Moonlighting for Complete Weddings and Events
I have a confession to make: I’ve spent the last two and a half wedding seasons moonlighting as a photographer for Complete Weddings and Events. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, ‘Moonlighting’ means that you are working a secondary job, in addition to your main employment, usually in the same field. So, why am I sharing this? Well, I want to share with y’all what I’ve learned as a result of this experience!
Complete Weddings and Events
Complete Weddings and Events is a multi-service wedding and event company. They provide DJs, Photographers, Photo Booths, Videographers, and so forth to couples who are looking for these services at a more affordable rate. Complete- for short- is a nation-wide franchise chain. Their business model is based off of the one often employed by fast food chains. And, as of the writing of this blog post, they have been around for about 50 years.
Complete bases it’s marketing off of being the affordable option, and they are very often the most affordable option. Because the wedding industry has to serve couples with budgets anywhere from $2000-$100,000+, Complete serves a part of the community that would otherwise not have options for securing these services for their weddings.
My Experience with Complete
As a result of working as an independent contractor for Complete, I have gained a whole host of experiences that I may otherwise never have encountered. I do believe that it has made me a better photographer for these experiences. Here are some of the things I’ve learned:
I have learned how to work with people of a variety of cultures and religious backgrounds, including: Native American wedding traditions, Nigerian wedding traditions, Catholic weddings, Christian ceremonies, non-religious ceremonies, Hispanic wedding traditions, bi-lingual weddings, and multiple wedding ceremonies for one couple.
I have learned how to handle tricky people. Weddings are emotional events. The stress of planning and preparing for the wedding combined with the whole array of emotions the day of the wedding can often cause people to do things and react in ways that may be out of character, especially when alcohol is involved.
I have seen just about every wedding day mishap you can think of, and I’ve learned how to help fix the situation, either by carrying a tote box with all sorts of supplies or by mediating disagreements between people. There is very little that could surprise me at this point!
My photography skills have definitely been put to the test! I have learned how to work in a variety of venues, from a family’s home, to barns, to outdoors, to banquet halls in hotels, to dark churches, and any number of other places. I’ve learned how to photograph in a variety of lighting situations, too!
Because I didn’t have the luxury of building relationships with these clients over the course of months, I have had to refine my systems, processes, and practices of actually photographing things and people so that I was free to build those relationships on the day of the wedding. Now I have a method that leaves me free to focus on the people I’m working with, rather than concentrating on using my equipment properly.
Complete Weddings and Events provided me with an environment to refine my skills and to gain experience with all sorts of cultural and religious wedding traditions, as well as working with all kinds of people. I wouldn’t trade my time working as an independent contractor for this company for anything, and they definitely have a place and serve a purpose within the wedding industry. But, I am so excited to move on, taking all the experience that I’ve gained and using it to benefit my own clients!