As I'm sure you have read in my other reviews as well as on my profile page, I am getting married! Craig and I will tie the knot on April 9th of this year. (You can visit our wedding website at http://weddings.theknot.com/pwp/view/co_main.aspx?coupleid=3225502309561875 and sign our guest book!) Believe me, I have a lot of reviews on wedding services and items to write about!!! GraceF added Contemporary Bride for me back in September. (Craig and I got engaged in August.) However, due to some unforseen complications, I haven't been able to publicly write about our pending nuptuals. However, I can write about it now. Be prepared.

Shortly after Craig and I got engaged, I bought several bridal magazines and a wedding organizer. Among the magazines I purchased right away was Contemporary Bride. Truth be told, I purchased it because I took a survey on the magazine cover a month prior, and they used the one that I liked.

When I saw that the price was $4.99 for the magazine, I nearly choked. $4.99 for ONE magazine? Then again, the magazine is very thick, and I noticed a lot of the other bridal magazines were a bit pricey, so I forked over the dough for Contemporary Bride. Considering it was one of the less expensive magazines, I thought I got a bargain!

Well, I guess the old adage holds true: You get what you pay for.

Contemporary Bride is filled with advertisements for local wedding vendors. There are plenty of caterers, photographers, limo services, florists and other vendors to choose from. There are tons of announcements of bridal expos and designer trunk shows. There is even a contest that you can enter to win a honeymoon, which changes every month. Sounds great, right?

Wrong.

That's all there is. Seriously. I found THREE articles in this issue, which were all basically a part of a timeline giving brides a checklist of what needs to be done. Throughout this timeline are various other advertisements, suggesting places for Honeymoons, photographers, bridal registries, etc.

I was SHOCKED to find that there were NO photos of dresses. No bridal gowns. No bridesmaids dresses. Nothing. What's the point of getting a bridal magazine if you can't look at gowns? The only bridal gown photos were of brides running through the sand in honeymoon ads, as well as the photo of the bride on the cover. I was extremely disappointed.

On a lighter note, I found information on several places where Craig and I visited as reception sites. We actually booked Sunset Harbour (www.sunset-harbour.com), which was listed in their magazine. The advertisements were pretty informative, which is a good thing.

Something that would make Contemporary Bride even better is a review section of the vendors that advertise. Craig and I visited one of the photographers that were listed in the magazine, and it was a complete disaster. Apparently, this company has a very poor reputation. Unfortunately, readers don't know that by the bautiful ad that he has.

If you're looking for a handy resource guide of local wedding vendors, you might want to give Contemporary Bride a try. For $4.99, you get oodles of advertisements from vendors that you're going to need (or just plain want) for your wedding.

If, however, you're looking for a bridal magazine with informative articles, fun suggestions and great photographic layouts, pass Contemporary Bride by. You'll just end up frustrated and disappointed, like me, and buy a different magazine to compensate.

Recommended: No