📷: Melissa Stimpson Photography
By Kaitlyn Murray
Full disclosure: I’m not married. I’m not engaged, nor am I close to being engaged. I’ve been to (and participated in) my fair share of weddings, but I’ve never planned one from scratch. Heck, I didn’t even have a Pinterest account prior to landing this gig.
So, who am I to be running a wedding magazine?
First, I’m someone who’s fortunate enough to work with some incredibly talented people — many of whom are married and can fill in any blanks (Like that whole name change business? Yeesh.). When we sat down to talk about a redesign this year, my partner-in-crime a.k.a Rhode Island Monthly’s associate art director, Meaghan Susi, was not only game, but eager. She spent hours upon hours devising the perfect aesthetic to fit our publication’s new size and branding (it’s true, we’re bigger and better than ever) and I cannot express enough how much I adore the finished result. We also relied on the astute fashion sense of our steadfast stylist, Courtney Coelho, as well as the keen eye of photographer, Chris Vaccaro (for their work, see feature on page 79). I also could not have gotten this magazine out the door without guidance from our creative director, Doreen Chisnell, nor without writing assists from Grace Kelly and John Kiernan, two wordsmiths that took over when I couldn’t possibly think of another way to say “backdrop” or “popped the question”.
Next, I’m someone with access to many knowledgeable wedding industry professionals in the area. If you turn to page 23, you’ll see that I chatted with everyone from makeup artists and bridal boutiques to caterers and honeymoon planners about everything from trends to common mistakes. If there ever was something that I was unsure of pertaining to wedding planning before, I’m pretty confident that I know it now thanks to these ladies and gents, and I think you will too after checking out the article.
I’m also someone who not only grew up in Rhode Island, but who works for a business called Rhode Island Monthly, so I’m pretty familiar with all of the area’s quirks and nooks. It’s what influenced my desire to include an A to Z guide to local venues (page 37) and a step-by-step guide to throwing a wicked Rhode Island wedding (page 79). The former proves just how multifaceted our tiny state’s landscape and character is, while the latter showcases how couples can impress out-of-town-guests with a matrimony that doubles as an ode to Little Rhody. They’re two-must reads for anyone planning to tie the knot in the Ocean State.
And most important of all, I’m someone who loves love. I’ll gladly look through hundreds of engagement photos or spend hours with newlyweds going over every last detail of their big day. All glitz and glamour aside, there’s nothing more heartwarming than hearing someone say that they knew they had found ‘the one’ on day one of meeting them, or that their wedding was truly the best day of their lives. That’s why we’ve decided to feature even more inspirational happily ever afters with five real engagements (page 17) and twenty real weddings (page 93).
So, while I’m not planning a real wedding anytime soon, I wouldn’t exactly call myself unprepared. In fact, our 2018 issue of Engaged seems to have everything I’d need to get from RIng to marRIage.
xoxo,
Kait
Associate Editor of Engaged
kmurray@rimonthly.com