Submissions

Although we can only feature a very small fraction of what we receive, we looooove reviewing the amazing submissions we get from our beloved readers!

We have several types of reader-submitted content we feature, with the ways to submit outlined below. Please note: due to the amount of submissions we receive, we cannot consider submissions that do not follow the guidelines below.

Real wedding stories and photos

The easiest way to submit photos…

Just add 'em to the Offbeat Bride Flickr pool. Note that we only feature real photos from real weddings. We do NOT feature engagement shoots, trash the dress sessions, styled shoots, or anything other than real photography from real weddings.

Offbeat wedding profiles, submitted by brides and grooms

Five days a week, we feature Real Offbeat Weddings, highlighting the wedding stories submitted to us by couples around the world. Submit YOUR wedding.
(Vendors: the wedding profile form is not for you. Keep reading!)

Offbeat wedding photos, submitted by photographers and other vendors

While we prefer to feature wedding stories to submitted by couples themselves, we do accept submissions from photographers, planners, and other vendors. There are three ways to submit:

Remember: we ONLY feature photos from real weddings — please do not submit engagement shoots, bridal sessions, stylized shoots, or trash the dress shoots.

Articles about wedding planning

Guest posts about nontraditional wedding planning issues, trends, and projects

We love sharing a variety of perspectives on Offbeat Bride via our guestposts, and have featured posts about everything from How to find a wheelchair-friendly wedding dress to Copyright, Creative Commons, and your wedding photos. We love DIY projects full of photos!

Real Offbeat Honeymoons, submitted by brides and grooms

Once a month, we feature a honeymoon, tracking one couple's adventures across the globe as well as the folks who opt for a romantic "staycation."

Submission disclaimer
  • When you submit work to us, you grant your consent to let us publish it. You also grant your consent to let us edit it for length, tone, and clarity.
  • We don't publish everything we get. Please don't take it personally — there are lots of factors that go into how we choose content to feature, and none of it has to do with how awesome you are.
  • Offbeat Bride is about inspiring, communicating, supporting, and cheerleading. We're not about venting, ranting, bashing, or complaining.
  • While we don't have a budget to pay our guestbloggers, we do link generously to your personal website (but your NOT businesses website — we do not accept guestposts submissions from SEO marketing firms, or writers representing commercial websites)

The five most common reasons for submission rejections:

  1. Written by SEO marketing firm or writer representing a commercial site
  2. Reveals overly personal family issues, perhaps without family member consent
  3. Too narrow in personal focus; doesn't relate to enough of our readers
  4. Too similar to a recently-run post, or a post that we are planning to run.
  5. Fiction, poetry, or otherwise not a format we publish