Not quite one month ago, Claire and Bill’s dreamy, romantic wedding just about stopped my heart with all its prettiness. The gorgeous flowers, the filmy lace gown, the elegant venues, the antique touches. It was the stuff wedding dreams are made of . . . and clearly, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I am so pleased to announce that Claire and Bill are on Style Me Pretty Florida today!Back in August, Abby Larson, the founder of Style Me Pretty, requested that we submit Claire and Bill’s wedding a full two months before it had taken place — which is some pretty high praise for Claire and Bill and their sense of style! Check out their feature and let them know how much you loved their wedding, too.

That leads me right into what I want to address in today’s Wedding Planning Wednesday post: How to get your wedding featured on a wedding blog or in a wedding magazine. Now, brides, I don’t consider myself the leading expert on the topic by any means. But we’ve had five weddings published this year, so we’ve gotten a good peek into what I’ve seen wedding blog editors are looking for, and today I’m going to give you some simple tips on how to make your wedding more blog-friendly.

Details, details, details.
Plan fun, unique details for your wedding. Cute programs and invitations, attractive centerpieces and place settings, fun signage, beautiful flowers and cakes, family heirlooms — these are all things editors will be looking for in your wedding photos. Make sure your details are cohesive both thematically and color-wise.

Personalization and DIY elements.
If there is one thing blogs love right now, it’s seeing personal and handmade touches tucked into a wedding day. You don’t have to DIY the entire wedding — or you can, like Amber and Daniel — but a few things here and there add a welcome touch.

Scenic backdrop and venue.
You don’t have to get married on a tropical beach or in a French chateau. But a beautiful or unique venue is often key to whether or not a wedding makes the cut, because all those details and gorgeous portraits need a lovely backdrop! That is exactly what Nikole and Arun’s elopement provided.

Natural light.
This is key for many wedding blogs. They love a light-and-airy feel, like we had at Kristy and Nick’s wedding — so what they like to feature are bright photos created with natural daylight. Blogs want to see natural light portraits of the bride and groom and bridal party, as well as plenty of details photographed with natural light (flowers, the bride’s dress, shoes, jewelry, etc.).

On-trend or perfectly timeless.
Since wedding blogs help drive wedding trends (ombre, chevrons, and succulents, anyone?), they like seeing weddings that look current. That doesn’t mean you have to pick the year’s most popular color scheme. But that does mean wedding blogs aren’t going to want to see weddings filled with outdated trends. On the flipside, blog editors never seem to tire of classic, timeless weddings, like Laura and Sam’s.

Clean, well-executed photography.
The majority of wedding blogs aren’t looking for edgy photography or even the most creative images — they’re looking for beautiful, simple photographs that focus the viewer’s attention on the content first and foremost. Most editors want a clean editing style and pleasing compositions. But they are looking for well-executed, professional photography, not snaps from a family friend. If you hire a photographer who has been published before, that photographer will likely know how to make the most of your wedding to give it the best chance of publication.

Love.
This should pretty much go without saying, but happiness and joy are something that translate into photography. If your wedding oozes with love, that’s something an editor can feel as she looks at a wedding submission. And who doesn’t love love?

These tips certainly aren’t everything it takes to have your wedding featured. You can plan the most perfect DIY, on-trend, naturally-lit wedding the world has ever seen and still have it turned away from a number of blogs for various reasons. But I hope these will help you plan your blog-ready wedding so you too can enjoy seeing your wedding day shared with other brides-to-be!

~ Laura