Being a wedding photographer means juggling never-ending TDLs every single day. When you are constantly meeting and booking new clients, your workload increases and the tasks and projects that require your attention and need to be prioritized somehow always keep increasing too. If this is the case with you, an effective system can be your best friend! Whether you automate certain processes or expand your team, allowing you to delegate tasks - an effective business system could help you master your workflow while also saving your time. And incorporating wedding photography email templates into your workflow could help you with that. What Are Wedding Photography Email Templates Effective client communication is an essential part of running your wedding photography business successfully. But a lot of the time, especially at the beginning, the communication is more or less similar for every client. Nobody really likes to do or say the same thing again and again - or worse, answer the same questions again and again. And doing the same thing repeatedly when a simple tool, like wedding photography email templates, can help you out is essentially wasting time. Here’s a simple exercise. Take a moment to ask yourself: What are the things that you say to, if not all, then almost all your clients? How many times a day or week do you find yourself replying to a first inquiry email? How many clients do you share your pricing guide with via email? Or how many times have you emailed a contract over to your client or emailed them to let them know their gallery is live? We are pretty sure the answer to all of these questions would be multiple, numerous, way too many. And now, think about all the time you wasted while writing the same email again and again, time that you could have used to book more clients or photograph that destination wedding or go on that hiking trip you’ve been meaning to? There are wedding photographer templates for allll of the emails we’ve mentioned above and more. You can either choose to buy or download free wedding photography email templates from a trusted source or you could even make your own. We’d highly recommend going with the second option because what’s the point of sending emails that are not an authentic representation of you and your brand? Even though you’d essentially be sending the same template to all your clients, it’s important to remember that the conversation shouldn’t seem robotic. Your clients and especially potential clients still need to feel like they are talking to you, a real human being. So it’s crucial to strike the right balance. Make these templates your own; let them be a reflection of who you are and what your brand stands for. The Need For Wedding Photography Email Templates 1. Clear Communication With Clients Transparent and clear communication with clients is one of the many building blocks of your brand. Whatever you convey to them shouldn’t just be the truth, but it should also be easy for clients to understand. Also, clarity in your communication is necessary to avoid any future misunderstandings and potential legal troubles. From an email response to a photography inquiry to post-wedding communication, there are so many emails you have to send in the journey you share with your couples. Using an email template can help you keep it short and simple, and your clients are going to appreciate that. Instead of sending long emails or confusing wedding jargon, it’s best to educate and inform your clients about what they can expect from you and what they are signing up for using photography email templates. Additionally, besides communicating clearly, communicating quickly is also crucial. The time you take to respond to emails could also be a make or break situation for your clients. Nobody wants to wait for days to get a response, especially if it’s the first time they reach out to you. Therefore, email templates for photographers also leave a fantastic first (and lasting) impression by ensuring that your couples are not left hanging. Related Read: How To Ensure Excellent Customer Service: A Wedding Photographer’s Guide 2. Save Time Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of using wedding photography email templates is the time you end up saving. This is especially great for your business during peak season when you are busy shooting back-to-back weddings. With email templates as a part of your client communication strategy, you don’t have to worry about making a choice between booking more clients or photographing a wedding and get to do both super efficiently. When you use wedding photography email templates to communicate with your clients, all that time that you would spend drafting an email or a response for each of them becomes yours again. These templates help you achieve the same result, i.e., clear and timely communication with your clients and perhaps even increase sales and bookings more efficiently and perhaps even in a better way than the traditional way of writing emails. Related Read: Top 5 Time Management Tips For Wedding Photographers 3. Establish Your Branding Another significant advantage of wedding photographer email templates is that they also allow you to establish your branding, thereby also working on your recall value. When you create your email templates, think about how you want your clients to see your brand. Your brand tone, aesthetics, and personality should reflect in those emails too. From including your logo or tagline to using fonts and colors that are associated with your wedding photography brand, it’s important to pay attention to detail while creating email templates. Even though your clients will explore your social media platforms and wedding photography website, your email templates are going to land directly in their inbox. It’s what they are going to pay special attention to because that’s how they communicate with you and get informed about what they are signing up for. Your email templates are going to keep reaching them even after you are done working with them, so it’s important to ensure that they stand out. Think about it like this: When crafting your wedding photography email templates, your potential clients and couples should be able to get an idea about your brand and who you are as a creative professional. Just like you do with your marketing and social media marketing strategies, you can also raise your recall value and allow people to associate your brand with all the good things through your emails. What Makes An Email Template Great? 1. Simplicity And Clarity Like we said, a wedding photography email template is supposed to be a powerful communication, and of course, time-saving tool. Therefore, your template should ideally leave no room for miscommunication or confusion for your clients. For example, when you are creating a first inquiry response email, try to ensure that you add all the information your potential couple may need. But remember, you don’t want to overwhelm them at this point, so the key is to keep your response simple, clear, and preferably short. Introduce yourself, tell them about yourself and your photography business, and let them make up their mind about the rest. 2. The Right Tone Your brand tone reflects in all the marketing material you use as well as the way you interact with your couples when you are face to face. And your tone should always be an authentic reflection of not just your brand but your personality as well. Since you are a wedding photographer, the chances of you being a people person are quite high already. So if you genuinely love interacting with people, let your tone be a reflection of that. Keep it casual, friendly, and upbeat. On the other hand, if you happen to be slightly introverted, that’s okay too. Your wedding photography email templates shouldn’t give the opposite impression to potential clients. Be yourself. Your marketing efforts will attract your ideal clients, and if they reach out to you, they will admire you nonetheless. In the end, couples care more about how you make them feel while taking their photos. 3. Being Helpful Ultimately, a wedding photographer’s email template serves the purpose of helping couples navigate through the different stages of their relationship with the photographer. Couples are already so stressed out about the wedding planning process and there are a million things on their minds, and sometimes, they might forget about certain things they were supposed to do with you or for you. In times like that, you can go the extra mile for your couples and help them with reminders. Whether it’s a payment reminder email template or an email reminding them about the limited-time sale that you are having on albums, your photography email templates should aim to make your clients’ lives easier. A no-response follow-up email is also another great example of the power of email templates. There could be several reasons behind why your couple didn’t reply to you after you responded to their initial query, and one of them could be that they got so caught up in handling a crisis or booking the wedding band that they totally forgot to reply to you. In this case, a follow-up email reminding them that their wedding photographer slot is still empty (and that you could potentially fill that up) is a helpful gesture. Essential Email Templates For Wedding Photographers 1. Pre-Booking A. New Inquiry Response The new inquiry response template is your time to rise and shine and turn those prospective clients into confirmed customers! Since this will be the template that creates your first impression on your potential clients, it’s perhaps the most important photographer email template you are going to create. In a world where attention spans just keep decreasing, getting back to your potential client as fast as possible is crucial. When a new client reaches out to you, you should ideally already have a well-crafted response that gives them some more information about you and the wedding photography services you offer. Like we said before: Think about the number of times someone new emails you and you have to write the same email multiple times? Instead, just put together a template that does the job quickly - without using too much of your time. All you’d have to do is change the potential client’s names and your availability. Keep it short, simple, and informational. Here’s a sample of what your new inquiry automated response template could look like: Hey (name of prospective client), Thanks a lot for your inquiry! I’m available for your wedding on (day + date). I’d love to schedule a time to talk more about your wedding details. Could we schedule a time to chat on the phone for a bit? Weddings are so unique that we find a perfect launching point in a quick phone call to hear more details! Here are a few dates and times that we could set up the call - do any of these work for you? B. Pricing Guide The never-ending debate about whether or not you should have your pricing guide on your website is going to be just that - never-ending. So, if you are one of those people who doesn’t have their whole pricing guide on their website, why not create an email template for that too? Before you even get on a phone call or meet your client, they might want to take a look at your pricing guide to know whether you really are the right fit for them. To keep it simple, easy to understand, and visually pleasing, we’d suggest that you consider designing your pricing guide and send it over as a PDF attachment to your clients. Ideally, the pricing guide you send should include the wedding photography packages you offer, a breakdown of what’s included in them, other services you offer, and any add-ons that clients can opt for. Including add-ons in your pricing guide is how you make sure that you start upselling right from the beginning of your relationship with your clients. Since your templates will also be a reflection of your branding, curate them with care. Your pricing guide photography email template could look something like this: Hey (name of potential client), I am attaching my pricing guide with this email, and that should be able to give you a better idea of what I charge for different types of services. If you want to modify a package or want to create your own, I’d be happy to talk about that too. Please let me know if you have any questions. C. No Response Follow-Up Sometimes, even when you send a perfectly designed response on time, you might not get any response from the client. So, in case you don’t hear back after you’ve sent your first introductory email to them, you might want to have a template that’s reserved for follow-ups. Of course, you don’t want to relentlessly pursue a potential client or spam their inbox, but a little reminder from your end could be the only step missing from your client reaching the contract signing stage. A follow-up email is also an indication to your couple that you genuinely want to work with them and care about them. And that kind of customer service is always remembered. They will probably even thank you for reminding them about hiring a wedding photographer as they got busy with the planning. Your no response follow-up wedding photographer email template could look something like this: Hey (name of potential client), I know wedding planning must be keeping you busy, but here’s a small reminder that I am still interested and available for photographing your big day. If something was unclear in my previous email or you have any doubts or questions, please feel free to ask. You can call or email me, I’d be happy to offer clarification. 2. Pre-Wedding A. Meeting Confirmation Email Congratulations! You turned a prospective client into a confirmed client and you are about to photograph one of the biggest days of their lives. While the COVID pandemic might have changed how you interacted with clients before their wedding day, things are almost back to pre-COVID times now. Meeting your clients face to face allows you to gauge them as individuals and as a couple too, allowing you to create a more tailored wedding photography experience for them. Once your couple chooses you as their wedding photographer, it’s time to officially welcome them on board and set up a meeting. For the meeting, you could invite them over to your studio or you could also meet them at a restaurant or cafe where you can actually have a conversation. Use that first meeting to build upon that amazing first impression that you’ve already created through your first inquiry response email and all the other communication you’ve done since then. This is your chance to really show them that you are passionate about your art and working with them is an honor. Your email template could look something like this: Hey (couple names), Thank you for choosing me as your wedding photographer, and I am really looking forward to the journey we are going to share together. Before I photograph your wedding, I would love to get to know you guys better. Would it be possible for us to arrange a meeting sometime next week? You could come over to my studio, or I know this really great place in (area name) that serves amazing desserts. You get to pick. Here are a few dates and times that we could set up the meeting, so let me know what you prefer: (Enter dates and times). B. Contract Signing If you don’t have a contract or need to refine yours, there’s plenty of photography contract templates you could use. But do consider taking professional legal help to ensure that there are no loopholes. Even if you and your clients have signed the contract in-person, it’s good practice to email it to them as well. Once your client has decided to book you for their big day, a wedding photography contract finalizes the agreement and seals the deal officially. If you are meeting your clients and getting the contract signed while being present with them, it’s easier for both parties to address and clarify any concerns or questions. Even though it can get a little awkward to talk about money, try to answer their questions as clearly and patiently as possible. This will also give them some peace of mind. However, if you have a client who doesn't live in the same city as you, meeting in person months before the wedding might not be possible. In these cases, an email template that informs your clients about all the monetary aspects of the deal is an easy way to share the financial details. They can take their time to go through the contract and reach out to you through email or a phone or Zoom call if they have any questions. While your contract signing email template for couples who’ve already signed your contract in-person will look different, here’s a sample of what your email to couples who can’t physically sign the contract could look like: Hi (client name), I am so excited to be working with you! There are two necessary steps to secure your wedding date with me: Contract Please take a moment to review and sign the contract (link provided below). For it to be valid, please make sure ALL of the fields are filled out (this includes the name and address of your venues). Sign the contract here: Retainer Payment Check: If you elect to pay by check, please promptly mail your retainer check to: (Add your address) Credit card: If you elect to pay by credit card, your credit card will be charged for the retainer within 24 hours. Thanks! I look forward to photographing your special day! C. What’s Next After your client has officially booked you and signed the contract, your next priority should be to inform them about what you are going to offer them. Think of it as a timeline. In this email, you could also include what else you can offer to them in regard to products. This template is also a good one for marketing purposes, but try not to overdo it in the sense that your couples end up feeling like you are just trying to get their money. While you should mainly use the what’s next photography email template to inform your clients about your journey with them till the wedding date and even after that, we’d highly recommend that you also use this template as a plug for all the other awesome things you can do with their wedding photos. This is what your template could look like: Hi (client name), Now that we are done with all the formalities, allow me to give you a little overview of what the next few (time duration) are going to look like. I just wanted to send over a bullet-point checklist of our future interactions, just so you know what to expect from me: Engagement Session (complimentary) – Shoot 4-6 months prior to your wedding – Anywhere in (area name) – It takes 2 weeks for the images to be available online Pre-Wedding Preparation – Wedding questionnaire filled out 4-6 weeks prior – 20-minute phone call to review details 4 weeks prior – Final balance due 4 weeks prior Wedding Day – Pure fun, joy, and awesomeness Post-Wedding – 3-4 weeks for the images to be ready for viewing – Studio Premiere viewing of wedding images (optional) – All images posted online for viewing and ordering – Wedding album design provided 4 weeks after images are posted online Please let me know if anything here doesn’t look right! 3. Post-Wedding A. Gallery Is Live After the wedding, couples eagerly wait for their wedding photos to arrive. This wedding photography email template is a must-have for every photographer, because you are going to be sending this email to all your couples. This is a big day for your clients, so your email template’s tone should match their energy and excitement. Stay true to your brand and yourself while also making this email fun and exciting. Try to write it in a way that takes your couple back to their wedding day. When notifying them that their gallery is live be sure to include a link to the gallery and instructions on how to navigate it. Leave no room for confusion. When the wedding day is over and you have your images back from a wedding photo editing service, they are ready for your clients. Sometimes, it can be nice to just send them a short email, especially since you have been emailing them so often. Include the link to their images within the email so they can simply click on it and view your beautiful work and relive their wedding day. Additionally, this is the email where you can once again talk about albums and perhaps add some recommendations for them too. Make it easy for your couples; don’t make them choose from all the 5 or 10 types of albums you sell. Your wedding image release template could look something like this: Hi (client names), I have released all of your wedding images for viewing! You can see all the pictures by clicking on the link below: I hope you enjoy them as much as I loved taking them! In addition to that, if you have any favorites and are thinking about getting them added to a wedding album, here are some album design recommendations from me: (add product names). Each album is handcrafted, made from the most exquisite material, and is bound to make your viewing experience even better. Please reach out to me if you have any questions. B. Feedback + Testimonials Request The feedback and testimonials request wedding photography email template is another extremely important one. Communication with your clients doesn’t have to end once you are done photographing their wedding or delivering the final photos. Once everything is done, an email requesting your couples to give you feedback is essential for your wedding photography business to grow and also for you to enhance yourself as a wedding photographer. This email will be your last chance to request feedback from your clients, so make sure you draft it in a way that prompts them to spend that time replying to your email. In this email template, ask your clients about their experience working with you and also ask them what you could have done differently to make their experience better. You could also create a short survey for them to fill out and record their feedback in a separate document. Then, use their feedback as an opportunity to improve your customer service and excel. Also, this gives clients the impression that you are genuinely interested in their feedback and willing to offer a better service. Here’s a sample of what this email could look like: Hey (client names), Thank you so much for having me as your wedding photographer! I really loved being able to connect with both of you and your friends and family. It was such an amazing experience for me, and I hope you had an equally good time with me. To learn more about your experience with (your brand name), I would really appreciate it if you could fill out the survey I’ve attached with this email. It would be immensely helpful for me and allow me to work on things that I might be lacking right now. I look forward to reading your responses. Thank you so much for your time! Related Read: How To Ask Your Clients For Reviews C. Anniversary Greetings Like we said, your communication and connection with your couples don’t have to stop once you are done working together. It’s always good to stay in touch with old clients, and one of the ways you could do that is by showing them that you are still thinking about them. Since you photographed their wedding, sending them anniversary greetings (or gifts) is a good way to do that. Your wedding anniversary photography template can be as simple as you want it to be or if it’s practical for your business, you could also include a little anniversary gift for your couples. It can be a framed wedding photo or something else that you could customize for them - totally depends on what you want to do. Your anniversary greeting template could look something like this: Hey (clients’ names) Just wanted to take this time out to wish you both a very happy anniversary! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and look forward to photographing many more milestones in your lives. Cheers! D. Holiday Discounts Template Just think about all the time you would save while you also boost sales with email marketing templates for photographers? A great way to potentially increase sales and also stay in touch with past customers is through holiday discounts or limited time offers email templates. Whether you plan to do something around Valentine’s Day or have a Black Friday or Christmas sale or decide to do limited time offers every other month - marketing email templates can help speed up that workflow for you. Just remember that your template includes elements of what you are offering. For example: If you’re offering discounts on albums, ensure that there are some photos of your products in the template. This is what’s going to entice your customer to make a purchase. We cannot emphasize enough on the importance of personalizing email templates, even those that serve marketing purposes. For this email, besides the names, you will just have to change the details of the festive or limited time offer, and your email template is ready to be sent. This type of wedding photography email template doesn’t just help you to stay connected with previous clients but it can also help to considerably boost your sales. This is what your festive or limited time offer email marketing template could look like: Hey (client names), Since (occasion) is right around the corner, I wanted to let you know that I am (enter service/discount/offer you are offering). If this is something that’s on your TDL this festive season (or whatever else occasion), then please let me know and we can plan something together. Suggested Read: Holiday Session Email Templates For Wedding Photographers Speed Up Your Workflow With Email Templates Time is a precious currency for wedding photographers, and if you are constantly trying to find ways to save yours or have more of it, these wedding photographer email templates can be a game-changer. Before you even meet your clients for the first time, the most important communication takes place through emails and most of the time, and with these email templates, you save the time you would otherwise spend on writing the same emails again and again. Using email templates is a great way to not only speed up your workflow but also ensure that your clients still feel like they are talking to the real you. And this is one of the most important things to remember when automating emails - try not to make your clients feel like they are talking to a machine. Do what you can to personalize your emails and when you do that, let your personality shine through too. From the tone to the visuals - focus on creating an authentic experience for your clients. Yes, even these email templates are a part of the experience. Even though it might take some time to create them initially, think about all the time you’d save by not writing the same emails several times a week. Responding to your clients quickly and with love and care goes a long way and sets a strong foundation of your relationship with them. Whether it’s a first inquiry response email or anniversary greetings, create your email templates in a way that makes them feel taken care of and appreciated. Further Read: How Photographers Can Create Wedding Day Timeline Templates At ShootDotEdit, we strive to help you grow as a wedding photographer and understand how important it is to have a workflow that doesn’t take the majority of your time. And that is why we take editing off your plate with our professional photo editing services. To learn more about how we can help, check out our pricing plans.