Capitol Advice: Wedding Blog Exclusivity vs Non Exclusivity & What It Means For YOU

[Image: A Muse Photography]

As both a wedding vendor and a wedding blogger, I’ve gotten to see both sides of the wedding blog submission universe. I deal with the frustrations of having submissions sent to me that don’t even come close to my submission requirements, and I deal with the equally frustrating act of submitting weddings to blogs, only to get turned down. What this does give me though is a somewhat interesting point of view on the world of wedding blog submissions and obviously it’s way more fun to share my views/experiences here, than keep them to myself.

So let’s talk about the terminology of Blog Exclusivity (vs Non-Exclusivity) and what that really means. Some of you (if you’ve never submitted to a wedding blog before or you aren’t even a vendor, just a couple looking to get your wedding on a blog) might not have any idea what “blog exclusivity” even is. So let’s start simple.

What the heck is Blog Exclusivity?

[Image: Val & Sarah]

Some wedding blogs consider themselves to be exclusive – meaning they will not share content with any other blogs, websites, media sources and want to be the sole (or at least first) publisher of said content. Some wedding blogs take this SO SERIOUSLY that they won’t even accept images/content you’ve shared on your personal blogs or websites. Some hold this “exclusivity” for a specified amount of time (ranging from weeks to YEARS).

And some wedding blogs (like mine!) consider themselves to non-exclusive – meaning I don’t at all mind sharing content with other blogs, websites, or media sources. If you’ve had a SUPER spectacular DC wedding featured on a National blog, and the details are still a fit for my local audience, I’d still love to share it here too :) But I like to share – that’s just me!

So What Does This Mean For You?

[Image: Val & Sarah]

As a wedding vendor, it means you should read the fine print of a wedding blogs’ submission guidelines page to ensure you meet their exclusivity terms. I’ve HEARD stories that some of the big blogs will blacklist you if they find out you aren’t playing by their exclusivity rules.

As a reader/couple that wants to submit their wedding, you should FIRST READ your wedding vendor contracts (specifically your photographer’s). Most photographers have sections of their contracts that involve this very topic – sending out photos to publications that could dictate rights and copyright. As my professional photographer friend explained:

99% of the time, copyright resides with the photographer and clients may just be granted really liberal license rights (print, share, etc) but when you start “giving” images to other industry professionals things can get very hairy.

So check with your contracts first and then you should ALSO read the fine print of a blog’s submission requirements page and be aware that sending your wedding pictures to 4 different blogs at the same time, might not be the best course of action. Of course it doesn’t matter if the national wedding blog blacklists YOU – BUT your wedding vendors might not be too happy if they can no longer submit to bigger national blogs (that a lot of us depend on for notoriety, marketing, validity, and other things!).

So bottom lines:

1. Check to see if the wedding blog you are submitting to is “exclusive” or “non-exclusive”

2. Hold off on shooting your wedding submission out to a MILLION blogs and make sure you hear back from each exclusive blog before submitting to the next (yes, this is annoying and tedious. I understand)

3. Wait until the exclusivity of a major blog runs out, before sending it to your favorite/local/non-exclusive blog

And now you know a little more about the crazy world of wedding blog submissions :)

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