Magazine publisher launches wedding site

To help make it unforgettable, a website devoted to planning your nuptials has been launched by the Bermudian Publishing Company.

The site, www.BermudianWeddings.com, is scheduled to go online today and the company hopes to make it the go-to place for all things connected to your big day.

The firm launched the glossy magazine Bermudian Weddings in January and a website for The Bermudian last October but is now taking this a step further in a bid to expand its business.

The site has a complete resource listing of all vendors in the wedding and event trade on the island.

BermudianWeddings.com also includes slide shows, videos and blogs, updated almost daily, that will keep brides-to-be coming back time and again as they plan for their big day. Tina Stevenson, publisher, said the company cannot be afraid to try new ventures just because the economy is bad.

She added: “The Bermudian Publishing Company, in print and online, is known for celebrating all that is best about Bermuda, so we are thrilled to add to our stable of products Bermudian Weddings and BermudianWeddings.com — a celebration of one of the most special occasions in one of the most special places of all, a Bermuda wedding.

“Whether it’s an overseas couple planning a destination wedding on the island or two locals engaged, BermudianWeddings.com has a range of fantastic event-planning features, an extensive local vendor directory, plus advice and inspirational articles showcased on a sleek, attractive and easy-to-navigate website.

“We wanted to do a magazine and a website with a more targeted audience. When we (The Bermudian) were a monthly publication we always had a January bridal issue, which was always very successful.

“There’s a niche we can reach. Destination weddings have always happened in Bermuda. People do their research online but there is no one-stop shop. We want to be that.”

Ms Stevenson said that even though the economy is struggling, it is important to try to find new revenue streams.

She added: “We see this as a business opportunity, as a specialty publication and as a revenue stream on the website.

“Our business has been down — like everyone else’s, we have suffered terribly from the economy — but you can’t sit still, you have to move forward. Media is moving forward into the Internet.”

The company’s third publication, Bermudian Business, will also get its own website in the future.

Ms Stevenson said: “It’s a strategy about media. People are taking their content to print and online.

“Magazine sales are as strong as ever and the demographics show younger people are reading more magazines than their parents but they are taking their content online.

“Print and online go hand in hand together. One doesn’t ruin the other, they enhance each other.

“Just because people started snowboarding, it doesn’t mean people stopped skiing.”