In the Spotlight {The Inside Scoop on Submitting Real Wedding Features}

Guest Post By:
Tessa Woolf, Editor
Utah Bride & Groom Magazine

The real wedding “Love Story” features in Utah Bride & Groom are by far the most popular section of our magazine. It’s no wonder—what bride-to-be doesn’t enjoy looking at lovely images of lovely weddings? Truth be told, poring through thousands of photos to put together the real wedding features is one of the best parts of my job (I’m a very lucky girl, I know). But, it’s also one of the hardest. You see, there is so much darn talent among our local wedding vendors and so many creative local brides, that there are an abundance of incredible weddings held every single weekend in this state. So when it comes time to decide which of the many incredible local weddings to feature in the magazine, well let’s just say opinions fly and serious debates ensue in our office.

Considering the popularity of the real wedding features and the abundance of amazing local weddings, it’s no surprise that hardly a day goes by that I don’t receive a phone call or email from a bride/vendor/mother/groom (yes, some grooms take the initiative!) asking me how we select real weddings and how they too can be featured. I figured many of you newly engaged gals might have similar questions, so I thought I would share the inside scoop on submitting your wedding photos to Utah Bride & Groom for feature consideration.

1. Anyone can submit photos from a wedding, from the bride to great aunt Sally to the photographer to the limo driver. It doesn’t really matter who submits the wedding, so long as the key players are all on board. Keep in mind we will need editorial information from the couple and high-resolution files from the photographer in order to put the real wedding feature together, so if either party isn’t up for the exposure there’s not much we can work with.
2. Real wedding features are designed to offer ideas, share advice and inspire brides-to-be. With that in mind, we are always on the lookout for weddings that have a little something special. Maybe it’s a unique location, out-of-this-world décor or a great love story—whatever it is, there has to be something that makes the wedding stand out from the crowd, elicit oohs and ahhs, and, most importantly, inspire.
3. It’s all about the details. Really. We love (and want) photos of the bride and groom, but without great detail shots (think the cake, flowers, table settings, chairs, favors, etc.) there’s not much we can share with our readers. Remember, real wedding features are all about offering up new ideas, and since design is in the details, all those elements play a major role in our features.
4. While we want to showcase amazing weddings, it doesn’t mean the weddings have to be fussy, elaborate or expensive. We welcome submissions of ballroom weddings with $100K budgets, backyard DIY affairs, and everything in between.
5. We are Utah Bride & Groom magazine, which means we want to feature local couples married in Utah, or destination couples who chose the Beehive State for their fête. We are all about promoting local wedding businesses, so weddings that heavily showcase the talents of our many local vendors will always rise to the top of the submission heap.
6. Ready to submit? Email your wedding submission directly to me editor@utahbrideandgrom.com. Please include the general who/what/when/where/why, as well as the couple’s contact info, the photographer’s contact info, and a list of wedding vendors. Please include a direct link to view all of the wedding photos online, or attach a variety of 10-20 images that give a sense of the overall wedding (again, be sure to include those detail shots not just images of the bride and groom).

I hope these guidelines are helpful! I look forward to seeing your wedding submissions for Utah Bride & Groom 2011!
~Tessa Woolf