here's my "life story" of a weddnig photographer.
started out shooting three unpaid (only by angpow) weddings b4 i but the bullet and decided to go solo, so got my first solo wedding for i think it was $600. so the first 3 free + 1 paid wedding spans over hmm.. 6 months?
before that i was more or less OK with technical aspects of photography. equipment used was a non-pro dslr with non-pro lenses (if i remember correctly it was an s2 pro with afs24-85, sb80dx, back up with cp5700)
all this was done while i was working full time. while i got more weddings to shoot, it was still very little, as i was new and not well known. so within 12 months i think i shot at most 15 paid weddings, mostly via word of mouth. also sometime durnig these 12 months, i selected a couple's wedding to print as portfolio, and i also did a collage album of selected couples to use as a portfolio or showcase, always display your best work. i was lucky to come from a graphic design background so layout was quite easy for me.
the second year got more serious, i started to get mentioned in bridal forums but still worked off the venerable clubsnap webspace gallery as my online portfolio. nothing professional, but it gets the job done, and was never or seldom down (thanx clubsnap!!)
i started post whoring my pics, with couples' permission. to get known, u have to show ur pics, thick skin abit. but skin cannot too thick until lousy pics also post and hope for the best. this is one thing i cannot stress more, if your pics don't pass IN YOUR EYES, don't expect it to pass other pple's. couple that statement with another : be your own harshest critic, and you now know how i push myself.
i remember during my first few solo weddings, i was sh!tting my pants during the first march in, didn't catch probably how? they walk too fast then blur how? the spot light come on then exposure gone how? i was a total wreck ESPECIALLY at the first march in, but that's when good nerves and determination comes in. another thing to take note is that you cannot be self-conscious. if you are constantly thinking that pple are looking at wat u are doing and scrutinising you, u put extra unnecessary stress on yourself.
the rest of it is pretty much the same with anything in life. u want something u gotta go get it. it's not gonna land on your lap. technical stuff like marketing skills, ps skills, shooting skills all can learn and train, but attitude have to be from within. passion. and as jon has mentioned, you have to LIKE weddings THEN u have to like running a business.
i think i've shared this on CS b4.. but i'll say this again.
there were a couple of times during the speech at the banquet that it was so touching that i found myself listening intently to the couple, until i FORGOT to shoot. i was so consumed with the emotion that filled the whole room that i forgot i was the photographer. fortunately, i only missed a few tears from the mother and sisters, but recovered quickly enough to continue shooting.
i remember one speech vividly, where the bride was deeply grateful for her father for brining up three daughters single-handedly as her mother had passed on when she was very young. the father never remarried to respect his late wife. she was overjoyed that her father did such a great job of painstakingly bringing three girls up, but at the same time in tears that her mother wasn't around to witness the event. tears flowed unabatedly.
it is a very HUMANE subject, love. coupled with the complications of photography and running a business; this is NOT for everyone. i hope no one takes it lightly that "weddings are easy to make a quick buck". if you do not stress shooting a wedding, u are not giving due respect to a couple's once in a lifetime most important event.
p/s i'd like to mention against the concensus that i NEVER followed anyone to learn from them (the free shoots as second photographer was just a watch and see, i never did talk much to the main photog for fear of disturbing him). yes i've taken heed from advise from wedding photographers, and viewed images from them to see how weddnigs are shot, but i NEVER did follow a pro to specifically learn how he shoots. i see at least ONE advantage in that, and that is my style evolved by itself, not necessarily following anyone becos i never had that chance. of course, following a pro could help more than the way i did it, i don't disagree.
Just last week a videographer's 2nd cam kena stolen, Pana GS400 or something, pretty high-end....so it's pretty sim tia. He is using it for those "interview sessions", whereby a $100 freelance interview will be running around to get the cuts. 
