As I mentioned in a recent post, I shot my first Egyptian Coptic Orthodox wedding in 2018. I had covered the wedding of Joy and Mario who were not only a pleasure to know and work with, but have also become two of my most genuine fans. They never fail to express how happy they are getting to work with me and how touched they feel reliving every special moment of their wedding through the images I captured for them. Most generously, they constantly show their appreciation by referring me to anyone they know who is looking for a wedding photographer, and I can’t be more grateful.
Word of mouth … to me, this is THE most rewarding marketing avenue.
Fast forward to 2020, with a number of Egyptian Coptic orthodox weddings that I had already covered – all thanks to Joy and Mario and their friends and relatives who followed their advice and trusted me with their weddings photography – this word-of-mouth trail led me to Mariam and Sam who are close friends of Joy and Mario’s.
Mariam and Sam hired me for their Coptic wedding in 2020 at the height of COVID. I had a blast covering their wedding day in Dallas despite the craziness of the pandemic with its mask mandates, social distancing and all other fun-limiting directives.
Fast forward to this year when the Nashville couple, Christy and Andrew, were visiting Mariam and Sam in the middle of their search of a photographer for their own wedding. As a part time wedding photographer himself, Andrew, as he flipped through Mariam and Sam’s coffee table wedding album that I made for them, quickly realized that he has found his own wedding photographer.
If you’re good at reading between the lines, you can’t miss all the blessings I have mentioned here. But just in case you did, here’s a quick recount: through a trail of word-of-mouth, I was blessed to photograph a number weddings of friends, relatives and bridal party of my original clients. All these referrals and relationships culminated in a moment when no explicit referrals were needed and my work spoke for itself to point a couple in my direction by simply stumbling upon the work I’ve done for their friends. What I also count as a blessing is when a wedding photographer with infinite local options, with the reassurance of favorable word of mouth and a live example of my work, decided that I am the one to capture his wedding, even if they need to fly me across state borders to do so.
More importantly, I feel blessed to have encountered this wonderful community with whom I share a lot in background and traditions.
Forget ads, search engines, social media and promotional blitzes – as necessary as these marketing tools have become, nothing matches the reward of organic growth built on person-to-person referrals of happy clients who believe in your work and reward you with rave reviews and a good word.
Finally, fast forward to these photos from the Nashville engagement session of Christy and Andrew’s last June, all for your eyes to enjoy. As for me, I’m eagerly looking forward to heading to Nashville this weekend to capture their wedding.
If you are looking for a wedding photographer in Dallas or any other state, country or destination, drop me a note, let’s chat and let me capture the priceless moments of your wedding day.
