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Elegant Bride... Modern Bride... InStyle Weddings... isn't kind of shocking that they're all shutting down!
What's that leave... Martha Stewart Weddings and Bride?
Dang... that's astounding. I wonder if blogs and boards like WB are reducing the number of wedding mags that brides purchase...
Along those lines, a quick poll: how many wedding mags have you purchased in the past year or so?
I have to say, after I found WB, I stopped buying the magazines because they were nowhere near as helpful as what I found here!
Either way, I'm still somewhat shocked they are all shutting down.
Wow, I actually didn't know this info!
@Mr. Bee - I just saw that you actually do have old blog posts! But why is your bee here not wearing blue suspenders?
I knew about Elegent Bride and Modern Bride. But InStyle Weddings too? That makes me sad. That was the one magazine I bought even when I wasn't even thinking about getting married-it's more style focused than bride focused imho.
I think the bridal mags are all the same (minus Instyle). They all are basically catalogs of dresses. Things that we can find easier online. Plus they're expensive.
Instyle is another duck though. They were more over the top celebrity styled and I think that has really gone by the wayside lately.
Honestly, i haven't bought one other than the one Martha mag earlier this year.
I'm actually not surprised. A lot of magazines have shut down so why would the wedding industry mags be any different and I think the wedding mags are so behind the times. They are all the same and so focused on the dress ads. If the remaining wedding mags want to stick around, they need to think outside the box, like the blogs.
I got a postcard yesterday telling me that my subscription to Elegant Bride would be replaced by Brides.
Yes! And saddened. They were really helpful to me when planning my wedding, at first. And just fun to look at.
I have never purchased a bridal magazine! Granted, I've only been engaged since September... but I never had the urge, not even a little to buy a wedding mag. Weddingbee, The Knot and other wedding sites have given me more than enough info!
I can definitely see how sites like these could have decreased magazine sales... but IMO magazines need to find ways to compete with all of the great, free content available online!
Yeah, I'm sad they're out. I really loved reading them, they were always good to use for pulling out inspiration pictures. I love blogs, but mags are portable and easier to read than a iphone/netbook!
One. And no, ad sales are down with every magazine I would assume. It's probably much cheaper to run Web sites and I think with more women going to college, more women in the workforce, and less people getting married due to less social pressures, publishers were bound to stop priting bridal magazines. Also with the economy, haute retailers that advertise in most of those magazines are assuredly seeing sales slump, and might be directing most of the ads to much cheaper venues. The print world as we know it may not be here in 20 years.
I think magazines still have their place to some extent. For me, they were a great starting point.
@luli29 - My blog posts are mostly site updates, or posts I wrote b/c Bee was sick and asked me to chime in with an extra post. :-)
I never liked the blue suspender Bee... I asked Bee to make me a new icon so she did and I uploaded it to the boards! But we never replaced the main blog icon just b/c of laziness and since I don't really blog much anymore anyway...
Not surprised -- the blogs are such a great source of info. I did like the InStyle Weddings issue but that's because I just love that magazine.
InStyle too?!? I've never bought one bridal magazine but I think it's really crappy that all these publications are shutting down. A friend of mine used to work for a woman's athletic magazine until it was shut down.
... and don't get me started on Domino Mag. I'm still in mourning.
ahh...thanks for the info. I agree...your present Bee > suspenders Bee
@ Dancy- ME TOO re: Domino. They sent me Cookie to make up for my lost subscription (a cool parenting magazine, but I'm pretty far from parenting), then they cancelled that one too. I don't think I'm getting anything to replace that.
InStyle weddings is shutting down? That's a shame! I didn't realize that. I haven't *bought* any, but that's because I can read them all for free at work and jot down ideas.
Actually, now that I think about it, I feel bad about just jotting down ideas and not buying the magazine. Shoot. Now they're going out to business!
I have purchased maybe 1 wedding magazine in my entire life =) For me personally, if you weren't super-thin or super-rich there was nothing much in them that I could use. Plus, I am definitely an online shopper and I can't bookmark anything in a magazine without using...well an actual bookmark =) I have found the WWW to be much more efficient than magazines so I am not surprised that magazines are falling to the wayside.
It's kind of weird that I feel that magazines are inconvenient considering the fact that I LOVE to read. I refuse to get audio books or online books b/c there is just something about cozying up with a good book, flipping pages, etc. that I find comforting.
@Snow - Dude, they gave me Glamour... GLAMOUR! I don't read that stuff. Shouldn't they let you choose what you get instead? I called them to see if I could switch to another Conde Nasty (I hate that company) publication and they said "the servers are down" pshhh, yeah. Ok.
Domino was my favorite magazine EV-AR!. It was the only Mag I ever subscribed to so I'm just waiting for my 2yr subscription to expire. Have you ever been to designspongeonline.com? It's run by the editors of Domino... it's the next best thing.
I have a bunch of subscriptions but now I'll have two issues ofr Brides each month! It is sad but the magazines definately aren't as helpful as weddingbee has been.
Shocked? Not really? I had a Modern Bride subscription (it came free with a book), and once it ran out I had no plan on renewing it. MB was 85% dress and ring ads, and 15% content (that is being generous to the content %). With so many websites like WB, Style Me Pretty, Once Wed, 100 Layer Cake, and the list goes on...why bother with a magazine?
I bought 2 or 3 when I got engaged. Then discovered these sites, which made magazines sort of unnecessary. Websites and blogs are more customized, updated more often, have more info, and just win over magazines in every way for me personally.
It's interesting to follow the wedding magazine industry and the magazine industry in general to see what happens to them in the next few years. I was surprised by the launch of Get Married magazine recently when all these others are shutting down.
It seems pointless to buy a wedding magazine that will just keep recycling ideas I've seen before and be full of ads, when weddingbee and other blogs are so full of great inspiration from authentic brides.
But I am sad with the falling of print magazines in general, especially domino. That one was great.
I was so sad when BluePrint closed down. I never really purchased wedding mags (except for MSW so that it would look good in my bookcase)
But ya, mags are a luxury and not necessary with all the websites / blogs.
I mean, plus you have digital mags like UtterlyEngaged and AisleWalk (BC - Canada) so people tend to go more along that route.
Its sad, but Im not super shocked!
I really think the Internet has played a huge role in it. The Internet has hurt the magazine business as a whole, but with weddings specifically, there is so much more creativity online. I got a Brides magazine the other day and everything I saw in there that was supposed to be creative or thrifty, I learned about on wedding blogs long ago.
I got a Brides and MB subscription because they had 1 year of both for $10! I liked looking at the pictures and I enjoy looking at magazines in general. Not helpful for wedding planning at all though... *sigh* I'm surprised I didn't get a notice about this in the mail! I had no idea MB was done until i read it here! Explains why I've not gotten any magazines for a month...
Speaking of which, my fitness magazine sent me 3 issues and then stopped sending them to me altogether! How rude! Reminds me to call them and complain! (Especially since I paid for a 2 year subscription!)
nooo instyle magazine! i LOVED that one!! i was so sad when i read that today
Wow! I haven't heard about InStyle Weddings closing. That makes me sad. I travel a lot for work and I am in a LDR with my fiance. I always pick up a new bridal magazine at the airport for the plane ride. I think I am the only person buying bridal magazines!
@jamie trust me youre not the only one buying bridal magazines. My fiance would disagree with that one! I have a HUGE stack in my room. Its actually pretty embarrassing how many I bought, but I just love them!
It really doesn't surprise me at all. Considering that there is so much more valuable information online, especially at wedding communities. It strikes me as folks figuring out that consumers don't appreciate being ripped off as wedding magazines do with what is presented to them (99% dress ads, recycled info that isn't new, "articles" that aren't articles at all but are really $$$$ photo spreads, ideas that only someone of Donald Trump's salary could begin to afford and that aren't unique in the least. Interestingly, when browsing the magazine section at Borders or Barnes & Noble, you honestly wouldn't know that there were any missing with all the other wedding magazines available. I also thought Elegant Bride for example was one of the magazines that was discontinued but I was surprised to see a brand new issue at Target the other day, as though there was no discontinuation at all.
Edit: InStyle Weddings is gone too? That is truly a shame since it was one of the rare few wedding magazines, if not the only one, actually worth reading and had informative articles and unique ideas as opposed to what the mainstream magazines publish.
The wedding magazines suck. I once took an issue and tore out every single ad in it to see what would be left. The magazine was really thin after that and pretty pathetic looking. And there were plenty of pages that I had left in that magazine too because they had an article on one side and an ad on the other.
To be completely honest, I'm not really shocked or surprised. I find a lot more inspiration online... for free! Wedding blogs & wedding websites are killing the magazines- in a good way!! :)
I really don't understand why they're closing down... It can't be for financial reasons because these wedding magazines are ALL ads! There is about 10% helpful information and 90% ads! At least online the ads don't interfere with my reading.
Nope, not surprised AT ALL.
But don't forget Real Simple's wedding edition - I found it more helpful than any other mag, including Martha Stewart (shocking! I know....)
As a Comm major in college, I had to take a handful of media studies courses; one of the common elements in them was the fact that magazines are an invention of the past. Radio and magazines should be the next waves of media to die off. Radio has survived because of cars more than anything else, but as soon as wireless internet makes internet radio (or your iTunes) streamable in the car, kiss that old fashioned dial goodbye.
Magazines are too static; in a world where internet updates are available in an instant, and every individual level of usage is totally customizable to the customer, shiny pages become outdated too quickly, stories/spreads cannot stay 'current', and ideas are too common. Sites like WeddingBee are EXACTLY the reason magazines are dying out - it's a natural, inevitable occurance. Because WB is much better able to meet my wedding needs than any magazine on the market ever could - even Martha Stewart or Real Simple.
I didn't know those were closing down! If I haven't purchased issues, then I always check them out from the library. At least MSW and Bride will still be around--I like seeing real weddings in print. I have room in my heart for magazines AND the 'Bee!
And jamie, I always buy a bridal magazine at the airport, too! It's my way of treating myself before a long trip. : )
Not suprised at all. The entire publishing industry is hurting; magazines, newspapers, books. There's a lot of pressure to go digital, but the industry is having a hard time trying to make their print electronic without losing a major percentage of their revenue. (For example, they were really pushing Kindle for a while, but paying for a book on Kindle is five to fifteen dollars cheaper than buying a book, and people still complain about the "steep price!" So now they delay the release of e-books to milk as much out of the hardcopy crowd as they can)
It's a lose-lose situation. If they don't change, their readership drops and they may have to shut down. If they change, they still lose money. A lot of print media won't survive the switch. Such is the price of progress.
I expect (or at least, I hope!) that as these wedding magazines disappear, we'll see more e-zines like Utterly Engaged.
I bought two; Real Simple Weddings (SO HELPFUL) and the Knot magazine. Ehh, I wasn't totally impressed with the information I found in either of them. I thought about buying Brides last weekend at the grocery store, and then decided it was a waste of money since I already have a dress.
It's just so much easier to google what I'm looking for and see where the internet takes me!
Yeah I'm in publishing and the internet and the sheer amount of info and images available for free is really killing the industry and their ability to make money pretty much across the board. I mean, if the New York Times is in trouble, that should tell you something! I think also the recession and the upswing in DIY brides is making it hard for magazines that tend to advertise high-end, designer stuff.
I bought Real Simple Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings & InStyle Weddings. I'm bummed about InStyle! The others like Brides and Modern Bride just seemed like a waste of space to me.
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