We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lindsay Varner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lindsay below.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
“I’m just here for the cake.” is a lighthearted phrase we’ve seen tossed around in the wedding world for years. From ring bearer signs to t-shirts and more, it’s a humorous, yet poignant reflection on the emphasis on traditional elements we’ve come to expect at weddings through the years. Chances are, if you page through your parent or grandparent’s wedding album, there’s a much cherished photo of two lovers slicing into a multilayered confection with enough sugar frosting to keep the dental industry in business for a lifetime. Who doesn’t love wedding cake?! As it turns out, quite a few people!
The sun was low on the October horizon as I quickly doublechecked Taylor’s wedding timeline while glancing curiously around the reception space I had just finished photographing. Something was missing. “Photobooth? Check. Personalized bar signs? Already got it. Memory table? In the back. Custom wedding favors on display? We hit that first.” went my internal monologue. It was then I remembered I hadn’t seen the cake. The reason? There wasn’t one. In an adorable nod to their first date, Taylor and Alex had chosen to forgo the traditional wedding dessert option in favor of an ice cream truck from a little shop we had visited during their engagement session. They fed each other bits of ice cream while laughing and enjoying their treats with their family and friends. It was laid-back, non-traditional, and truly such a beautiful nod to their uniqueness as a couple.
Danielle and Jordan opted for something we are calling the “quiet” cake cutting. At least half of our couples this year chose to forgo the traditional announced cake cutting where guests rush over, phones and cameras in hand, to snap photos as they slowly cut, feed each other, and then kiss at the end. Instead, we coordinate ahead of time so that we can simply follow them over and grab a few photos/videos while they cut the cake in their own way as guests continue mingling/dancing. It takes the pressure off of couples who don’t love being the center of attention while still allowing for the traditional photos for their album. It should be noted that minutes later, they returned to the dance floor bringing with them Wildwood’s famous “Fudgie Wudgie Man” and his beach cart full of ice cream treats. Guests were also served cake at their tables later on.
Matt and Sarah wanted to have that “traditional” moment, but they don’t like cake. Instead, they chose to cut and feed each other pies. Guests could choose from various “pies in a jar” and we can confirm it was a big hit! Overall our couples are finding flexibility in the rigidity of tradition, while still hanging onto the element of “great food and a good time”.
From a wedding vendor standpoint, we applaud the confidence our couples have to choose the wedding elements that feel right and eschewing those that don’t. On our end it leads to more relaxed photos and videos with a couple that feels in control and happy with the choice they made. We love the variety it gives to weddings along with the option for guests to experience a “new” cuisine or dessert that they may not have tried elsewhere. As couples pull in elements like ice cream carts, food trucks with things like funnel cakes and fried Oreos, cotton candy bars, and trays of soft pretzels from their favorite spot, it also gives local businesses a chance to shine thus boosting their sales as well as giving them networking opportunities. We’ve had several couples use the same ice cream truck since they are now recommended by a venue for proving such great service.
As traditions fade out, change, and new ones arrive, there can be some lingering thoughts of disappointment or unmet expectations on the parts of close family and friends. Grandparents and parents to whom the cake cutting is a cherished memory and one of the few photos they have in their albums may not understand a couple’s choice to “toss” this tradition out the window along with things like the traditional cake and garter toss. We’ve seen parents express frustration when a couple chose to cut the cake silently as that’s a moment they’d prefer not to miss. Our advice to our clients is to communicate things ahead of time so disappointments aren’t unexpectedly arising on the wedding day, but ultimately to remain true to who they are as a couple. We believe love should be celebrated in the most authentic way possible!
Lindsay, 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?
As a little girl, my blue Fisher Price camera with its ability to use real film was a prized possession. I absolutely loved taking my Kodak rolls to the drop-off kiosk and then returning later on to pick up my finished prints. It’s such a core memory of my childhood, and I love watching my own little girls capture the world through their digital versions.
I grew up in south central Pennsylvania, and in college, I took a summer job as a roaming photographer for Get the Picture, a company working to produce guest photos within Hersheypark. It was my first experience with a DSLR style camera, as well as my first time getting paid to take photos of people. Summer days were spent roaming the park, grabbing shots of guests with characters like Hershey Bar and Miss Kiss, wading through the rushing waters of the lazy river handing out photo wrist bands, welcoming guests to the park with Hershey bar props to hold, or grabbing candids throughout the park. It remains to this day my favorite pre-professional place of employment.
I returned to college with a renewed passion for photography and purchased my very first DSLR, taking on the occasional family portrait session or senior portrait session for family and friends while pursuing my degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant, a license that though while currently non-practicing I still maintain to this day. At this point I hadn’t even considered taking on weddings, but when a friend whose senior portraits I had done a few years back asked if I’d also take her wedding photos, I jumped at the chance. I handed my then-fiance a camera, showed him the settings I wanted him to use, and enlisted his help in photographing what would be come the first of hundreds of weddings we would shoot together. Three years later, I had grown our business enough to quit my full time job and pursue a career that I had become incredibly passionate about, photographing wildly romantic couples in love.
We like to explain to our clients that we are wedding specialists, meaning we pretty much shoot exclusively weddings/couples. While I will occasionally take on a maternity session or the like for a previous client, our schedule is 98% weddings and engagements. It allows us to hone in on our particular skillset while being able to tune in entirely to the wedding industry we love so much.
A few years into the business, we decided to add in combination photography and videography packages. This is one of our favorite offerings, and it is one of the things our couples absolutely rave about. At this point, 95% of our wedding bookings are for both photo and video. Nathan and I are unique in that we are both photographers and videographers, allowing us to perform the other’s job tasks seamlessly. While he acts as the lead videographer on most occasions, this allows us to split up during the getting ready portions as I am able to do photo + video for one partner, while Nathan does the same for the other. This also allows us to swap roles occasionally throughout the day to maximize coverage, allowing our couples to really get the best of both worlds.
One of the things we love most about our business is the ability to travel it has provided. While we are based out of central Pennsylvania, our couples are located all over the northern east coast and beyond. Almost half of our 2025 weddings are outside of the state we live in. We’ve had couples take us with them to places like Jamaica and Florida, while others bring us into their hometowns. We’ve also gained experience and insight into so many beautiful cultures and diverse life experiences throughout our time in the industry. We welcome our clients to share their worlds with us, knowing that they will be treated with respect and love.
Some of the words our clients use to describe us include “Supportive, a calming presence, kind, enthusiastic, responsive, and people who feel more like friends than strangers with a camera.” We are also referred to as the calm in the chaos. We advocate for our couples wishes above all else, and are no strangers to pitching in when things start to go awry. When it feels like things are going wrong and your big day is really not going the way you planned, we’ve probably got some creative solutions along with a few funny stories to share. Remember that time where one of our grooms left his rings in Texas and his best man had to break into his house? You get the idea.
If you’ve entrusted us to capture your magical wedding day so far, thank you. You’ve been part of a legacy that two little girls get to grow up watching. We hope it inspires them to reach for their own dreams, and to realize that with a lot of hard work and dedication, anything is possible. We look forward to serving hundreds more couples in the future!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Nathan and I actually met online when he made a profile on a popular dating app and I made a “fake” one to just browse. I put in what I was looking for (it felt a lot like online shopping), and his picture was the first thing that popped up. Since I didn’t want to pay the monthly fee to send him a “smile”, I found him on Facebook and messaged him there. He likes to say I stalked him twice. A week later we had our first date, and we were married that next September at the wedding venue his parents own.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
I was working as a physical therapist assistant in the Harrisburg area when I began taking on the occasional senior portrait session or family portrait session. I need a creative outlet to thrive as a human, and photography has always been a passion of mine. When I made the jump into weddings and it was clear I had found my calling, I continued to work full time as I began heavily marketing our wedding business on the side. It felt like I was working 24/7 for a few years. The hard work paid off, and I was able to quit my job a few years later when it was determined I was making enough profit to cover my salary from my former job. My personal philosophy is that you can do anything you set your mind to but you have to want it more than anything else. You set your goal and you work as hard as you can until you achieve it. No excuses, just passion for what you do, a burning desire to reach for the stars, and the work ethic to back it up. Once I was full time with wedding photography I delved more into learning skills to maximize our offerings as well as more time spent understanding new trends and networking in person. Today we take on 30-40 weddings per year.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lindsayeileenphotography.com
- Instagram: @lindsayeileenphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindsayeileenphotography
- Other: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/lindsay-eileen-photography-bellefonte-pa-849893
