There are literally thousands of wedding blogs, and many of the authors are fluent in social media.
But there's simply getting it, and then there's Nicole VanScoten of The Plunge Project.
Which makes sense, of course. Above all else, Nicole stresses to find your voice and passion, then let nothing distract you from either. Nothing celebrates that sentiment more than social media.
This is the second installment in our 'Life as a Wedding Blogger' series, in which we'll interview the wedding blogosphere's best and brightest. I caught up with Nicole to talk wedding planning, blogging and what happens when the two collide head-on.
Nina Shoes: Your fiance popped the question and asked you to take the plunge. Describe what saying ‘Yes’ felt like.
Nicole VanScoten: The whole moment was like a whirlwind. I almost don't remember what he even said. I know I was excited, very excited.
NS: Did you see it coming?
NV: Yes and no. We had talked about getting married, so I knew that was the direction we were headed. I didn’t expect it that particular night, though. He planned it pretty well.
NS: What moved you to start The Plunge Project?
NV: I actually used to run a PR/social media blog.... When I got engaged, I wrote a few posts on how to use social media for your wedding planning. I liked to share everything I was doing. I saw I was getting a pretty good response from those posts. There were a lot of brides and we had a lot in common.
NS: You write for the women who don’t want a cookie-cutter wedding. So put your money where your mouth is. What's going to be so special about your wedding?
NV: I'm really a details person. I want a lot of extra detail elements in our wedding. I'm doing a lot of it myself.
Where we're doing the reception is a restored train station from the '20s. So it's old and vintage feeling. I'm using really old, ornate picture frames, and doing the table numbers that way. I'm doing all the invitations myself. I just really like that old look.
NS: What was it like the first time you called him your fiance instead of your boyfriend?
NV: It was exciting, and it was different. When we first got engaged, we used it all the time: 'Oh, we get to say, "fiance" now!'
NS: But now, do you just want to get to the part where you call him your husband?
NV: I'm not ready to get ready married tomorrow because it's not all together yet. But I'm pretty excited. It'll be another nice change. Time has flown, that's for sure.
NS: What's been the most challenging/surprising thing about planning your wedding so far?
NV: Just balancing everything. I'm still working full-time. I'm at a small marketing firm, so we don't work the traditional 9-5. Then I'm running the blog, planning everything, and still trying to have a life. That's the most challenging part.
NS: Do you have any advice for any other brides-to-be trying to cope with the juggling?
NV: I do a lot on my lunch break. Utilize your time as effectively as possible. For someone that works full-time, trying to do this on top of everything is tough.
I also have a day-of coordinator. Mine has really been helpful throughout the whole process. 'Here's who you should talk to; don't waste your time with these vendors.' It saves you time that way, too.
NS: What is your favorite thing about blogging about getting married?
NV: My favorite thing has been able to connect to other brides, other wedding bloggers. If I see something I really like, normally you just bookmark it. But now I put it on my blog, and it's like saving it for myself. You get a lot of ideas when you're searching for stuff to post.
NS: Do you hope to make this blog a full-time job?
NV: It would be really cool if I could make it a full-time job. I like my job, though, so that's not an issue. I always think it's interesting when people do it. It seems like it'd be a really fun job.
NS: There are so many blogs started everyday. The most necessary ingredient for success seems to be persistence. When you first started, was it hard to stick to it?
NV: Sometimes it's just hard because I want to do a post everyday. It gets frustrating if I can't keep it up.
I know and understand that it's going to take time to get some traction. Just try to promote it and connect with people. Over the last month, I've seen the most growth on The Plunge Project. Sometimes it's frustrating to come up with so much content, but hopefully it will catch on soon.
NS: What's your advice for connecting and gaining traction?
NV: I really have found the biggest success over Twitter. I've found the most connections there. If you share someone else's wedding blog post, then they'll share yours. You reciprocate and help each other. There's tons of wedding bloggers out there, and they're pretty much all on Twitter.
NS: You had previous experience with blogging on social media and PR. Moving to a wedding blog, what's the most surprising thing you've learned along the way?
NV: It's been different. I think there's a lot of wedding blogs out there, and some of them are huge. In PR/marketing, I felt some of the huge ones were still accessible. Whereas with the bigger wedding blogs, you probably won't get a chance to get close with them.
In that respect, it's better to focus on the other up-and-coming wedding bloggers - like myself.
NS: What's your advice for someone just starting out?
NV: I say, 'Do it.' Have fun with it. Make it your own. Don't do what everyone else has done.
A lot of people start a blog and get discouraged because they only have two subscribers. But if you keep pushing through, keep putting yourself into, you'll find an audience.
NS: You said it yourself, though. There are tons of wedding blogs. How do you distinguish yourself?
NV: There are some that have been around for years, since before blogging was even big. But it's more about finding an audience that's similar to you. There's a lot of different wedding blogs, but some don't apply to me because I don't feel the same way.
There's a lot of wedding blogs, but there are a lot of brides. If you just stick to it, you'll find people who appreciate it.
Thanks so much to Nicole from The Plunge Project. If you're interested in being featured in "The Life of a Wedding Blogger" series, please email Nina's web guy Matthew at miles@ninashoes.com.
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