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

liamandbee.com

lawsonfilms.co.uk

lawsonphotography.co.uk

#weddingphotography #weddingvideography #filmphotography #creativepodcast #weddingindustry #ourcreativecommune

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.