to know you. So I really appreciate when couples put in the effort to fill it out – it’ll help me get a feel for who you are, what you’re looking for, and whether or not we might be a perfect fit for each other!

Scheduling a call

Once you hit submit on that inquiry form, I’ll get back to you within 72 hours at the latest – I always appreciate your patience waiting to hear back from me because the life of an adventure elopement photographer gets busyyyyy 😉 I take Saturdays through Mondays off each week, so you likely won’t hear back from me those days. 

In that email, I’ll respond to everything you included in your inquiry form, let you know whether or not I’m available for your date, & hit ya up with a link to schedule a call with me. I really value getting on calls with couples after they inquire because it makes it way easier for us to get to know each other, to chat details, & to get a feel for if we’re the best fit for each other.

Making the big decision

Finally, once we’ve talked through all the good stuff (location, pricing, your needs + what I offer, etc.), it’s time for you to make the big decision! We can decide on your package at the end of our call, or you can shoot me an email afterward if you need some time to think about it.

Phase 2: The Booking Process

Woohoo, you’ve decided to hire me as your elopement photographer – this is where the fun stuff happens!

Signing your contract

First, you’ll both electronically sign your contract through an online portal that I’ll email over to you.

Putting down your retainer

Once your contract is signed, you’ll pay a 30% non-refundable retainer fee to secure your date by mailing me a check (we’re old-school over here). The remainder of your payment will be due 30 days before the big day – don’t worry, you’ll be sent reminders about that later on!

Doing a happy dance

And once I’ve received your electronically-signed contract + your 30% non-refundable retainer, you’ll be officially booked & on my calendar! Cue a little happy dance – on your end AND on my end 😉

Phase 3: Planning + Prepping

Now that we’re officially working together, next up is planning your engagement session. Engagement sessions are one of my favorite parts of the process of working with my couples, because it gives us a chance to meet up in person, go on an adventure together, and get you comfortable in front of the camera + with me!

Scheduling + planning your engagement session

We’ll pick out a date for your engagement session and start planning, first up deciding on your location. I’ll ask what kinda vibe you’re going for (if any), and I’ll send over 3-4 location recommendations based on that. If you have no idea what you want, that’s okay too – I’ve got plenty of epic places up my sleeve that I’ll suggest to you!

For your engagement sesh, travel is included anywhere in the PNW (within reason).

And if you need help picking out your outfits for your engagement session, I’ve got you covered. Check out this blog post I wrote for you with my Top 3 Tips for Your PNW Adventure Session Outfits!

The engagement session day + delivery

After your engagement session is done + we’ve had a blast exploring together, you’ll receive your gallery back within 2 weeks! Your photos will be in an online gallery that lets you favorite images & download them at their highest resolution. Then you can start sending out those save-the-dates 😉

Timeline building

The final “big” step before your elopement/wedding day: we’ll build your timeline together! I’ll touch base with you about a month before your big day and we’ll go through the elements of your day (whether or not you want a first look, what time your ceremony is, lighting + sunset time, etc.). From there, we’ll build out your timeline depending on how many hours you’ve got me there for!

Phase 4: The Big Day!

I don’t have much to say about this one, except that by this point I’ll be SO dang ready to celebrate with you. The big day is finally here! I’ll show up, cameras in hand, ready to document every moment of the day and be your right-hand woman. Let’s do the damn thing!

Phase 5: Gallery Delivery

After the day is over, you’ll receive a preview from me within 3 days in an online gallery (the same one you received your engagement gallery through). You can start sending your photos off to family + friends who are just as excited to see them and share them to your heart’s content.

You’ll receive your final wedding gallery within 4 weeks of the big day, and then you can order all kinds of prints, frames, canvases, & more through your online gallery super easily. Time to start decorating those empty rooms with your wedding photos!

And with that, our “main” time together will be up! I’ll be super sad that your elopement day is over but can promise you that I’ll be 100% ready for the next time you book me – whether that’s for an adventure session, maternity session, vow renewal, you name it. You’ve got me in your corner supporting you + cheering you on every step of the way wherever your journey together takes you!