Archive for the ‘Kelly’s Ideas’ Category

This is Kelly Prizel, one of the co-founders of So You’re EnGAYged. I really appreciate your continued support and I’m currently putting together the next phase of So You’re EnGAYged. I want to re-focus on what and why So You’re EnGAYged exists. And to me, that’s community.

So with that, let me get my bullhorn out! We are looking for new volunteers and ideas. We would love to hear from you! Think you would make an awesome coordinator for our real weddings features? Pipe up. Know you kick butt in grammar and would like to be our content editor? Email us right away, ha!

So shoot your emails to: kelly@soyoureengayged.com

We have some news about the next chapter of So You’re EnGAYged: after much consideration, we’ve decided to stop working on real weddings and vendor listings.

This is obviously a huge decision, and one that didn’t come lightly. We know how much you all really love this site as it is, especially the real weddings section. Both of us (Kelly and Lara) are currently dealing with health issues, as well as work/life balance (we have full-time jobs in addition to running So You’re EnGAYged). Real weddings and vendor listings eat up the bulk of our time outside of our full-time jobs, and it’s time for us to end our work on them. This means that there will be no new real weddings or vendors added to the site, but the existing ones will remain.

A ton of thought has gone into this, and though it’s a sad decision for both of us, we’re so happy with how the site has evolved over the years and the joy it has brought to us during that time. We’re not sure what’s next for SYE, but we’ll definitely be posting about it after taking some time off! Our awesome bloggers have been given the opportunity to keep blogging if they choose.

Lara: It’s been phenomenal running this site. I’ve learned so much about this community and how vendors can be truly LGBT-friendly. I’ve learned so much about the technology behind it, and what it takes to run a successful business. The people we’ve met, the loving comments we read, and the chance to work with your best friend day after day are some of the most treasured things about SYE. We keep joking – this wouldn’t be such a hard decision if So You’re EnGAYged weren’t so awesome. :)

Kelly: I can remember coming up with the idea for So You’re EnGAYged and wondering what/where/how to go about such a large project. Working with Lara, who is my best friend, to continually set new standards for the wedding industry and push for more awareness has been my driving force. I love that I’ve goten to work with so many couples as they submitted their real wedding/engagements, and in our next chapter, I hope to focus even more on serving amazing LGBT couples as they navigate the sometimes-murky waters of planning an LGBT wedding. This was an extremely hard decision to make, but I know in the end, whatever path So You’re EnGAYged takes will be one that allows me to continue to serve my LGBT and offbeat clients with my wedding photography business and gives me snuggle time with the wife.

Thanks to all you readers for being so terrific. It’s been a true pleasure creating this site for you.

We’re seeing an enormous influx of vendor applications to our vendor list (yahoo!). We’re also seeing a ton of vendors posting in the comments, trying to get some visibility that way, and a lot of vendors posting on our Facebook wall. Instead of adding to the conversation, they’re getting pretty spammy. So! We ask that if you’re a vendor, you please submit your application to be listed on the site, and keep your comments/Facebook posts to authentic, non-spammy stuff! Please do not solicit contact requests or advertise your services in any way but through your vendor listing or sidebar ads.

And one last reminder: we are a volunteer-run site. Not one person who works on or contributes to SYE gets paid for their work or time (not even me or Kelly!). All money from the sidebar ads goes right to fund our overhead. That means that, while we are working as fast as we can to vet new applications or make changes to your current listing, it may take a while to hear back from us because of the current influx we’re receiving. Thanks so much for your patience!

If you’d like to help us out as a volunteer, please contact us! We are ALWAYS looking for people to help out around the site.

So You’re EnGAYged is thrilled to have been featuring LGBT couple’s getting marriage for over 2 years now. But this week? This week is special! It’s all about New York week. And today, we are going to start off with a bang by showcasing all the real gay weddings in New york we have featured. So here we go!!

NYC: Lisa and Kristin or their engagement shoot

Dumbo: Navin and Navin

(more…)

NY State Senate passed gay marriage!! We can’t wait for all the real weddings and happy couples’ stories to be featured on here!!

Are you watching the NY State Senate video live? Right now, over 17,000 people are! Tonight, hopefully, gay marriage will be passed.

http://www.nysenate.gov/live