Welcome to our second annual weddings issue. Working on this edition always makes me nostalgic for my own wedding, which was 20 years ago. I like to see how weddings evolve. Every new trend makes me wonder how different my celebration might have looked. Truth be told, I’m always a little envious of those beautifully edited wedding recap videos people post on social media. They are the ones that look sleek, complete with music and perfect lighting. When I got married, wedding videography wasn’t quite that cinematic. My video was an afterthought that was filmed by a friend of the photographer as a favor. When my film school graduate cousin watched it she commented, “Um, I could have done better than that.” She wasn’t wrong.
Years later, while scrolling through Facebook, I stumbled upon my high school friend Shafeena Premji’s wedding video. Reader, she really raised the bar. Her recap played like a Hollywood movie trailer. (It helps when the bride and groom look like film stars.)
I forgot about it until our Editorial Team was discussing our upcoming wedding issues. My managing editor mentioned influencer Shelby Stahl’s new company, Dearly Beloved Social. She is one of those brilliant minds behind these short, swoon-worthy wedding videos that go viral online. The unique twist is that she only films for social media, and couples can hire her in place of a videographer or to work alongside one.
My absolute favorite part of last year’s inaugural weddings issue was that we got the opportunity to bring you the beautiful story of a local bride and groom. You adored it so much that we decided to bring you two weddings this year. Each with their own story and style. And we share advice on how not to go overboard on one aspect of your registry—the place settings. We chat with Heather Fox of Foxwell on how to find the ideal set of plates that can go from casual to formal.
Whether you are planning your big day, or if you just love a good happily-ever-after, we hope our weddings issue brings you joy.
