Getting your Wedding Published {advice for Brides}

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One of the coolest parts about all the work you’ve put into your wedding – the planning, the details, the dress, the cake, the hair, the, well, let’s face it, EVERYthing, is seeing it lauded and celebrated on professional wedding blogs after the fact. Many brides ask me how they can plan a wedding that gets published, so here are a few tips to consider:

1) hire a planner.
I know, I know. You have a budget. But here’s the thing. Some of the best weddings come together in the best way because there’s a conductor for the orchestra – a person who can bring that cohesive vision of yours to life. And that means all the details of the day are in order, all the colors and theme actually match and tell a story. But planners aren’t just for getting published, they are there to make your life easier. Today’s bride – YOU – are nothing like the bride of old who had nothing better to do on the daily than choose her china pattern. Today YOU are a professional – with a life as hectic as the NY Stock Exchange. You have SO many amazing ideas for what you want your wedding to be. You’ve pinned a thousand different versions of the bouquet. You’ve scoured a thousand websites for the perfect favors. You’ve written down everything you want to make your dream wedding happen. But, then, suddenly, time runs out. All those DIY ideas you wanted to DIY are not DIYable because there are 3 weeks before the wedding and you have a honeymoon to finish planning and packing for, a work deadline, and a billion other things to do. So, bringing it all together, bringing it to life, is where the planner comes in. A good planner listens to your ideas and makes them happen. A GREAT planner does all of that and also brings his or her own unique vision to the table, elevating it one step above what you imagined. And the other benefit of the planner? He or she knows the other vendors that will help bring your dream to life. Because not every vendor is for every bride.

2) DIY early.
DIY weddings are fabulous. Maybe you are a bride who knows exactly what she wants and has the skills to make it happen. You crafted as a kid. You have crafty friends and family willing to step up to help. You. have. a. vision. But then you run out of time. So, while it seems simple, the best advice I can give you is 1) get it done early and 2) line up someone on the day of to be your point person, to coordinate the details and get things set up, because you, your family and friends will (and should be) busy celebrating the best day of your life. For this role, choose a trusted friend or family member not in the wedding. Or hire a planner for day of coordination. Many of them offer those services and they can make your day run like a dream.

3) Be detail driven. And most especially add details that are uniquely you.
You’ll maybe notice that most articles on blogs or published focus on the details of the day. The well-thought-out, personalized, not just copied from the internet details that tell the whole story. People who publish are looking for something new, fresh, and something that will appeal to other brides as well as speak to the trends of today. The best way to do that? Be yourself. One of my favorite weddings that I photographed, and that was recently published by the Knot, brought together the couple’s love of Japanese culture and mixed it in with rustic elegance. Seems unusual right? It was, but it worked. And it got published. It was a “real wedding” 1) because they had a planner to help them bring it to life and 2) because all the details were cohesive, thought out, and personal. See the blog post on the Knot here: www.theknot.com/real-weddings/a-whimsical-video-game-and-japanese-animation-inspired-wedding-at-stillwell-house-and-garden-in-tucson-arizona-album

4) pick and theme and stick to it.
Sometimes you can get derailed when pinning and pouring over bridal websites and before you know it, you’ve gone from rustic themed coral and blue to twenties themed white and gold, with no rhyme or reason. The cake you love stylistically fits one theme but doesn’t match the flowers you love from the other. And then time runs short and before you know it you have to make a decision or seven. And then it’s the week before the wedding and you still don’t have {the name cards. the guest book . the garter } and the final final details get thrown together from online sources, and you find yourself ordering whatever works with what’s left of your budget, with no care for the theme. This is normal. And if it’s you – that’s ok. But the weddings that you see published – the ones that go viral, get pinned on pinterest, and that other brides swoon over – are the ones that have a theme that carries through. All the way through.

5) hire an amazing photographer.
You might think I am biased. But truth bomb. No matter how amazing your details are, if you do not have someone who can photograph it in good light, with the right lenses, and with a focus on the whole story, it won’t matter. Bridal websites and blogs won’t publish something that is not photographically and artistically appealing. Not every photographer is focused on, or able to capture it all, from detail to dream day with time and lovely light left for the romance between you and your honey. And now I am biased, but I can. And I do. And if you’re about to say I do, then photography is the most important investment you should make, and you should consider it to be a very significant part of your budget. Because when the last bite of cake has been eaten, the last song has been danced to, and the dress is preserved in a box under your bed, it’s the photographs that will be left. That will help you remember. That will tell your story to the children and grandchildren that you have, for ages to come.

A few great blogs (there are soooo many) to look to for inspiration are
Wedding Insider http://www.weddinginsider.co/
The Knot

XO Jacquelynn

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