inquire

How to Write a Stellar Review

Resources

February 9, 2026

Writing a review can feel cumbersome. Believe me, I totally get it. With an endless list of things to do after your elopement, writing a review doesn’t always make the top of the list. But as someone that believes in the power of thanking someone for a job well done, I’m here to give you all the reasons that a business review matters to small businesses like me (and how to write stellar one!).

Life comes at us pretty hard after an elopement so I know that writing a review can be pushed to the back burner pretty quickly. But I’m here to show you that a quick 10 minutes can make a HUGE difference for small businesses like mine.

I would never ask you to do something that didn’t matter. Reviews help future couples make decisions (and hell, maybe you even looked at my reviews before deciding to book?!). Elopements like the ones I help couples create are relatively new and reviews help showcase how incredible your experience was (and their experience could be). That’s why your review would mean the world to me!

Why are Business Reviews Important?

Writing a business review is so much more than telling the internet about your experience with me. While that’s the intent behind the review, there’s other BIG impacts your review makes from building trust with future couples, improving my online visibility, sending me amazing referrals (just like yourselves!), making marketing easy, and truth be told, it makes me really happy to know that you had an amazing experience. Writing a review is honestly my favorite way that a couple can thank me for a job well done.

Builds Trust with Couples

How many times do you Google a business before hiring them? I’m always looking at reviews whether it’s to find the next best restaurant or hiring a lawn care service. Reviews are powerful ways couples can get a sense for an experience before having lived it. Your review tells potential couples “hey, I’ve actually gone through this experience. It was amazing and I think you’ll love it as well!“. When potential couples see these reviews, it eases any concerns they might have surrounding the experience they’ll receive. It ensures that they’ll get the very best experience and that I can back up everything on my website. Your kind words help other couples make decisions.

Improves Online Visibility

Google LOVES businesses that have good reviews. When a business has tons of good reviews, it tells Google that this a trustworthy business. The more reviews I can collect, the more trustworthy I am to Google. Google will in turn boost my online visibility through search engine optimization (SEO) and increase my ranking whenever someone is searching for a Florida elopement photographer.

Sends Amazing Referrals

When you post reviews to Google, Facebook, or the Knot, you’re telling the world that you loved your experience. Buttt when you tag me in your posts, rave about me on social media, and tell your friends and family about your experience, you’re potentially be sending me amazing referrals…because most of the time, they’re couples just like you!

Makes Marketing Easy

When you leave a review, I’m able to use this review as “social proof” in my marketing. This is just a fancy industry term for a piece of content that shows potential couples that my services are, in fact, all their cracked up to be. These pieces of social proof get couples excited to work with me and help make their decision making process so much easier. There’s already so much to consider when you’re planning an elopement, hiring your photographer should be as easy as possible! That’s why marketing with social proof matters.

It Makes Me Wildly Happy

If I’m being totally honest, stellar reviews are the cherry on top for me. There’s no better way to thank a wedding vendor than to leave an amazing review. It makes me so happy to know that my couples LOVED their experience. Imagine spending weeks (sometimes months) helping to plan and capture the most epic day of a couples life. You had an incredible time on their elopement day, the couple said they had the most fun ever, and you delivered an incredible gallery…only for you to get crickets afterwards. It’s disheartening to small business owners like me. But when a couple has that same experience AND leaves an incredible review telling everyone how amazing the experience was and their photos were, it gives me such a sense of pride in my work and I’m energized by your words.

How to Write a Stellar Business Review

Writing a review doesn’t have to be hard! But if you’re struggling to get started, here’s what your review can include to help give the most impact.

Start with Impact

The first sentence of your review should be the most impactful. Since many couples don’t read the entire review, having an opening sentence that gives the essence of the entire review is incredibly helpful. This sentence can include your recommend and why.

Here are some examples of opening sentences from past couples:

“We cannot say enough amazing things about our experience! From the moment we met Anna, everything felt natural, easy, and fun.”
“Hiring Anna was hands down one of the best decisions we made for our elopement! From the very beginning, she was professional, kind, and genuinely excited to be part of our special day.”
“This girl was ON IT! She truly goes above and beyond for her people.”

Add At Least A Paragraph

Do you ever read a review and the person only puts “great experience” or “would recommend” with zero context? While these reviews help on the technical side of Google and Facebook, they don’t provide real couples with enough information as to whyyy they’re being recommended. Adding at least a paragraph about your experience can really help other couples get an idea for why your experience was so amazing.

Side note: Nothing is too long…ever. I’ve heard from past couples that they wrote too much, but I PROMISE the lengthier the review, the better! We love long reviews around here.

Include Keywords

Keywords are little indicators to Google for what a company is all about. Including specific words in your review (i.e., keywords) help businesses show up on Google when another couple searches those particular words.

For example, if you say something like “Anna was the BEST Florida elopement photographer”, then whenever someone searches for Florida elopement photographer, there’s a higher chance they’ll find me!

Here are some common keywords that can be included in your review:

Florida elopement photographer
[Your elopement location] elopement photographer (e.g., Key West elopement photographer)
Florida elopement
[Your elopement location] elopement (e.g., Key West elopement)
Elope in Florida
Elope in [your location] (e.g., elope in Key West)

You don’t need to include every single keyword listed. Those are just examples and including even ONE keyword can be massively impactful. And while keywords are important, don’t overthink it or stress about including them perfectly. Your posted review is more than enough!

Sharing your detailed experience from start to finish can really help set businesses apart. When you’re thinking about sharing your experience, you’ll want to think about the big picture. How was the experience from beginning to end? Did they do anything that went above and beyond? How did they make you feel? Did they help you throughout any challenges? All of these questions will help you write out your experience!

Here’s some questions to help you gets started:

Why did you chose to work with me?
How did you feel before booking vs. after our adventure together?
What was your favorite part about working with me?
Was there a standout moment from your elopement day that you’ll cherish forever?
Was there anything I (or my assistant/backup/seconds) did that went above and beyond on your day?
Was there anything that we did that you didn’t expect, but loved?
What was your reaction when you first saw your sneak peeks and/or gallery?
Any insider tips you’d share with other couples considering eloping?

Add Photos

Photos are amazing additions to a stellar review! I love when couples include their favorite photos from the day as part of their review. It not only makes me really happy, but it helps with Google rankings. Adding photos is another measure of authority and trustworthiness on Google. It shows off that the service is real. Plus, it also gets other couples excited about their photos!

Please Don’t Use AI

These are words I never thought I would include in a guide, but here we are! While asking ChatGPT (or another AI platform) to help write your review can be super convenient in today’s busy world, the use of AI has many drawbacks to the authenticity of a review and the deleterious effect on the environment. As a business that is firmly anti-AI for the negative impacts on the environment (overconsumption of water usage and continuous land clearing/development) and local communities (rising electricity bills for families), I kindly ask that you use your own amazing words to create the review.

As authenticity dwindles on the internet, it’s easy to spot when something is written by AI. Reviews like this don’t have as much meaning or impact to future couples. But when you truly write something from your heart, there’s an authenticity that feels real and gets couples excited about their elopement experience. AI can’t write things from the heart or give the same feeling as couples saying:

“If you’re contemplating an elopement, do it! If you’re contemplating Anna as your photographer, don’t even think twice, do it. I promise you won’t regret it!”
“She took my vision of re-creating our “firsts” of our first dates all over Key West ( How many people can make a photo by the dumpster of our first kiss look AMAZING??!?!) and absolutely NAILED it. I look at them almost every day.”
“This girl can take a damn photo! Anna made our day perfect and blew our expectations out of the water! We were nervous deciding to elope but Anna put our mind at ease the moment we first spoke with her.”

Examples of Amazing Reviews

Here are a few examples of stellar reviews. If you’re looking for more inspiration, you can read more reviews over on my Google Business page!

Review Example #1

“We chose Anna to photograph our elopement because her style was exactly what we had been searching for. Authentic, emotional, and full of vibes. We could tell right away from her portfolio that she prioritized real moments over stiff, staged shots, and that was incredibly important to us. As soon as we found her my heart was set.

We only had about a month to plan , and from our first zoom call we just trusted her. We’re pretty laid back by nature so we didn’t stress, but even if we would have been a nervous wreck, I know Anna would’ve handled it with the rock-solid “I got you” energy. She automatically jumped in with both feet and immediately became part of the adventure. The planning process is one of the most detailed experiences I’ve seen (in the best way). From the very early start of your planning she will ensure she doesn’t miss one little detail or minute of whatever you’re looking for. Her knowledge of the best spots to go, places to see, and things to do is better than the internet. And she will do all the digging to make sure it will work out for your day and for you personally.

My favorite thing about Anna is that you give her a vibe and she translates it into exactly what you’re looking to express within your photos. We literally told her, “Just make us look cool.” And she absolutely delivered. I’ve never seen us look so unbothered and cinematic.

She made us a completely custom schedule to keep on track for the night. We are definitely “go with the flow” people, and she was right there with us when we changed part of our plan last minute. She didn’t blink. She rolled with every bit of it. Just genuine support and the sweetest hype energy. It was our day, and she made sure we actually got to stay present and feel that. She matches energy in a way that feels intuitive and effortless.

But even though we’re crazy awkward in front of a camera, she guided us every step of the way. She gave us prompts that felt natural and let us focus on each other instead of worrying about what to do with our hands. It never felt staged. It felt like we were just in the moment and she happened to be capturing it. She made the whole evening about us, and we got to be present while knowing she had absolutely everything under control. She’s kind, patient, and fun, and makes you feel like the main character in an indie film.

We say at least once a week that we want to go get married again because it was seriously that much fun.

If you want a photographer who will help plan your elopement, can handle anything the day throws at her, match your vibe, make you look cool, is the biggest cheerleader, and still keep things fun and real, it’s Anna.”

Review Example #2

“Hiring Anna was hands down one of the best decisions we made for our elopement! From the very beginning, she was professional, kind, and genuinely excited to be part of our special day. On the day of our elopement, Anna’s flexibility and calm demeanor made everything so much easier. She adjusted seamlessly to last-minute changes, capturing every precious moment without missing a beat.

Her ability to make us feel comfortable and natural in front of the camera was incredible, and the photos she delivered are absolutely breathtaking. Each shot is filled with emotion and perfectly tells the story of our day. Anna’s attention to detail, creativity, and dedication to getting the perfect shot were beyond our expectations.

If you’re looking for a photographer who is not only talented but also adaptable and a joy to work with, Anna is your person! We can’t recommend her enough – she gave us memories we will cherish forever!”

Review Example #3

“We cannot recommend Anna Holden enough! She went above and beyond to make our elopement unforgettable. From hiking 5 miles (that we insisted was only 4) to a mountaintop to cold plunging in a waterfall, she captured every incredible moment exactly as we envisioned. The photos are breathtaking and truly reflects the emotions and beauty of our day.

Her organization and attention to detail were unmatched, she thought of everything, from logistics to ensuring we were comfortable and natural in front of the camera. She has such a calming and positive energy that made the whole experience effortless and enjoyable. Her husband Caleb can’t go unrecognized he came along, drove us , held all of our stuff, and made sure we had snacks and drinks when we needed them. We are beyond happy with our decision to elope, have an intimate ceremony for ourselves, and then celebrate with a party the next day.

We honestly wish we could bring Anna and her husband on all our vacations to capture the breathtaking scenery and moments in nature. They’re truly incredible, and we’re so grateful they were part of such a special time in our lives.

If you’re looking for someone to document your adventure with creativity, professionalism, and heart, Anna Holden is the one!”

Reply...

SHARE THIS POST: