Why did you start blogging?

I worked as fashion stylist and wanted to inject some of that buzz and excitement into the cookie cutter wedding industry.

I set up The Bijou Bride to inspire fellow fashionistas by showcasing great designers, stylish real brides, inspirational celebrity styles, exciting fashion and beauty news, DIY tutorials and much more.

It’s been 3yrs, I’ve now trained as a wedding planner/ stylist, work with lots of industry brands and write articles for the big magazines. It’s amazing to be able to say that I’ve managed to turn the dream of working within the wedding industry into reality.

How influential do you think bloggers are within the industry? Will their influence increase or diminish over the next 5 years?

I don’t think we’ll be referring to ‘blogs’ as such but just great sites or destinations for fashion inspiration, beauty tutorials etc.

There’s been a shift with the dropping of ‘blogs’ from site names and also changing their formats to look more like websites in their own right. I think bloggers will still be influential but we’ll be referring to them as owner/ writer/ curator/ editor and so on.

What approaches from brands and PR/Search marketing agencies annoy you and what makes you want to work with a brand or product?

It’s just about approaching the right blogs that fit with your brand and understanding what that blog is about. I work with the same PR teams a lot because we’ve built a relationship which is mutually supportive.

What advice would you offer to brands and agencies approaching you?

At least take the time to use my name! If an email comes in with ‘Hello blogger’ or similar it goes straight in the bin.

Would you review any product or do you pick and choose?

Only things that I want to support and fit with my beliefs for example I won’t review diet pills. It’s important to say no to anything that you don’t think will resonate with your audience plus it always feels fake no matter how wonderfully you write your review.

Do you use a variety of media on your blog (e.g. video, images)?

It is very visual, I personally think people are reading less and less online particularly in regards to fashion content. Even I tend to browse through a blog’s beautiful images to gather ideas, pin to boards or share. Perhaps it’s a fear of missing out or just too much to see.