There’s a story I want to tell.

It’s the story of wedding content creation. When, where, and why it started. This story finally answers questions that I get in my DMs. It answers the question that reporters have asked from the Wall Street Journal, theSkimm, The Knot and Brides.com. It’s the answer I give on (nearly) every intake call with a prospective client.

Where did the idea come from?

Did I know it would become an entire industry? (Not really.)

Where is the industry heading? (Who knows, but I have thoughts!) I thought it was time to give these questions some answers. And to share them publicly!

The short answer is that I came up with the idea for a wedding content creation about three weeks before my wedding. Well, the name of it – And it came 100% from trying to solve a problem I faced as a bride.

The long answer, however, is that the idea took several years to come together, years to hone the skillset & expertise. It’s still an idea under evolution!

the start of Plan with laur

But let’s back up a little. In 2019, I started creating content online. I was really into planning. You know, like Type A people who plan out their life, often in paper planners, and then talk about it with each other! I’m deeply passionate about planning. I help plan a planning conference for other planner people every year; that’s how into planning I am. If you also love to plan, run – don’t walk – to my DMs and talk to me about it! It’s my favorite thing in the world!!

I loved it so much that I created an Instagram called Plan With Laur in September 2019.

The online community of planners welcomed me with open arms. I loved staying up late to create Youtube videos, reviewing planners and products and sharing ideas about how to plan better, faster, and more creatively! As of writing this post I have more than 1,450 pieces of unique content out there on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok. This averages out to about 1 post per day in those 4 years – which means 1 unique idea or perspective shared every day.

the start of event content creation

Professionally, I worked in marketing & social media for events at a multinational company. This gave me a birds-eye view of everything events. How they run (important), how they don’t run (even more important), and how to market events and event services. I’d spend time taking photos and videos on my phone and transforming them into content we could use. This was, then, the start of it all.

I created social media content for company and corporate events. Behind-the-scenes content, recaps, montages of the guest experience – online Laur and IRL Laur were really one and the same.

In 2021 when I got engaged, I began to talk about my wedding on TikTok. I knew events, I knew planning – and I wanted to share what it was like to plan my wedding as a Type A bride.

I shared wedding tips from the perspective of that Type A bride who is very involved in her wedding logistics. Listen, wedding planning is overwhelming. In a way, social media and sharing about my wedding was an outlet. TikTok really was an outlet from my “main” social media channels – at the time still focused on planning – on Instagram and Youtube.

But sure enough, sharing tips and DIYs turned into a few viral videos, which in turn grabbed attention and several brand partnerships. It was around this time that I left my corporate job in October 2021 to create content online, full-time!

To be fully candid and upfront, I didn’t really know if it was the right move at the time – in any logical sense it was not the right move, but i needed bet on myself to figure it out!

the wedding content wishlist

As we approached my wedding date, I knew I wanted to have as much photo and video content from each wedding event. *Content is king*, as many wedding vendors will tell you. But for the small subset of influencers who get married, content is king for us, too.

Specifically, I had a wedding content wish list:

• I wanted all of the behind-the-scenes moments captured – from the laughs I shared with my closest friends while getting ready, impromptu dance battles with my dad on the dance floor, show-tunes karaoke, and video of our vows, unedited.

• I wanted to recreate a few specific wedding day trends on TikTok.

• I needed to feature brands that I’d partnered with during wedding planning.

• I wanted to feel a little like a celebrity on my wedding day.

• I wanted photos and videos shot in vertical format so I could post them online.

• I wanted to wake up to photos and videos the next day.

And one more thing – most important of all:

• I didn’t want to pick up my phone on my wedding day. (Honestly I didn’t even want to have my phone at all)

I had hired an amazing photographer and videographer. But I knew they wouldn’t be there the whole day. And I also knew each would focus on different things. A wedding photographer captures some of those candid moments, for sure. But they’re focused on telling the story of your wedding day through the medium of photography, film and digital. A videographer is putting together the cinematic edit of your wedding with beautiful flourishes! It’s a story all the same.

To create these works of art, my photographer and videographer rightfully asked for weeks or months to finish the wedding album and to edit the wedding video. That’s OK, but you saw my wish list above.

I needed candid behind-the-scenes wedding content, and I needed it immediately.

enter the wedding content creator

When I lay it out like this, the wedding content creator is such an obvious solution to this wish list. But wedding content creators – as we know them now – didn’t exist! Searching for it on TikTok, or Google, or anywhere on the internet turned up nothing.

I put together a content plan and a shot list. I hired friends (who now work for me part-time and may shoot your wedding) to step in and capture those shots for me. They did what I’d been doing since 2020 at events. They captured behind the scenes content that I could use on social media, took over my Instagram, all to show what it was like to be a guest at my wedding to the 25,000 people who followed me at the time.

It was a culmination of so much hard work and planning.

I didn’t want the day to slip without making sure that hard work was documented for later reflection!

When I created that first video about being a #weddingcontentcreator, I didn’t create just a hashtag. I started an industry that has since blossomed into something bigger than me,

That first video took off. Comments poured in – “I have to have you at my wedding!” – “Such a good idea!” – I wish I could say I planned it exactly this way. But sometimes an idea is bigger than you. Once it’s out there – it’s out there!

Initially, I marketed my wedding content creation services as your “behind-the-scenes” content capturer. However, I soon realized this doesn’t fully encompass the work I do for couples. My job is dynamic and interactive. I’m with the couple throughout most of their wedding day. It’s essential that the relationship between us feels friendly, like your friend is there as your personal paparazza. You should feel like all the hard work, emotion, energy, effort, and money invested in your wedding is seen and recognized. I help you do that!

the future of wedding content creation

As the industry has grown, challenges come with running a wedding content creation business. One of the biggest hurdles is managing client expectations. Because wedding content creation is a truly novel idea, it’s disrupting the wedding industry for the first time in many years. Questions come with this:

Do you replace my videographer? (Never, we do different things.)

Why can’t a friend of mine just do this? (They can! Just like you can hire a friend photographer or friend planner.)

Still, some clients don’t fully understand what they’re getting into. Guides for how to hire a wedding content creator are proliferating! It’s important to make sure that everyone understands what they can expect from the process and that they’re comfortable with the level of involvement and access required.

I’m giving interviews nearly every week it seems – to the Wall Street Journal, theSkimm, The Knot – just to explain what wedding content creation is and how to work with a wedding content creator.

In the beginning, I had to explain to every potential client what wedding content creation is. Today, however, the industry is growing and finding its footing in the wedding industry. While a content creator may not be a must-hire vendor today, I truly believe it soon will be. Now you’re seeing wedding content creators pop-up everywhere – from destination wedding content creators to budget wedding content creators. I’m the New York City wedding content creator and luxury wedding content creator. We’re all filling in our niches in the industry. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

Because I truly believe that innovation drives innovation. Already, some of these wedding content creators have spawned their own agencies, created content that really inspires me, and driven the pricing & packaging in unique and innovative ways. I constantly feel a pressure to level up my business and services to continue being the market-leading wedding content creator.

Despite the challenges, I’m passionate about this industry and excited to see where it goes in the future. As more and more couples look for creative ways to capture their big day, I believe that wedding content creation will continue to be a critically important cog in the wedding media industry!

I’m proud to be a wedding content creator and excited for the many years – and many weddings – to come.

Looking to hire a wedding content creator? Inquire here.