Do you want to win a $3500 wedding OR portrait package give away?  As promised, I’ve got some awesome tips from our 2012 runner-up to help you win this year’s free wedding contest.  Perhaps you remember Jessica and Andrew from their adventurous and unique paint themed engagement session.  While they didn’t come in first, there was a fierce battle between them and Jennie/Will.  I managed to convince Jess to pass along some of her trade secrets so we could all benefit this upcoming contest.  Without further adieu, here they are.

What was your favorite part of the contest?

My favorite part of the contest was actually seeing my friends get riled up about a common goal and coming out of the woodwork to support Andrew and me! With a long engagement it’s always fun to have some event mid-way through.

What was the biggest challenge?

It was of course during the busiest time of our year – recruiting and interview season (Jess helped recruit grad students at her former school) which are all-day events so we had to get creative about voting every hour!

What was your strategy for getting people to vote for you?

By the end I had people in a chat group that I asked my friends to opt into– if they said yes, I’d send them reminders every hour! Usually people are willing, but they just forget!

Keep reading below!

Is there anything you would change in your strategy?

I would have set up shop with friends who were studying in a computer lounge and voted as study breaks!

How did you keep friends, family, and acquaintances committed for the duration of the contest?

Honestly we made it into a fun joke of “beating Jennie” which made it kind of fun and competitive (Jennie, I haven’t met you, but I’m sure you are awesome– it was the competition talking!). Luckily a lot of my network is already on Facebook.

Do you have any words of wisdom for this years entrants?

Find ways to automate reminders to people! My phone allows scheduled texts…. And although the prize is HUGE (and who doesn’t want to be photographed by Evan), remember this is just a piece of one day. Keep sane. Keep sane.

There you have it.  Some awesome free wedding contest tips from last years runner-up for you.  Keep them in mind as we get closer to the first of December and the beginning of our adventurous free wedding contest!

Make sure to check back tomorrow or Sunday for the last installment of our free wedding contest tips from last years winners Jennie and William!