This year, my husband Terry and I will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. And, can I just say that it’s flown by in the blink of an eye?! It truly does feel like our wedding day was just yesterday. But, it got me thinking about what makes our marriage work. Interestingly, each issue of Real Weddings Magazine, we celebrate a couple who have been married for a number of years, and we ask them what advice they’d give to a couple getting married today (this issue we feature Shannon Cosgrove-Rivas and Jim Rivas—and you will love what they have to say. Turn to page 194 to check it out for yourself). What would Terry and I say if we were asked that question? Love each other. Check. Lust after each other. Check. (Sorry kids.) But what else? Well, the answer may seem quite simple and perhaps a little obvious, especially in this day and age of social media, but like each other. Yeah, like each other. Over the past 12 years (well, longer if you consider dating years), I think Terry and I have realized that we really do like each other…a lot—we like spending time together, we like each others’ personalities and senses of humor…we just really like each other as a whole (OK, I don’t like how he squeezes the toothpaste, but we tackled that issue long ago—his and hers tubes of toothpaste). Now that you’ve found the one you love and lust—and really like—let’s get started on planning your perfect day!
What’s in store for you in this issue of Real Weddings Magazine? You could call this issue the “décor” issue! We have three décor features. First up…“Home Field Advantage,” where we have an all-star lineup for a baseball-themed décor inspiration story. This design team hit it out of the park on this photo shoot, and we’re pretty sure you’ll agree that it’s a home run (I’m sorry, I simply couldn’t resist the baseball puns!)!
Next up? Do you love Colin Cowie? Yeah, so do we. Last year, we got to spend time with the incomparable wedding and event designer extraordinaire when he previewed his Colin Cowie Wedding Collection for the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels. Here, we finally get to present the collection to you, so that you can have a little love affair a la Colin Cowie too!
And, we’re still not done with the décor…we’re excited to present the vignettes from the recent couture bridal event, Lavish & Fabulous. Talented wedding professionals from throughout the Sacramento region teamed up to present some pretty amazing themed vignettes. Check them out starting on page 89, and then be sure to go to our Web site and see even more photos from each vignette.
Ready for some dazzling dresses? Well, let’s let the virtual fashion show begin with our “Drama Queens” cover model finalist feature. As always, we picked three spectacular real brides from the hundreds who entered our cover model contest to serve as our fashion models. This past March, these gorgeous girls—Becky, Stephanie and Angel—were our drama queens (in the good way!) when we ran them ragged through the front- and back-of-the-house at Three Stages at Folsom Lake College, Harris Center for the Arts. They were such good sports to model more than 45 bridal gowns throughout the day, all while the wonderful Charleton, along with Ariel and Joe, from Charleton Churchill Photography, snapped away. Turn to page 49 to see this dramatic feature (and don’t forget to download our digital edition to see even more photos from this amazing photo shoot!).
And of course, we wouldn’t be Real Weddings Magazine if we didn’t present you with some of the area’s best and most fun real weddings—we’ve selected 28 of them to inspire you to make your special day unique and all your own. Be sure to log on to our Web site for even more photos, tips and vendors from each of these real weddings.
As always, we absolutely love putting together this magazine for you, our gorgeous Real Weddings Brides. We love to hear that this magazine is one that you really use in planning your wedding—we love to hear that you cut out pictures that you love, utilize the lists we provide to put together your wedding dream team, and that you tune in to our Web site and social media sites for your daily dose of inspiration.
When you find your wedding vendors through Real Weddings Magazine (the magazine, blog, Web site, mobile app and our social media sites), be sure to tell them that you’re a Real Weddings Bride because without their support, we simply couldn’t do this magazine.
Happy planning!
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