The 6-month follow-up
you keep forgetting to send.
In five minutes when the reminder fires.
You offer albums. You offer anniversary sessions. You almost never follow up because the couple is in your inbox but not in your head six months after their wedding. This recipe is two parts: a 30-second Google Calendar reminder you set on the wedding day, and a Claude prompt that writes the follow-up email in five minutes when the reminder fires.
Why the 6-month follow-up doesn't happen.
You booked this couple a year ago. The wedding was six months ago. You've shot 20 weddings since then. They're in your inbox but not in your head. The follow-up for the album or the anniversary session gets buried in everything else until it's too late to feel natural.
At six months, the timing is right. The couple has settled into their first year together. They're not thinking about wedding vendors. Then you show up in their inbox with a note that references something specific from their day, and it lands well. It doesn't feel like a sales email because it doesn't open like one.
At twelve months it's too late for the album conversation and too early to feel like a first anniversary. Six months is the window. The problem is not forgetting the offer exists. The problem is forgetting which couples are at six months right now.
The two-part recipe. A reminder plus a prompt.
Part 1 is the trigger. Part 2 is the email. Both require 30 seconds of setup on the wedding day.
On the wedding day, open Google Calendar on your phone. Drop a new event six months from today. Title: "Follow up with [Couple Names] -- album / anniversary." In the notes field: wedding date, venue, and two or three things you noticed from the day. Add an email reminder so it shows up in your inbox when it fires. Takes 30 seconds. This is the part that makes everything else possible.
When the reminder fires six months later, open Claude. Paste the prompt below with the couple's names, the wedding date, the venue, and the notes you dropped in the calendar event. Claude returns a two-to-three paragraph email that opens with a specific memory and introduces the offer without pressure. Read it, fix a line if needed, send.
What to put in the calendar reminder.
The calendar reminder is both the trigger and the raw material for the email. When it fires six months later, the notes inside it are what Claude needs to write something specific.
- TitleFollow up with [Names] -- album / anniversary session
- Wedding dateSo you know exactly how long it's been when the reminder fires.
- VenueOne or two words. Helps Claude set the scene in the email.
- 2-3 specific memoriesThings you noticed from the day that only you would remember. These become the opening of the follow-up email.
- What you're offeringThe album size, the anniversary session length and price, or both. Be specific. Claude will write around whatever you put here.
The notes field in Google Calendar holds plenty of text. Drop what you need in there and move on. Thirty seconds on the day saves you from writing a generic email six months later, or from not writing one at all.
The prompt. Fill the brackets when the reminder fires.
When the Google Calendar reminder fires, open Claude, paste this prompt, fill in the couple's details from your calendar notes. You get a two-to-three paragraph follow-up email. Read it, fix a line, send.
I'm a wedding photographer. Write me a follow-up email for a couple from their wedding six months ago.
Couple: [names]
Wedding date: [date]
Venue: [venue]
What I remember from the day: [2-3 specific things]
What I'm offering: [e.g., "a 12x12 heirloom album, or a one-hour anniversary session at [venue or location]"]
My name: [your first name]
My voice: [warm and personal / conversational / direct]
Write the email:
- Subject line that mentions their names or the wedding date, not "Checking in"
- Open with a specific memory from the day, not "I can't believe it's been 6 months"
- One natural paragraph about the offer, without pressure
- A clear next step (reply to this email, or a link if you have one)
- Sign off with your name
Rules:
- No em-dashes
- No "beautiful," "magical," "unforgettable"
- Don't open with "Hope you're doing well" or "Just wanted to check in"
- No exclamation points
- Two to three paragraphs total, nothing longerCopy it, paste it, fill the brackets. The prompt is yours.
Honest tradeoffs.
If you don't set the calendar reminder on the wedding day, this doesn't work.
The prompt alone doesn't help if you don't have the trigger. The reminder is the recipe. The prompt is the execution. Thirty seconds on the wedding day, once, saves the follow-up entirely. If you're setting this up retroactively for past weddings, go through your past gallery deliveries and drop reminders for any couples whose six-month window is coming up.
The notes in the calendar event are what make the email specific.
If you drop the reminder with no notes, you'll fill in the prompt from memory six months later. The memory will be thin. Three lines in the notes field on the wedding day gives Claude what it needs to write an email that opens with something real, not a placeholder.
The offer should be clear, not pressured.
The goal of this email is to give the couple an easy on-ramp to an album or session conversation, not to close them. The email opens with a specific memory, not a pitch. It mentions the offer once, naturally. It gives them a clear next step (reply to this email, or a link). Couples who want an album will respond. The ones who don't aren't going to convert from a harder push.
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