Weddings are making news again. My first job at The Bee at age 19 was one of the lowliest jobs in the reporting food chain: the wedding story writer. I didn't care; I was just thrilled to have a job at The Bee at all. The experienced reporters, and most definitely the men, considered all these stories of powerful family unions, romantic honeymoon destinations, French lace, covered buttons and stephanotis bouquets just so much fluff. But I was fascinated with every last detail and didn't consider it boring at all.
There was a lot of information in those stories of the weddings of the rich and powerful that revealed quite clearly who their alliances were, who hosted and attended their bridal showers, who was in the wedding party. It was quite easy to see who all their cronies were and didn't take much conversation over the phone with those families to find out who was pouring on the lavish wedding gifts. That background came in handy later on when I was writing deeper stories about the alliances among people who were influencing life in the Valley.
As women's lives became more complex - the wedding wasn't the culmination of their lives anymore - interest in wedding stories diminished. Now, unless it's a major celebrity, it's just a few paragraphs of who married whom.
At the New York Times, however, where the weddings of the uber-powerful and celebrities are neighborhood news, there has been a resurgence of interest in wedding stories. In Al Tompkins' blog for the Poynter Institute, he says The Times has taken the wedding announcement into the multimedia world with a video feature called "How We Met."
"Watch "Vows: Alex and Matt" for an example of a story loaded with twists and turns that kept me watching even though I knew how it would turn out," he says. The stories were produced and editing by members of The Times' staff.
The beauty of these stories is that they tell the story of the people, of their relationship, of their love affair -- not the menu of the reception and the fabric content fo the wedding gown. It's far more engrossing to hear about when they first kissed, not when she threw the bridal bouquet.
NYTimes.com is asking couples to send completed home videos that tell "how we met" stories. The site has not started using the homemade versions yet, but I really like this idea. What do you think --- would you watch local true-romance videos if they were on fresnobee.com?
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