Offering Inclusive Wedding, Portrait & Boudoir Photography in New Braunfels, the Texas Hill Country, & Beyond
If the above sounds familiar, it's because it's prominently displayed on our Home page of our website.
I remember several years ago receiving a phone call in our hotel room. The caller was a friend of an engaged couple. Her task was to find a suitable photographer for the recently engaged. Some how she had come across our website. She asked all the right questions: availability, cost for services, style, and so on. Then as if she had been putting off her most uncomfortable question until the very end:
This wedding is going to be for two women. Is that going to be okay?
Right around this time, there was controversy over some vendors refusing to provide services to same-sex couples. I had already taken into account who I was and who I was willing to provide services to. I assured her there would be no issues on our part and she booked our services for the wedding.
After hanging up, I could hear her asking me the question again and again. It wasn't the words she used, but the nervousness in her voice. The obvious discomfort of uncertainty as if she almost expected rejection. Could it be that she had she been rejected by other photographers before she reached me?
Why is this anybody's business?
Something that became important to us was to ensure that potential clients knew where we stood from our very first contact. They would not have to ask us if we were willing to serve a particular wedding, because we would make it known from the very beginning. This avoided putting them into a position where they are repeatedly having to "out" themselves every time they would contact a vendor. So we put our message front and center like a Welcome Sign...after all, All Are Welcome.
To further this, we became Founding Members of Divorced From Tradition - a group of inclusive vendors and professionals who support marriage for all regardless of race, gender, orientation, or family structure.
So biracial marriage? Absolutely. LGBT+ marriage? You got it. Polyamorous throuples or groups? We're there. Tattooed, Pierced, Goth, Kink? Hell yeah. If a vendor is with DFT, rest assured they are there for you.
We're a pretty open minded family and that carries over into our business. To date, I haven't refused service to anyone. Should we feel the need to do so, it won't be over the things we discussed above.
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