In the wedding industry world, getting published and featured is a whole crazy process. Submitting the right images to the right publications with the right details and stories. It can be overwhelming for a young photographer.

I started really submitting my work last year. And I got rejected, a lot. It was a difficult season for my business. I just didn’t understand why all my work was getting rejected. What was wrong with me? Was my work not good enough? I took it personally.

It took some time and council from more experienced photographers for me to finally see the light. Getting rejected from publications is not personal! They are all just looking for different things and it’s not MY work that they are rejecting! Whew! What a load off!

After I stopped fearing rejection and feeling personally rejected, I started trying for BIG things. I’ve submitted weddings to larger publications in hopes that maybe, just maybe, one would be picked up. And you know what, it’s worked! I’ve had weddings featured on blogs like Wedding Chicks, Glamour & Grace, and Artfully Wed! It’s been so fun to not only see my work featured, but to see my clients getting recognition for all their hard work on their wedding days.

A few months ago after photographing Colby & Callie’s Peaks of Otter Wedding, I knew it was something special. The flowly, pastel bridesmaids dresses, Callie’s gorgeous wedding gown, the tuxes, handmade details, and the crazy-awesome fog made for such a unique, incredible day. And so I thought I needed to try for something BIG and the first publication that came to mind was Style Me Pretty.

So I picked my images, resized them, wrote my story, and hit submit. I had forgotten about the submission until one day, while I was killing time at the mall, I checked my email and I had one from the submissions department of Style me Pretty. The first word of the email made me squeal. “Congratulations.” Ahhhhh! Congratulations, that can only mean one thing! I read and read that email over and over to make sure it was real. And sure enough, it was! I was so excited I not only squealed and jumped a little in the mall, but I treated myself to a Great American Cookie and ate the whole thing! Haha. I usually save half for the next day, but I had no self control in my excitement, but felt sick the rest of the day… so maybe it wasn’t the best decision, haha.

Anyway, so to conclude my long story, I am so excited for this feature. Style Me Pretty is the #1 wedding blog in the nation according to multiple sources. So it is a huge honor and a big deal in the wedding industry to be featured there! So much so, that I had to write a blog about it!

I’m a small-time photographer from south-western Virginia, and it’s crazy to think about the reach my images are getting. It’s really super cool and yes, I’m fangirling a little.

So if you’d like to see the feature (or look at it again… like me!), head on over to this link!