10 Questions with Alejandra Baca-Rodriquez, Editor-in-Chief of Belle The Magazine

How long have you had your wedding blog and what inspired you to start one?

Belle The Magazine (BTM) started 15 years ago as a print bilingual regional wedding publication. My husband, then my fiancé, and I created BTM right after we got engaged in 2005. In September 2009 we decided to move the publication to online-only and I took over it fully as my husband made a career move to pursue his passion for experiential marketing. Since then, Belle The Magazine has grown to serve a much larger audience in the US and around the world.

How did you get into the wedding industry?

Belle The Magazine was my first deep dive into the wedding industry, and it has given me the opportunity to do many different things in the industry from hosting and producing events, styling editorials and contributing with amazing wedding industry professionals and companies to make the industry a more beautiful and diverse place. I have been able to use my skills to help create strategies to connect our partners and our audience in a more meaningful and organic way.

Where are you from and where are you based?

I was born and raised in Mexico, in the northern city of Chihuahua. It is a Spanish Colonial meets modern-city town not far from the border with the US. My family and I love to go visit my hometown and enjoy all the first class amenities, the amazing food, the historic architecture and vibrant culture.

I moved to the United States to attend college at The University of Texas , and Texas has been my main home for 20 years. I lived in France and Australia for a while, but I returned to the States and I settled down in El Paso, TX with my husband and my kids. Although I run Belle The Magazine from El Paso, my team is spread all around the country and I travel constantly to meet partners and our team.

What is the blog about and what is the point of view?

Belle The Magazine aims to be a resource for the sophisticated, fashion-forward bride with an eye for luxury details and creative ideas. My ideal editorial content includes weddings and styled editorials that are lush, glamorous, and absolutely breathtaking. I love to feature steal-worthy wedding details that brides can incorporate into their own events. While I value classic, timeless weddings with feminine details, I’m always interested in unique designs that will inspire our readers to take their weddings to the next level… a beautiful rustic glam or a chic vintage affair with a splash of opulence is always appealing.

Bridal fashion and trends play a major role in our editorial features and the newest collections are some of our most popular features. But we also want to infuse Latino flavor into our features and highlight the Latino community on a constant basis.

What is the reach of the blog?

Belle The Magazine reaches five million readers with our online publication every year, but our audience extends beyond the blog thanks to our social media presence. Although we reach over 100k people with Instagram and Facebook, we are super proud of reaching 18 Million viewers on Pinterest. 

What is some of the criteria for submission of content for designers, photographers, wedding pros and real brides?

Our format is image-heavy, so for real weddings and styled editorials we require a good amount of detailed focused pictures featuring trendy ideas and quality design that can inspire our audience. A complete list of the talented vendors participating in the event is a must, as well as a detailed explanation of the inspiration behind the decor and any unique elements regarding the couple’s story.

For our bridal collection posts we want to feature different angles of each dress and hear about the trends incorporated into the collection, what inspired the designer and the construction of the pieces.

What is some of your favorite or unique editorial content that has been posted lately?

I love working with our fashion partners and interviewing bridal designers on their stories and the inspiration behind their collections. I recently interviewed Ines Di Santo and Gustavo Nunez from Verdin for Hispanic Heritage month, and we also did an all around campaign to help Kelly Faetanini launch her new collection. Talking wedding dresses is always the most fun part of my job!

One of my favorite features we have done lately is the wedding of Estelle Arriaga in Mexico City. It was submitted to us by our long term partner, Galia Lahav and it is an event that has all the elements our audience loves. The Galia Lahav wedding dress is a dream, the decor is opulent and glamorous, and it also has the Latin flavor we want to infuse in our publication. This feature also reminds me so much of home and the weddings I attend as a guest back in Mexico.

What new trends in weddings are you seeing now since the pandemic?

Downsizing the celebrations has been a big wedding trend for 2020. However, I have noticed our audience is not moving into simpler celebrations, but rather into more intimate gatherings. 

Two major bridal trends for 2020/2021 are the simpler, chic styles and the addition of accessories and detachables pieces giving bride options to have two looks in one without buying an additional reception dress. I am very happy to see how all designers are rising to the occasion and incorporating options into their collections, in one way or another, to help those brides-to-be affected by the health crisis. 

What is your favorite part about working on this blog?

Helping and inspiring our readers to plan the wedding of their dreams definitely fulfills my heart in a major way. But, I also love the challenge and the strategy behind planning campaigns for our partners to help them succeed in their business. Connecting our partners and our readers by presenting them with products and services they would use to take their big day to the next level is what keeps me going.

What else do you do besides the blog for the wedding industry?

I do a few things actually. I am currently working on a startup that aims to change the way brides find their wedding dress online, it is called Find My Dress and it is almost ready to be released for beta testers. The idea was born out of the work we do behind the scenes advising brides who reach out to us looking for a specific wedding dress they saw online or on social media. I am super excited about it!

Also, this year with all the social changes happening around the country and the world,  I took a more focused role in advocating for the Latino community within the wedding and bridal industry. I  sit on a few committees and advise a few companies that are trying to create more diversity within the industry. I love championing for my community!

Finally after the immense amount of success we have with our Pinterest strategy at Belle The Magazine, I decided to open a boutique marketing agency to help wedding publications and pros reach their target audience on this platform. Pinterest is still the number one social media platform for wedding planning, and I feel it is very important to present brides with quality work and reliable sources while they are planning their big day through Pinterest.