Alas, tips for wedding belles

Well, I'll be. Southern Living is launching an annual issue to cater to the needs of the Southern bride.

By MARY JANE PARK, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 22, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- With Bride's, Modern Bride, In Style Weddings and Martha Stewart Weddings beaming visions of tulle and lace from newsstand shelves, does the world need yet another magazine about weddings?

For the staff at Southern Living Weddings magazine, the answer is an emphatic yes.

The other publications are "not really focused on the South," said Brad Kachelhofer, editorial coordinator. "They don't really cater to the events" and other celebrations "that the Southern bride has access to."

In the South, "hospitality and entertaining are so intertwined," she said. "We cover the region in a different way than other magazines."

Loyal readers depend on SL for recipes and hints for giving parties such as teas, brunches and the occasional bridesmaids' luncheon. As a general-interest magazine, it also focuses on travel, gardening, home decor and design.

SL Weddings, with an initial printing of about 500,000 copies, is a yearly publication. Another is in the works for 2001, Kachelhofer said.

Like the other bridal magazines, it offers battle plans from dress selection to honeymoon planning and lists of caterers and consultants of every stripe.

"A lot of people are willing to "play wedding' with you," Kachelhofer said.

The magazine suggests incorporating tradition and heritage into contemporary celebrations. The weddings in the inaugural issue are those of "friends of friends" of people on the SL staff and friends of readers, representing numerous traditions.

"They reflect our audience," Kachelhofer said. "Different parts of Southern culture celebrate in different ways."

For the ambitious baker, there are detailed instructions for two dazzling tiered confections: a Dogwood Blossom Wedding Cake with a blackberry filling and a Pansy Wedding Cake decorated with crystallized pansies. A caterer in Virginia already has received a request for the dogwood cake, Kachelhofer said.

SL Weddings contains several grace notes, among them a quiet brunch the day after the wedding to honor the bride's parents. A post-honeymoon section offers ideas for decorating the newlyweds' home and organizing the kitchen, plus recipes for two.

Kachelhofer describes it as "sort of a crossing the threshold" section for the bride "who doesn't have her garlic press or drapes up yet."

Southern Living features a number of new houses in the Tampa Bay area but would like to hear about special wedding celebrations. Write to the magazine in care of P.O. Box 523, 2100 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35201. The magazine's Web site is http://www.southernliving.com.

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