Be Your Own Best Editor -- Vera Wang

Martha Stewart Weddings Fall issue just hit stands and the issue celebrates iconic wedding gown designers -- Reem Acra, Amsale, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang among them.

During the photo shoot they filmed interviews with some of the designers who shared their advice for brides still shopping for their wedding dress.  Here's what they had to say:

The Difference Between an Ad and Editorial

Do you know the difference between an advertisement and an editorial story?

Sometimes ads are as clear as day but other times it can be confusing, especially when it resembles other stories in a magazine, website content or blog post.

Magazines will usually (because they have to) put  the word "Advertisement" or "Advertorial" or "Sponsored" at the top of the page when the ad looks like an editorial story, but it's not that clear on some websites.

For example, a Dedicated Email fro Daily Candy is an email paid for by an advertiser.  A *sp may mean sponsored in a Facebook posting or Twitter tweet.  And in fact a number of sites charge people to be part of their vendor directories - even though they may be screened, they're still paying to be part of the listing.

The reasons I'm sharing this is because I'm annoyed that not every site makes this clear.

It's important as a consumer that you are aware what's editorial - there because an editor really believes in or likes a product/service - and what is paid editorial aka an advertisement.

Nothing happened specifically that made me want to write this post.  I just thought it was important after hearing the confusion for the umpteenth time today.

And for full disclosure purposes, I don't accept advertisements on this blog because I don't want there to be any appearance of impropriety at this site or at my day job as a wedding editor.

So it begins...

After calling mom, dad and everyone else you know, a mass e-mail to friends is fine, it's time to think about what your wedding will look like. Pick up a bunch of magazines at the newsstand - don't be surprised if your friends get you some - and read them cover-to-cover for inspiration.

Rip out every page you like, whether it's an ad or editorial, and remember that you can like anything on the page - a shoe, a flower, the wallpaper - anything can inspire you.

Since you'll be sticking to a budget, or at least trying to, subscribe to your two or three favorite magazines and pick up random issues over the course of your engagement. Get at least one local magazine (D Weddings, Vermont Vows, Charleston Weddings) and one national issue (Brides, Modern Bride, Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Bride, InStyle Weddings, Town & Country.) Save the pages you like in your planner and refer to them when working with vendors.

You can subscribe to magazines at amazon.com.