- only elaborate, unusual weddings are ever on blogs
- it shouldn’t be all about the details
- we only publish pretty weddings and pretty brides
- brides and grooms feel pressured by the images on blogs
- wedding blogs are starting to look very samey
- we’re not giving photographers a chance
I posted a long comment on the blog post*, and thought as I was writing it might be worth repeating here**. I’d love to hear your thoughts too.
My views on the state of wedding blogs, as shared on Hindsight Bride
Jesus – ok where do I start with this one?!
First, I hang my head in shame at Meg’s note that brides apologize for their weddings not being interesting enough, or not having time to make things. I have said to photographers recently that I’d like lots of details.
But frankly, b0ll0cks to some of the rest of it – not all blogs are the same. Click my link at the top: it’s a wedding where the guests couldn’t arrive through the snow; the venue couldn’t cater for the reception and cancelled – ON THE DAY – the bride and groom were gutted and desperate and in the end, a local pub stepped in, fed everyone and saved the day. The bride and groom have both had their stories published on blogs. (Kevin’s story was on Staggered.)
Stories? Yes – because a story is just as important as the images that go along with it, and the inspiration.
Yes, we want to inspire brides and grooms. (Grooms? Who?! there’s a whole other story about blogs…)
But that inspiration isn’t all about making things. It’s about having a wedding that’s personal. If that’s turning up in your jeans and celebrating around a campfire with your band and loved ones, fine – I’d blog that!
A confession…
Very occasionally I’ve turned away weddings because the photography is crap. And I’ve told the photographer the wedding didn’t fit with my brand, or there weren’t enough details.
I like to feature the very best photography on my wedding blog.
But I’m not a photographer. I try and choose the very best: the fabulous lighting, the perfectly cropped images, the brighter colours which can only be Photoshop, the interesting apertures and all that malarkey. But sometimes I’ve got it wrong.
Sorry!
I’ve featured weddings which have been creatively done, fabulous themes, brilliant ideas, lower quality photography. And I’ve been criticised for that. But if a bride and groom have put their hearts into the decoration rather than spending all their money on the photographer, it’s still blog-worthy.
And that brings me to what deserves to be on blogs. Any wedding that brides and grooms want to see. Any idea that might help some people.
It doesn’t mean you have to have everything.
Send me stories. Tell me about why your wedding was special. Tell me why it was different. Write a guest post for English Wedding about ordinary weddings and why they’re better than outlandish ones. Share your love story, let that inspire blog readers…
I’m open to ideas. And criticism. But I’d throw this one back to Meg Surly, to brides and grooms: if wedding bloggers are getting it wrong, we need more people to tell us how you want us to get it RIGHT.
Inspiration isn’t just about pictures.
Claire x
*that’s a busy wedding blog today – it’s not publishing my posts and keeps crashing. So I tried to comment.
**all the more reason to share my thoughts here too!