The Wedding Journalism Process Explained: What Happens Between Booking and Your Final Magazine

Wedding journalism is a newer concept, and the process isn't as simple as showing up, taking notes, and making a magazine. There are interviews to schedule, notes to transcribe, outlines to build, stories to write, layouts to design, and plenty of revisions to be made. It’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of time, but the result is always more than worth it. 

These memories aren’t preserved lightly! Here’s a peek at every step in my process as a wedding journalist.

Issue 1: The Gaylords

The Consultation: Locking In Your Wedding Date and Getting to Know Each Other

The wedding journalism process starts the moment you reach out. I only take one wedding per date, sometimes per weekend if I’m traveling. Securing your spot early guarantees your date is held and gives us plenty of runway to do this right. Once you have signed the contract and sent in a deposit, you won't hear much from me for a while since I am actively working on other projects and you’re busy finalizing all the event details.

The Pre-Wedding Check-In: Couple Interviews and Day-Of Logistics

Two months before you say “I do”, I'll reach out to schedule separate interview calls. I speak to you and your partner individually so I can hear your unique perspectives. You'd be surprised at how different two people's descriptions of the same love story can be. This is also when I have you tell me more about what you admire in your partner for the profile pieces.

After that, I'll get in touch with your planner or coordinator to nail down final logistics: the timeline, the vendor list, anything I need to know before I walk through those doors on your wedding day.

The Mays and Fitzpatricks Issues

The Wedding Day: Experiencing, Observing, and Documenting

This is the part most people picture when they think about wedding journalism. I attend your wedding as a guest, blend into the background, and document everything you're too busy to catch. The look on your dad's face during the first dance, what your college friends were laughing about at cocktail hour, the ad-lib your partner threw into their vows… I'm taking written notes on all of it so you don't have to worry about missing a single moment while you're busy being the main characters.

I always gather the best material when placed in the seating chart next to your friendliest loved ones. They offer amazing insight and have great stories to tell about what it was like to watch you fall in love from the outside in. These are not counted as your source interviews, just small interactions that give me even more detail to cure your wedding day FOMO.

I do not conduct interviews on the wedding day for a few reasons, and I learned this the hard way: your guests don’t want to talk to me, they want to talk to each other. Not only that, but the moment I pull out a microphone to start asking them questions is the moment they suddenly have nothing to say. Lastly, I don’t feel like it is my place to interrupt your guests or distract them from the moment.

The Week After: Capturing Reactions While They're Still Fresh

In the week following your wedding, I reach out to your chosen sources to schedule interviews. These conversations are where the magazine really comes to life. People are reflective, emotional, and surprisingly candid when they've had a few days to process what they just witnessed. I aim to wrap these interviews up within two to three weeks — conveniently timed while your photographer is still working through their own editing process.

Note that this can take even longer depending on your loved ones’ schedules. I am also unable to interview any sources who don’t respond to message requests. I usually send three inquiries for availability at minimum if I don’t receive word back, but even then I can’t force someone to speak with me.

The Hales read their issue.

The Writing Phase: Organizing Stories While Your Gallery Is in Progress

Once interviews are wrapped, I start organizing everything I've gathered and begin writing the stories. This phase runs parallel to your photographer's editing timeline, which typically takes another five to six weeks. I’ll then have to go through the gallery while finalizing the stories for placement.

The Layout and Design: Building Your Magazine Story by Story

Once I receive your full photo gallery, things start picking up. I’ll  begin building the layout, designing each individual page around the length of the content and the photos included. No two magazines look the same because no two weddings are the same. This phase takes another two to three weeks depending on the complexity of your package.

The Editing Round: Refining Every Story and Page

Wedding journalism has a longer production timeline than most wedding vendors, and I never want you to feel like your magazine has fallen off my radar. Throughout the design phase, I'll send you progress updates and page previews so you can see it coming together in real time. This is also your opportunity to flag any incorrect details before we get too deep into the final version. You can direct me to fix any errors you find, but my job is to create an authentic representation of your day as it happened – which is to say the content itself and the way it is written is less negotiable.

I’ll then move into revisions. This is where the magazine goes from a strong draft to a polished product. I’ll tighten copy, adjust layouts, and make sure every page feels intentional. Plan for another two to three weeks here. Good editing isn't rushed, and your magazine deserves the same scrutiny I'd give any professionally published piece.

There are also some pages I will not let you preview the content from. These pages are all related to the emotional insights your friends and family have revealed to me. I want you to discover those sentiments alongside your spouse, not on a phone screen by yourself.

The Gaylords read their issue.

The Proof: A Physical Example Before the Final Print

Before I place your final order, I print a proof copy for myself. A proof is a physical draft where I can examine each page to check color accuracy, print quality, margins, and anything that reads differently in physical print than it did on a screen. It's a step most people don't know about, and it's exactly the kind of detail that separates a keepsake you'll be proud to display from one that quietly disappoints. The proof takes about two weeks to arrive, and any final corrections happen before your order ever goes to print.

The Final Order: Your Magazine, Delivered

Once the proof clears, we’ll discuss if you’d like any additional copies made and the price for those copies, which is based on your individual magazine’s pagecount. You’ll send in your final payment plus the cost of any additional production before your final order goes in. I receive it first, do one last review to make sure everything is exactly right, and then send it to you. From first consultation to your front door, the full wedding journalism process typically spans several months — not because it's slow, but because it's thorough.

Looking for even more insight on Preserved in Print? Check out my blog page, take a look at the FAQ, or email me your questions at preservedinprint@gmail.com!