Perhaps with a last name like McBride, she was destined to be a powerful figure in the wedding industry. As Wedding Style Director of BRIDES magazine, Maria has produced industry-influencing features on flowers, wedding cakes, and celebrations. She’s also a photo stylist, event producer, and style editor, and the author of a series of six books, including Perfect Wedding Details, The Perfect Wedding Reception, The Perfect Wedding, The Wedding Dress, and Bridal Flowers. (See our reviews in Reading Around). As you can imagine, this woman knows a thing or two about weddings. (To find out Maria’s recommendations of great wedding resources in New York, come back tomorrow for our front page story, “Weddings 2010: The Latest Trends… and Where to Find Them.” You can also visit her website at www.MariaMcBride.com)
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met Maria. I was wondering if she’d be a wedding-style version of Miranda from the movie The Devil Wears Prada. But Maria is nothing like Miranda. She’s warm, welcoming, funny, calm, and incredibly down-to-earth. We first met at a photo shoot at Hudson Studios in Manhattan, where she was working on an eight-page spread on flowers for BRIDES magazine. She set a calm and professional tone in the studio, effortlessly switching from answering my many questions to artfully styling and directing the shoot. It was clear that everyone on the staff respected and enjoyed the creative process of working with her. She never showed any signs of stress, despite the fact that she was working with delicate, perishable flowers, and had a deadline to meet.
Maria never intended to enter the wedding industry. She came to New York from Delaware to attend Barnard College as a political science major. She was planning to go to law school after graduating, but she couldn’t afford to go right away, so she took a temporary day job. On her third day as a temp she ended up in the fashion department of BRIDES magazine. She never looked back.
BRIDES was an ideal training ground for Maria. The magazine had a small staff, so from the beginning she had the opportunity to try her hand at many different aspects of editorial work, including choosing accessories, hiring models, assisting during photo shoots, and working on copy. Not only was the work gratifying and fun, it turned out to be a great fit, combining her organizational and problem solving skills with her creativity and ability to multi-task. And when she became a mother, she was grateful for the job’s flexibility. (Maria has two children, a daughter, now 21, and a son, 19.) She remained at BRIDES for six years, eventually becoming the fashion editor. Maria then worked as a freelance creative director for many magazines including Family Circle, InStyle, and Country Home. In 2002 she returned to BRIDES as Wedding Style Editor, and she continues to hold that position at the magazine today.
Maria was drawn to working with flowers because when she began in the wedding industry it was the only truly creative style outlet. There was no Vera Wang. No Jimmy Choo. But flowers could be used to create magical, fanciful tableaus and accessories that were works of art. “It was one place where you could experiment editorially and visually,” Maria explained. When Little, Brown and Company was looking to publish a book of wedding flowers, they approached Maria, and in 1992 her first book, Bridal Flowers: Arrangements for a Perfect Wedding, was published. It was a natural extension of her work.
A master at orchestrating extraordinary events that involve tremendous organizational might, Maria described a week-long photo shoot and event she produced that gave me a headache just thinking about all the logistics and and the many things that could possibly go wrong. First, cakes from 63 bakers from around the country had to be photographed (under hot lights) along with flowers for a 24-page spread in BRIDES. Then the cakes had to be transported (at 3 a.m.) to Grand Central Station for Cakewalk, a design and tasting event sponsored by Baccardi. Luckily, according to her staff, Maria “has the ability to maintain calm and focused on the task at hand, despite whatever chaos is happening around her.” It’s a talent not everyone possesses.
When I asked Maria to list three words to describe herself, she said, “good friend, good manager, and free spirit.” This last trait was evident when planning her own wedding, over 30 years ago. She was given a copy of Modern Brides, which at the time featured only very stodgy, formal weddings. She briefly skimmed through the glossy and then tossed it aside, feeling that it was not relevant to her or the times she was living in. Ironically, or perhaps not, the woman who is sought-after to style some of the most over-the-top, fanciful wedding images chose to keep it simple and down-to-earth for her own ceremony. Maria got married at age 20 in her parents backyard, wearing a knee-length skirt and a pin-tucked camisole top made by her mother, and carrying simple fresh flowers from a neighbor’s garden. She remains happily married to the same man today.
Maria was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the oldest of 11 children. With only a short gap in age between each child, life at home was chaotic but happy. Maria’s parents had a whirlwind courtship: they met on Easter and were married in June. Her father, an Irish-American who worked in management training, would try to apply the organizational principles and flip charts that worked so well in the office to his home, to no avail. Her mother, on the other hand, a native of Guatemala with a never-ending supply of energy, was artistic with an innate ability to keep the household in order. She also strongly believed in helping her community. In 1968, when the assassination of Martin Luther King prompted riots in the streets of Wilmington, she founded the first Latin-American Community Center, providing resources and a safe haven for those in need.
Maria carries on her mother’s commitment to helping her community. In 1998, when her oldest child was enrolled in P.S.116, the neighborhood public elementary school, she wished there was an after-school program where children could participate in enriching activities in a small and safe group environment. When she couldn’t find a local program, she took matters into her own hands, and along with a few other mothers founded P.S.116 AfterSchool KidsClubs, a not-for-profit after-school program. Maria is now President of the Board, and the program is thriving, with classes that include art, music, science, and sports. (For additional information, contact PS116KidsClub@aol.com). Maria uses her name and talent to benefit many different charitable organizations. This month she is designing and planning an event for The Retreat (www.theretreatinc.org), a domestic violence shelter on the East End of Long Island. Another organization Maria has recently become involved with is CTree, (www.ctreeny.org), which provides therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities for children and young adults with developmental disabilities.
When I was writing my article about wedding trends, I spoke to many different vendors in New York, from florists, to bakers, to caterers. Every time I mentioned Maria’s name, the person I was speaking to lit up, and across the board, the response was the same: “Maria– oh, she’s wonderful!” That comment says it all.
Woman Around Town’s Six Questions
Favorite Place to Dine: The Modern, Danny Meyer’s restaurant at MoMA; Shake Shack for a casual meal
Favorite Place to Shop: The sales at Bergdorf’s and Saks Fifth Avenue
Favorite New York Sight: The skyline, when I’m coming back from out of town
Favorite New York Moment: Having the same great cab driver twice in one day
What You Love About New York: The people
What You Hate About New York: Outdoor cafes on bus lanes. What were they thinking?
Barbara Nonas,a native New Yorker, has worked in book publishing, in television (as as a New York-based news producer and reporter for Italian National Television), in public relations (representing clients ranging from international opera singers to Fortune 500 companies), and a brief stint in jewelry design.She currently has her own PR firm which specializes in representing non-profit organizations.
