The beaches, mountains and rustic backdrops of Santa Barbara practically beg to be included in photo-worthy events, a realization that struck a chord with two local women looking to highlight the area’s casual elegance.
And so formed the idea for Flutter Magazine, a wedding and lifestyle magazine that hit shelves last month in targeted locations from the Santa Ynez Valley to Orange County.
Santa Barbara businesswomen Kim Wiseley and Tracy Lazaro are the brains behind the joint operation, which was launched as a website last year before the fall issue unveiling in October.
The magazine, which is set to publish once each season, is light on text and heavy on emotion-emitting photographs — many showing real married couples who have embraced the coastal city as a destination wedding location.
Wiseley comes into the venture as a style hound for the Santa Barbara Skinny, a lifestyle blog she co-founded and where she currently serves as creative director.
Lazaro brings a decade of design experience to the table, and has had a storefront at 110 W. Mission St. for her Lazaro Press & Design business the past four years.
The two originally crossed paths when Wiseley’s blog highlighted some of Lazaro’s work, which primarily consists of wedding invitation design and the like.
“I think it’s a good mix,” Lazaro said of the partnership. “Santa Barbara is on the forefront of design trends. They are craving what we have. We love Santa Barbara. It’s like paradise.”
Wiseley has essentially become the “Flutter-mobile,” transporting some of the 6,000 magazine copies to Southern California locations and making the trek back east to help the magazine realize its potential as a national brand.
Lazaro said the majority of her design wedding business comes from out-of-area couples choosing Santa Barbara for nuptials, some of whom have enlisted the help nonlocal wedding coordinators who might not be as in tune with the Spanish-cultured, wine-centric natural feel of the city.
The magazine is designed for brides as well as anyone involved or even interested in weddings or the Santa Barbara lifestyle, she said.
Demographics aren’t just limited to those getting married in Santa Barbara, either, since the “Flutter style” could be employed anywhere.
The two founders hope to capitalize on their newfound niche, and will publish the next edition in early 2014 for winter.
Flutter will also host periodic, fee-based style workshops, including “The Art of Wreath-Making” on Dec. 5 with Anna Le Pley Taylor Flowers.
“I think people like the fact that it’s something that’s a little different,” Lazaro said. “You are seeing a lot more individuality in weddings.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.