Wedding Magazines, Blessing or Curse?
Well, as promised, here is my article on wedding magazines and how I feel about them.
One of the reasons that I felt the need to write an article like this was spurred by a popular wedding magazine that came across my desk back in the early nineties. Tucked neatly inside, under the heading of "wedding entertainment", was an article telling brides-to-be exactly how to go about interviewing and choosing a wedding entertainer.
The advice went on - your standard fare advice really - until I came across this statement: "If your DJ is still using vinyl, LOSE HIM!" Remember, this was around 1994. For those of you too young to remember, vinyl refers to a record, an LP - you know, what your grandparents listened to when they were kids!
Fast forward to a few months ago, and there it was again. The same article, almost word for word, this time stating that 'if your DJ is still using CDs, lose him!' I couldn't believe it. This is the type of advice that creates neurotic brides.
I can certainly understand the concern for choosing a DJ with professional equipment, we tell our potential clients that all pro DJs should be using road worthy, professional gear, but give me a break. With all the other criteria that a couple should be concerning themselves with when choosing a DJ, whether or not he uses CDs, MP3s or whatever latest and greatest format is out there, isn't one of them. As long as the music sounds great, is played through professional equipment that is pleasing to the eye and the ear and the DJ has the music you're looking for, you shouldn't worry about the format.
Following advice like this is liable to get you a disc jockey that has the latest gear on the market, is a whiz at manipulating music and mixes, can impress you with his technical knowledge but has zero personality or worse, can't entertain a crowd to save his or her life!
This is just one example of why I feel these magazines should be taken with a grain of salt. They re-hash, re-write and re-dispense the same information over and over -year after year, and why? To sell magazines, that's why. They make money when you buy a magazine, then purchase something from one of their advertisers who in turn increases his advertising budget with them - and the cycle continues.
These publications are fine for getting very basic guidance, finding ideas for flatware, cake designs and honeymoon hot spots. They also can't be beat for getting an idea of how colors will work when decorating your banquet hall or choosing your bridesmaid color scheme and what the latest trend is for tuxedos and dresses. After all, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. However, I'm confident that the person typing at his computer, trying to make a deadline with his next article, hasn't run one solitary wedding in his ife. Yet they dispense away.
Also, keep in mind that advertisers in these mags do not have to verify that they are a legitimate business. I once caught an advertiser commiting fraud in one of the most widely read wedding publications in Connecticut. I phoned the editor and spoke to her in person explaining the situation and informed her that I could prove my claim. She referred to this advertiser as her "Valued Client" and told me that there was nothing she could do and would continue to do business with him as long as his checks cleared. Touching, isn't it? Looking out for your best interests, aren't they? By the way this advertiser is no more! I took care of it.
Ask yourself this - if you had a couple thousand dollars to invest, would you take investment advice from the homeless guy downtown or the millionaire down the street who invests on a regular basis? I thought so.
Bonafide wedding professionals, like myself, work a wedding or two, (sometimes three), a week, 52 weeks a year. We've been in business since 1989. Do the math. That's a lot of weddings. That's experience and it's something you should consider when you pick up the magazine off the newsstand. You can get advice from anywhere, just consider the source. Do you want it from someone who lives it or simply writes about it? Futhermore, are the articles written by reputable wedding pros to begin with? Who knows?
If you haven't guessed, I have a bone to pick with the wedding mags. I feel that they push a bride's expectations up to unrealistic levels, show you things you cannot afford or should not afford (and make you want them), and as a result they help to destroy your budget and many times they take the fun out of planning a wedding by scaring you with information overload and woulda, shoulda coulda's.
By all means, buy the mag if you want to, flip through the pages and get some great ideas, but keep grounded, stay on budget and don't let flashy photography and slick advertising put you in the poor house. Most importantly, remember that there is no such thing as a perfect wedding, a perfect mate or a perfect life. It all takes work, committment and dedication and every once in a while something goes off track. Roll with it and enjoy the ride.
See you next month.
One of the reasons that I felt the need to write an article like this was spurred by a popular wedding magazine that came across my desk back in the early nineties. Tucked neatly inside, under the heading of "wedding entertainment", was an article telling brides-to-be exactly how to go about interviewing and choosing a wedding entertainer.
The advice went on - your standard fare advice really - until I came across this statement: "If your DJ is still using vinyl, LOSE HIM!" Remember, this was around 1994. For those of you too young to remember, vinyl refers to a record, an LP - you know, what your grandparents listened to when they were kids!
Fast forward to a few months ago, and there it was again. The same article, almost word for word, this time stating that 'if your DJ is still using CDs, lose him!' I couldn't believe it. This is the type of advice that creates neurotic brides.
I can certainly understand the concern for choosing a DJ with professional equipment, we tell our potential clients that all pro DJs should be using road worthy, professional gear, but give me a break. With all the other criteria that a couple should be concerning themselves with when choosing a DJ, whether or not he uses CDs, MP3s or whatever latest and greatest format is out there, isn't one of them. As long as the music sounds great, is played through professional equipment that is pleasing to the eye and the ear and the DJ has the music you're looking for, you shouldn't worry about the format.
Following advice like this is liable to get you a disc jockey that has the latest gear on the market, is a whiz at manipulating music and mixes, can impress you with his technical knowledge but has zero personality or worse, can't entertain a crowd to save his or her life!
This is just one example of why I feel these magazines should be taken with a grain of salt. They re-hash, re-write and re-dispense the same information over and over -year after year, and why? To sell magazines, that's why. They make money when you buy a magazine, then purchase something from one of their advertisers who in turn increases his advertising budget with them - and the cycle continues.
These publications are fine for getting very basic guidance, finding ideas for flatware, cake designs and honeymoon hot spots. They also can't be beat for getting an idea of how colors will work when decorating your banquet hall or choosing your bridesmaid color scheme and what the latest trend is for tuxedos and dresses. After all, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. However, I'm confident that the person typing at his computer, trying to make a deadline with his next article, hasn't run one solitary wedding in his ife. Yet they dispense away.
Also, keep in mind that advertisers in these mags do not have to verify that they are a legitimate business. I once caught an advertiser commiting fraud in one of the most widely read wedding publications in Connecticut. I phoned the editor and spoke to her in person explaining the situation and informed her that I could prove my claim. She referred to this advertiser as her "Valued Client" and told me that there was nothing she could do and would continue to do business with him as long as his checks cleared. Touching, isn't it? Looking out for your best interests, aren't they? By the way this advertiser is no more! I took care of it.
Ask yourself this - if you had a couple thousand dollars to invest, would you take investment advice from the homeless guy downtown or the millionaire down the street who invests on a regular basis? I thought so.
Bonafide wedding professionals, like myself, work a wedding or two, (sometimes three), a week, 52 weeks a year. We've been in business since 1989. Do the math. That's a lot of weddings. That's experience and it's something you should consider when you pick up the magazine off the newsstand. You can get advice from anywhere, just consider the source. Do you want it from someone who lives it or simply writes about it? Futhermore, are the articles written by reputable wedding pros to begin with? Who knows?
If you haven't guessed, I have a bone to pick with the wedding mags. I feel that they push a bride's expectations up to unrealistic levels, show you things you cannot afford or should not afford (and make you want them), and as a result they help to destroy your budget and many times they take the fun out of planning a wedding by scaring you with information overload and woulda, shoulda coulda's.
By all means, buy the mag if you want to, flip through the pages and get some great ideas, but keep grounded, stay on budget and don't let flashy photography and slick advertising put you in the poor house. Most importantly, remember that there is no such thing as a perfect wedding, a perfect mate or a perfect life. It all takes work, committment and dedication and every once in a while something goes off track. Roll with it and enjoy the ride.
See you next month.
posted by Ron A. Lamoreux, Jr. | 7:42 PM
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