The Tori Kate Guide

People, places, products, and resources I trust.

Then explain:

A curated collection of things I genuinely love and recommend—from the vendors who help make a family's experience special to the creative tools and makers behind the work.

This gives you permission to have both photography and design recommendations under one umbrella.

Your site architecture

I would structure the website roughly like this:

Tori Kate Creative
│
├── Photography
│   ├── Families
│   ├── Maternity
│   ├── Newborn
│   ├── Birth + Fresh 48
│   ├── Weddings + Elopements
│   ├── Compassion Photography
│   └── Investment
│
├── Design
│   ├── Branding
│   ├── Data Visualization
│   ├── Product Design
│   ├── Book Design
│   ├── Animation
│   └── Web + UX/UI
│
├── Art / Shop
│
├── The Tori Kate Guide
│   ├── For Families
│   ├── For Couples
│   ├── For Creatives
│   ├── Vendors
│   ├── Products
│   └── Resources
│
├── About
└── Contact

The important part is that The Guide becomes a destination, not something buried on the homepage.

1. Photography recommendations

Your photography page already speaks to several very different clients. TTori Kate Creative

So I wouldn't have one giant vendor list.

Instead, add a recommendation area within the photography experience.

For example:

Planning your session?

My favorite people & places

Your photos are only one part of the experience. Here are some of the people, places, and little things I recommend to families and couples throughout the process.

Then categories:

• For New Parents

• For Families

• For Weddings

• For Engagements

• For Birth

• For After Your Session

For New Parents

Potential recommendations:

• Doulas

• Lactation consultants

• Midwives

• Birth centers

• Pediatric professionals

• Baby boutiques

• Newborn clothing

• Heirloom keepsakes

• Baby books

• Family activities

This makes particular sense for your brand because your photography already has a strong birth/new-parent focus. TTori Kate Creative

And you already have a connection to postpartum/doula work, so this can become a genuine resource rather than a random directory. TTori Kate Creative

2. Create a dedicated “Birth + Baby Guide”

Honestly, I think this could become one of the best pages on your entire site.

Instead of simply saying:

I recommend these vendors.

Make it:

The New Parent Guide

A little collection of people, resources, and things I recommend for the journey from bump to baby.

Then:

Before Baby

• Maternity clothing

• Doulas

• Birth professionals

• Childbirth education

• Birth centers

• Pregnancy resources

Bringing Baby Home

• Newborn essentials

• Postpartum support

• Meal services

• Lactation support

• Mental health resources

• Parent groups

Photographing This Season

• What to wear

• What to bring

• When to book

• What to expect

• Album/print recommendations

Preserving the Story

• Albums

• Prints

• Birth announcements

• Baby books

• Artwork

• Keepsakes

That turns your recommendation page into an actual service to your audience.

3. Wedding recommendations should be completely separate

Your wedding photography is a significant part of the photography business, with elopements, full-day coverage, and full-weekend coverage. TTori Kate Creative

So I'd create:

The Tori Kate Wedding Guide

People I trust to help bring your wedding day together.

Then:

Planning

• Wedding planners

• Coordinators

• Venues

Beauty

• Hair

• Makeup

• Nails

• Skincare

Style

• Wedding dresses

• Suits

• Jewelry

• Shoes

• Accessories

Details

• Florists

• Stationery

• Invitations

• Signage

• Cakes

• Rentals

Celebration

• DJs

• Musicians

• Bands

• Caterers

• Bartenders

After the Wedding

• Album vendors

• Printers

• Framing

• Preservation

• Thank-you stationery

This gives you an opportunity to recommend vendors in the same visual language as your photography.

4. Design needs its own recommendation ecosystem

This is where I would make the biggest change from my previous answer.

Your design practice isn't just “graphic design.” Your current portfolio covers branding, data visualization, product design, books, animation, and web/UX/UI. TTori Kate Creative

Therefore, your design recommendations should speak to businesses and other creatives, not photography clients.

I'd put something like this at the bottom of the Design page:

Building something?

My creative toolkit

The tools, makers, resources, and people I trust when I'm building something from the first idea to the finished piece.

Then categories:

Brand

• Printers

• Sign makers

• Packaging

• Promotional products

• Photographers

• Copywriters

• Strategists

Digital

• Web platforms

• Hosting

• Fonts

• Stock resources

• Accessibility tools

• UX resources

Print

• Fine-art printers

• Commercial printers

• Book printers

• Paper suppliers

• Framing

• Packaging

Creative Practice

• Books

• Design references

• Typography resources

• Software

• Hardware

• Education

• Creative communities

5. Create “Designer Recommends”

This could be a really nice recurring feature.

For example:

Designer Recommends

5 things I think every small business owner should know about

Then an editorial article/page.

Examples:

• “5 places I recommend for beautiful business cards”

• “My favorite tools for building a brand”

• “Where I get inspiration”

• “My favorite typography resources”

• “What I recommend before hiring a designer”

• “What to prepare before a branding project”

• “My favorite book printers”

• “Resources for accessible design”

• “Tools I actually use as a freelance designer”

This is much more aligned with your existing design practice than simply displaying affiliate products.

6. Connect photography + design

This is actually where I think Tori Kate Creative has a unique opportunity.

Most photographers don't also have your design background, and most graphic designers don't offer your photography services.

You can make recommendations that sit at the intersection.

For example:

Make your photographs live beyond the screen.

A photograph shouldn't have to end when you download it.

Then recommend:

• Album makers

• Fine-art printers

• Framers

• Book printers

• Announcement designers

• Custom illustration

• Heirloom products

• Photo books

• Stationery

And this connects beautifully with your existing shop/art practice and your work creating books and illustrations. TTori Kate Creative+1

7. I would also create a “Resources” section

Not everything needs to be a vendor.

This is particularly important for your designer audience.

I'd divide recommendations into:

People

People I trust.

Places

Places I love.

Things

Products I genuinely use.

Resources

Books, websites, tools, references, educational material, etc.

Services

Businesses that make my clients' lives easier.

That gives you a flexible system you can continue adding to for years.

8. Don't put every recommendation on one page

This is probably the biggest architectural recommendation I'd make.

Instead of:

/recommendations

with 100 cards...

I'd have:

The Tori Kate Guide

and then individual guides:

/the-guide

/the-guide/families
/the-guide/new-parents
/the-guide/weddings
/the-guide/creatives
/the-guide/design
/the-guide/resources

You can then link to the relevant guide from your existing pages.

For example, on Photography:

Planning your session?
I've put together a guide of people, places, and resources I recommend.

Explore the Family Guide →

On Design:

Building a brand?
Start with my collection of creative resources and people I trust.

Explore the Designer's Guide →

That makes the recommendation system feel intentional instead of bolted onto the website.

9. How I'd modify your current Photography page

Your existing Photography page already goes:

Photography → Services → Portfolio → Testimonials → Compassion Photography → FAQ → Request a Session. TTori Kate Creative

I'd add:

PHOTOGRAPHY

Intro

Services

Portfolio

Testimonials

────────────────────

THE TORI KATE GUIDE

Preparing for your session?
Explore my favorite people, places,
and resources for families.

[ FAMILY GUIDE ]

────────────────────

COMPASSION PHOTOGRAPHY

Mission

Service

────────────────────

FAQ

Request a Session

That keeps the recommendation content from interrupting your sales flow.

10. How I'd modify your Design page

Your Design page currently presents your capabilities as:

Branding → Data Visualization → Product Design → Book Design → Animations → Web + UX/UI. TTori Kate Creative

Keep that.

But after the project categories:

DESIGN

Intro

Branding
Data Visualization
Product Design
Book Design
Animation
Web + UX/UI

────────────────────

THE DESIGNER'S GUIDE

Resources I recommend for
building better creative work.

[ CREATIVE TOOLS ]
[ PRINT + PRODUCTION ]
[ BUSINESS RESOURCES ]
[ DESIGN REFERENCES ]

────────────────────

Selected Work

Request to Work With Me

That gives the recommendation content a purpose.

11. Make individual recommendations feel like editorial content

Don't do this:

Canva
★★★★★
Great design tool
[BUY NOW]

That's going to feel completely disconnected from Tori Kate Creative.

Instead:

My favorite for...

Archival printing

Why I recommend it

I look for printers that preserve the feeling of the photograph—not just the pixels. This is one I recommend when the final piece deserves to live on paper.

Best for: Heirloom prints
Location: Online
Price: $$$
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Visit →

That sounds like Katie's recommendation, rather than an affiliate storefront.

12. Use your photography as the visual language

This is especially important for you.

Don't use generic vendor logos everywhere.

If you recommend a florist, photograph the flowers.

If you recommend a venue, photograph it.

If you recommend an album company, photograph the album.

If you recommend a design resource, show the resource in use.

Your photography becomes the editorial art direction for the guide.

That makes the recommendation section itself another example of your creative work.

13. The homepage should only tease it

Your homepage already needs to communicate that you're a visual storyteller working across brand design, photography, and art. TTori Kate Creative

So I wouldn't put a huge recommendations section there.

Just:

From my little black book

People, places, and things I trust.

[For Families →]
[For Couples →]
[For Creatives →]

Then let the dedicated pages do the heavy lifting.

The overall brand concept

If I were designing the whole thing for Tori Kate Creative, I'd make the philosophy:

I don't just make things. I know people who make good things, too.

That fits your existing identity surprisingly well.

Your site already crosses photography, graphic design, books, illustration, public-service work, and creative projects. TTori Kate Creative

So your recommendation system shouldn't look like a separate monetization project.

It should feel like:

Katie's creative Rolodex.

A living collection of:

People I trust.
Things I use.
Places I love.
Resources I return to.

And then you can have photography-specific recommendations and design-specific recommendations living naturally underneath it.

My recommended final navigation

PHOTOGRAPHY · DESIGN · ART · THE GUIDE · ABOUT · CONTACT

And under THE GUIDE:

• Family Guide

• New Parent Guide

• Wedding Guide

• Creative Guide

• Designer's Toolkit

• People I Trust

• Things I Love

That would make the recommendation system feel like a real extension of Tori Kate Creative, rather than a generic “recommended vendors” page.