Affiliate Program Policies and Disclosures
Items on Dress for the Wedding often will include pieces from affiliated retail partners. If you click through our site to make your purchase, you are helping to support Dress for the Wedding through your purchase, at no cost to you. Your support is greatly appreciated, and is what keeps this one-woman show of a site running. My readership is extremely important to me, and I thank you for the support!
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Dress for the Wedding is a personal blog edited by me, the owner of www.dressforthewedding.com, with all content and collages created by me except where otherwise noted. Images in collages that are from retail sources have been credited to those sources, and I have been permitted either directly or indirectly through the terms of my affiliate programs to use the images for the personal use in my blog. If you share an image, please credit it back to the post, to be in accordance with the terms of use.
Affiliate Policy. I presently use affiliate programs on Dress for the Wedding. An affiliate link means that I may receive a small percentage of a sale if an item I feature or share on social media or in a shop section results in a qualified sale with the retailer. This allows me to run this blog and choose advertisers and associations that are personally selected by me, that I feel are a good fit for my blog content. The affiliate programs I use have a significant pre-qualification process and only accept bloggers like me who have shown that they create relevant content related to the purpose of their blog and do not gratuitously publish links simply for the sake of earning commissions. I do not receive any money or fee up front from retailers for including their products, so for the most part I am not paid to feature any of the items I show. If a retail partner has compensated me to write about them, those posts will be marked as "sponsored" or "partnered" with a disclosure statement like: "Fabulous brand X has generously sponsored this post, but the enthusiasm and opinions within are all mine." I will never write about a product that I don't think is a fit for my readership, or that I do not personally find value in.
All of the products I display are handpicked and featured simply because I genuinely appreciate the aesthetic of the item(s) and feel they will be a fit for my intended readership, and will help support the goal of helping you find attire you love for your wedding or event. The credibility and appearance of this blog is extremely important to me and I will never feature an item that I have not personally selected, or express an opinion that is not my own. If you feel an image or source is improperly credited, please let me know and I will correct the reference or remove it.
Readers should know that the use of affiliate programs is a common practice among many blogs and websites and should be disclosed by the blogger. I have opted to add this disclosure by including a statement and page in my side navigation, and including a general statement in my page footer on each post page to engender an honest relationship with my readers.
My participation in these programs does not influence the content of Dress for the Wedding. I independently choose the items I will feature from both affiliate and non-affiliate sources and write my own impressions of the product without regard to a retailer's participation or non-participation in affiliate programs. I frequently feature items from which I stand to have no personal gain. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.
Why I Use Affiliate Programs. I have several reasons for electing to use an affiliate program instead of other advertising methods to support this site. Since my content is heavily based on product imagery, the affiliate agreements I've signed as a part of those programs grant me the right to use some of the product images I feature within many of my layouts. This arrangement allows me to place contextual advertising where I see fit and to choose the brands I want on the site, without relying on intrusive ads for brands that I do not support and would not be aligned with my readers' interests. I use these affiliate programs to help compensate for the operation of this site; for the time it takes to seek out items, style and create ready-to-wear outfit posts. My participation in these programs does not unduly influence the content of Dress for the Wedding. As stated above, I independently choose the items I will feature from both affiliate and non-affiliate sources and write my own impressions of the product without regard to a retailer's participation or non-participation in affiliate programs.
Affiliate Identification and Policies. Some affiliate links are identifiable by a URL but may not always be otherwise marked when presented within the content of the blog. Currently I attempt to more clearly identify affiliate links by writing them in italics and noting their presence in shop widgets. Prior to 2015, some affiliate links may not be italicized, but have been noted by they global disclosure in the sidebar. If you have any questions about the nature of any link, please contact me at editors (at) dressforthewedding.com. Purchasing an item through an affiliate link on my blog is greatly appreciated and it is a wonderful way to support me if you enjoy reading this blog or if I have assisted you in your dress search. However, if you would like to purchase an item without using the affiliate link provided, contact me and I will be happy to provide an non-affiliate method as well. It should be noted that an affiliate link does not mean any additional charge to you; the retailer alone pays the small fee. When I participate on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter, I may also pin or post images which may have affiliate links associated with them.
Sponsored Post Policy. Dress for the Wedding began as a hobby and not-for-profit effort that has now become a professional pursuit. Therefore, write-ups that featured designer spotlights or brand profiles that are not identified as a sponsored post did not have any direct sponsorship from the brands and products attached. During that time some posts containing collages and styled sets that did not previously have an affiliate link now make use of affiliate sponsored links. Please read above for disclosure about affiliate use.
I also accept a limited number of sponsored postings. I will and do occasionally accept some forms of paid advertising, sponsorship, sponsored giveaways, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation. Any post that has been sponsored, or item that has been gifted will be disclosed and marked as such with the words "sponsor" "sponsored" or "partnered" or "thanks to". In all cases-- before and after the inception of sponsored posts--brands are chosen because I feel the product or brand is worth highlighting and would be of interest to my readers. I believe in transparent communication with my readership, making this blog a reflection of my aesthetic, disclosure of compensation, and integrity. Therefore, each featured brand or product has to meet with my personal approval and be in keeping with the standards of this blog. Dress for the Wedding abides by the FTC guidelines for bloggers regarding disclosure, and fair use for imagery.
Dress for the Wedding is a Non-Transactional Site. There are no financial transactions actually handled by Dress for the Wedding, even in the shopping pages and posts. I do not have access to or store any data related to a transaction. When a reader clicks an affiliate link or a link in the "shop" sections of posts and pages, that reader is referred to a site out of this domain and is therefore subject to all terms and conditions of use for that retailer's website.
Personal Endorsement. Unless otherwise noted, I do not personally own nor have I personally inspected the items on this site for quality. Therefore, no warranty of quality or personal endorsement besides the visual appeal of the image I've shown is implied and this blog cannot be held liable for any purchase or defect. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question. Featured products are selected because they fit my aesthetic and style, because they are suitable attire for a wedding, and I feel the product would be of interest to my readership.
Thanks for your support of Dress for the Wedding!
Updated 4/18/2016
