Editor’s Letter

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DEAR BRIDES,

First and foremost, if you are a bride-to-be, congratulations on your engagement!

Summer is here! Although we can’t yet declare that we’re on the other side of the pandemic, I can say that weddings are back, and it is a very busy season. According to the Wedding Report, this year is expected to see roughly 2.5 million weddings. Our Bridal Suite Collective is comprised of wedding industry top-notch vendors, and just as the report suggests, they’re booked and busy.

Over the last two years, traditional wedding planning had to pivot. The cost of weddings has gone up, which includes everything from florals to the paper for your stationery and more. But don’t worry, you’ve got this! Whether it’s an intimate wedding party of 10 or an exuberant group of 300 guests, there is so much creativity and love that goes into wedding planning. Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life. You never want to look back 10 years from now and think, “I wish I had…” Remember, above all the pretty, a wedding is a commitment between two people. Planning your wedding celebration should be fun and memorable for all the right reasons, not stressful and demanding.

As we plan each issue, we’ve always taken who should grace our cover seriously. The women we feature should have depth and substance to them, with a regard for the culture. That’s why I’m delighted that tennis star Sloane Stephens, a force on and off the court, is our summer cover girl. Interviewed by Associate Editor Candice Davie, Sloane shares her love story and how she met her now-husband, former U.S. National Team forward Jozy Altidore who recently signed with Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution.

In this issue, we present to you the 2023 bridal fashion trends straight from the runways during New York Bridal Fashion Week in March. Be sure to check out the “Bridal Fashion Trend Report” curated by our Fashion Editor, Dara Adams. As you flip through the pages of this issue, we hope you are inspired by the real love stories we’ve curated and find inspiration to help you plan your dream wedding. We honor the amazing wedding and event vendors who help bring wedding visions to life, especially now in this season of change in the world.

Above all else, happy wedding planning! May this season and this issue bring you joy.

Mary Mary Chatman Editor-in-Chief CHECK OUT OUR EDITORS’ TOP PICKS FOR THE SEASON