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Anyone who thinks print is dead should talk to a weddings editor at theNew York Times. Or theWashington Postor theBoston Globeor any small-town chronicle, wherethe romance beat is alive and thriving. Even as wedding announcements, like other customs, have evolved to suit contemporary tastes, the demand for ink endures.
Which is perhaps not surprising given that we live in an era in which overexposure has become de rigueur, and everyone you know has an expensive wedding publicist on retainer. But as the just-the-facts announcements of yesteryear have been eclipsed by a new style of narrative-driven coverage, the newspaper weddings section has become one of the few remaining places that operates as something like a meritocracy: It’s about the story, not the status. And no, you still can’t buy your way in.
“I think there’s much more interest because of social media,” says event planner Marcy Blum, a 39-year veteran in the businesswho has seen trends come and go, sometimes twice over. “It’s not just about who reads theTimeson Sunday. Once it’s printed, then you see it on Instagram.” Given her clout and relationships in the industry, Blum says she’s often brazenly asked in advance by prospective clients if she can secure wedding-section coverage. She wields her influence with discretion. “The reason I’m friends with editors is because they know I won’t do that. I’ll only send them something that I think works for them, as well.”
What exactly makes an ideal match for a weddings editor who is perennially drowning in submissions? “I’m always interested in stories that have a cinematic feel to them,” says one editor at a national publication. The focus has shifted dramatically, too, from social status and family lineage to the narrative of the romance.
Susanna Treacy and Nicholas Wiegand’s talemade the cut last December, when their Manhattan wedding was featured in theNew York Times’s “Mini Vows” section. “There’s a classic, Old New York feeling to the weddings section,” Treacy says. “Nick and I are old souls. A lot of it was a celebration of the city, and it would have made it come full circle to have it acknowledged.” She surmised that their chances were improved by using a wedding planner and photographer who had worked on earlier weddings published in theTimes. “I thought maybe we’d have a shot at it,” she says. Nonetheless, she followed the paper’s standard submissions guidelines and got the approval several days after the big event.
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“We say explicitly in the submission form that if you don’t hear from us within two weeks of your wedding, you can assume it hasn’t been selected,” the national editor says. That doesn’t always deter pushy types. “I’ll still hear from publicists representing more notable couples, ‘just checking in.’ ” Occasionally newlyweds ask what they might do to increase their odds, often phrasing their inquiries in ways nuanced enough to remain open to interpretation. However, the editor emphasizes, there’s absolutely no quid pro quo. “We have very strict standards.”
Placement can be bought, of course—in the form of an ad, like the one that ran in theBoston Globelast December, featuring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson styled as a newly engaged couple. The image was a publicity stunt for the forthcoming filmThe Drama, but it also underscored a lingering truth: Published wedding announcements still eclipse social media as the most coveted way to see—and be seen. “I’m going to custom-frame the print version and put it somewhere in our home,” Treacy says.
An Instagram post, after all, doesn’t hang on a wall.
Top: To promoteThe Drama, in which Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are a couple with premarital, well, drama, A24 took out a faux announcement in the Boston Globe.
This story appears in the April 2026 issue ofTown & Country.SUBSCRIBE NOW
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