Since the beginning of time, humans have benefited from community and connection. With that comes what we now know as marriage. Some form of a marriage ceremony has been around for centuries, with the first recorded one taking place in Mesopotamia in 2350 B.C.E. (Klawans & Weber, 2025). While ceremonies look very different from that first one today, the idea of the institution is the same, community and connection. As marriage culture evolved over time around the world, the elements of the ceremony and the role of the involved parties also evolved. 

Publishers, already well versed in women’s lifestyle content, would create the Bridal magazine in the early 20th century. Brides, the first magazine focused on weddings, would debut in 1934, with competing magazine Modern Bride debuting in 1949 (Drorbaugh, 2021). These magazines aimed to advertise to the modern lady as she moved into the next phase of her life, providing tips and tricks along the way. These magazines would hit their peak between the 1970’s to mid 2000’s along with the rest of the print industry, before the internet overtook and changed the journalism industry (Daly, 2013).

This collection focuses on a select number of Bridal magazines during that peak from 1992 to 2011. They were donated by Dr. Samir Husni, a leading expert on print and magazine journalism, known as Mr. Magazine. These magazines, mostly first volume editions, focus on the bridal industry from across the world. Focusing on the trends, practices, and often traditions of weddings to their various demographic of readers, these magazines provided information to the inspired fiance throughout each step of the wedding process. A peek into the bridal industry of the time, this collection explores how tradition and trend blended to detail the memorable day for brides around the world.

This exhibit was created in conjuction with IS_LT 9428 and curated by Jacqueline Culas, Haley Disterhoft, Isabelle Murray, Alison Restelli, Chayanne Sandoval-Williams, and Gretchen Tharp.