Write Your First Elopement Photography Press Release in 7 Days

An elopement photographer press release may sound like something only big brands send.

But it isn’t.

Local papers, radio shows, travel blogs and wedding sites need fresh stories every single day.

Small, real, local stories are exactly what they run.

There’s likely a pile of them waiting already. A new sunrise elopement spot. Your 100th couple. A free guide to eloping in your state park.

The problem is not the news. It’s knowing where to start.

So let’s make it simple. Give this one week. Each day, you do one small job.

By day seven, your release is written, your press kit is ready and your pitch is sent.

No agency. No big budget. Just a plan, some fill-in lines and a little courage.

Ready? Day one starts with the question every editor asks first.

Why press releases still work for small businesses

Some people say press releases are old news. The journalists disagree.

In Cision’s 2025 survey of more than 3,000 journalists, 72% said press releases are still the most useful thing PR people send them.

That same survey found something just as useful. 86% said they’ll reject a pitch right away if it doesn’t fit their beat or audience.

So the trick isn’t sending more. It’s sending the right story to the right person.

What is a press release, really? It’s a one-page news story about your business, written the way a reporter would write it.

You send it to editors, and they use it as a starting point for their own story.

It is not an ad, a blog post or a sales letter. It’s closer to a helpful tip-off.

For elopement photographers, a press release can bring:

• A story in your local paper that couples and vendors read
• A link from a news or travel site, which can help your website show up in search
• A quote you can share on your website, like “As featured in [paper]”
• New friends among local editors, who may call you next time

Day 1: Find your real news

Today you only need one thing: a story that is actually news.

Editors ask one question before anything else. “Why should my readers care today?”

If your answer is “Because I’m a great photographer,” it’s an ad, not news.

Here are some common ideas, and how an editor might see them.

Look for stories with a place, a number or a kind act in them. Those three turn ordinary updates into news.

Pick your one idea today, and write it in one sentence. If you can’t say it in one sentence, keep trimming.

No news yet? Make some with a tiny survey

Reporters love fresh numbers. You can create them with a quick survey of your past couples.

Send a short form to everyone you’ve photographed. Ask five easy questions:

1. Why did you choose to elope?
2. About how much did your elopement cost?
3. How many people were there, including you two?
4. What surprised you most about planning it?
5. Would you elope again?

Even 30 answers can give you a story.

“Most local couples who eloped spent less than half the cost of a typical wedding” is a headline an editor can use.

Keep it honest. Share how many couples answered, and never make the numbers sound bigger than they are.

Day 2: Choose who you’re writing for

A press release isn’t for “the media.” It’s for one editor at one outlet, reading on a busy morning.

Today, make a short list of 10 places that might care about your story. Mix these types:

• Your local paper or news site. Loves local people, local places and local numbers.
• Local radio or TV. Likes stories with a face and a voice. Offer an interview.
• Wedding blogs and magazines. Want trends, tips and pretty photos.
• Travel and outdoor sites. Care about places, seasons and respecting nature.
• Your chamber of commerce or town newsletter. Happy to share a local business milestone.

Find the right reporter in 10 minutes

Here’s a quick way to find the right person at each outlet.

1. Search the outlet’s website for words like “wedding,” “elopement,” “state park” or “small business.”
2. Open the three most recent stories that come up.
3. Note who wrote them. That’s your person.
4. Look at the bottom of the story or the outlet’s staff page for their email.

Do this for every outlet on your list. Look for the reporter who writes about local businesses, weddings, travel or the outdoors.

Put your list in a simple sheet with the outlet, the name, their email and one story they wrote recently.

You’ll use that last column on day seven.

Day 3: Write a headline an editor wants to open

Your headline does most of the work. If it’s dull, nothing else gets read.

Instead of giving you a formula, let’s climb a ladder. Here’s one headline, improved step by step.

1. “Photography Business Announces New Service.” Vague. What service? Where? Who cares?
2. “Local Photographer Offers Elopements.” Better, but still sounds like an ad.
3. “Local Photographer Releases Free Guide to Eloping in Pine Ridge State Park.” Now you have a place and a useful thing.
4. “More Couples Are Eloping. This Local Photographer Made a Free Guide to Help Them Do It in Pine Ridge State Park.” A trend, a place and a reason to read.

Each step adds one thing: a place, a benefit or a reason it matters now.

Keep the final headline under about 15 words if you can.

Use plain words and no exclamation marks. Editors trust calm headlines more than loud ones.

Before you pick, run each headline through three quick checks:

• Would a stranger understand it without knowing you?
• Does it name a place or a number?
• Would you click it if you saw it in your news feed?

Write three versions today. Tomorrow, pick the one that still sounds good after a night’s sleep.

Day 4: Nail the first paragraph

Many editors decide in the first paragraph. So today, you write just that paragraph, and you make it answer the five W’s.

Fill in this template. Keep it to two or three sentences.

[CITY, State, Date] – [Your business name], an elopement photographer based in [town], today [what you did or are launching].

The [guide, milestone, project] helps [who it helps] [do what], [why it matters now].

The place and date at the very start is called the dateline.

It tells the editor where and when the news happened, before they read a single word of the story.

Here’s what a filled-in version could look like.

PINE RIDGE, Colo., May 12, 2027 – Maya Torres Photography, an elopement photographer based in Pine Ridge, today released a free guide to eloping in Pine Ridge State Park.

The guide helps couples find quiet ceremony spots, get the right permit and protect the park’s trails, as more couples choose small outdoor weddings.

Compare that with a weak opening like “Maya Torres Photography is proud to share some exciting news with the community.” It takes a whole sentence to say nothing.

If an editor reads only this paragraph, they should still know the whole story.

Day 5: Add a quote worth printing

Today’s job is the quote. Most small-business quotes are so bland that editors cut them. Let’s make yours worth keeping.

Here are three versions of the same quote, graded like a school paper.

Grade C: “We are thrilled to announce this exciting new resource for our valued clients.”

Why it fails: It could be about anything. “Thrilled” and “exciting” add nothing.

Grade B: “I made this guide because couples kept asking me the same questions about the park.”

Why it’s better: It’s real and specific. But it could still say more.

Grade A: “Every week a couple asks me, ‘Can we even get married in the park?’ The answer is yes, if you plan it right. This guide is everything I tell them on our first call.”

Why it works: It sounds like a person. It shows a real problem, a real answer and why the guide exists.

A second quote from a couple can make the story even warmer. Ask a past couple for one or two lines about why they eloped, and get their okay to use their names.

A reporter will often call that couple too, so only ask people who are happy to talk.

After the quote, add two or three short paragraphs with the details.

How to get the guide, what’s inside and a number or two if you have them. Keep it to one page in total.

A full elopement photographer press release, start to finish

It’s the middle of the week, so let’s see the whole thing together. Here is a complete sample you can use as a press release template.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

More Couples Are Eloping. This Local Photographer Made a Free Guide to Help Them Do It in Pine Ridge State Park

PINE RIDGE, Colo., May 12, 2027 – Maya Torres Photography, an elopement photographer based in Pine Ridge, today released a free guide to eloping in Pine Ridge State Park.

The guide helps couples find quiet ceremony spots, get the right permit and protect the park’s trails, as more couples choose small outdoor weddings.

“Every week a couple asks me, ‘Can we even get married in the park?'” said Maya Torres. “The answer is yes, if you plan it right. This guide is everything I tell them on our first call.”

The 12-page guide covers five ceremony spots, sunrise and sunset times by season, permit steps and Leave No Trace tips. It is free to download at [website link].

Torres has photographed more than 100 elopements in the Pine Ridge area since 2021.

About Maya Torres Photography: [Two or three sentences about your business, where you work and who you help.]

Media contact: [Name], [email], [phone]

###

Notice how short it is. That’s on purpose. A one-page release respects an editor’s time.

The three pound signs at the end are an old press habit. They simply tell the editor, “This is the end.”

Day 6: Pack your press kit

Editors are busy. If you make their job easy, they’re more likely to run your story.

Today, put everything in one shared folder. Check off each item as you go.

• The press release as a Word or Google Doc, not only a PDF
• 5 to 8 of your best photos, full size, with clear file names
• Written permission from each couple shown in the photos
• One professional photo of you
• A short “About” paragraph (your boilerplate)
• Your contact details and the best times to reach you

Then write your boilerplate. It’s the short “About” paragraph at the bottom of every release. Write it once and reuse it.

About [Business name]: [Business name] is an elopement photographer based in [town], helping couples plan and photograph small, meaningful weddings in [area]. Since [year], [he/she/they] has photographed more than [number] elopements. Learn more at [website].

Include both wide and tall photos. Newspapers and websites use different shapes, and giving both saves the editor from cropping out the view.

Send clean photos without big watermarks. A small credit line in the file name or caption is enough.

Name your photo files so they make sense, like “pine-ridge-elopement-sunrise-maya-torres.jpg.”

Editors often grab photos in a rush, and good names save them time.

Day 7: Pitch and press send

Today you send it. But not as a mass email to 50 people. Send short, personal emails, one at a time.

Remember that last column in your media list? Use it now. Mention something the editor wrote recently. It shows you’re not spamming.

Subject: Local story: free guide to eloping in Pine Ridge State Park

Hi [first name],

I enjoyed your piece on [their recent story]. I thought you might like a local story for your readers.

I’m an elopement photographer in Pine Ridge, and I just released a free guide to eloping in the state park. It covers quiet spots, permits and how to protect the trails.

The press release is below, and photos are in this folder: [link]. I’m happy to talk anytime.

Thanks, [Your name, phone]

Paste the release into the email itself. Many editors don’t open attachments from people they don’t know.

A few timing tips:

• Send on a weekday morning, not a Friday afternoon.
• Avoid big local news days, like elections or major holidays.
• If your story is tied to a season, like fall colors, pitch a few weeks early.

No email address anywhere? Many local outlets have a “news tips” or “submit a story” form.

Use it, and keep your message just as short and personal.

That’s it. Your release is out in the world.

Day 8 and beyond: follow up, then let it go

If you don’t hear back, that’s normal. Editors get hundreds of emails. One polite follow-up is fine.

Wait about three to five working days. Then reply to your first email so the story stays in one thread.

Hi [first name], just checking you saw this. Happy to send more photos or set up a quick call if it’s useful. Thanks either way!

If there’s still no answer, let it go. Don’t send a third email.

Instead, try the next person on your list, or save the story for a better time.

And if someone does run your story, say thank you. Share it on your website and social media, and tag them.

Editors remember the people who make their job easy.

Your first 48 hours after coverage

Getting featured is exciting. Here’s what to do while the story is still fresh.

One story can keep working for years.

Couples who see a real news feature on your website trust you faster, because someone else vouched for you.

Thank the couple, too

Send the couple a copy of the story with a short thank-you note.

Many will share it with family, which reaches more readers than the paper itself.

Ask if you can frame a print of the article for them. It’s a lovely keepsake, and it keeps you in their memory.

Five mistakes that sink a small business press release

Let’s count down the most common slip-ups, from annoying to deadly.

5. Writing it like an ad

“Book now!” and “limited spots!” belong in ads. A press release should read like a news story someone else might write about you.

4. Burying the news

If your big news shows up in paragraph four, the editor never gets there. Put it in the first sentence.

3. Sending huge files

A 40 MB attachment can clog an inbox or get blocked. Share a folder link instead.

2. Sharing photos without permission

Always ask the couple before their elopement ends up in a newspaper. Some chose to elope because they wanted privacy.

1. Sending the wrong story to the wrong person

This is the big one. Remember, most journalists reject pitches that don’t fit their beat.

A wedding trend story sent to a sports reporter goes straight to the bin.

The quiet mistake of the wrong timing

Even a perfect release can sink if it arrives on a busy news day or a holiday week.

Check the calendar before you send, and avoid days with big local events.

Mid-week mornings usually work best, when editors are planning the next few days.

Keep a news list all year

Once your first release goes out, you’ll start seeing news everywhere. Keep a simple note on your phone for story ideas.

Your own numbers can power the rest of your elopement photographer marketing too, from blog posts to the facts on your place pages.

Here are a few to get you started:

• A new service area or a new park you now photograph
• A local survey, like “What 50 couples spent on their elopement”
• A partnership with a local cabin, florist or guide
• An award or a big feature in a wedding magazine
• A giving-back project, like a trail cleanup day with past couples
• Your business anniversary, with a number that tells the story

It also helps to think in seasons. Spring is when couples plan summer elopements, fall brings leaf-peeping stories and winter is great for cozy cabin features.

Pitch your story a few weeks before its season starts.

Two or three good releases a year is plenty for a small business.

Save them for real news, and editors will learn that your emails are worth opening.

Note why each idea is news

For every item on your list, write one line about why a reader would care.

A first elopement at a newly opened trail, a couple who met on that mountain or a charity hike.

If you can’t write that line, it’s probably not news yet. Keep it on the list and wait for a better angle.

Tell the story the place deserves

An elopement photographer press release works best when the story belongs to the place and the people, not to your business.

A couple who married at sunrise after twenty years together, or a first ceremony on a newly opened trail, gives editors something readers will love.

The opening is that small papers and regional magazines still welcome strong local stories with good photos.

Elopements are visual and personal, which is exactly what editors look for.

The pitfall is privacy.

Some couples eloped precisely because they wanted a quiet day, and land managers may not want a spot publicized.

Ask the couple first, check with the land owner when needed and keep your news list growing all year.

One well-chosen story is worth more than five hurried ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your week, your story

That’s how an elopement photographer press release comes together in just one week.

Find one story that’s real news. Pick the few people who’d care.

Write a clear headline, a strong first paragraph and a quote that sounds like you.

Pack your photos and boilerplate, then send short, personal pitches. Follow up once, then move on.

Avoid the big mistakes, especially sending the wrong story to the wrong person.

Most of all, remember that editors need good local stories.

You’re not begging for a favor. You’re offering them something their readers will enjoy.

Good press releases do half the editor’s work before they even open the email.

Now open your calendar, and block out the next seven mornings. Your story is waiting to be told.