Grab a cup of tea and join Pete, Laura, Liam, and Bee for another catch-up inside the Creative Commune. This week, we're diving deep into the frustrating reality of the modern wedding industry. Ever had a consultation where you absolutely nailed it, gave the couple amazing advice, shared a few laughs, and then... absolute silence?
We’re breaking down the psychology of \"ghosting,\" debating whether giving too much free advice on a Zoom call is actually hurting your booking rate, and discussing the exact timeline of when you should be sending your follow-up emails.
We also take a hard, uncomfortable look at inflation. If you haven't significantly raised your prices in the last five years, you might actually be taking a massive pay cut without realizing it. We crunch the numbers on what a £2,000 wedding from 2010 should cost today.
Plus, we talk about the pains of getting shooed away by wardens while shooting in London, why Pete absolutely refuses to set up those cliché \"groom by the window\" prep photos, and Bee shares the surprising results of letting ChatGPT dictate our Instagram strategy for a month. Finally, we share our weekly highs and lows—including the tragic loss of a local village legend and the anxiety of developing a six-year-old roll of film.
00:00 - Intro, morning coffee, and Pete’s table tennis heartbreak
01:17 - The secret joy of cancelled Reformer Pilates classes
05:40 - Upcoming destination weddings: Scotland, Spain, Italy, and Vietnam
09:33 - Getting kicked off private land in London and National Trust rules
13:30 - We let ChatGPT run our Instagram (and it's actually working)
17:33 - Marketing vs. Art: Should you post what works or what excites you?
18:50 - The ghosting epidemic: Why do couples vanish after a great Zoom call?
22:50 - Zoom strategies: Pitching and advising vs. just chilling out
26:15 - How and when should you send the follow-up email?
32:00 - The inflation calculator: Are you secretly taking a pay cut every year?
36:40 - How the photography industry hustle has changed over the last decade
38:50 - Highs & Lows: Developing 6-year-old film and the horror of wet leggings
41:29 - RIP Hilda: Mourning our 94-year-old village window-waving legend
43:40 - Liam’s Isle of Skye elopement excitement
46:27 - Pete's return to blogging and the debate over staging groom prep photos
Say hi on Instagram @ourcreativecommune
Get a free 14 day trial of Musicbed: https://www.musicbed.com/invite/935Cy
The British Wedding Film Festival
https://www.britishweddingfilmfestival.com/
Lawson Film School: https://www.lawsonfilms.co.uk/lawson-film-school
#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune
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