The High End Bride-More Trouble than it’s Worth, or Worthwhile? Part 1

booking bridesMany wedding photographers consider the high end bride to be the holy grail of wedding photography. It’s more glamorous, exciting, more money to be made, and of course, that’s where all the “cool people” in wedding photography are, right?

Maybe, maybe not. There are benefits to working with high end clientele. But there are also drawbacks as well. We’ll take a look at the pros and cons in this two part series. Check back tomorrow to read the rest of the article, and be sure to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

The Pros:

Don’t Need to book as Many Weddings-It’s true that you can get by quite nicely with 15-30 high end weddings if you set up your business around this concept.

Potentially Higher Profit per Wedding-this of course is dependent upon how well you manage your studio budget. If you get so caught up in offering a “high end experience” to your clients, you might just end up giving away that extra profit in fancy album bags, gorgeous proof boxes, expensive waters and chocolates, client gifts, luxurious business cards and promotional pieces. So be sure to watch your bottom line or else your studio will not be profitable at all.


Higher average After Sales-
If you develop a solid after sales program and develop your packages in ways that encourage additional purchases, you can definitely see anywhere from $1,000-$10,000 in after sales. We have consistently done this through our album predesign process.

Glamorous-I will certainly admit that at times, it can be very glamorous. We’ve had some amazing experiences thanks to our clients, including traveling to exotic places and photographing celebrities. It’s still a rush to walk into a client’s mansion and show them a $8,000 album design and they don’t even stop to consider, they just hand over their black Amex card.

Easier to get Consistently Gorgeous Images– When everything’s gorgeous, there isn’t quite as much creativity required in order to make things look great. When you have a perfectly lit room, incredible linens, money-is-no-object floral arrangements and your bride is wearing Vera Wang and  Louboutins, it isn’t too hard to get beautiful images.

There are many great benefits to working with high end brides. What has been your experience? Check out part 2 of High End Weddings, when we’ll cover the other side of the coin-the negatives.

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