We hear this response time and again from our featured real wedding couples when we ask the question, “What advice would you give to couples getting married today?” And we couldn’t agree more. Since we launched Real Weddings Magazine nearly seven years ago, we have wanted to present you with ideas and resources to make your day your day…and we’ve stayed true to that goal. We aren’t here to tell you what you have to do, but we’re here to give you ideas to help you figure out what you want to do. So go for it…rip out pages from the magazine, mark up the vendor lists, and get out the Sharpie and circle ideas that you like (really, it’s ok with us!). Let’s get your planning started, shall we?
What’s in store for you in this issue of Real Weddings Magazine? Remember we said we’re here to present ideas? Yeah, let’s count ’em up…1,501 ideas within the pages of this issue (Ok, we admit that we didn’t count every single idea, but we did a pretty good guesstimate and we know that there are a lot—and let’s face it: 1,501 sounded better than “a lot”). Be inspired by our “Eye Candy” color-themed vignettes with ideas for décor, paperie, accessories and more. We’re obsessed with the details and we think you will be too (see even more in our digital and mobile editions and on our blog!).
Weddings, weddings, and more weddings. We’re bursting at the seams with weddings…in this issue alone, we feature 38 of the area’s best. From DIY to over-the-top (in a good way) bling, and everything in-between, we’ve got you covered with amazing and awe-inspiring weddings. Begin your love-fest starting on page 108. Want even more? Then go to our website and tune in for our Real Weddings Wednesdays and Real Weddings Sundays for your wedding fix!
Did you know that we don’t use models in our magazine? It’s true. Since the very beginning, we wanted to give local-area brides the opportunity to be our fashion “models” in the photo shoots that we do. In this issue, we feature six beautiful real Sacramento-area brides—Ashley and Melissa star in our “What’s Your Bridal Style” feature; Vanessa stars in our “Marriage of Metal—Décor Inspiration Story”; and then there’s our cover model feature “Beautiful Works of Art” starring Skye, Anne and Karmen. We’re immensely honored that these gorgeous (and crazy nice!) young women let us poke and prod them, dress them up and make them up, and ultimately (hopefully) make them laugh at our all-day shoots. Ladies, our sincere thanks for being such great Real Weddings Magazine cover model contest finalists!
A huge, hearty thanks to all of the contributors who we partnered with on our photo shoots for this issue—we love you guys and cannot thank you enough for all of your creative energy and your incomparable talents!
On a side note, we were recently asked how the recent same-sex legislation would change our business, and the honest answer is, it won’t. Why? Because since day one, we have celebrated love and marriage in all of its forms and always will (in our very first issue, we featured a snapshot of newlyweds Lisa & Gretchen). In fact, we were the first magazine in the Sacramento area to feature a gay wedding—Christina & Valerie’s wedding appeared in our Winter/Spring 2008/2009 issue which debuted in November of 2008—and we’ve celebrated and featured several other same-sex weddings in the pages of our magazine and on our blog over the years and will continue to do so. We are not here to push any political agenda, we just love to celebrate love. Congrats to all of the couples celebrating their love in this day and age!
As always, we absolutely love putting together this magazine for you, our Real Weddings readers. When you find your wedding vendors through Real Weddings Magazine (the magazine, blog, website, mobile App and our social media sites), be sure to tell them that you’re a Real Weddings reader because without their support, we simply couldn’t do this magazine.
Happy planning!
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