Guidelines

We love a good wedding here at Hello May and aim to feature the cute and quirky as much as the simply stunning and everything in-between. It doesn’t matter if the budget was $5000 and the bride wore Nanna’s vintage wedding dress or $250,000 and the bride wore a custom couture creation, if there is a point of difference to your usual cookie cutter wedding, we want to be the first to check it out.

Before diving into our submissions criteria below, be sure to have a good read of our Q&A page to get a good sense of what we look for in a submission, along with a whole bunch of do’s and don’ts and a myriad of questions answered, like why we are unable to accept all submissions, even if they are really really awesome.

Then simply drop us a line at submissions@hellomay.com.au with the following info.

• The couples name and location in the subject line (eg: Jane & John, Sydney, NSW)
• The venue name, suburb and state where the wedding was held
• The bridal gown and/or suit designers
• PLUS a list of any other vendor details you know like the florist, entertainment, celebrant, stationery designer, celebrant, caterer etc. Ideally you’ll be able to supply us with 6 to 12 vendor credits in total when making a submission.
• A  Pixieset (or similar) link cut and pasted into your submission email. Please note that Pixieset, with web res (min 2048px wide), hi res and original file sizes available for download is our preferred method for receiving images. Just don’t forget to give us the password and download pin!
• Bonus points if your Pixieset (or similar) gallery has gallery subheads (eg: getting ready, ceremony, family photos, portraits, reception etc)

You no longer need to fill out the credits list when making a submission but we do need some details in order to make an informed decision when comparing up to 5000 weddings a year, so the more you can tell us about the day the more informed a decision we can make and the more you increase your chances or a submission being accepted.

Submissions email example
Hey there Hello May team,

I’m excited to share the wedding of Jane and John Smith with you. They were married in the Kangaroo Valley, NSW last December and their day was [insert a simple line or two here about the day].

Please find the pixieset/pictime gallery link, password and pin below along with a list of some of the outstanding vendors involved in this special day

• Gown – XXX
• Suit – XXX
• Venue – XXX
• Event Planner & Stylist- XXX
• Catering – XXXX
• Celebrant. – XXXX
• Florist – XXXX
• Invitations – XXXX
• Cake Maker – XXXX
• Rings – XXX

I can confirm this wedding is being submitted exclusively to Hello May and that all Web Res images are minimum 2048px wide and that hi res print ready files are also available should you need them.

Thanks so much for taking the time to review my submission

Important things to remember…

• We only accept submissions from the photographer, as they own the copyright to the photos.
• We will decline a submission if our guidelines are not followed as we do not have the time to go back and forth for more info, given the volume of submissions we recieve.
• As we like to deliver EXCLUSIVE, never before seen content to our readers, please ensure the photos have not appeared on or been submitted to any other blogs or magazines. Yes this includes overseas blogs and magazines too. Failure to comply will effect our willingness to publish future submissions. However please be sure to have a read of the risks involved when a submission has to much exposure prior to being published here.
• Please don’t do a limited or special edit just for us. We want to see the whole day so the gallery the couple was originally supplied with is always greatly appreciated.
• All web res photos need to be 2048px wide (don’t forget to ensure your vertical frames are this wide also)
• Nothing is ever certain. Submissions move from the blog to the magazine and back to the blog again all time time (and on the rare occasion) need to be handed back if we run out of time or room to print them. So please keep this in mind when liaising with your couples.

What NOT to do…

• Do not cc in any other Hello May emails “just in case”. Your submission will only be downloaded and reviewed from submissions@hellomay.com.au and sending it to other addresses does not improve your chances, it only creates confusion.
• Don’t insist a wedding has to go in the magazine or on the blog. It is up to the editors discretion what goes in the magazine and on the blog and no you can not pay us to put your wedding in the magazine. No money exchanges hands for editorial. Ever.
• Email us with questions that are clearly outlined on our Q&A pages.

We love seeing natural and candid portrait sessions here at Hello May. We think it’s a great way for couples to warm up in front of the lens and get to know their wedding photographer before their day of good times!

Before diving into our submissions criteria below, be sure to have a good read of our Q&A page to get a good sense of what we look for in a submission, along with a whole bunch of do’s and don’ts and a myriad of questions answered, like why we are unable to accept all submissions, even if they are really really awesome.

Then simply drop us a line at submissions@hellomay.com.au with the following info.

• The couples name in the subject line
• The suburb and state where the shoot took place along with any vendor details (if other vendors were involved at all).
• A  Pixieset (our similar) link cut and pasted into your submission email. Please note that Pixieset, with web res, hi res and original file sizes available for download is our preferred method for receiving images. Just don’t forget to give us the password and download pin!

Important things to remember…

• If not using Pixieset (which is our preferred method of receiving submissions) clearly label your dropbox folder with your business name and the couples name, simply calling it ‘Hello May’ get’s a little confusing when we are downloading hundreds of submissions a week.
• We only accept submissions from the photographer, as they own the copyright to the photos.
• As we like to deliver EXCLUSIVE, never before seen content to our readers, please ensure the photos have not appeared on or been submitted to any other blogs or magazines. Yes this includes overseas blogs and magazines too. Failure to comply will effect our willingness to publish future submissions. However please be sure to have a read of the risks involved when a submission has to much exposure prior to being published here.
• Please don’t do a limited or special edit just for us. We want to see the whole day so the gallery the couple was originally supplied with is always greatly appreciated.
• All photos need to be 2000px wide (don’t forget to ensure your vertical frames are this wide also)
• Nothing is ever certain. Submissions move around in our blog schedule all time time (and on the rare occasion) need to be handed back if we run out of time or room to print them. So please keep this in mind when liaising with your couples.

What NOT to do…

• Do not cc in any other Hello May emails “just in case”. Your submission will only be downloaded and reviewed from submissions@hellomay.com.au and sending it to other addresses does not improve your chances, it only creates confusion.
• Don’t send us horizontal frames that are 2000px wide and vertical frames that are 500px wide. ALL photos need to be min 2000px wide.
• Email us with questions that are clearly outlined on our Q&A pages.

We love it when vendors get together ‘just because’ and create amazing work. For us here at Hello May the value in these shoots is not getting published but having the opportunity to network with other like minded creatives – each of whom get to walk away with beautifully photographed content to use for their own editorial or advertising purposes. Getting published should just be the icing on the cake, not the purpose.

If you have recently produced a shoot and would like to see it appear on Hello May, check the requirements below, then drop us a line at submissions@hellomay.com.au.

• Provide a short summary of the inspiration behind your styled shoot along with a credits list (business name and website) for all participating vendors.
• A  Pixieset (our similar) link cut and pasted into your submission email. Please note that Pixieset, with web res, hi res and original file sizes available for download is our preferred method for receiving images. Just don’t forget to give us the password and download pin!

Important things to remember…

• If not using Pixieset (which is our preferred method of receiving submissions) clearly label your dropbox folder with your business name and the couples name, simply calling it ‘Hello May’ get’s a little confusing when we are downloading hundreds of submissions a week.
• We only accept submissions from the photographer, as they own the copyright to the photos.
• As we like to deliver EXCLUSIVE, never before seen content to our readers, please ensure the photos have not appeared on or been submitted to any other blogs or magazines. Yes this includes overseas blogs and magazines too. Failure to comply will effect our willingness to publish future submissions. However please be sure to have a read of the risks involved when a submission has to much exposure prior to being published here.
• Please don’t do a limited or special edit just for us. We want to see the whole shoot so the gallery the team was originally supplied with is always greatly appreciated.
• All photos need to be 2000px wide (don’t forget to ensure your vertical frames are this wide also)
• Nothing is ever certain. Submissions move around in our blog schedule all time time (and on the rare occasion) need to be handed back if we run out of time or room to print them. So please keep this in mind when liaising with your couples.

What NOT to do…

• Do not cc in any other Hello May emails “just in case”. Your submission will only be downloaded and reviewed from submissions@hellomay.com.au and sending it to other addresses does not improve your chances, it only creates confusion.
• Don’t send us horizontal frames that are 2000px wide and vertical frames that are 500px wide. ALL photos need to be min 2000px wide.
• Email us with questions that are clearly outlined on our Q&A pages.