A couple Ryann Doria of Ryann Kristena Events worked with did not want a professional photographer. Doria helped them arrange for guests to share photos and moved the photography and video budget toward entertainment, which mattered more to them. It is a specific example of her planning approach: she helps couples decide which wedding conventions matter to them and works through the practical consequences.
Doria makes that alternative-wedding focus explicit on her site. Since doing so, she says, she receives fewer inquiries, but more of the couples who contact her suit the work she wants to do. Many reach the first call already familiar with her approach. Those are her reported results, not a forecast for another studio. They do raise a useful question for yours: can a couple see how you would handle a choice that matters to them before they fill out your form?
Show the choice behind the wedding
When you select portfolio work, look for a decision worth explaining alongside the photographs. A caption about the couple who skipped professional photography could say what they valued, how Doria arranged the guest photos, and why entertainment received the budget. Another couple can then see how she plans with clients, beyond the finished look of the day.
Doria calls herself an alternative wedding planner and speaks to couples who want to leave behind traditions they do not care for. The guest-photo decision shows how that description works in a project. If you have chosen a wedding-planning niche, give prospective clients the same chance to understand yours. The wedding pictured, its caption, and the service description should agree about the work you want to take on, so a couple has something specific to ask about when they contact you.
Let the call pick up where the site leaves off
Doria asks callers how many other planners they are interviewing and reports that many say none. That answer belongs to her own calls; another planner may hear something else. What interests her is that people often arrive knowing her point of view, so they can talk about the service the couple needs and the plans they have in mind.
A short inquiry form can help. Ask what the couple is planning, which service they think they need, and a choice they want to make differently. Read the answers before the call and use them to begin the conversation. Doria offers full planning and design as well as event management. Her alternative focus is strongest in full planning and design, while she still works with some more traditional couples through event management. Make that service boundary clear so someone does not rule themselves out, or book a call for the wrong service, because of a broad line on your homepage.
Learn from the inquiries you refer away
Doria says she refers people to other planners when she sees a better fit. Give a couple that answer early enough to find someone whose work suits them, then note where the mismatch became clear. If it was visible in their first message, your site may need a more precise service description or portfolio caption. If you learned it only by talking, consider whether the inquiry form should ask about that choice.
The aim is a first call that begins with the couple’s plans. They have already seen the kind of wedding you enjoy planning and how you handled a decision that mattered to someone else; you can ask about the choice they are making now.
