Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Homogeneous Bride* have folded. And even Martha Stewart seems to be phoning it in lately. I mean... Fabric-inspired wedding cakes? Rly?
But, um, some of the wedding blogs have been kicking ass lately. Much as I have ranted about wedding photo shoots in the past, and much as I still believe that real wedding photos are better than the fakes, I have to admit there's a place for editorial when it's not advertorial.
This Once Wed feature inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz with photography by Charley Star, Event Design/Styling by Bash Eco Events, and Flowers + Event Design/Styling by Yes Please Design is truly magazine worthy. Or should I say more than magazine worthy?
(See more here and here and the inspiration board here.)
*Oop! My bad. That one is still going.
oh man i *know*. paige knows how to throw down some serious desert style.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right. Those mags have a hard time transitioning from paper to the web. The blogs are rad. They never knew any different so they cruise along and get better and better. Love them!
ReplyDeleteloved LOVED this feature too.
ReplyDeletebut you're right though. seems as though wedding blogs are the new mags. even though i still pick up every single wedding mag there is, cause i know a lot of brides aren't subscribed to every one. hopefully there are ideas i can highlight from them that they didn't get a chance to see.
The blogs are *better*. Period.
ReplyDelete(Provided they are taken in moderation. Like all good things.)
And Thank You So Much for not having a bloody word verification commenter thingummy. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteBridal Magazines were fun to look at when I was in a pre-engaged state of wedding obsession, but when it really came time to plan our wedding, they just aren't very helpful (unless you want to look at pictures of dresses and rings. But that's it).
ReplyDeleteBlogs on the other hand... daily updates? Real wedding galleries? Suggestions and advice from a community of real brides? And free? Blogs win.
I nearly choked when I read this. Not to say I didn't love the photo shoot, but are you sure it's really ESB posting here? I'm skeptical.
ReplyDeleteSkepticism aside, I'm big on pretty pictures set in the desert, so I'm on board with this, fake or not. Of course, I also watched The September Issue solely because I think elaborate photoshoots are the most fun/expensive thing ever. So I'm biased.
I think it's easier to have this perspective once you've worked through the rage and you've firmly decided on the wedding you want, blogs be damned. Because I agree that Paige's work is beautiful in its own right an deserves a showcase. It was gorgeous concept, execution, and editorial (or whatever we want to call it, since Bash Eco is an event design company, so it was advertising too.) But yeah, I have enough distance to be okay with the pretty again. However, those first few months on the blogs were AGONY, and stuff like this, even just the epehmeral hints at weddingy inspiration, would have sent me into spasms of wantwantwant overload.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I would have survived the planning & execution of our wedding without the wedding blog world. Something you get from the blogs you don't get from the mags is community, conversation and a bit of therapy!
ReplyDeletebig love for the desert and to you for posting this xo
ReplyDeleteA Los Angeles Love touched on some truth: Some photoshoots are advertising. Now, it's true that some vendors truly want to give couples some ideas but in the end photoshoots are a very savvy way to promote your work - another example of how blogs are trumping magazines. Blogs are getting content without having to spend a dime on it. That's seriously smart.
ReplyDeleteI don't know...I still feel like when I see a fake wedding photo shoot it rings SO false to me and makes me nauseous. It seems void of the personality of a couple that makes a wedding a really special event. It's the same feeling I get when I look at a photo of a model in a wedding gown...pretty, yes, but inspiring? meh. I would much rather see inspiration from a real couple (and not even a wedding planner) than from a totally made up photo shoot with an unlimited budget for ONE table decoration.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like when you disagree with yourself.
ReplyDeleteI think it's true, blogs are overtaking magazines, and the question becomes, is that a good thing? I think the content is inarguably better, but at times the ploy becomes the same - buy this and you'll feel better about yourself. Why? The economics of the thing - that's the easy way out. And that is where it becomes a problem. But an interesting problem.
As long as books don't go away, I'm fine. And really GOOD magazines (we've lost a few of late).
well well, i'm officially honored that you would post this. for all of your readers: just so ya know, we get paid by Once Wed to design/style these photo shoots for inspiration. It is not just for advertising. We were approached by Emily herself and hope we inspire brides to find their own wedding planning voice through our ideas. Thanks ESB!
ReplyDeleteI probably wldnt head to the news stands if the boy ever proposed. (wedding) Blogs > Mags
ReplyDeletei saw that shoot too, and it didn't piss me off- mostly because of that kick ass ring. id love to track that thing down
ReplyDeleteHa! Didn't even notice anything strange about "Homogeneous Bride" on first reading!
ReplyDeletestrange, i was just talking about this with my boyfriend the other night -- especially with the new i-pad that will supposedly "save magazines".
ReplyDeletei had never read wedding blogs or wedding mags before getting engaged, and then as soon as i had a ring on my finger, a coworker gave me a bunch of her magazines: modern bride, the knot weddings and some other crap. i read them all and felt anxious as opposed to excited. then i found your blog and i felt better. :) but yeah, in general, i found most wedding blogs good for providing inspiration and not telling me what i have to do. i hate that.
ReplyDeleteSad right? I love wedding blogs more than mags, which kind of goes against my pledge to read the printed word.
ReplyDeletewedding magazines don't count as the printed word anyway.
ReplyDelete@esb
ReplyDeleteHa.
Though, I just read their sum up of the O'Keeffe/ Stieglitz relationship, and honestly? It sort of pissed me off. It's this rosy eyed look at marriage. What about all the nudes Stieglitz shot when they first became lovers before he left his wife? What about the fact that they had a complicated relationship and O'Keeffe lived/visited the Southwest by herself? I mean, that's the stuff that makes their relationship fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIt's like describing Edna St. Vincent Millay as a happily married poet... and leaving out the bisexual, polyamorous, drug addict, BRILLIANT poet stuff.
Rant finished.
I looked at ONE wedding magazine and it was scurry. I am not sure I wouldve made it had it not been for the blogs.
ReplyDeleteMeg. I too find complicated relationships fascinating. adultery, solitude, obsessions, philosophical journeys, blurred boundaries, depressions. However, most wedding blogs/mags don't wanna show the darker side of human relationships when trying to inspire wedding decor. It makes the optimistic bride have a panic attack. Surely you can understand why it is painted in the best light possible. OnceWed is that kind of blog. We struggled with the same issue with the John and Yoko story and will probably encounter it again given our tendency towards non-traditional couples.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's true! Wedding blogs have to be the best alternative for wedding mags. Its cool!
ReplyDelete"Hmmm...let's see what ESB is up to tonight (it's already tonight in India)....oh, what's this old thingy on Georgia O'Keeffenator...oh! Desert wedding! Oh, DESERT, in GENERAL!"
ReplyDeleteaka HOW WAS THAT PART OF THE TRIP?
plz. advise.
xo,
your adorving bigBANG