Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Blogging Workshop in Los Angeles
The Blogging Bootcamp in Los Angeles is now open for registration! The workshop will be held at Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach and lunch is included. You can sign up here. Hope to see you there!
Focusing Your Energy
The other day I posted this observation to Twitter:
I am as guilty of this as the next person: "Jane can accomplish that because she has x, y, and z - whereas I only have y and z." Cut it out. This way of thinking and living is debilitating. What could you accomplish if you channeled even a tenth of the energy you spend on being bitter towards someone else because they were seemingly dealt a better hand, or because others "don't know what Jane is really like"? What could you create with 10% of that energy if it were focused on making YOU better?
One of the most toxic things is trying to justify other people's success. Just do your thing and let them do theirs.
I am as guilty of this as the next person: "Jane can accomplish that because she has x, y, and z - whereas I only have y and z." Cut it out. This way of thinking and living is debilitating. What could you accomplish if you channeled even a tenth of the energy you spend on being bitter towards someone else because they were seemingly dealt a better hand, or because others "don't know what Jane is really like"? What could you create with 10% of that energy if it were focused on making YOU better?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Turn Off Your Computer and Go Eat
Social media should not be your entire networking plan when it comes to meeting and getting to know the other wedding professionals in your area. While it is a useful tool to stay in touch between meetings, it is in your best interest to actually turn off your computer and get out of the office for a while in order to connect with people in person.
During my first year of business, I had lunch or drinks with other vendors at least twice a week. Yes, online media played a large part of marketing my business, but so did getting to know other professionals one on one or in small group settings. I'm actually quite shy by nature, so these small meetings were (and still are) easier for me to handle than the large networking parties hosted by the local wedding associations.
Have lunch with another wedding professional in your area this week. If you can't steal away for lunch, meet up with a few colleagues for happy hour. It will help to unplug from your routine, refresh your spirit, and after all, everyone needs to eat.
During my first year of business, I had lunch or drinks with other vendors at least twice a week. Yes, online media played a large part of marketing my business, but so did getting to know other professionals one on one or in small group settings. I'm actually quite shy by nature, so these small meetings were (and still are) easier for me to handle than the large networking parties hosted by the local wedding associations.
Have lunch with another wedding professional in your area this week. If you can't steal away for lunch, meet up with a few colleagues for happy hour. It will help to unplug from your routine, refresh your spirit, and after all, everyone needs to eat.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Getting Published: Online Media vs Print
One of the things blogs and social media have done for the wedding industry is make it easier for your work to be seen and published instantly. This is a great thing as it allows more people to show off their talent to a wide audience whereas before they may have had to rely on print publications to reach that same audience.
With great tools come pros and cons and now magazines and blogs are having to compete for content and many want exclusivity. Both sides of the coin have valid points and here are some things to keep in mind as you consider where you want your work published:
1. If you want your work published in a magazine, most will require that it cannot be published online anywhere at all, including blogs, Facebook, Twitpics, Flickr, etc, including your own. While this may seem unfair, think about it: magazines are expensive to produce and rely on original content in order to stay fresh. Also, would you really want to pay $6.50 only to see material you've already seen online? Probably not.
If you have a rule that you have to blog every wedding you shoot or that you produce, you may want to rethink it if your marketing plan also includes being published in print. Ask the people you submit your work to how their magazine or publication works and what, if anything, they allow to be published online prior to them going to print.
2. Consider your goals in getting each particular wedding published: would it be more beneficial to leverage a brand's name to further your credibility or would being in front of more eyes and allowing that work to go viral help your business more? Both options have a time and a place in your marketing efforts. Also, and this is no offense to any of the wedding bloggers, but the Martha Stewart brand currently carries much more weight than many of the other media outlets in the wedding industry. If a wedding has an opportunity to be published in Martha Stewart Weddings, and the professional has the chance to have the Martha name in their press credentials, then that may certainly win out over being featured online. On the other hand, if your goal is to use the wedding to build a lot of buzz and traffic to your website, then submitting it to blogs may be the way to go.
3. If you submit work to a blog, be sure to ask if they have any exclusivity clauses as well. Many wedding blogs operate as a business and also rely on original content in order to maintain traffic that will support their ad revenue. While it is harder to control where those photos may end up because of readers spreading the word (and really, when it comes to social media and the Internet you can't control it) it is certainly important for both the blog editor and yourself to make any expectations clear as to the specific actions both of you will take. If you submit to a blog that requires exclusivity, I would recommend asking them to notify you within a certain and reasonable (to them and to you) time frame if they are NOT going to use the images. This will help you determine if you can submit them elsewhere and avoid any sticky situations later on.
4. If you are a planner and you want to submit a particular wedding for publication in a magazine or a blog, be sure to communicate with the photographer BEFORE the wedding so that you are on the same page as to how the images will be handled afterward. If you are a photographer and want to submit, do not release the images to the other vendors until you are ready to do so. A florist posting one photo on their private Facebook page could cost you getting published - yes, it's happened before. Have a publishing strategy going into each event and openly communicate with the other professionals you are collaborating with.
With great tools come pros and cons and now magazines and blogs are having to compete for content and many want exclusivity. Both sides of the coin have valid points and here are some things to keep in mind as you consider where you want your work published:
1. If you want your work published in a magazine, most will require that it cannot be published online anywhere at all, including blogs, Facebook, Twitpics, Flickr, etc, including your own. While this may seem unfair, think about it: magazines are expensive to produce and rely on original content in order to stay fresh. Also, would you really want to pay $6.50 only to see material you've already seen online? Probably not.
If you have a rule that you have to blog every wedding you shoot or that you produce, you may want to rethink it if your marketing plan also includes being published in print. Ask the people you submit your work to how their magazine or publication works and what, if anything, they allow to be published online prior to them going to print.
2. Consider your goals in getting each particular wedding published: would it be more beneficial to leverage a brand's name to further your credibility or would being in front of more eyes and allowing that work to go viral help your business more? Both options have a time and a place in your marketing efforts. Also, and this is no offense to any of the wedding bloggers, but the Martha Stewart brand currently carries much more weight than many of the other media outlets in the wedding industry. If a wedding has an opportunity to be published in Martha Stewart Weddings, and the professional has the chance to have the Martha name in their press credentials, then that may certainly win out over being featured online. On the other hand, if your goal is to use the wedding to build a lot of buzz and traffic to your website, then submitting it to blogs may be the way to go.
3. If you submit work to a blog, be sure to ask if they have any exclusivity clauses as well. Many wedding blogs operate as a business and also rely on original content in order to maintain traffic that will support their ad revenue. While it is harder to control where those photos may end up because of readers spreading the word (and really, when it comes to social media and the Internet you can't control it) it is certainly important for both the blog editor and yourself to make any expectations clear as to the specific actions both of you will take. If you submit to a blog that requires exclusivity, I would recommend asking them to notify you within a certain and reasonable (to them and to you) time frame if they are NOT going to use the images. This will help you determine if you can submit them elsewhere and avoid any sticky situations later on.
4. If you are a planner and you want to submit a particular wedding for publication in a magazine or a blog, be sure to communicate with the photographer BEFORE the wedding so that you are on the same page as to how the images will be handled afterward. If you are a photographer and want to submit, do not release the images to the other vendors until you are ready to do so. A florist posting one photo on their private Facebook page could cost you getting published - yes, it's happened before. Have a publishing strategy going into each event and openly communicate with the other professionals you are collaborating with.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tips on Using Twitter for Business
On Tuesday I spoke on a panel at Engage!09 called Social Media Success. There were four small groups that rotated to four different sessions, meaning that I, along with my fellow panelists Bee Kim of Weddingbee and Lara Casey of Southern Weddings, spoke four times in a row. Given the broadness of the topic and limited time with each group, we were unable to get to each question or elaborate as much as we wanted - this is a topic that could take up a week of sessions just in itself! Because of that, I am going to elaborate on some of the questions and topics brought up in the sessions that we weren’t able to fully address. Today, I want to expand on a few points on using Twitter for business.
General Overview
Twitter is a social media tool, with an emphasis on the word social. If you can’t commit to interacting with people, it is probably not the tool for you. This doesn’t mean that you have to interact with every single person that replies to you, but it shouldn’t be a one-way press release for your business. That said, it is as time-consuming as you make it. If you don’t want it to overrun your life, set a boundary that you will check in on Twitter once or twice a day to update and connect with others.
Knowing Your Audience
Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer has a saying that it’s not what you know or even who you know, but rather it boils down to who knows you. Twitter is a way to get your brand in front of a group of interested people - many of whom you may never even meet or know personally. If people aren’t interested in your company, they don’t have to follow you. It is purely permission based in that sense, and as a result, gives you a powerful outlet to share your perspective, insight and snippets of your life with an audience who actually cares.
It’s also important to be aware of who your audience on Twitter is so that you can get an idea of why they are following you (besides the fact that you are clearly awesome). While anyone in the world will have access to your Twitter page, your actual audience will be much narrower and most likely fall into a small handful of niche categories: wedding professionals, small business owners, brides, etc. For a long time, I assumed that my Twitter audience was the same as the Think Splendid blog audience. I later learned that this was not the case - while there is overlap in who reads this blog and who follows me on Twitter, there is actually a large number of people who only read the Twitter updates and don’t read the blog at all.
Creating Relevant Content
There is a book on blogging called 'No One Cares What You Had for Lunch'. I think someone should publish a sequel for Twitter called 'No One Cares How Full Your Email Inbox Is'. While you are able to write about anything you want, there are some things to avoid - namely, complaining. Yes, it is important to be real and authentic - after all, authenticity and transparency are two of the founding values of social media - but complaining non-stop is unhealthy for you and toxic for everyone else. As professionals, it also sends a poor message to potential clients or fellow vendors as to how you run your business and how you treat your client relationships.
It’s important to avoid talking about clients in any negative light whatsoever. If they are late to an appointment and it is driving you batty, open a Word document, title it “Tweets No One Will Ever See” and type it in there. It’s also especially important to maintain client confidentiality and keep those aspects offline. Money is a sensitive topic for many people and your clients probably don’t want the world to know that they are your largest sale yet. You don’t have to name them for others to figure out who they are. If someone sent you a private email, don’t reply to them in a public space. Pretty common sense, but sometimes these things tend to be forgotten in our excitement to share.
While people may not care about how many emails you receive or that you ate at Chipotle for the 5000th time this month, they do care about you and the people behind the company because they want to do business with people they trust and like. Everything you post on Twitter does not need to be life changing, groundbreaking or awe inspiring. The dailiness of life is a reality for everyone, and more importantly, is relatable. My twittering about purchasing fun toys for my nephew only for him to ignore them in favor of the TV remote is not particularly important. It’s an insight into my life, however, and it’s something people relate to because almost everyone has had a similar experience. Sometimes Twitter should be more about the ties that bind us together than about being strictly business.
One of the next posts will be on how Twitter can help your business. In the meantime, to learn more about Twitter, you can download my ebook called 5 Things I’ve Learned From Twitter (don't worry - it's free). You can also follow me at @thinksplendid.
What types of things do you like to read about the people you follow on Twitter?
General Overview
Twitter is a social media tool, with an emphasis on the word social. If you can’t commit to interacting with people, it is probably not the tool for you. This doesn’t mean that you have to interact with every single person that replies to you, but it shouldn’t be a one-way press release for your business. That said, it is as time-consuming as you make it. If you don’t want it to overrun your life, set a boundary that you will check in on Twitter once or twice a day to update and connect with others.
Knowing Your Audience
Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer has a saying that it’s not what you know or even who you know, but rather it boils down to who knows you. Twitter is a way to get your brand in front of a group of interested people - many of whom you may never even meet or know personally. If people aren’t interested in your company, they don’t have to follow you. It is purely permission based in that sense, and as a result, gives you a powerful outlet to share your perspective, insight and snippets of your life with an audience who actually cares.
It’s also important to be aware of who your audience on Twitter is so that you can get an idea of why they are following you (besides the fact that you are clearly awesome). While anyone in the world will have access to your Twitter page, your actual audience will be much narrower and most likely fall into a small handful of niche categories: wedding professionals, small business owners, brides, etc. For a long time, I assumed that my Twitter audience was the same as the Think Splendid blog audience. I later learned that this was not the case - while there is overlap in who reads this blog and who follows me on Twitter, there is actually a large number of people who only read the Twitter updates and don’t read the blog at all.
Creating Relevant Content
There is a book on blogging called 'No One Cares What You Had for Lunch'. I think someone should publish a sequel for Twitter called 'No One Cares How Full Your Email Inbox Is'. While you are able to write about anything you want, there are some things to avoid - namely, complaining. Yes, it is important to be real and authentic - after all, authenticity and transparency are two of the founding values of social media - but complaining non-stop is unhealthy for you and toxic for everyone else. As professionals, it also sends a poor message to potential clients or fellow vendors as to how you run your business and how you treat your client relationships.
It’s important to avoid talking about clients in any negative light whatsoever. If they are late to an appointment and it is driving you batty, open a Word document, title it “Tweets No One Will Ever See” and type it in there. It’s also especially important to maintain client confidentiality and keep those aspects offline. Money is a sensitive topic for many people and your clients probably don’t want the world to know that they are your largest sale yet. You don’t have to name them for others to figure out who they are. If someone sent you a private email, don’t reply to them in a public space. Pretty common sense, but sometimes these things tend to be forgotten in our excitement to share.
While people may not care about how many emails you receive or that you ate at Chipotle for the 5000th time this month, they do care about you and the people behind the company because they want to do business with people they trust and like. Everything you post on Twitter does not need to be life changing, groundbreaking or awe inspiring. The dailiness of life is a reality for everyone, and more importantly, is relatable. My twittering about purchasing fun toys for my nephew only for him to ignore them in favor of the TV remote is not particularly important. It’s an insight into my life, however, and it’s something people relate to because almost everyone has had a similar experience. Sometimes Twitter should be more about the ties that bind us together than about being strictly business.
One of the next posts will be on how Twitter can help your business. In the meantime, to learn more about Twitter, you can download my ebook called 5 Things I’ve Learned From Twitter (don't worry - it's free). You can also follow me at @thinksplendid.
What types of things do you like to read about the people you follow on Twitter?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
ABC Los Angeles + Travel Updates
This past Monday I was in California for meetings and to speak at the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Bridal Consultants. I spoke on social media and the attendees had great questions to ask. I love when people aren't afraid to ask questions, learn more, dig deeper and don't just take what a speaker says at face value. The photo above is of me obsessing over these little cuties created by Carissa of JL Designs:
Today I am in Raleigh, North Carolina for the second to last Blogging Bootcamp that will happen on the East Coast (the other one being in Norfolk, Virginia in August). One of the things I love most about these workshops is being able to see firsthand how the wedding industry interacts on a local level across the country. While each area has their own vibe, it has been encouraging to see the similarities and to meet people who are committed to raising the bar in the wedding industry. You can learn more about the Blogging Bootcamps and find one near you by checking out the main workshop website.
On Sunday, I fly to Grand Cayman for Engage!09 and am so excited that some other ladies from Arizona are attending this time (for the past two Engage conferences, I have been the lone Phoenician in attendance) - Heather and Jennifer from Outstanding Occasions and Teresa from Camelback Flowershop. On Tuesday, I'll be speaking on social media as it relates to the wedding industry along with Bee Kim from Weddingbee and Lara Casey from Southern Weddings. If you're attending, be sure to say hello! I'd love to meet you.
Photos by Meg Perotti
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Workshop Update: San Antonio Workshop Cancelled
A workshop update: the blogging bootcamp in San Antonio on July 15th has been cancelled. The nearest one geographically will be in Austin, Texas on July 9th. You can register for the Austin Blogging Bootcamp here.
Too see photos from the workshop this past week in Washington DC, please check out The Observatory's blog (and subsequently ignore my bangs - humidity has a way of trumping a flat iron!).
Too see photos from the workshop this past week in Washington DC, please check out The Observatory's blog (and subsequently ignore my bangs - humidity has a way of trumping a flat iron!).
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sales Techniques for Wedding Professionals
Many people didn't get into the wedding industry to do sales - they got into it as a way to express their creativity. But the simple fact of the matter is that without sales you don't have a business. You can have a fantastic widely-read blog, a zillion Twitter followers (take that, Ashton and CNN), but if you can't close the sale once you're sitting face to face with a potential client, then all of your work in marketing and online media to attract that client is moot.
This is where Saundra Hadley comes in. Before opening her event planning company, planning . . . forever events, Saundra spent years working in the sales and advertising world. To say she is talented in sales is an understatement. Saundra could sell ice to an Eskimo and may even be the secret to negotiating peace in the Middle East. I have on more than one occasion, told Saundra to just sell her own company and come sell for me all day long. She didn't go for it, go figure.
Fortunately for all of us in the wedding industry, Saundra recently launched SaundraHadley.com and is available to speak on sales strategies to event industry professionals. If you're planning an event and need a speaker on this important part of business - she is hands down the one to call. She is also going to be offering one-on-one coaching, so if you'd like some personal attention, that will be available as well.
I have learned so much from Saundra in the few years I've had the pleasure of her friendship and I can safely say she is the real deal. She knows what she is talking about, she can back it up and she won't lead you astray. You can check out her website here and follow her on Twitter here.
Photo of Saundra speaking at Eventology 2009 by JK Photography
Thursday, June 11, 2009
New Company Name
A month ago I announced that The Smart Planner will be transitioning to a new company, and today I am excited to finally announce the new name! My new company (and a labor of love) is Splendid Communications.
Splendid Communications will focus on helping companies in the wedding and event industries communicate effectively and powerfully through online media. Anyone can start a blog, or a open a Twitter or Facebook account, but not many use it effectively for their business.
The Think Splendid blog (which is this one), will focus on advice, insights and best practices for special event companies using social media for business. You'll notice some cosmetic changes throughout the week as we update the header with the new name and work out some of the technical stuff attached to the previous domains. You'll also be able to find all content for wedding planners under The Smart Planner Archives.
You can also follow me on Twitter under the name Think Splendid. If you are currently following me under the name The Smart Planner, the name will change on that account and you don't have to do a thing.
Thank you so much for all of your support thus far. Both The Smart Planner and Splendid Communications would never have existed without the support of the professionals in the wedding and event communities and I am so grateful to be able to have such amazing peers.
xxox.
Splendid Communications will focus on helping companies in the wedding and event industries communicate effectively and powerfully through online media. Anyone can start a blog, or a open a Twitter or Facebook account, but not many use it effectively for their business.
The Think Splendid blog (which is this one), will focus on advice, insights and best practices for special event companies using social media for business. You'll notice some cosmetic changes throughout the week as we update the header with the new name and work out some of the technical stuff attached to the previous domains. You'll also be able to find all content for wedding planners under The Smart Planner Archives.
You can also follow me on Twitter under the name Think Splendid. If you are currently following me under the name The Smart Planner, the name will change on that account and you don't have to do a thing.
Thank you so much for all of your support thus far. Both The Smart Planner and Splendid Communications would never have existed without the support of the professionals in the wedding and event communities and I am so grateful to be able to have such amazing peers.
xxox.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Royalties and Inspiration Boards
Most wedding bloggers realize that selling inspiration boards is illegal, due to the fact that they don't own the copyright to the photos. While the boards aren't sold directly by most, there are many bloggers whose blog's business model takes advertising revenue and is enough to sustain it as a full or near full-time business.
The question then becomes, should these bloggers be paying the photographers royalties for the use of their photos, since they are technically profiting from them? After all, if they didn't have the inspiration boards, their blog would not have the traffic to sustain the ad revenue.
This question has come up in several of my Blogging Bootcamps as well as at The B-List Conference. While I personally don't know the answer, as an industry it is one of those questions that we need to think through critically and not shy away from just because it may be uncomfortable.
What are your thoughts? Vote below and share in the comments section.
The question then becomes, should these bloggers be paying the photographers royalties for the use of their photos, since they are technically profiting from them? After all, if they didn't have the inspiration boards, their blog would not have the traffic to sustain the ad revenue.
This question has come up in several of my Blogging Bootcamps as well as at The B-List Conference. While I personally don't know the answer, as an industry it is one of those questions that we need to think through critically and not shy away from just because it may be uncomfortable.
What are your thoughts? Vote below and share in the comments section.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Is a Blog-Site Right For You?
Hybrid blog-sites are all the rage right now and while it may be tempting to jump on the bandwagon, it's important to first determine if a blog-site is right for you and your goals.
A quick definition for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term: a blog-site is a website and blog all in one. So instead of having a separate website as well as a blog, most blog-sites look like a blog but have all the information of the website contained within. Two popular examples in the wedding industry are the blog-sites of Jessica Claire and Christine Tremoulet - all their information on their respective photography businesses is contained in each of their blog-website hybrids.
To make a blanket statement such as "everyone should have a blog-site" or "no one should have one, they're just the big trend at the moment" is irresponsible and fails to take a very crucial element into account: your target market.
One of the most important steps in evaluating whether or not a blog-site will be effective for your business is to take a good, hard (and completely honest) look at YOUR target clientele and the way they navigate the Internet. With a myriad of wedding vendor options available these days, if your site does not make sense to YOUR clientele within a matter of seconds, they are clicking out of your site and on to your competitor's.
For example, I have had the opportunity to chat with Christine Tremoulet about her clients and her site and she shared that her target clients tend to be "stylish, artsy and also a little geeky" in the sense that they are more tech and Internet savvy than the average person. For her to have a blog-site hybrid makes complete sense because her target clients will appreciate Christine's creativity translated to that aspect on the web.
To counter that, my target clients tend to be attorneys, financial professionals and politicians. I have only had one couple in my years in the business where at least one of the spouses did not work in those industries. While my clients are creative and appreciate the arts, they tend to browse several websites very quickly while looking for very specific information and reading blogs comes secondary and usually primarily as a way to back up what they've read on my main site (if there is one thing to say for my clients it's that they definitely do their recon before they ever even pick up the phone!). The fact that my site navigation is familiar to them means that they find their information quickly and can then take the time as they choose to go on to read more on the blog.
If I opted for a blog-site to present my company information, many in my target market would be confused: "Why am I only seeing her blog? Doesn't she have a website?" and would be clicking their way on to my competitor's site. While they would eventually figure it out (my clients are some of the smartest people I have ever met), I do not want to risk their very pressed-for-time attention span before they've even had the chance to see what my company is about.
Take into consideration who hires you or does the initial research. Some wedding professionals tend to have the mother of the bride contact them first and then pass on her favorites to the couple. Would a blog-site be comfortable for her and instantly make sense? On the other hand, if you want clients who want to push the envelope, a blog-site may be a very good way to communicate that you and your work can meet their creative drive.
If you've always defined your target market simply as "brides" or the "high-end brides" (neither of which are target markets by the way - one is a no-brainer and the other is a tax bracket, it says nothing about the bride herself) and you are having trouble determining who your target is, I'd recommend pulling the files on all of your previous couples. Make notes of how they initially found you, who made the first point of contact, any career or style choices they had in common, etc. From that you should be able to see some patterns emerging and hopefully can pinpoint some common ground that they all share and can begin to determine which manner of web presence will best benefit your specific company.
What kind of website do you have and why?
A quick definition for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term: a blog-site is a website and blog all in one. So instead of having a separate website as well as a blog, most blog-sites look like a blog but have all the information of the website contained within. Two popular examples in the wedding industry are the blog-sites of Jessica Claire and Christine Tremoulet - all their information on their respective photography businesses is contained in each of their blog-website hybrids.
To make a blanket statement such as "everyone should have a blog-site" or "no one should have one, they're just the big trend at the moment" is irresponsible and fails to take a very crucial element into account: your target market.
One of the most important steps in evaluating whether or not a blog-site will be effective for your business is to take a good, hard (and completely honest) look at YOUR target clientele and the way they navigate the Internet. With a myriad of wedding vendor options available these days, if your site does not make sense to YOUR clientele within a matter of seconds, they are clicking out of your site and on to your competitor's.
For example, I have had the opportunity to chat with Christine Tremoulet about her clients and her site and she shared that her target clients tend to be "stylish, artsy and also a little geeky" in the sense that they are more tech and Internet savvy than the average person. For her to have a blog-site hybrid makes complete sense because her target clients will appreciate Christine's creativity translated to that aspect on the web.
To counter that, my target clients tend to be attorneys, financial professionals and politicians. I have only had one couple in my years in the business where at least one of the spouses did not work in those industries. While my clients are creative and appreciate the arts, they tend to browse several websites very quickly while looking for very specific information and reading blogs comes secondary and usually primarily as a way to back up what they've read on my main site (if there is one thing to say for my clients it's that they definitely do their recon before they ever even pick up the phone!). The fact that my site navigation is familiar to them means that they find their information quickly and can then take the time as they choose to go on to read more on the blog.
If I opted for a blog-site to present my company information, many in my target market would be confused: "Why am I only seeing her blog? Doesn't she have a website?" and would be clicking their way on to my competitor's site. While they would eventually figure it out (my clients are some of the smartest people I have ever met), I do not want to risk their very pressed-for-time attention span before they've even had the chance to see what my company is about.
Take into consideration who hires you or does the initial research. Some wedding professionals tend to have the mother of the bride contact them first and then pass on her favorites to the couple. Would a blog-site be comfortable for her and instantly make sense? On the other hand, if you want clients who want to push the envelope, a blog-site may be a very good way to communicate that you and your work can meet their creative drive.
If you've always defined your target market simply as "brides" or the "high-end brides" (neither of which are target markets by the way - one is a no-brainer and the other is a tax bracket, it says nothing about the bride herself) and you are having trouble determining who your target is, I'd recommend pulling the files on all of your previous couples. Make notes of how they initially found you, who made the first point of contact, any career or style choices they had in common, etc. From that you should be able to see some patterns emerging and hopefully can pinpoint some common ground that they all share and can begin to determine which manner of web presence will best benefit your specific company.
What kind of website do you have and why?
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