We have just completed the Branding Module with the great Katelyn James of Katelyn James Photography. For those of you who don’t know who she is, you are missing out! She is part of a husband and wife wedding photography team based out of Richmond, VA and their work is gorgeous (you should definitely follow her on Instagram)! In addition to that, anyone who meets her and her husband always has such wonderful things to say about their generous hearts. We have not personally had the pleasure (yet!), but we look forward to thanking her in-person one day for all of the knowledge she has passed along to us through The International Academy of Wedding Photographers.

This course was action-packed with valuable information that we were able to immediately and directly relate back to our business. We wanted to share the top three things that we have done as a result of the BIG lessons we’ve learned in this course.

#1 – Let our business speak for itself.

In an exercise titled the “Adjective Worksheet”, we had to choose between two opposing words to best describe our business. Are we energetic or relaxed? Fun or Serious? Glamorous or Rustic? It’s hard, right?!? At the time we could make arguments for both, but we could only pick one. This exercise really helped us to narrow in on how who we are is reflected through all aspects of our business – the website, blog, social media, client interactions….even down to the way we dress! We want the business to be able to speak for itself so much so that when our prospective clients visit our website or social media sites, they know that we love to have fun….that we are energetic….and that we love a rustic, outdoor wedding!

#2 – Our three words.

Once we started thinking about all these adjectives, we were encouraged to narrow it down to the top three words that best described us, our hearts and our business. Wait, what?….just three words?! We thought we were back to the drawing board, but the prior lesson really helped inform our decision. It took some contemplation and a few more thoughtful discussions, but we were able to come up with the three words that most powerfully spoke to us: Authentic. Joyful. Spirited. Visit this prior post to learn more about what those three words mean for us…and for you!

#3 – Get social.

What good will all this branding work be without anyone to see it?! That was the final lesson learned from Katelyn – we need to get social! As a result, we’ve worked out a plan for sharing our work (and a little more about our lives) with you. You will see a more consistent and active presence from us on the blog and on social media. We even created a new hashtag designated for our brides! Where are my #happylittlebrides at?!? Stay tuned for some Twitter and Pinterest announcements later this year, too!