Another wedding magazine bites the dust

As a magazine junkie, I remember the thrill of hitting up the newsstand after I got engaged -- with the intention of buying and poring through every wedding magazine on the rack.

But since the downsizing of the mainstream media, which kicked into high gear in 2008, future brides have far fewer wedding titles to gobble up.

It was just announced that InStyle Weddings, owned by Time Inc., will stop publishing after its next issue -- which hits stands Dec. 25. This, after Condé Nast Publications shuttered Elegant Bride and Modern Bride earlier this year.

As print bridal publications decline, online bridal sites like Condé Nast's Brides.com and TheKnot.com seem to be going strong.

But giddy gals with shiny new diamonds have long used the lush photos of weddings, dresses and cakes in bridal magazines as a jumping-off point for their big day. Does printing out a picture of a cake on a website inspire the same measure of excitement as ripping out an image from a beautiful glossy mag like Martha Stewart Weddings?

Let us know your thoughts, brides-to-be. Where are you getting your ideas for your big day?

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: InStyle Weddings cover courtesy of Time Inc.

Comments

[Happy Bride]

I am so glad that these wedding magazines are going out of business. I hope that the online sites are forced to slim down, as well. I had a wonderful wedding last April, and I started by checking out magazines and sites like this. I realized quickly that they were really about materialism and making young couples pay for weddings they can't afford, by buying stuff that nobody really cares about. We ended up planning most of our wedding using our own creativity, and focusing on a celebration of our relationship and our families, not a celebration of stuff.

[Sabrina]

When I got married in 1980, there were only two bridal magazines, Brides and Modern Bride. Now there are a gazillion of 'em. How many doggone magazines in that genre do you need? To me the magazines should be like husbands...you only need ONE!

[Raffi]

I'll tell you this much, grooms to be must be celebrating. These magazines are what drive the ridiculous excess and waste of the stereotypical wedding that they celebrate. The world would be a much better place if every single bride magazine folded.

[Allison]

I'd have to politely disagree with the above post that bashes bridal magazines for being materialistic; for many readers, the appeal to these publications lies largely in their do-it-yourself attitude. There are plenty of articles and features that are based soley on cutting costs, being creative on a budget and making the memory of your special day last forever. I'll concede that some petty, stuffy cultural rituals of matrimony are still present in a few pages of bridal magazines. However, bridal magazines have always provided an invaluable service for brides to be; though you only "checked out" these materialistic publications, I have little doubt that they provided some level of guidance (maybe it was subliminal) for the decisions that you made after.

[wedding industry advertiser]

As a professional vendor in the industry for over 15 years, I can see where some readers feel these publications promote over-spending. However, speaking for my business (and for the most part) many industry vendors that are priced fairly, you have consider what is is we actually provide -- with many vendors having honed their very specialized knowledge about wedding services after decades of experience with all kinds of weddings, who work 60-80+ hours a week dedicated to making each and every one of their clients' events "perfect," and especially the ones that consistently deliver exceptional services to their clients on a "no second takes day" every weekend of the year, year after year --- I have to agree more with Allison. At best the wedding magazines and sites, and the Knot is the biggest offender of all, give mixed and conflicting information to brides. As an advertiser, the DIY message that gets sent in bad economic times is not necessarily a great thing to promote. Many brides regret not going with a professional they can afford, in whatever area, and often end up spending more in the long run than they thought they would save - having to "fix" things at the last minute or after the fact. Everyone can and should stay within their means, and there are reliable and talented vendors at every budget level. But it is a wedding - this isn't your annual holiday party - ostensibly you only do the wedding once. And even those who do it more than once, that doesn't make the second (or third, etc.) time around any less special. Of course there are lots of ways to save money and stay within your budget, but professionals are there for many good reasons. For even an average wedding, many of the DIY articles are very unrealistic and give the bride a false sense of security that everything will work out great (and that they won't have to worry? that is the biggest myth if you are in charge of EVERYTHING on your wedding day - how can you enjoy the moments of your wedding day if you are in effect defacto managing the event every second on your own?) Many of the magazines undermine the very advertisers that pay for their existence with these kinds of articles. Sorry folks, but your subscriptions don't keep magazines in print and/or online, it is our advertising dollars. When experienced vendors started seeing these magazines with these unrealistic/conflicting/confusing articles, we started pulling advertising. Just like brides have better ways of planning these days, we also have better ways to reach our customers too.