You’ve taken the leap and invested in a wedding directory listing on Equally Wed, the No. 1 LGBTQ+ wedding website where LGBTQ+ couples come from all over the world to find inspiration for their weddings, engagements and honeymoons and are looking to connect with equality enthusiasts like you. Congratulations! You’ve made a critical decision to get involved with the LGBTQ+ wedding community, to show them you support marriage equality, and to invite LGBTQ+ couples to do business with you. You’re probably thinking “If I build it, they will come,” which is halfway true. You can make the most of your presence on equallywed.com by utilizing the tools we offer to make your wedding directory listing stand out. Let’s talk about the building blocks of an outstanding listing.

Once you’re an approved preferred vendor on Equally Wed, you have full editing abilities of your listing at your directory dashboard to edit it any time of day or night, all on your own. We encourage you to take advantage of this by updating your custom landing page throughout the year. Some of the areas to focus on keeping fresh are the description, your photos, working links and accurate contact information.

Your listing is your personalized storefront, a place for potential customers to get to know you and what you’re all about. Every word and photo you use is a form of communication.

YOUR BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

Content is king, and the description of your business is critical for connecting with potential clients. As human beings, our natural inclination is to want to work with people who we have things in common with, such as sense of humor or similar goals in mind. The way you describe your business is what will attract customers (or turn them off). If you’re a bold creative, don’t be afraid to let your personality shine enough to showcase that you’re going to be fun to work with while still reassuring couples that you ultimately want to help them bring their vision to life. If you’re known for your polished sophistication, craft your company description with words that evoke this. Play up your strengths and let couples know what makes you stand apart from the other businesses in town.

Make sure you’re being fully LGBTQ+ inclusive with your language. Avoid using heteronormative terms like “bride and groom” (avoid using the words separately but especially together), opting instead for “couple,” “celebrant” and “marrier.” Talk about your company’s policy toward inclusivity and diversity. If you’ve become Equally Wed Certified, learning how to be LGBTQ+ inclusive in your wedding business, this is the place to brag on yourself. The LGBTQ+ community is eager to work with equality enthusiasts who are actively working to make the wedding industry a safer place for us to celebrate our love and commitment.

EARN YOUR LGBTQ+ INCLUSIVE CERTIFICATION

Equally Wed Pro offers an immersive online course in LGBTQ+ inclusivity for wedding and event pros which teaches wedding and hospitality pros how to be love champions, to be completely LGBTQ+ inclusive, and increase their business growth at the same time.

Our learn-at-your-own-pace from-your-own-place digital course is a deep-dive into elements such as:

• The ABCs of LGBTQ+, including what terms such as transgender, cisgender, nonbinary, trans and queer really mean
• Marriage equality around the globe (and why it’s important to your business)
• Elements of LGBTQ+ weddings + proposals
• Best practices with LGBTQ+ clients
• Gender-neutral word choices
• How to be inclusive without feeling fake
• Attracting LGBTQ+ clients
• Building your business with LGBTQ+ clients
• How to talk about pronouns, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression with ease

Are you a love champion? Let’s get started at equallywedpro.com!

DOUBLE CHECK YOUR LINKS + STAY ACTIVE

Once your profile is live, click on all of the links you’ve included, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, your website, your email address or your YouTube channel. If anything is broken, fix it. If you need help, you can email us any time for tech assistance: [email protected]. We check our email every business day. Broken links or links to inactive pages translate to messages you might be unintentionally conveying, such as you’re not truly invested in your company so how are you going to be invested in your clients? It’s not how you really feel, but your presence on the internet matters. Make sure you keep your links up to date. Can’t keep up with all the social media platforms? No problem! It’s a major chore. Instead, delete the profiles you’re going to stop updating so that they don’t misrepresent your business as an abandoned company, and concentrate on regularly posting on one or two platforms where your customers can engage with you.

INVEST IN HIGH-QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHS

Photos matter more than ever before in weddings. Gone are the days of snapping a few pictures with a disposable Kodak camera and calling it a day. Couples today are hungry for magazine-quality imagery, and they want to work with companies who value it too. Plus, the difference a high-quality photo can make in showcasing your products and services is night and day.

So how to get those crystal clear incredible photos? You can go about this in several different ways:

1. Stage your own inspirational photo shoot with your own photographer. Obviously, the more you invest of your own dime, the more you creative control you have. You can do a styled shoot with your offerings, where you would decorate your venue for a mock wedding, a variety of dishes from your catering menu, five of your favorite floral arrangements, etc.You own the images when it’s complete (and make sure that’s in your contract about how you’ll use them for your company’s marketing).
2. Hire your own photographer to shoot at weddings you’re involved in. These photographs are for your portfolio and aren’t available to your couple (unless you want them to be). Have the photographer focus on the details of your work rather than the couple. You own the images when it’s complete (and make sure that’s in your contract about how you’ll use them for your company’s marketing).
3.  Talk to your couples after their weddings. Ask them to share their wedding album with you, and see if they’d allow you to use detail shots that are of your work (with or without their faces). Get their permission and the photographer’s permission. Oftentimes all they want is photo credit. Other times they may tell you they have 20 more photos of you, your venue, product or services, and they will release them to you for a small fee.
4. Need inspiration? Peruse our Real Weddings to see how other creative professionals in your industry are standing out with phenomenal photographs. Aesthetically pleasing images are everything when trying to attract new business. Comparison might be the thief of joy when it comes to personal happiness, but it also can serve as the catalyst for self-improvement if you’re wondering why your business inquiries are lacking.

And don’t forget to include LGBTQ+ couples marriers in your photos and keep your photos of straight couples to a minimum. The idea is to show how inclusive you are of same-sex couples, and queer, nonbinary and trans folks. Put your potential clients at ease that you have experience working with our community. If you don’t yet have LGBTQ+ clientele to show, consider putting together a styled shoot with like-minded professionals in your area but be sure to only use real LGBTQ+ couples for the shoot. Nothing kills the authentic vibe like posers and appropriators.

Curious about joining our wedding directory of equality enthusiasts? Click here to learn more.