Copy vs. Being Inspired

Telling myself that I was too busy to blog was a lie. I'll be honest, I was somewhat disappointed with the wedding blog world as a whole because people seem to just reap off other people's ideas. Worst thing is, when CREDIT is not given to the original designer or creator of the idea and the other person tries to pull off the idea as their own. There has been so much copying due to the fact that the blogging community is so open and readily accessible.  Although I completely understand that originality and creativity come from being inspired/stimulated by each others' works but I also believe that you need to do this on a conscious level.

What is the difference between being "inspired by" and straight out copying someone?

In my humble opinion, if one sees something they like and say "Wow, I'm going to try something similar to that and bring it to the next level", then it's "inspiration".
If they copy it and say "Look what I did" with no reference to the original source then that's copying.

To make my point clear, here's our veggie/fruit bar we created which was featured on Amy Atlas last year. Photo Credit: Serena Grace
Some months later, another planner copied our design and posted on her portfolio section. I said 'copied' because she did not reference back to my site and posted the pictures under her portfolio section.

I won't reveal this planner's site out of courtesy.

If you are a fellow industry professional reading this post, I only ask you to credit your sources and link back to the original site. I wrote a post on this topic a while ago if you'd like to read further.  I'm sure all the bloggers/photographers/designers would appreciate this courtesy. To those desiring to be in the wedding industry or just starting out.. CREDIT your "inspiration" posts or pictures that you get from other blogs!  That's just good blogging etiquette.  ;) Here's an awesome post about crediting photos written by Chelsea from Frolic! http://www.frolic-blog.com/frolic/2011/03/blog-talk-crediting-photos.html
I would love to hear some of your thoughts on this topic. Please do remember that my intention of writing this post is not to point fingers at anyone. After all, it really doesn't matter WHERE you got your inspirations from as long as your work proves quality and better content.

P.S I actually held off posting a lot of our clients' weddings but I will be back to blogging now that I'm taking a maternity leave.  No more once-a-month posting! I promise! ;)

Are you misleading your potential clients?

A few months ago, I received a call from a vendor who wanted to know if I receive some type of commission for posting a 'vendor spotlight,' because they wanted me to feature their work on the blog. I have said this thousands of times before, and also emphasize this on my contracts, but I will say it again. I NEVER receive any type of commission by referring vendors NOR do I receive a commission for doing a vendor spotlight. In keeping up with this ethic, I have also turned down several vendors who approached me to ask if I'd be willing to advertise their services on the blog for a monthly fee. The reason why I am against the whole idea is because my intention of starting up this blog was not to make more money off of advertising. I feel that personal blogs, like wedding planners' blogs, should not be collecting fees when clients are paying for services anyway. Also, I feel that ads are a bit distracting on a blog.

If you've been a faithful follower of my blog, you'll notice that I stopped doing 'vendor spotlights' and postings on wedding related images (unless they're our clients' weddings) because of several reasons.
1) I realized I could be potentially misleading my clients that these types of features were 'my' work. How often people just scan through blogs and DON'T read the posts carefully!
2) I'd rather have loyal readers, stay relevant and practical than posting inspirational images everyday. (plus, I have no time to browse the web these days! ;)
3) If you wholeheartedly respect fellow designers out there, it's really unfair to them who have spent a lot of time & money purchasing products, collaborating with other vendors, only to have someone copy and paste it as their own. I, too, have made the same mistake by posting other people's work when I first started this blog and after doing a few shoots myself this year, I realized these styled shoots & personalized weddings take up so much energy, resources, originality and sometimes pulling all nighters. There's no way I can now dare to copy & paste the designer and the photographer's hard work.

To the bloggers who call themselves event designers/stylists/coordinators/vendors:
1) Before you just copy & paste someone's beautiful work, please do a bit of research to find out who the designer is, and also who all the vendors involved with the photos were, instead of just linking to the photographer's website. This isn't just talking about using images to create inspiration boards, but blogging a entire post on other weddings/shoots and writing about it as if you were somehow involved?! SO not ethical!
2) Please ask yourself deep inside your heart if you may be potentially misleading clients by posting someone's work.
3) If you're thinking of using other florists/planners/designers/photographers' work, please state it CLEARLY. This will help readers make a better evaluation of the information they are taking in from your blog.

To the brides who are surfing the web to find inspirations:
1) Please note where the blogger got the photos from.
2) If you want to see the vendors' portfolio, make sure you visit their website, read their list of services, bio, etc. before you send an e-mail. You have NO idea how many times people thought I was a photographer, baker, venue concierge, florist, etc... Really

With all this said, let's create an environment of honest work ethics in the blogsphere, and not mislead our potential clients.
Any piece of honest advice or real experience you'd like to share? Please leave a comment or two!