Letter From the Editor
By Stephanie Avent
On the day after my birthday (May 31), two years ago, Mike proposed. We chose September 9 of the following year (2007) as the day we would be married. That left me with roughly 15 months to plan the wedding, a length of time that I later discovered to be average for an engagement in Maryland. It was then that one of the biggest projects I’ve ever embarked upon ensued.
It began innocently enough, with the purchase of a bridal magazine at the grocery store checkout, and my registering with a few online wedding Web sites that would periodically send helpful tips or check off lists that let me know we were planning successfully. I was a bride-to-be! According to my lists of things to do, I had to get hopping, so I jumped in with both feet.
The stacks of magazines grew and grew—I do have a fondness for them, after all. There were color palettes to choose, save-the-dates to write, a bridal party to establish, hotel rooms to block, dresses to find, fittings to attend, and a reception to plan. I filled a huge binder with torn magazine pages, computer printouts, business cards, and any other sources of inspiration I could find. Every night and weekend was spent searching the Internet; driving to and from venue spots, stores, and shops; and meeting with groups of people who would ultimately be responsible for the major components of our wedding. Bridal shops, DJs, bakeries, florists, photographers, party rentals—I learned the beat quickly. And there were so many choices to make: cake flavor, bouquet shape, dress style, bridal party gifts, favors, linen colors—the list was never-ending. I fell behind on my check off lists and panicked—our wedding, one of the most important days of my life, was going to end up in shambles!
But instead of giving up (this was
marriage, after all), I decided to buck up, to assemble those favors, and to move forward. Although I’ve heard tales of a period of rest that typically comes before the wedding, it never came for me. I planned until the very last day, making changes to seating charts, returning phone calls, packing for the honeymoon, and preparing the guest room. What was I going to wear to dinner when our families were here?!
In the end, everything was beautiful, quite near perfect. And what wasn’t perfect didn’t matter one iota. Although the wedding did take a lot of work and a lot of time to plan, my husband and I enjoyed creating that thing of beauty that was truly symbolic of who we were—and the end result was priceless. Looking back on it, I realized that there had been so much to learn along the way (wedding planning is not innate!), and that the articles and books I’d read, and the advice I’d heard from other people truly helped me through the experience of planning. When I became the managing editor of this new bridal magazine, I decided my mission would now be to help other couples to cherish their experience too, through the sharing of knowledge, advice, and personal stories. Once again, I am jumping in with both feet—kind of like you do in a marriage! And I’m sure my efforts will prove to be just as rewarding.
Enjoy!