My not-so-secret addiction in life is bridal magazines! I love them, and can even entertain myself for an entire weekend scouring through the pages, taking notes on them! It's a sickness, I tell you, but I'm not looking to get healthy any time soon. There are so many amazing magazines and books out there, coming out monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. It may seem difficult to keep up with, but it's so worth it! I have many favorites, but one magazine I can always rely on giving me inspiration {no matter how old the issue is} is Ceremony magazine.
Amy Harrick is the brilliant visionary & founder of Ceremony magazine, and currently serves as the magazine's Editor-in-Chief. This annual southern California publication currently has three distributions {for San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties}, and includes the contributions of some of the most talented vendors throughout southern California {& beyond}. Vendors include: JL Designs, Ira Lippke Studios, Barnet Photography, Mary Dann Wedding & Party Coordinators, Picture Perfect Events, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, Hotel del Coronado, and more... Amy was kind enough to answer some of my questions! You can follow Ceremony magazine on Twitter!
What is your background?
Advertising. I graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Communications. I worked in ad agencies utilizing all aspects of the media before I went into television advertising sales at ABC and FOX. I feel this strong media background plays a huge part in the success of Ceremony, as the ultimate goal is to connect vendors and brides and give them a beautiful medium in which to communicate their visions and services.
What motivated you to start Ceremony? Why a magazine? Why weddings?
While working in TV on the East Coast, many of my girlfriends were planning weddings. Looking at their wedding magazines put a bug in me. Plus, my passion was in print. I traveled extensively throughout the country for my TV sales positions and would scour the magazine racks in every major city. I planned for three years and when I had everything in place, I quit my TV job and started the magazine in 2004.
What sets Ceremony apart from all the other bridal magazines out there?
Everything!!! The obvious difference is the entire look and quality of Ceremony Magazine. It’s a slightly smaller size that is more typical of a book. In fact, we have to use a book printer instead of a magazine printer in order to maintain quality. We use a fabulous special order paper and all of our covers have luxurious textures. Some of our 2009 issues have velvety brocade covers and brides are absolutely loving them!
Another difference is that we focus on mid to high-end brides and vendors. I know every magazine says they have the “top/best/finest/#1/etc. vendors,” but we really do pride ourselves on having Southern California’s most highly respected vendors as advertisers, as well as finding the “diamonds in the rough”… those vendors who may not have the status yet, but do a killer job and are the industry’s next hot up-and-comers.
Where do you look for inspiration for the magazine?
I read magazines all the time. I can find inspiration for design and layout in all magazines, from home, fashion, and lifestyle, to books and cookbooks. For content, I am very inspired by our advertisers. They are in the know! They are constantly meeting with the brides-to-be. Linen companies know the popular colors choices while florists know what the brides are choosing for the season. Their expertise helps us showcase what’s hot.
What is the future of Ceremony? What can we expect? Expansion?
CalforniaWeddingWave.com is our new wedding planning, bridal blogging, social surfing website that has the same class and style of Ceremony, but includes content for every budget. It has a lot of bells and whistles including featured Californian weddings, the best bridal vendors in So Cal, and a social connector for Cali brides. There is no other blogging site like this.
CaliforniaWeddingWave.com – it’s where social brides surf.
What do you love best about being the Editor-in-Chief of Ceremony? Definitely my relationships with the advertisers of Ceremony. I’ve developed so many personal friendships and know almost every advertiser. I love being able to help them grow their businesses to be more profitable.
If you could have your wedding all over again...
- Where would you have it?
An intimate wedding in Southern California overlooking the ocean.
- What would be your signature drink?
Chef Scotty from ChileCo Catering created this Kiwi Honeydew Extravaganza. I would rename the cocktail, “Honey I Dew.”
- What florals would you use?
Anything pink! They would definitely be paired with gorgeous girly linens.
What wedding trend do you foresee as making a wave for the end of 2009 or even 2010?
With the current economy, smaller more intimate guest lists are certainly the current trend. The sophisticated bride is not really willing to give up quality food and beautiful décor, so they are simply limiting the number of people who they share it with.
What wedding trend would you like to see return?
Let them eat cake! I know cupcakes are adorable but the cake is the iconic element that represents a wedding. There really are only three: bouquet, diamond ring and the cake! Those images continually grace our covers because they are so reminiscent of the wedding. Guests are sometimes disappointed if there isn’t a cake, especially the older and traditional generation.
What wedding tradition is your favorite?
All of the old Jewish traditions. Honestly I have never been to a Jewish wedding, but if I ever get invited, I am there! I have viewed photos of hundreds of Jewish weddings and often think how absolutely fun and family oriented many of the weddings must have been.
What wedding tradition do you feel can/should be broken or ignored?
The “money dance”!!!!!
A fabulous wedding cannot do without…
Beautiful things and beautiful people. And when I say beautiful people, I mean the kind-hearted type of beauty. Nothing makes a better wedding than being surrounded by people who truly love you and are happy for the special couple. That element can truly be seen in the wedding photos and make for the best memories!
Advice to brides, aside from picking up a copy of Ceremony.
Don’t skimp on photography. The digital camera and continual technology advances have introduced a wave of self-proclaimed “wedding photographers”. However, it takes a true pro who understands the intricacies of weddings to truly capture the beauty of the day and produce photos like the ones you see in Ceremony Magazine.
Such an awesome interview! I've always loved wedding related things too, even though I'm nowhere near ready to get married. Such gorgeous pictures, too.
Posted by: Natalie | July 03, 2009 at 09:35 PM