Reach: 5.4 million

Background: Brides, Condé Nast’s one and only wedding magazine. While much has changed since the publication was launched in 1934 (the introduction of color photography, for one!), there are similarities between then and now, said executive editor Lauren Iannotti. “It was very fashion focused even then, and very service-y and advice focused,” she explained. These days, the magazine’s mission, in Iannotti’s words, “is to give the stylish bride everything she needs to know to plan her wedding, serve as inspiration, and [offer] a little bit of relationship and marriage advice.” And in the past couple of years, since editor-in-chief Keija Minor came on board (and with a bit of influence from artistic director Anna Wintour), Brides strives to elevate its emphasis on style.

“We really are putting the focus on fashion,” said Iannotti. “Now that fashion is so democratic in style, not just talking about the dress, but the details of the wedding, the décor and just the overall style of the wedding. Our readers across the country are more interested now in the cutting edge of what’s chic, and we are trying to give them a lot more of that.”

In terms of the magazine’s audience, Iannotti said editors want to reach all two million of the brides that get married each year in the United States: “Our target reader is the girl who’s getting married within the next year or year and a half. They often come right to us when they first get engaged. Our goal is to keep them around for a little longer and create sticky content that makes them want to keep coming back.”

Added Iannotti, the Brides reader “is not cookie cutter. She doesn’t want everything to be the same, but she certainly wants a nod to what’s classic. She doesn’t want to look at her wedding photos in 20 years and think, ‘What was I thinking?’ — all due respect to Man Repeller, et cetera, who we love. Our bride [wants] a lot of modern twists and influences, and personalization is a big thing for her.”

What to pitch: Iannotti admitted that most story ideas are generated in house by the magazine’s small staff, and then assigned to freelancers with whom editors have established relationships because they “deliver good work with great reporting and crisp writing.” But new writers are hardly turned away. “We’re always looking to add to that stable — new people who are proven or are hungry,” said Iannotti. Stringers in different regions of the country are especially helpful to contribute to roundups, such as the best photographers or best venues across the United States, she said.

Freelancers interested in contributing should pay special attention to the “Real Wedding” section. “We often hear about weddings from photographers. We are anxious to hear more from writers who are attending beautiful weddings and just think they would be perfect for us,” said Iannotti. And they should be diverse. “We’re looking for gay couples and we’re looking for couples of mixed race. We just want to make sure we’re just hitting what is going on in America,” added Iannotti.

Also open to freelancers is the “Beauty” section. “Anytime we do more than our typical beauty pages, if we do a special section, that’s all hired out,” said Iannotti.

Ideas are also sought for “Plan Like a Pro,” a regular feature. “It’s almost like Esquire‘s ‘What I’ve Learned’ for the bridal set,” said Iannotti. “We have a reporter interview someone [a planner or florist or baker] who’s been to a million weddings and seen it all and will tell us their great wisdom.” A favorite of Iannotti’s was a feature on DJ Mia Moretti.

Bottom line is your query will get a second look if it’s hitting on something that’s relatable and that you won’t find in every other bridal mag. Explained Iannotti: “It’s hard to find super new, fresh ideas that aren’t kooky and weird, and we’re challenged to do it all the time. So any fine reporter out there who can get that surprising service-y nugget that doesn’t come out of left field, that sort of feels real and great, we would love that.”

What not to pitch: Iannotti said it doesn’t make sense to pitch visual pages, such as roundups of beautiful cakes or the color palette’s page. Furthermore, wedding style stories (such as a six-page well story on tabletop) are going to be produced in house.

Online opportunities: Similar to the print magazine, Brides.com seeks stories for its “Real Weddings” section. Other topics freelancers should focus pitches on include planning, relationships, fashion, etiquette and travel. “[Because] the turnover is so much quicker, we just constantly need fodder,” said Iannotti. Just stay clear of celebrity, beauty and registry items, which are generally handled in house. The pay rate for online content varies widely, so it is something to negotiate with Web editor Jennifer Cress.

What publicists should pitch — and when: “We’re always looking for stuff for our ‘Want, Need, Love’ page, which is just exciting things that are bridal or not bridal, but could somehow relate to the wedding,” said Iannotti. But publicists should be aware of the book’s long lead time, around five months.

“We just did a bridal line with Baublebar, which we’re so excited about, and of course because we did it we knew about it early so we could have all kinds of fun with it in the magazine,” said Iannotti. “But any kind of stuff like that, we want — new product lines, fashion, fine jewelry, costume jewelry, all these things. We welcome any and all early warning on great stuff coming down the pike,” she said.

Percentage of freelance content published: 40 percent
Percentage of freelance pitches accepted: 10 percent

Etiquette: Send your pitch — and link to existing work — in the body in the email, advised Iannotti, “and if you have a connection to Brides or if there’s some good selling point, put it in the subject line.” Adding “Pitch from a writer” will also help differentiate you from a publicist’s pitch. Final words of advice: “I encourage people to pick up the magazine and look at the masthead and figure out who their mark is depending on the department. And then you can just use the Condé Nast [email convention] to find the person,” said Iannotti.

Lead time: Five months
Pay rate: $2 a word; may be less or more, depending on the amount of reporting involved, writer experience, etc.
Payment schedule: Invoice on acceptance; payment usually received within two to three weeks. “We are really good about this because I’ve been on the other end of it,” noted Iannotti.
Kill fee: 25 percent. “We don’t kill a lot though. We make [pieces] work,” said Iannotti.
Rights purchased: Worldwide perpetual, but negotiable

Contact info:
1 World Trade Center
New York, NY 10007
www.brides.com
Twitter | Facebook
Email format: FirstName_LastName@condenast.com

Direct pitches to the appropriate editor:
For Real Weddings, real weddings editor Gabriella Rello:
GABRIELLA underscore RELLO at CONDENAST dot COM
For Details, service stories and product pitches, senior editor Shelby Wax:
SHELBY underscore WAX at CONDENAST dot COM