Problem
Editorial trust and traffic were strong, but supplier discovery was not clearly connected to user intent.
CASE STUDY / ONE FAB DAY
One Fab Day: Turning editorial trust into supplier action
A case study in connecting editorial trust to curated supplier discovery, while protecting brand trust and improving commercial outcomes.
Decision
Connect editorial, supplier discovery and internal workflows into one clearer product system.
Outcome
Supplier outbound clicks increased 3x, partner renewals remained above 85%, and internal approval became roughly 50% faster.
The Core Challenge
One Fab Day combined high-traffic wedding editorial with a curated, invite-only supplier directory. Editorial content built audience trust, search visibility and repeat engagement. The supplier directory was the core commercial product.
The challenge was to connect these two parts of the platform more clearly, without weakening the editorial trust that made the brand valuable.
Editorial built trust. The directory created commercial value. The challenge was connecting them without making the experience feel transactional.
Evidence Used
This was not a single redesign or one-off research sprint. The work developed over time, shaped by how couples used the site, what suppliers needed, and where internal workflows were slowing things down.
- Outbound supplier clicks and navigation patterns
- Supplier renewal conversations and commercial feedback
- Editorial knowledge of what users valued and returned to
- Approval bottlenecks and profile-quality issues
- Content performance across evergreen editorial and real weddings
Observed Patterns
Planning Modes
Browsing and decisions happen in different modes at different times
Visual Trust
Trust in suppliers is visual before it is rational
Visible Value
Value for suppliers must be visible and attributable
DECISION 01
Reframe the directory as a curated product
The supplier directory was commercially important, but it risked feeling like a generic listings area. I reframed it as The Wedding Book - a curated destination rather than a database of suppliers - and gave it stronger visibility in the site structure.
Why it mattered
The commercial product would only work if users believed the supplier recommendations were curated, high-quality and consistent with the editorial brand.
DECISION 02
Bring supplier discovery into editorial moments
Many users formed preferences while reading real weddings and inspiration features, not while actively searching a directory. I introduced contextual supplier pathways inside editorial content so discovery could happen where intent was forming.
Why it mattered
Discovery should not depend only on search or navigation. If editorial was where trust and intent were forming, supplier pathways needed to exist there too.
DECISION 03
Make supplier browsing visual and comparable
Wedding supplier decisions are highly visual. I shifted browsing away from text-heavy listings and towards a more image-led, scannable structure with standardised supplier cards and clearer category pages.
Why it mattered
For this audience, visual confidence came before rational evaluation. The product needed to help users scan, compare and shortlist without making the experience feel cluttered.
DECISION 04
Clarify the primary supplier action
Supplier profiles had to build trust quickly and guide users towards a meaningful next step. I made Visit Website the dominant action, accepting fewer in-platform enquiries in exchange for a clearer user journey and cleaner supplier attribution.
Why it mattered
The best product decision was not to maximise every possible action. It was to prioritise the action that best aligned user intent, supplier value and commercial reporting.
DECISION 05
Fix the workflow behind the experience
The front-end experience could only stay curated if the internal workflow supported it. Supplier profiles, editorial links, sponsored features and renewals depended on accurate content, consistent images, clear approval states and reliable handoffs.
Why it mattered
A polished interface would not solve the problem on its own. The product needed workflow foundations so the team could maintain quality and commercial value at scale.
Results
The clearest impact showed up in supplier clicks, renewals and approval speed.
3x
Supplier outbound clicks
> 85%
Partner renewals year-on-year
~50%
Faster approval cycle
This work was about strengthening the link between audience intent and commercial value.
The supplier directory could not behave like a generic listings product. It had to feel curated, editorially consistent and commercially useful at the same time.
That required decisions across navigation, content structure, supplier presentation and internal workflows — improving the platform without weakening the trust that made it work.