I know… it’s been ages since my last Diary installment but I’ve been really busy - honest! Firstly there was my assignment as official WOL reporter at Molly & Alan’s wedding in March. She looked like a princess as she wafted up the aisle in a stupendous gold Bridgette Moore dress and everything was just perfect…..
Secondly, there’s a new man in my life - no, I haven’t replaced Russell but I am a very very proud auntie to Ethan who weighed in at 7lbs 13oz on the 4th of March. He is just adorable (takes after me!) & photos of him fly between my PC & my little sis in Sydney on an almost weekly basis. Then, I was all set to sit down & write my diary two week ago but somebody crashed into my car! No damage to me but the car took a bit of a knock… I should have it back next week better than ever.

Not a huge amount happening on the organizing scene in the past few weeks but there is something lurking in the corner of the diary room (our box room!) which I would love to talk about… wedding magazines. I am planning to break the record for the highest number of weddings mags bought by one B2B and from the looks of it, I’m well on my way.

Firstly, you need storage for these & I can highly recommend Dunnes Stores - they have a seagrass basket for €12 which holds 30 magazines…. I counted them! Secondly, you need to be discerning in your choice of magazine. There are a whole load of various wedding magazines on the market from the US, the UK and Ireland.

I do absolutely love Martha Stewart Weddings (€6.75 in Easons)… it is aimed at those with an unlimited budget and a lot of time on their hands…. Anybody fancy making their own placecards in the shape of a chair with the guest name and table number printed in an artistic font???? Anybody???? I thought not!
To be fair though, there are loads of really different ideas like making & decorating your own wedding cake, favour suggestions and how to do a complete wedding “theme” using a flower or a picture as the catalyst. I’ll tell you something, US brides have an awful lot of organizing to do - bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, 10 bridesmaids…. I’d be a wreck (and broke!) if we had the same expectations here.

UK magazines are plentiful on the shelves & are all quite similar in their offerings but I do love You and Your Wedding… the real life wedding stories are great with loads of detail on vitally important things like flowers, cakes & favours!

Now for the homegrown offerings… up until this month, a trio of magazines supplied us Irish brides with all the important information but there’s a new kid on the block…. Confetti. It’s priced at €6 with 192 pages and was a very enjoyable read… but more on that later. Ireland’s Wedding Journal costs €6 with over 300 pages (of which at least ½ is advertising) and covers suppliers and weddings from across Ireland but with a distinct lean towards NI brides. It’s nicely laid out and easy to read with loads of competitions (which I haven’t won yet!!). IWJ also organise the Brides Fair in the Point each February which is well worth a visit, and have a website - www.weddingjournalonline.com (which is a bit like WOL but not as good because there’s no discussion board!!)

Next up is Irish Wedding and New Home costing you €4.95 with just under 200 pages - again loads of advertising but the ad directory at the back is a great help for sourcing suppliers… I’ll let you into a secret… when people ask for supplier details on WOL, I normally flick through the back of this magazine & the info they need is there! It’s a good magazine with lots of feature articles but there’s an awful lot of quite obvious PR pieces from cosmetic companies which are all quite pricey - €45 for a Laura Mercier candle! I wish the text was a little larger & laid out in a slightly clearer format because sometimes it’s like wading through small print on a contract!

Now I’ll move on to Irish Brides & Homes - the cheapest of all the magazines at just €4 and just over 150 pages - but there is a distinct difference between it and the others. It’s the least appetizing of all the Irish magazines and could seriously benefit from a revamp. It’s quite similar to Irish Wedding & New Homes as you start to read through it (same PR cosmetic pieces) but has some very good articles - there’s one on various types of bridal bouquets which was a great source of information and ideas. It also has a little “VIP-style” weddings section at the back of the magazine but it’s very crowded. I’d love to be able to see the details of the pictures & maybe read something about the wedding & the couple. To be fair to Irish Brides & New Homes, it does run the Irish Bridal Designer of the Year Competition and the winner’s designs were featured on this edition’s cover (huge round of applause to my cousin Ciara who won it - the dress in the cover is lovely).

Now I’m coming to Confetti, who appear to have done their research before bringing out the magazine. It’s very glossy with the Confetti logo in pink metallic print which certainly catches the eye. The model on the front looks normal (i.e. happy & smiling with a glass of bubbly in her hand!) and the cover contents are laid out very much like a glossy women’s magazine rather than just another bridal mag. Personally I thought it was a cross between You and Your Wedding, Food and Wine and Eve. They’ve published a bridal survey which made interesting reading and the usual PR advertising was laid out in a non-obvious way. I loved the real-life weddings - there were loads of completely different weddings to read about with great photos and a decent supplier list at the end of each article so you know where to look for the cake or the flowers.

My Verdict….. the winner is Confetti, joint second are Ireland’s Wedding Journal and Irish Wedding and New Home, and in fourth place, Irish Brides and Homes

While I’m here... I just want to send love & best wishes to my friends Lily & Peter, Anita & Tony, Aine & Phill, Natasha & Aidan, Sabena & Richard, Susan & Vincent and Julie & Eoin who will all be married by the time I write my next installment!

And finally… to Chris & Angela who are getting married on Saturday 28th June in Guernica. We’ll be there to share the day with them & I can’t wait to tell you all what a Spanish wedding is like

Laters!

Aoife