We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alicia Daw a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alicia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I’ve been in the wedding industry for 15 years and I can honestly say that the majority of the people who were in business when I started no longer are. I knew I wanted to build a business that had longevity, and observed that many of my colleagues were quitting because they were burnt out. I began to really study the vendors in the industry that I admired and watch closely to see what it was that kept the fire lit inside of theme and with every single one there was one common denominator: GROWTH.

I realized that the vendors hat stayed int he budget market or mid range market eventually lost their drive, passion, and excitement for their art. I was determined not to be one of those, so I charted a course for myself on how to get from the budget market (for my first wedding I asked what their budget was, they said $700 and I responded with “Great! That’s exactly what I charge!”) to the mid range market, to the high end market. It wasn’t by chance, and it had nothing to do with luck.

After spending a handful of years now solidly in the high end market, I can say with confidence that there are some tips and tricks I’ve learned on what to do and what not to do. In my early adult years, before I started my photography business, I did a lot of public speaking and have always loved being in front of a crowd. Additionally, I am passionate about helping businesses grow. I decided to marry all of these things and create a group coaching program called The Strategy Retreat to help wedding vendors find the bridge between the lower/mid range market to being able to charge what they are worth, and ultimately to be able to have longevity in this industry.

Alicia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Professional Bio – wedding photographer
Alicia Daw is an international wedding photographer that has spent over 2 decades of her life globetrotting and seeing the world through the lens of her camera. She has photographed in 36 countries, and draws from her experience of observing and living in other cultures to document your wedding day that is representative of your values, and preserves forever the authentic and emotional moments that will tell the story of the start of your heritage in a way that will leave you in awe for years to come.

Featured in prestigious publications like Grace Ormonde, Style Me Pretty, Wedding Chicks, The Knot, Alicia offers over 14 years of wedding photography experience and delivers images that are effortlessly romantic and breathtakingly chic. You can count on Alicia to wow you not only with stunning photos but also to add to your experience by sharing her secrets of where to find the best hot chocolate in Paris, best fresh baked cookies in New York City, or best Licorice in Copenhagen during your engagement experience.

Alicia knows how to capture the joy and love for the life you have because she is passionate about finding joy and adventure in the everyday and ordinary moments in her life with the people she loves most.

Friendly Bio

Hi, I’m Alicia! I have spent my entire life taking the off beaten path, never shying away from big risks, and always saying “yes!” to opportunities that life brought me, even when they may not have made the most sense to me. That mindset has led me to 36 countries, having the chance to live in various places in Europe and the US. If time tells us anything, it’s that memory is fragile. In the moment, we can’t ever imagine forgetting a single detail. But we do.

I began taking an interest in documenting special moments at the ripe age of 11 years old, with a fancy schmancy 110mm Barbie camera. Ironic to me, to this day, is the fact that I never liked Barbie dolls, but that Barbie camera changed the trajectory of my life.

I started by setting up my siblings in a DIY studio (re: my bedroom closet) and posing them – perks of being the eldest child. I would bring my rolls of film to Walgreens and wait 2-3 weeks for my negatives to be mailed back to me. This slowly ignited a fire in me to create, to document.

I went on to photograph people for *gasp* money…real, actual, I-can-buy-those-keds-now money. One thing led to another and for the next 10+ years I would continue to photograph people, and eventually events, “for fun”. Until it no longer became a thing I just did for fun, and became something I took really seriously because I learned over the years how much an image could move a person.

After spending 5 years in Europe doing humanitarian work, and photographing weddings on the side, I moved back to my home state of Connecticut and decided to throw all caution to the wind and start my own wedding photography business.

I want to tell you more, truly I do. There is so much more to tell. Stories of castles and queens (actual Queens, sadly not the former Queen of England, though), of sunny sailboat rides and storm-soaked engagement sessions, of meeting some very important people and bonding with clients who would go on to become dear friends. But, alas, there is not enough space here so if you want to learn of my adventures you’ll have to follow along here on Instagram or on my email newsletter. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

I started my business while living in Copenhagen, Denmark but it was more of a hobby. When I decided to move back to the US, I googled “best wedding planners in America” and “Best wedding planners in CT” and made a list of the ones I wanted to work with. I laugh now, thinking back to how I wrote Colin Cowie to introduce myself as a “European wedding photographer” that wanted to work with him. I had no idea what I was doing, at all. I had photographed a handful of weddings at that point, but mostly for people I knew. Of all the top wedding planners I wrote to, one wrote back. She was the owner of A Jubilee Event in Connecticut, and was THE planner in CT at the time. She was happy to have a meeting with me. I proudly brought in my demo album, a collection of the few weddings I had photographed, heavily processed and edited, and showed it to her. I knew walking in there that I was a small fish in a big pond, and I knew I was way in over my head…but I did it. Candace smiled through our meeting and was so sweet. She never once told me how *absolutely horrific* the album was. Now, almost 15 years alter, I have photographed a few stunning weddings with Jubilee Events and we still laugh over that first meeting. Thankfully, my skills improved since then. Enough that she was willing to give me a shot ;)

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Early on in my business I was told that if you make your business about serving others, you’ll never have a lack of business. That has been my motto from early on in business, and it has always brought in the best clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: aliciaannphotographers.com
• Instagram: aliciann_daw
• Facebook: /aliciaannphotographers

Image Credits
Alicia Ann Photographers