How to Get Published on a Wedding Blog

You did it. You’ve worked so hard on the wedding or a styled shoot that you want to get noticed… But how do you get published on a wedding blog? The blog options are endless – local wedding blogs, niche wedding blogs, or national publications. Exclusive, non-exclusive… the list goes on! So how can you get your work noticed, accepted, and published quickly and efficiently? I’ve surveyed some of the most prominent wedding bloggers in the world for some ways photographers and wedding pros can work best with wedding bloggers to get their work published. So here are our collective answers on how to get your work published on a wedding blog!

Seek out publications that have a photography style, location, + details that are similar to the wedding/shoot. Take a look at your Instagram feed vs. their Instagram feed. Would the photos fit seamlessly into their grid? Also, think about the elements within the wedding or shoot. Is it super off-beat? Is it luxurious and traditional? Reach out to these publications before you shoot and ask them – what details are you looking for? What steps can I take to get published on your blog? With these tasks in mind on shoot day, you’ll be sure to capture what the publisher is looking for!

Submitting to larger blogs and waiting months for word on whether or not you’ve been accepted is not a great strategy. Spread out the exposure opportunities and look at some non-exclusive blogs and smaller niche blogs so you can get published quicker and showcased to many smaller audiences that match YOUR type of couple. Are you a part of Matchology? If not, you should be! Matchology MATCHES your submission to the perfect blog… and your luck at getting published will increase tremendously! Sign up here! (And get 10% off of your subscription with the code NBGBESTIE).

Different blogs have different ways of submitting content. Have you read all of the directions on the submission page? Does your shoot or wedding meet all of their requirements upfront? Are you willing and able to follow the submission directions to a T? You will save the publisher a lot of time by including all of the details and information upfront – think vendor credits (links to their sites, Insta pages, emails, etc.), the story, etc. This way there will be less back and forth through email asking for more information. Bloggers have their processes in place for a reason, so follow them to the best of your ability, and your submission just might be published faster!

When submitting photos from a styled shoot, wedding, engagement shoot, etc., please do not submit full galleries with hundreds or thousands of photos. Wedding bloggers want to see your BEST work from the shoot or wedding. Creating a link or special folder within the gallery of highlights of the day – about 50-100 photos – is perfect. It takes bloggers lots of time and energy to sift through culling all the photos for the blog feature. One wedding blogger even said they’ve been sent galleries with 2k+ photos and 3 versions of each photo that was taken the entire day. Please do not do this!

If you want to work with a publisher again, make it easy on them… and who knows, they may want to see more of your work and publish you again! Plus, we love it when you keep the photos in order of the day. Sometimes from a publisher’s perspective, it’s hard to tell what came first when sifting through unorganized photos. Did the couple do a first look or are these photos from after the ceremony? It’s hard to tell unless you sort them from beginning to end. Which brings me to…

Did I say credit everything? Yes. Please do! Did the bride wear Badgley Mischka shoes? Add this in the credits! Did the groom get his bowties from an Etsy shop? Send the info our way! We want to know who ALL was involved in this wedding/shoot! Give us every detail possible! Oftentimes a submitter has left out a vendor (mistakes happen – we all make them!) and I am soon messaged after the feature goes live asking me to edit it and add that vendor into the post. (And I do edit and credit – I have no problem doing so when asked nicely. 🙂 ) Please know it was not something we purposefully left out.

For instance, it’s hard to tell from photos if a cake was done by a local baker or DIYed by a bride’s talented aunt. Or which makeup artist in town gave the bride her flawless look. There’s really no way to tell from the photos unless the submitter credits everything. Plus, who knows… one of the major brands (wedding dress designer, etc.) who was tagged might repost or republish the content. That would be huge for everyone involved!

When you are submitting a shoot or a wedding, keep in mind that the publisher has not met the couple, attended the wedding, or helped with the styling of the photoshoot. Please send us the photos along with a synopsis of the day, the inspiration behind the shoot, magical moments that happened during the wedding, and as much information about the couple and shoot as possible. If you don’t have much information, I’m more than happy to send you or the couple a questionnaire to get you started.

Oftentimes I’ve received a dropbox link asking if I can publish a wedding with no further information. What I really want to know is… Who were the vendors? Did this take place in the Nashville area? What was the couple’s story? As a publisher, we want to tell the STORY behind the photos. And we do not know any of the stories without your help! Why was the bride crying in this photo? What did the best man say during the speech that was so hilarious? Remember, we did not attend the wedding, so we are viewing this photo gallery with no knowledge of what happened that day.

We want to publish great content on our blogs, and we need your help doing so. Interview the couple, get some quotes and insight from them, and even tell your own experiences to give the publisher and the readers a well-rounded story from the day.

That was a loaded post! But if you follow these steps, I’m sure you will be published more often! So, are you ready to submit your photos to a wedding blog? Consider Nashville Bride Guide! CLICK HERE to start the submission process. I can’t wait to see all of your incredible work!

Couple with Flowers Photo SheHeWe Photography/ Photographer – Hermitage Hotel Photo Ryan Tolbert Photography/ Photographer – Lace Back, Bridge in the rain Lion & Lark/ Photographer – Ferris Wheel Derek Couts/ Photographer – sparklers + skyline Sara Bill Photography