133: Gary Clementson - Why Community Beats Competition & How Systems Help Wedding Businesses Grow

Gazza from Marry Us Gary is an ex-sparky who loved his own wedding day so much that he decided to down tools and become a marriage celebrant. What started as a passion project quickly turned into a thriving career built around fun, relaxed, and modern ceremonies that couples genuinely connect with. Not long after, his wife Georgie saw how much he loved what he was doing and decided to join the fun herself, becoming a celebrant under the name Marry Us Georgie.Together, Gazza and Georgie are the directors of The Celebrant Society, one of Australia’s leading professional celebrant associations. Through their work, they help celebrants start, build, and grow successful businesses while being part of a supportive and collaborative community. The society now has more than 500 members across Australia, and their Annual Celebrant Conference has become a highlight of the industry calendar—bringing celebrants together for education, connection, and a whole lot of fun.Gazza is widely known for his high-energy, engaging ceremony style and his passion for helping celebrants treat their work like a real business. A big advocate for systems and efficiency, he signed up to Studio Ninja within the first week of becoming a registered celebrant and has been a dedicated user ever since. Today he’s a proud Studio Ninja partner and regularly encourages fellow celebrants to embrace CRMs and smart workflows to streamline their businesses.Beyond ceremonies, Gazza also coaches celebrants on the practical side of building a sustainable business—covering everything from websites and SEO to creating strong systems and confidently MCing wedding receptions. His mission is simple: help celebrants run better businesses so they can focus on delivering unforgettable experiences for their couples.https://www.instagram.com/marryusgary_celebrant/https://theweddingsociety.co/

David Zhou is a versatile photographer and videographer known for his dynamic approach across multiple genres — from natural light portraiture to event coverage and commercial photography. With an intuitive eye for storytelling and a deep understanding of visual composition, David brings a sense of authenticity and clarity to every project he takes on, whether he's capturing intimate moments, high-energy events, or polished brand visuals.Beyond the camera, David is also widely recognized as a YouTuber in the camera tech space, where he covers the latest gear and industry news. His content spans everything from Sony Alpha releases and DJI drones to emerging innovations like 360-degree cameras. With a growing following of creatives and tech enthusiasts, David bridges the gap between artistic practice and cutting-edge technology — offering honest insights, reviews, and tutorials that empower others to create.What sets David apart is his ability to balance the creative and the technical. His passion lies at the intersection of photography as an expressive art form and the ever-evolving technology that fuels it. Whether he's behind the lens or in front of the camera sharing his expertise, David is dedicated to helping others unlock their creative potential through both inspiration and information.

Scarlett is a 24-year-old fine art dance and wedding photographer based on the scenic south coast of England. Her journey into photography began unexpectedly in 2019 when a former colleague asked her to take headshots for his acting portfolio. With a background in video production and seven years of filmmaking education under her belt, she took on the challenge — and quickly discovered a deep passion for capturing people through the lens. That spontaneous photoshoot, made possible by a free camera found on Facebook, marked the beginning of a transformative creative path.In 2021, Scarlett photographed her first wedding and hasn’t looked back since. By April 2022, she officially launched her business as a sole trader, leaving behind her day job and graduating from university to pursue photography full time. Her artistic style, rooted in her filmmaking background, combines cinematic storytelling with a refined editorial eye — a blend that’s earned her recognition from prestigious publications such as Vogue and Green Wedding Shoes.Scarlett’s work has taken her far beyond her seaside hometown, with weddings and editorial shoots leading her to quaint villages in the South of France, cozy whiskey bars by the coast, and most recently, the historic halls of Westminster Abbey.

Amy has been a part of the wedding industry for over four years, carving out a space where creativity, authenticity, and human connection come together seamlessly. Specialising in capturing the raw emotion and beauty of a couple’s most important day, she’s built a reputation for her ability to document moments that feel both timeless and deeply personal.Though weddings are the heart of her business and her primary focus, Amy also enjoys stepping into other areas of photography, including family portraits and branding work. These sessions allow her to explore different dynamics and creative challenges, keeping her inspired and constantly evolving as an artist.Throughout the growth of her business—through trial, error, and plenty of learning—Amy has remained grounded in one core belief: that photography is about so much more than just images. For her, it's about capturing the true essence of people and the connections between them. That intention has guided her from the very beginning and continues to be the foundation of everything she does.

Alex Vita runs a website called ForegroundWeb.com which is all about photography websites.Alex started out as a photographer himself, and has experienced the struggles of finding work, shooting weddings, having his own portrait studio, and learning to build photography websites through firsthand trial-and-error. Since then he's been a successful freelancer, gathering experience from over 200 projects, both small and large, everything from beginner photographers to full-time pros and large agencies.He help photographers grow their photography business with a stellar web presence, in two ways:He either build websites for them, he have almost twenty years of experience, having worked on over 200 websites for photographers from 25 countriesor he helps to teach photographers how to improve their online business themselves:a ton of educational content (articles, newsletter, resources)website teardowns and SEO audits, showing them where they need to improveconsulting & strategy callsAlex's clients are pro or semi-pro photographers selling licenses or photo-based products online (prints, calendars, books, workshops, photo tours, etc.)

Johl has successfully operated both wedding and portrait photography studios for over 20yrs and has now turned his hand to helping other photographers grow their passion into a fulfilling & thriving business.Now a full-time mindset and business coach Johl helps ambitious photographers build highly profitable businesses by creating a sales & marketing engine as well as completely rewiring their subconscious programming & limiting beliefs. It is a process that is designed in a particular order to slowly move his clients through changing habits, routines & thought patterns so new opportunities & ideas surface and their businesses start to thrive. It’s a holistic approach that reduces stress, achieves balance, enhances fulfilment & brings about wild business success.

Luke is a Toronto based wedding photographer and has been photographing love stories since 2013, and is very much a self proclaimed romantic. He runs his full time photography business Cleland Photographs with his wife Allie. Luke is passionate about giving his clients a fine art product that is both authentic and timeless. Some of his favourite weddings to photograph have been located close to home in Toronto, and in South Carolina where he met his wife in University. He has also had the privilege to travel across the globe to Paris, London, New York City, Los Angeles and Hong Kong capturing beautiful love stories. While he photographed his first wedding in high school, he didn’t realize this budding photography career was a viable option. But throughout his BFA in Graphic Design, he continued to build his photography skills and portfolio, and by the time he graduated in 2013, he had a summer full of weddings to shoot and never looked back.Recently, he has started a Youtube channel where he educates photographers not only on how to be a wedding photographer, but to learn how to shoot weddings while thinking like an artist.

Jeff Brown is an International Photography Business Mentor and Best Selling Photography Business Author, having delivered courses and workshops around the world, Jeff works closely with photographers from all niches and photographic backgrounds.He personally mentors photographers in over 20 countries worldwide, helping them develop their brand to become the “Go-To Photographer” in their niche and achieve the success they deserve. Part of Jeff’s major focus and teachings are in the areas of Mindset, Self Belief, Goal Setting and Consistency. It’s essential to have a mindset for success and a clear path to follow, no photographercan grow or succeed without goals, direction and a positive mindset to achieve.Jeff has written 4 best selling photography books – The Photographers Missing Link-edIn The Ambitious Photographer’s Journal Help My Photography Website Needs More Customers The Photographer’s Gratitude & Mindset JournalHe writes for several photography magazine and associations and is also an ambassador for OM System, The British Photography Awards, Studio Ninja, The Societies of Photographers, President of The BIPP, and the UK and US Brand Ambassador for The Shutter Studio App.Website:www.thephotographersmentor.comFacebook:www.facebook.com/JeffBrownThePhotographersMentorLinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/thephotographersmentorAmazon:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jeff%20Brown/author/B09M76J1XK

Having founded her business in 2017 after turning to photography as a way to help recover from postnatal depression; Lauren Chambers quickly specialised in wedding photography. Growing up and living on the iconic Causeway Coast of Northern Ireland, it's no surprise that Lauren quickly started shooting elopements. Combining her love for capturing moments and landscapes Lauren's style has earned her recognition with awards, but it's the feedback and connection she gets from her couples that brings her the most joy. She has built a business that is rooted in her core values and allows her to be a mum to her two children. Lauren also hosts and runs Capture Love; a retreat and workshop for women in the wedding photography industry. She is extremely passionate about supporting other women in the industry and building community. Lauren loves the business side and believes that you can have a values based business that is profitable. In a time of uncertainty she has diversified her business and strengthened it. She shares how she has done that whilst staying true to her core values and ensuring her businesses work for her. https://litphotographyni.com/capture-love-northern-ireland-elopement-workshop/

Starting as a political news and celebrity portrait photographer in DC, Sam was instantly drawn to wedding photography as a space to promote more inventive ideas. Sam’s focus is on photographic techniques that are deceptively simple but have the potential to transform difficult or uninspiring shooting environments into one-of-a-kind opportunities for every photo made.