The top five reasons why our 2015 edition is plain awesome.
By Jennifer Steffy Swanson
January means New Year’s resolutions, promises to do more gym and less sugar and, in the land of Rhode Island Monthly, a new edition of Engaged magazine. Sure, maybe we’re a little biased, but we think the 2015 edition is spectacular, maybe even our best to date. What makes it so amazing, you ask? As the editor, saying “EVERYTHING!” doesn’t fly. So, forced to narrow it down, here’s my list of the top five awesome things about the (100 percent fabulous) 2015 issue of Engaged:
- The ten pages of winter wedding fashion and inspiration.
If you know me, you know I hate winter — with all of my sweet, kind heart — mostly because I am almost always cold. I’ve been known to run a space heater under my desk in mid-July (true story), so the winter — or, more accurately, December through March when the average low temperature is in the twenties — has never been my cup of tea. Until, that is, we started pulling together our winter wedding looks for this edition.
My. Oh. My.
I still don’t like the cold, but these looks, which so perfectly capture what is beautiful about this frigid time of year, have given me a new appreciation for this season. Anything that’s striking enough to make me think differently about winter has got to be incredible.
- The fifteen other spreads (that’s thirty pages) of seasonally inspired wedding fashions, flowers, invitations, welcome bag ideas and cakes.
Not only are they pretty, these pages are uber helpful. We rounded up everything you see — from the gowns to the accessories to the welcome bag fillers — from local shops and artisans, which means you don’t have to go to Beantown or the Big Apple to build a beautiful wedding. See? Little Rhody rocks (and you’re cool, too, southeastern Massachusetts).
- There are seventeen real Rhode Island weddings to ogle.
That’s right — seventeen (including Amanda’s, one of our former “Aisle Say” bloggers). That’s the largest number of real weddings we’ve featured in an issue of Engaged. What’s so great about showing you local weddings? Inspiration, my friends. Whether you’re on a tight budget or you’ve been saving your whole life for this one day, perusing real weddings —not fake, styled photography sessions that, while beautiful, aren’t financially realistic or have been shot in a studio somewhere that doesn’t host weddings — can help you see what your actual options are.
- The engagement ring featured on page 73.
I simply cannot stop staring at it. I’ve had dreams about this ring since the photo shoot. *Sigh….
- The last page.
It’s always fun to check in on a couple whose wedding we featured in an earlier edition (plus, this couple is extra special because they’re part of the Rhode Island Monthly family). Seeing a couple a year after the big day is a great reminder that your wedding, as fabulous and beautiful as you envision it, is just a day. It’s the marriage and all the stuff that comes after the best day of your life that makes it worthwhile.
Engaged 2015 hits newsstands mid-January. Happy planning, and let us know your favorite parts.