Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to weddings we go!
We are so excited to unveil a brand new website today. This has been a long time in progress, and it was just recently that the stars aligned and we could put it all together.
As you will see, everything is different. EVERYTHING. While we loved the old site, especially with our girl as the masthead, there was a lot the past site lacked.
For instance, the old site had a “blog” feel. It was a bunch of excerpts on the homepage (though excerpts are great) but not a lot of feeling and excitement. With the new look, we wanted that “glossy” magazine feel without being overly complicated.
2. The masthead. I know many of you love the image girl with the Taj’ish background, but she had to go. Wonk wonk. Because the masthead is valuable space, we wanted to make sure you had all the essentials at your fingertips: top categories, social links, submission info.
3. Photo Gallery. You know any wedding blog has tons, literally tons, of photos. Navigating them is a royal pain in the behind. The Photo Gallery includes all the photos ever displayed on our site. What makes the gallery amazing is the ability to search tags and colors and also shuffle through article galleries.
For example, maybe you want to see all brides wearing saris. You can to go TAGS, click on People, which brings sub-tags, highlight “Brides”. Then, click on Clothing, and on the sub-tag, click on “Saris”.
Now you’ll get all the photographs that match brides AND saris. Awesome, huh?!
If you want to be even more specific, you can throw in a color from the Color box.
And whenever you get tired (or maybe not enough results), just click CLEAR on the top right.
4. Color Theme. We love the traditional reds and golds of South Asian weddings. Realizing that our brides are from all over the world and are modern, yet traditional, we wanted the new design to reflect that. So we went with a color palette that is cool, and refreshing: radiant orchid (see, the Pantone color of the year!), soft teal, and vibrant grey. The tangerine serves as an accent piece and gives color pop.
5. Logos & Badges. We have a new logo! Actually, we never had a logo until now. Haha! We went through so many revisions, our brains were ready to explode. We were lucky to have a fabulous designer who had the patience to try out a lot of logo styles.
In the end, we made something simple, yet bold. The henna elephant makes her appearance but in a small, significant way. We use the footer image to be more kitsch and cute with the double elephants making a heart (cue: awww).
We also have a new logo for The BF Red Book. It’s fun, easy to spot, and the perfect round stamp style; a happy natak. Red Book members and featured photographers will also have their own badges to display on their websites. They can choose a variety of colors that bests suits their needs.
6. Wedding Submission Process. To help streamline the wedding submission process, we now have “Submit Your Wedding” on the right side of the masthead. You’ll find all the details you need to submit your wedding (whether you are the bride/groom or a vendor).
7. Vendor Application Process. While we work to reach out to the best vendors in the industry, we only have so much time and knowledge of the local markets! If you think your company would be a great fit for the discerning, smart, modern South Asian bride, then fill out the BF Red Book Application. Someone will get back to you and will decide if you fit our style. From there, we’ll work with you to create your ad package suitable for you.
8. Featured Vendor Spotlight. One of the *BEST* things about the new homepage is the “Featured Vendor.” Every time you visit the homepage, you’ll see a new BF Red Book Member. And why this is amazing is because for our readers, you will always get to see fresh snippets from our members. And for our members, you have a dedicated homepage spot for your work to appear. And of course, clicking on one of the Red Book members will take you to an image rich member page for you to read up on the company.
In addition, we will be updating our Facebook Cover page every two weeks with a Red Book member photo. This way, we have much more exciting content to share with you all!
9. Homepage Popular Photos. If you are on the homepage scrolling down, you will see our most popular images from the Gallery. It is a quick way for you to see what is going on and what readers current favs are. You can also immediately filter by color to get your wedding inspiration started.
10. BF Red Book Page. Did I mention we have a new Red Book page too? Okay, maybe I did like 10 times already. I love the new look for the Red Book page. It is set in a masonry style, so as you filter by category, the listings will “swoosh” around. As we continue to grow, we look forward to adding in new members to our family and helping you all plan your wedding. Be sure to contact these companies if they’re in your area, they are fabulous!
And that’s what we have for now! Phew!
Now, I am sure you will experience some hiccups and things that break down. Have patience lovelies, we will be addressing all of them and more over the coming weeks. If you have ideas or comments about the site, please fill out this nifty form.
Happy reading lovelies!
I love it!! Congratulations Preeti!
The site looks fab Preeti! Congrats!
lots of lovely photography, the website looks great!