There is a silver lining and that is that we will never have this kind of time to work on our businesses. So how can your wedding business thrive during a pandemic? Use this opportunity to connect with potential dream clients.

I recently chatted with my dear friend, also client, Beth Chapman, owner of the bridal boutique The White Dress by the Shore and her wonderful group, The White Dress Society on what wedding dress store owners can be working on in their businesses during this time. My advice applies to all wedding businesses. I wanted to take the time to break it all down for you here with some actionable steps, because remember action cures fear.

1. Refresh Your Website
Take this time to review your website and give yourself an audit. I always recommend clients refresh their websites every quarter to keep things seasonal and fresh. Keep in mind that there is always a new set of brides and couples getting engaged. You want to make sure they are not seeing outdated images and information when they land on your website. Update your header images, your galleries, and review all images and content on each page. Make a list of what needs to change and set aside the time to make the updates. Give yourself a deadline and goal date to hold yourself accountable.

2. Optimize Your Images for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Make sure all your images are properly renamed (Example. Boho-Chic-Wedding-Inspiration). You want to spend the time to do keyword research and rename your images with those keywords. Think what would a bride or couple search for to find this image? Do your research and go through and optimize all your images on your website.

3. Dust Off That Blog
Blogging is not dead guys, it just has changed. This is a great opportunity to use your blog to show past work, to educate your ideal dream bride or couple, and it is so good for SEO. Search engines love seeing new content on your website and a blog is a great way to keep that content showing up. Again, it is all about using the proper keywords in your title, in your post and in your images. You also don’t have call it a blog, it can be recent work, journal, happenings, you choose.

4. Show Up As Your Authentic Self
Now more than ever is your chance to show up. Get on to your stories, do a Facebook live, start an IGTV series and think of all the ways you can show up for your brides and couples. Write down how you can serve your community and plan out the ways you can show up and what you can talk about to help your dream brides and couples. Don’t be afraid, show up as your authentic self. Be honest about your fears right now, how your day to day has changed, the positive side of your business and how you’re making it work during this time.

5. Image Organization
From emails with links to pixie galleries that you let expire, to images on your phone, or email attachments, are your marketing images all over the place? There is no better time than to organize your images and put a system in place. While I was a social media manager for wedding pros for 8+ years, having organized images was key. The same goes for your wedding business. I always loved Dropbox because it worked for me. I created folders by year, by month and then by social media groupings. Google Drive is another wonderful option and both have direct access from my favorite social media management platform, later.com. Having everything organized means you can easily pull for social media, for blogs, emails, newsletters and have everything streamlined ready to go for all your marketing efforts.

Remember love is not canceled and it never will be. We will gather again in person, we will celebrate, our brides and couples will be saying I do once again. While you support your current brides and couples, always keep in mind that weddings are still being planned for 2021 and beyond. There is still plenty of opportunity to grow and thrive.

XO