… your blogging solution
Recently I was asked by Aisle Planner to write for their Pro Blog about my experience as a wedding planner and taking a business stand to be intentionally inclusive of working with LGBTQ couples.
It shares an honest evaluation of things I didn’t know and mistakes I made.
The ONLY thing I want for Christmas this year is for wedding, event and catering professionals to learn how to set a table.
Don’t get me wrong, a winning lottery ticket and world peace would both be nice, but I’m OK with manageable pieces.
As a blogger and content creator for the wedding industry, few things make me this crazy. Also, from what I’ve heard in some of the wedding groups I am part of I’m not alone.
I see hundreds of submission of styled shoots that have AMAZING tablescapes; breathtaking floral designs, luxurious linen, vintage or interesting china, unique flatware, and even fun glassware.
It is pretty apparent these professionals have painstakingly taken the time curate a tabletop design that fits with the overall theme of the shoot.
However, then there are glasses placed on the wrong side of the plate or the knife is on the left and the fork on the right. Ah-mazing!
As someone who is curating images for submission, this often means that I cannot use some of the best pictures you have submitted.
I have had to select images with the specific intention of not showing that setting. Too often that means that an awesome charger plate, custom menu card or napkin accent is not showcased.
Could I go ahead and use the image anyway? Yes, I absolutely could.
But the idea of a styled shoot is to showcase the creativity and expertise of a team of professionals. Is it fair to the rental company, linen company or stationery designer who lent their talent to this team?
It’s a pretty simple process, most weddings or events follow an Informal Dinner Place Setting.
We’ve taken liberties with napkin placement and folds and often add a champagne glass to the setting but nothing else in the setting changes.
So this Christmas, take a few minutes and share a little knowledge with your colleagues; and help grant my Christmas wish!
As I look at more and more wedding professional’s blogs and web content, I quickly realize that most are swimming in the deep end of the pool, barely treading water actually.
With a little work, they could be swimming in a much shallower pool with fewer people.
So, what exactly does that mean?
It means that I am STUNNED at the number of wedding professionals who don’t mention the city or region where they do business anywhere on their website.
Except maybe once, in tiny letters at the bottom of their contact page… maybe.
That means that if you are a wedding planner, and you are not including your location in your home page text (you do have text on your homepage don’t you?), the internet is now lumping you in with every other wedding planner in the world.
Narrow the search by talking about locations of where you are working on your gallery, or in the descriptive keywords on your blog.
Text on every page of your website is critical; web crawlers read each page as a separate entity.
Infusing each page with descriptive text that talks about where you are doing business will get you noticed by search engines.
So make your way into the shallow end of the pool instead of treading water in the deep end!
Need help with creating new search engine friendly content for your wedding or event company’s website?
Wedding Ghost can help!
Call me at 215-421-1295 to talk about affordable ways to refresh your site.
I’m beyond thrilled to be writing industry content for Wedding Network USA, providing quality education to wedding professionals raises the bar for the entire industry.
Check out my recent article on Professional Development and Education for wedding professionals.
Doing your research to find great quality education and then implementing it in your business is key.
But, be sure to share your adventures on your business blog and social media; it gives you credibility as an expert in your field and is something to be proud of.
I know that the fact that I am 1 of only 65 Master Wedding Planners in the world and a Certified Same-Sex Wedding Specialist is accomplishments I’m very proud of.
What educational and career development accomplishments are you most proud of?
In case you didn’t know, web crawlers can’t see your pretty photo gallery! Yes, prospective clients can see the images, but you are missing out on the value of search engine visibility.
Check out the recent article When A Picture is NOT Worth 1,000 Words, on photos, your online gallery and search engine optimization featured in Perfect Wedding Guide’s Wedding Professional’s Blog.
OK, I said it!
In blogging for some national sites and looking at images from styled wedding shoots that clients have been involved with, I see some crazy stuff.
Here are some things that make me crazy when I read blogs or submissions.
Do Something Unique!
I’ve seen your ‘original concept’ on Pinterest a hundred times. If it’s there, it is no longer original. Look at a new venue and build something around the interesting architectural details, the Brussels sprouts on caterers fall menu or something outside of the box.
Buy A Steamer!
More importantly, look at the details. I hate linen that is wrinkled and silverware that is set improperly. People come to you to be an expert in your field, regardless of what it is that you do. LOOK AT YOUR DETAILS!
If you are not the photographer or planner overseeing the event and your product is being represented, you should still be there protecting your best interest!
Show Something You Can Sell
I see centerpieces that are HUNDREDS of dollars, even thousands of dollars with the rest of the tabletop. If this concept is more than a slight reach for your current higher end client, you might not be helping yourself. Can your clients afford to do ten, fifteen or twenty of these tables?
Is it showcasing something you really can and want to reproduce over and over again?
Does it showcase something that is your brand? Don’t get talked into being part of a photo shoot that isn’t a product that represents you.
If you are planning a photo shoot and looking to submit it somewhere, don’t be afraid to talk to the publication to see what they are looking for.
When you submit please, please, please make sure that the images you share on your blog or send to a publication match the story you tell. The photos need to support the story you tell.
Once again, images are not read by search engines, the SEO rich text is.
You’re welcome!
The Wedding Ghost is ready to spread a little Christmas cheer.
If you are the 25th wedding or event professional, with an existing blog, to comment on this blog post with the name of your company and your blog / web address you will win…
A review of your last 6-8 blog posts (regardless of how infrequently you might currently blog); along with a written evaluation of the content, text, links and images.
The perfect gift for your business; just in time for engagement season and a $200.00 value!
If you have a blog, post on a fairly regular basis and just aren’t seeing any results in terms of your search engine ranking, site visits or traffic flow; this might just do the trick.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night.
