The English Wedding Blog is growing every single day: we’ve featured weddings and styled shoots from so many new photographers and our inbox is constantly bursting with amazingness… so I thought I’d write a little note to all of you fabulous wedding photographers who are yet to get published here. I so hope you’ll be in touch soon!

Know your wedding blogs!

Every wedding blog has a different audience and a unique aesthetic, just as every wedding photographer has their own style and approach. If your images are bright and vibrant, they’ll look amazing on Rock n Roll Bride, English Wedding or Boho Weddings. If your photography has an ethereal, romantic fine art style it will fit perfectly with Wedding Sparrow or Magnolia Rouge (or English Wedding!).

Knowing a blog means becoming a reader. It’s not a case of taking 5 minutes to look at a handful of previous wedding features before you submit; you need to know how to grab the blogger’s (and consequently their readers’) attention. Which images will they love? Should you tell a little bit about the wedding? Will a heartwarming story about your couple win them over?

… and know your weddings!

And if you already have a wedding in mind which you’d love to see featured on a blog, is its overall style whimsical, bohemian, alternative, vintage, country garden or city chic? Each of these themes would fit well on a particular wedding blog – and grab the blog’s readers’ attention. But do you know which ones?

Be your charming, friendly self!

Contacting the blogger takes a little courtesy: do, please, find out their name before you send your email. If I get a submission addressed to ‘Hey there’ it often goes in the bin. (You learn, in this job, that some photographers send their submissions to a dozen bloggers at a time. It doesn’t work.) But don’t worry about wording your emails… just be friendly and nice and if there’s anything you’re not sure of don’t be shy to ask!

Check each blogger’s guidelines for submissions

Find out how your chosen blogger asks for submissions. Follow their guidelines for sending low or high res images, blog links and supplier lists. Every blogger is different, and  what works for Annabel might just break my inbox or not get through my spam filters… so don’t have a ‘one way fits all’ approach to submissions!

Know the style of weddings which are regularly featured, the images which make the headline spots on blog posts and you’re a step ahead already.

Don’t be shy! Never put off a submission!

Remember wedding bloggers are just people sat in our PJs with our laptops, we don’t get out much and love looking at weddings.

*I use the word ‘editor’ with a wry grin. I don’t ‘do’ airs & graces, and I know most wedding bloggers are lovely and down to earth. I think of myself more as a typer. Or a slightly crazy girl who has animated conversations with her screen every single day.

We’re normal, and probably a bit shy and genuinely love hearing from you – so don’t be nervous about submitting, commenting or getting in touch. We want to get to know you too!

I get so many emails starting with ‘I’ve wanted to submit something for ages, but...’ and so many times I wish I’d discovered a photographer sooner! You’re an amazing bunch, talented and with a genuine passion for what you do – and I want to help matchmake you with brides and grooms.

You’re doing us a favour too, you know!

Wedding blogs wouldn’t exist without the generosity of photographers. All those gorgeous images on the English Wedding home page? They’re by photographers who have so kindly shared their creativity here. The bloggers are the ones who should be grateful when a wedding is featured – you guys are out there making our worlds pretty, and we appreciate it!

We might say no – but don’t let that put you off

What’s the worst that can happen after you submit? Sometimes I do have to say no – if a wedding doesn’t have the details my readers are looking for, or if I’m snowed under with submissions, or if it’s July and there’s a Christmas tree in it. (send me lots of those in September!) But on other occasions I have a slot free on the blog, or I’m looking out for something different… and I might not reply the same day but I will reply – personally – to every submission. Nicely.

It’s more likely we’ll say YES!

Oh, and we’re not always fighting off all the submissions. Sometimes it’s quiet and tumbleweedy… don’t assume your submission is always one of 50 – it could be the only one we get that day – you never know! Time to submit then, don’t you think? 😉

Have you been featured before?

Name-drop. If you’ve been featured on a wedding blog before, tell me! (If Lou & Kelly love you, then I’ll want to get to know you too!) Likewise, having a feature on the English Wedding Blog might just help get you noticed by the top blogs worldwide… use blogs as stepping stones if you’re aiming for the likes of Rock My Wedding or Style Me Pretty – and grab those ‘featured on’ badges to help you along the way!

Got a styled shoot to share?

When it comes to styled shoots, plan your pitch BEFORE the shoot.

Make a list of 5 blogs you can ‘sell’ your shoot to – and make sure every detail is right for those blogs.

Be ultra selective about the suppliers you collaborate with – because a blogger will look at your shoot as a whole. If the images, bouquet, stationery and tablescape are perfect but the dress is the best you could get from a local bridal store, you could miss out on being featured.

Make life super easy for the wedding blogger. Let them know you’ve got a description of the shoot, and a supplier list with links, all ready to send.

Choose your hero shots and lead every pitch with those images. Use double exposures, stunning bouquets or other statement images to wow the blogger with your submission. It’s true you have a matter of seconds to make a first impression, and this applies as much online as it does in real life. So use those all-important seconds to blind us with your beautiful.

https://english-wedding.com/submissions/

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Image credits

Photographer, initial concept and planning https://www.sarahhoylephotography.co.uk/
Stylist and co planning https://www.amethystweddings.co.uk/
Hair and Mua https://www.ethicalbridecompany.com
Hand Painted Backdrop https://allthingsconsideredevents.co.uk/
Hair accessories https://www.clarelloyd.co.uk/
Brides Dress https://www.jessicaturnerdesigns.com/
Jewellery https://www.wildfawnjewellery.com/
Stationery suite and table stationery https://ellieandliv.com
Florist https://bloomingcowflowers.co.uk/
Venue https://www.gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk/wedding-venue-hire/
Celebrant https://www.celebrationsforall.com/
Cardigan https://thesimplefolk.co.uk/
Table runner https://www.magpielinens.com/
Napkins https://www.willowandribbon.co.uk/
Soy candles https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/InBloomInHabit
Model couple https://naneveralways.wixsite.com/couplemodels