letter from the
F
Editor
u l l d i s c lo s u r e : I ’ m n ot m a r r i e d. I’m not
engaged, nor am I close to being engaged. I’ve been to
(and participated in) my fair share of weddings, but I’ve
never planned one from scratch. Heck, I didn’t even have
a Pinterest account prior to landing this gig.
So, who am I to be running a wedding magazine?
First, I’m someone who’s fortunate enough to work with some
incredibly talented people — many of whom are married and can fill
in any blanks (Like that whole name change business? Yeesh.). When
we sat down to talk about a redesign this year, my partner-in-crime
a.k.a Rhode Island Monthly’s associate art director, Meaghan Susi,
was not only game, but eager. She spent hours upon hours devising
the perfect aesthetic to fit our publication’s new size and branding
(it’s true, we’re bigger and better than ever) and I cannot express
enough how much I adore the finished result. We also relied on the
astute fashion sense of our steadfast stylist, Courtney Coelho, as
well as the keen eye of photographer, Chris Vaccaro (for their work,
see feature on page 79). I also could not have gotten this magazine
out the door without guidance from our creative director, Doreen
Chisnell, nor without writing assists from Grace Kelly and John
Kiernan, two wordsmiths that took over when I couldn’t possibly
think of another way to say “backdrop” or “popped the question”.
Next, I’m someone with access to many knowledgeable wedding
industry professionals in the area. If you turn to page 23, you’ll see that
I chatted with everyone from makeup artists and bridal boutiques to
caterers and honeymoon planners about everything from trends to
common mistakes. If there ever was something that I was unsure of
pertaining to wedding planning before, I’m pretty confident that I know
it now thanks to these ladies and gents, and I think you will too after
checking out the article.
12 | RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY'S ENGAGED 2018
I’m also someone who not only grew up in Rhode Island, but who
works for a business called Rhode Island Monthly, so I’m pretty
familiar with all of the area's quirks and nooks. It’s what influenced
my desire to include an A to Z guide to local venues (page 37) and
a step-by-step guide to throwing a wicked Rhode Island wedding
(page 79). The former proves just how multifaceted our tiny state’s
landscape and character is, while the latter showcases how couples
can impress out-of-town-guests with a matrimony that doubles as an
ode to Little Rhody. They’re two-must reads for anyone planning to
tie the knot in the Ocean State.
And most important of all, I’m someone who loves love. I’ll gladly look
through hundreds of engagement photos or spend hours with new-
lyweds going over every last detail of their big day. All glitz and glam-
our aside, there’s nothing more heartwarming than hearing someone
say that they knew they had found ‘the one’ on day one of meeting
them, or that their wedding was truly the best day of their lives. That’s
why we’ve decided to feature ev en more inspirational happily ever af-
ters with five real engagements and twenty real weddings.
So, while I’m not planning a real wedding anytime soon, I wouldn’t
exactly call myself unprepared. In fact, our 2018 issue of Engaged
seems to have everything I’d need to get from RIng to marRIage.
xoxo,
Kaitlyn Murray, Associate Editor of Engaged
[email protected]
Or catch me on engagedri.com!