Hello friends! I hardly feel the need to introduce myself now. You know me. I’m Kelly, the design specialist. The SEO fanatic. The lover of all things weddings. And the biggest fan of helping small business owners build a brand and website they can feel proud of. 

Today, I’m going to walk you through exactly how I do it. I’m going to show you a step-by-step example of a brand and website design my client felt excited about. Something that felt true to her. A brand and website that authentically represented who she was, what she does, and appealed to the people she wanted to work with. 

Not gonna lie, I’m really freaking proud of this website. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Custom Wedding Website for Adventure Elopement Photographer 

The Original website 

Okay, this is Amber. She’s the sweetest, kindest, most passionate girl you’ll ever meet. She has a funky Western style that I absolutely adore and loves capturing her clients’ love exactly as it is. She describes her photography style as true-to-color and emotional. Having scoured through her galleries, I couldn’t agree more. 

This was Amber’s site when she first came to me: 

There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s pretty, minimal, and (technically) does the job. But there’s no personality. There’s no pizzaz – nothing makes it stand out. And nothing makes it feel the way Amber wanted it to feel.

Because the truth is, Amber had changed! She’d been taking professional wedding photos for five years. And in that time, she found a style that spoke to her. (Spoiler: it wasn’t your typical minimalism). 

She discovered that the sessions that she was most excited about were in the mountains, forests, and national parks. She loved the elopements that were in destinations that meant something to the couple. The weddings that had ranch-style backdrops, and couples that were there to really celebrate their day. She found that the clients she clicked with wanted intentional, adventurous wedding experiences.

And she was so ready to embrace this.

By this point, Amber knew her ideal client front, back, and sideways. She knew what they wanted and what they struggled with. She wanted to address their pain points and show them that she understood! And she wanted to show them that she was the solution they’d been looking for. 

So here were our goals for her new website: 

• Create something that accurately represents Amber’s personality and style 
• Appeal to couples who want adventure-style elopements, especially in National Parks across the country 
• Show her clients that their wedding day was about them (not their mother-in-law’s opinions)
• Align with more “right fit” clients and only take weddings that feel like a good match to avoid stress and burnout during wedding season
• Optimize the shizz out of her website so it gets found by the right people on search results 

Amber’s Custom Designed Website 

And here is how we accomplished them! 

1. Create a custom brand and website that accurately represents Amber’s personality and style

First of all, the COLORS! When you land on Amber’s website, the first thing you notice is that deep rust color. Keep scrolling, and you’ll find an earthy tan and pale blue to evoke feelings of open sky and rising mountains. 

The headline font I chose, Adorn Story, is a twist on a classic typeface. It’s elegant and easy to read, but also fun, unique, and quirky. Her typography shows you that she’s creative, adventurous, and not afraid to think outside the box. Then, we have a handwritten script which makes her writing feel more personal. 

2. Appeal to couples who want adventure elopements 

Mountains. They’re the first thing you see on her website. You seriously cannot miss them. 

Every single photo on Amber’s website features a stunning backdrop. Whether there’s a forest, a lake, mountains, or earthy architecture – you know Amber’s style. You know this is the kind of girl who knows her way around a National Park or has scoped out the best views in the Tahoe area.

And even more than that, she’s ready to grab her camera and hold the train of a wedding dress and show you the way. Adventure elopement couples with a National Park bucket list will see this and resonate immediately. 

3. Show her clients that their wedding day is about them 

Amber knows that her clients’ main pain point is dealing with too many outside opinions. On her custom website, Amber speaks directly to the wedding couple. She leaves no room for outside options and encourages her couples to think about what they want. Her copy is a direct result of diving into her brand message through our brand session.

This attitude is reinforced by the photos we chose to include. Many photographers display photos of large wedding parties and families. The photos we included on Amber’s site include only the bride and groom. They’re taken at intimate angles to show her attention to detail and dedication to capturing what matters most.

4. Align with more “right fit” clients. Take only weddings that feel like a good match to avoid stress and burnout during wedding season

If someone is looking for a buttoned-up wedding photographer to take wedding photos at a ritzy hotel in the heart of Manhattan, they’re probably not going to want Amber. They’ll be turned off by the big mountains, open plains, and rich forests. 

This is a good thing. 

The purpose of this website is to weed out couples who aren’t a good fit. This way, she’s working with couples who value the same things she does, and understands the value in paying her rates.

5. Optimize the shizz out of her custom website to land in the correct searches

Once we understood Amber’s ideal client, we were able to search engine optimize the back end (aka user end) of her website. This means she’ll land in the correct searches and get in front of the people who want her services.

This includes things like using keywords in her H1 headings and URL. We focused on her current location (Lake Tahoe) and her dream destinations (national parks). 

We also triple-checked that her links work, her photos are compressed, and there are no hidden pages on her website! Basically, we combed through everything I wrote about in this blog post to ensure her website would run smoothly.  

The End Result? A Search Engine Optimized Custom Website That Felt GOOD!

By the time we finished, Amber’s new website looked nothing like her old one. But it finally felt like her. 

For the first time since she started her wedding photography business, she was excited to send people to her website. She knew that her corner of the internet reflected who she was and that it would attract the right people. 

Plus, Amber started ranking for 10 related keywords within a month of launching her website. She is also on-track to double leads coming from her website (thanks to that SEO). 

“Kelly was amazing to work with! she made the process of rebranding and creating a new website so easy and fast! I am so happy with the outcome! 100/10 recommend :)” – Amber McNeal

Check out the full website here.

This is why I believe so strongly in the value of custom branding and website design! Your website is your first impression. You want to appeal directly to your ideal client and show them that you are the answer they’ve been looking for!

Custom Wedding Website Design to Woo and Wow

Did you love Amber’s custom website? I can make one for you, too! Click here to learn more about me, my packages, and the custom websites I design for wedding pros! 

If you’ve seen enough to know that this is what you want, we can go ahead and schedule a free discovery call! I love learning about what makes your wedding business unique and how we can design something special together.  

XO, Kelly