Her Cincinnati: The Wedding Issue

There’s a frequently used saying that presupposes “every little girl dreams of her wedding day,” like we all just sit around in rompers tying sheets to our heads like pretend veils with giant Ring Pops on our left hands — a stereotype which I’d like to argue may or may not be true.

Sure, at some point in my life I’ve thought about my imagined wedding day — I really, really like browsing wedding dresses online and there aren’t too many practical places to wear a long, white gown other than to one’s own wedding — but dream? Not so much, unless you consider my personal nightmare of being stared at by a large group of people while walking slowly down a long stretch of carpet a “dream.”

But regardless of whether or not I’ve thought about my wedding plans, I love looking at other people’s weddings. Rustic barn weddings, blinged-out affairs, Pinterest bridal boards, the entirety of Martha Stewart Weddings, inspirational photos on theknot.com, Wedding Sunday on WE — I love it all. At one point in my life, I even wanted to be a wedding a planner (which was a decision I made after watching J.Lo’s The Wedding Planner … whatever, that movie is hilarious). So putting together this wedding issue has been incredibly fun.

And, ironically, I actually ended up getting engaged while working on the thing, so suddenly editing a story on gorgeous cakes and desserts went from being really pretty, gratuitous sugar porn to being incredibly relevant. In fact, I hope this entire issue ends up being relevant to all Her readers — brides-to-be or not.

For all my brideys out there, we have some practical pieces this month including a feature on how to plan your event on a budget, a Her Reads collection of our favorite bridal inspiration books and advice from Her Palate columnist/chef/caterer Ilene Ross on how to pick the perfect caterer. And then we have the pretty, too: the aforementioned cake photo spread; a fashion shoot with one of our favorite coworkers and future bride, Brandi (we spent a day with her, her mom and bridesmaids trying on dresses and pampering her with the full model treatment); and photos of unique bridal bouquets.

And then for everyone, we’ve got some great patterned trend pieces in Her Favorites; a super sweet, super simple cocktail recipe using just champagne and cotton candy concocted by award-winning mixologist Molly Wellmann for Her Happy Hour; and a review of new OTR Japanese/sushi joint, Kaze. 

So while I get used to wearing a piece of jewelry on my hand everyday and try to convince my fiancé that an Indian buffet at a reception is a genius idea, you guys read this issue. (And those of you who have recently gotten married in the 513/859, send some tips and tricks my way!)

— Maija Zummo, Editor in Chief