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So, I cannot lie – receiving the email from Two Bright Lights saying that I had been awarded the 2018 Editors’ Choice Award was mind-blowing to me. I was so incredibly surprised and to be honest: I wasn’t even sure what the award was (how’s that for some honesty?)!
Two Bright Lights is the avenue I use to submit weddings for publication. In order to get a wedding or photo shoot published, there are pretty much two options. Option A: you can reach out to the blog or magazine directly (which is pretty much a shot in the dark). Or Option B: you can reach out to them via a platform like Two Bright Lights which simplifies, streamlines, and makes the process overall so much simpler!
There are several benefits to using Two Bright Lights over just reaching out to blogs on your own. One of which is that when a blog is looking for a certain kind of session, a precise wedding theme, or a specific area, they put out those requests thru Two Bright Lights. That means, that by simply looking thru the requests, I can submit weddings & sessions that a publication is specifically looking for (which greatly increases the odds that a publication will accept my submission!). Another benefit is that once I create the event within Two Bright Lights, if the first publication I submit it to turns it down, with just a few clicks, I can re-submit it somewhere else because all of the images, the vendor contacts, and the information about the wedding or session are already saved there & ready to go again!
2017 was the first full year that I actually submitted weddings to be published. I submitted a few in 2016 to get my feet wet (and it was a fabulous learning experience). I am by no means a submission expert, but by submitting those few weddings in 2016, it taught me a lot about the submission process.
Which brings us full-circle to today, when my jaw hit the floor as I saw that I’d been awarded the Editors’ Choice Award. I mean, any receiving any award is exciting – after all, small business owners don’t exactly have bosses to pat them on the backs as they grow & get better at their craft. And after I looked into the award a little further, I was utterly floored to realize just what an accomplishment this was!
The Editors’ Choice Award is awarded to the top 1% of the Two Bright Lights Community. It recognizes that the winners have been published on a regular basis by the most respected print & digital publications. Top 1%?! Wow, I’m still in awe!
Having weddings & sessions published isn’t just an awesome boost to my business exposure, it’s amazing for my clients too! Blogs & magazines only want to feature the best of the best, and it is thanks to my amazing KAP Couples who are not only fabulous people but plan fabulous weddings that I have ever been featured at all!
In 2017, I had the privilege of being published in the following publications:
- Joe & Kyle’s wedding was featured on Rustic Wedding Chic
- The styled shoot I was a part of was featured on Wedding Colors
- Zeb’s proposal to Emilie was featured on How He Asked By The Knot
- Marty & Megan’s wedding was featured on Borrowed & Blue
- Courtney & Eddie’s wedding was featured on Borrowed & Blue
- Marty & Megan’s wedding was featured on A Princess Inspired
- Copper (from Megan & Anwar’s wedding) was featured on Daily Dog Tag
- Sarah & Jason’s wedding was featured on Love & Lavender
It is so so so exciting & I cannot wait to keep up this momentum! I already have multiple wedding publications in the works for the coming months & cannot wait to continue submitting thru 2018!
