Guided by voices

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Even if you’re not actively planning a wedding—even if you don’t ever want to get married, or if you were married once, but it was a long time ago, and the marriage either crumbled or turned from hot, wet honey to hardened amber—I’d still recommend taking the time to read the bridal guide inserted in this week’s edition.

“Why would I want to waste my time with frilly, lacy fluff like that?” you might well ask. “We’re rounding the corner on one of the most divisive years in American history—I’m picking up this newspaper to gather bullet points for my next heated political argument—probably with my brain-dead uncle at a Super Bowl party in a couple of weeks.”

Even better, maybe you’re just here—a nose hovering above these pages—to get clued in on the art, music, theater, food and drink happening around town—and yeah, we’ve got you covered for that, too, of course. But you probably already knew that.

But, still, take a spin through the bridal guide. It’s not the typical Bridezilla Monthly-type fare. Special Projects Editor Jeri Chadwell did a great job organizing a bridal guide with alternative viewpoints, and the guide itself tackles some very au courant topics: Shaun Hunter writes about the traditions embraced and rejected in some same-sex weddings. Josie Glassberg writes candidly about the other side of marriage: divorce—and the need for couples to have honest conversations about it prior to getting hitched. And Matt Bieker wrote a fun piece about how to make an effective best-man speech. (Short answer: don’t be a dick.)

Anyway. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s the sort of subject that can be tired or rote, but this guide is a hoot. All three of the feature stories made me laugh out loud. It’s a nice demonstration that the key to a well-done bridal guide is the same as the key to everything else: good writing.