This year, I had the privilege of working with Laura Cassidy on the Marketing & Social Media team for Get Hitched Give Hope.  To be honest, I was slightly nervous because she is the Editor of Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom and the Style Editor for Seattle Met, but I soon found out how down-to-earth and friendly she is!  I had an awesome time getting to know her and wanted to share a little bit of that awesomeness with you…

 

 

Laura, you have a pretty great job!  Tell us about it…

 

I’ve been the Style Editor at Seattle Met for five years, and I’ve been the Editor of Seattle Met Bride & Groom since our June 2007 launch. At the beginning of 2011, I was made the Editorial Director of Sagacity Bride & Groom, which means I oversee the production of Portland Bride & Groom and Salt Lake / Park City Bride & Groom.

 

I always say that we have a lot of fun making our magazines, and I think that makes them really fun to read. We’re also really nerdy about information, and we’re not satisfied with what already is. We want what’s next. And what’s next after that.

 

What do you love most about your work?

I get to be creative every single day. I get to write, read, shop, style, and make pretty pictures. I get to work with really kind, enthusiastic, intelligent, insightful folks, and I get to help the most thoughtful, intelligent, spirited couples in the area pull off the big days of their dreams. It’s weird that I earn money doing all that.

 

What drew you to Get Hitched Give Hope?

What didn’t draw me to GHGH? I have a history of personal illness as well as a dedication to gratitude and sharing the love. I am honored to be part of the karma party and help make life dreams and wedding dreams come true! Additionally, I love being involved with such an amazing crew. The Seattle-area professional wedding community is an amazing group, and the sub-set that pulls off GHGH is just phenomenal. Being on the team means I get to extend professional relationships into the realm of personal and fun, and I truly feel lucky to consider these guys friends AND colleagues.

 

What is your role on the Get Hitched Give Hope team?

I’m hanging tough with the media crew—am honored to do so! I am always on the other side of the press release, so it’ll be cool to help spread the word.

I heard you have something up for grabs in the live auction!  What is it?

 

We’re offering a really fun live auction item this year that involves being chauffeured around town with me. We’re kind of playing off the bar crawl idea — this is boutique crawl specifically designed and customized for brides.

 

What inspires you?

 

Old women with long gray hair, silver jewelry, and decades-old designer clothes. Little kids in odd arrays of bright colors and what might be considered mismatched patterns. Rainy days that end in sunsets. My vegetable garden. My kitchen. Estate sales. The library. My insanely talented and driven husband. My smart, mystically spiritual, stylish friends.

 

If you could pass along advice to an engaged couple, what three tips would you give?

1. Be kind to everyone, including your selves. This is supposed to be about love.

 

2. Pause now and then to imagine the year 2034 or something. How will the blue Converse look in the wedding portraits then? I’m not saying blue Converse or any other personalized element is wrong, I’m just saying that measured doses of timeless, classic good taste will always look good in a pewter frame.

 

3. Keep in mind that as soon as the wedding, or maybe the honeymoon, is over, things might feel a little flat or perhaps empty. It can be kind of awkward … like the day after Christmas or your birthday. Before you invent new projects (babies, houses, remodels, whatever), give yourselves time to be content with that whole ‘regular life’ thing. A wedding is a wedding – it’s an event that, like all events, ends at a certain point. Marriage lasts forever, and drawing out “boring” Sunday afternoons and enjoying the peaceful quiet and nothingness of them is the best way to make forever feel like a really really really wonderfully long time.

 

Thanks for the sage advice Laura!  How can we stay connected?

Blog: Wear What When

Twitter: @CassidyLaura