Going to the chapel, and we're gonna get naked

The Wall Street Journal sticks with the hard news: Brides gone wild!

Published June 2, 2006 6:09PM (EDT)

If you've been on the New York subways lately there's a good chance you've seen the ads for the Wall Street Journal's Weekend section. If you haven't had the pleasure, the ads are faux candid black-and-whites of 20-something women (occasionally with a man in the background) lounging on car roofs on the Pacific Coast highway, jumping off yachts in couture bikinis or striding down urban streets in short skirts and stilettos. (None of the subjects are reading the paper.) The tagline snarkily tells you to "Have a Brilliant Weekend," but it might as well say, "Have a Hard-On."

The Wall Street Journal, it seems, has sex on the brain. Or at least sex with 20-something affluent white women. So it was hardly surprising to come across "Brides Gone Wild," an article in today's paper featuring photos of busty brides in their skivvies, or "preceremony," to use industry jargon. "Brides Gone Wild" is ostensibly about a rising trend among women to request photographers to take pictures of the big day, from bustier to buffet. The piece is couched in wedding industry terms, but the tone is unmistakable: those crazy girls! As one woman commented on her daughter-in-law's prewedding photos: "It was like a Playboy shoot." Whether Playboy shoot or fun candid camera, the article seems little more than an excuse for the Journal to display more hot girls -- and one shirtless guy -- in their underwear.

Have a brilliant weekend.


By Sarah Goldstein

Sarah Goldstein is an editorial fellow at Salon.

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