She walked out of the studio and closed the door behind her, and I collapsed on our couch, loudly & dramatically. Mack sat with his head in his hands. We were both just flabbergasted.

We hadn’t had a consultation like that in YEARS. This bride came in almost angry… immediately distrustful of us and wholly unimpressed by our work. To be honest, I’m not sure why she met with us in the first place. She figuratively tore our sample albums apart, and couldn’t seem to wait to get out of there. On the heels of two other promising inquiries that had fallen by the wayside, this disaster of a consult was the heaviest of last straws. We were shaken.

Our pride, our confidence, our faith in our business… all it took was one rotten week to put us on wobbly legs. Because when your business is the sole support of a family of four, it doesn’t take much. We have an amazing track record with four years of incredible brides, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have to hustle. We have to sell our business, and work our tails off to make sure we can continue to keep McGowan Images thriving for the next 5, 10, 15 years. A disastrous consult (or worse, a string of them) can take the wind out of our sails real fast.

The good news is… we got our wind back.

One week later, we sat in the same chairs, in the same studio. We were nervous, scared to death we’d be in another situation where a potential client would rip our work to shreds. Instead, we sat, and we laughed. We talked about life & love & of course… weddings. 🙂 We hugged when the meeting was over, knowing that was a wedding we were going to photograph, and do a fabulous job of it. We left knowing our new clients had complete faith in us, and loved the work we’d shown them. We left with our confidence renewed.

We were reminded WHY we sit down & meet with clients. We remembered why it’s ok that we didn’t book that other wedding… why we didn’t really want to. We remembered why we decided that we weren’t targeting ALL brides… we’re targeting the RIGHT ones.

Mack and I… we know we’re different. We’re loud & bright. Our personalities aren’t easily hidden. The way we see the world is unique. We’re not wallflower people. And we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are NOT the right fit for every single bride in America.

We are, though, the perfect fit for the RIGHT ones.

We’re photographers for couples who are crazy in love. We’re photographers for couples who love to laugh. We’re photographers for people who appreciate natural beauty. We’re photographers for some DFW brides, some Erath County brides, some Hill Country brides, some island brides, some European brides (fingers crossed 😉 )… brides all over the world. Not EVERY bride, but the RIGHT ones.

In 2013, we have booked 30 of the RIGHT brides. And while we’re just 1/3 of the way there now, we know without a doubt… we believe wholeheartedly… that the rest of 2014 is going to fill up with more of these amazing couples. These people who are in love with each other, and want their wedding days to be true celebrations. We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is what we’re supposed to be doing, and that we’re going about it the right way.

Friends, we all have days that we’re shaken. We all have times where we doubt ourselves… we walk on wobbly legs with windless sails. It happens, and it hurts.

But I’m here to tell you, there’s always a road up from of the valley. The sun will shine again, and the wind will pick up, and you’ll see your way out. As long as you don’t stop walking, you’ll always be one at least step closer than you were the day before.

That’s an iPhone photo… God Bless Steve Jobs for the camera that’s constantly in my pocket.

(And hey… if you’re one of those RIGHT brides, looking for a 2014 wedding photographer, know that we’ve still got room for you 🙂 )