NEW YORK, Feb 5, 2002/ --- Amidst resplendent flowers and towering white cakes, a crowd gathered January 22 at Bergdorf Goodman to celebrate the dawn of a new era in bridal publishing.

Though Elegant Bride magazine has been on the wedding scene for more than a decade, its spring edition represents a complete reincarnation for the quarterly title.

New editor-in-chief and creative director Deborah Moses, whose resume includes ad campaigns for the likes of Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang, has taken an entirely new approach to the traditionally taffeta-and-tiaras business of putting out a bridal magazine.

She collaborated with top writers, photographers and illustrators (including her sister, designer Rebecca Moses) to create a magazine that would appeal to the sophisticated woman whose usual magazine fare includes Town & Country, Bazaar and Vogue.

She told us last night that she knows she's succeeded in this effort when she sees Elegant Bride on newsstands placed next to these upscale titles, rather than grouped with the rest of the bridal set.

Elegant Bride is unique for the soon-to-be-married woman because, in Moses' words, "We don't suddenly designate her a 'Bride,' but an intelligent, stylish woman who is about to get married."

The most striking part of the magazine is its stark, white cover. Jennifer Coleman, Ralph's new girl, strikes a fresh-faced pose and there is only one cover line: "unveiled." The look is more Bazaar circa 1950 than bridal magazine circa 2002. Publisher Daniel Brock was wary of the bold move, but says the response has been phenomenal.

And the rest of the book is just as refined as the cover. You won't find pages jumbled with veils, gloves and frou-frou gowns, and the 304-page magazine is spare compared to the 1,000-plus pagers that Bride's puts out.

"A bride's mind is already so cluttered - what she should think about, what she shouldn't think about - so we wanted to keep this magazine clean and simple," explained Moses last night.

Party attendees couldn't be happier with Elegant Bride's new "less is more" style. "It's retro in look, but still very modern," said designer Mark Badgley, one of the evening's hosts. "The magazine is beautiful and really appeals to our customer." Wedding confectioner to the stars Sylvia Weinstock raved, "exquisite."

The book isn't just eye candy though. While Elegant Bride does include the requisite registry checklists and timelines, there is also more substantial editorial content. Bridal designer Reem Acra gushed last night, "I actually want to go through it, page by page."

A story on "mental feng shui" helps brides-to-be deal with their stress, elite New York dermatologist Patricia Wexler expounds on pre-wedding glycolic acid peels, and financial expert Jean Chatzky discusses the finance issues of the first year of marriage.

A piece on weddings throughout the twentieth century highlights the likes of Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Jackie Kennedy and Bianca Jagger.

Of the revolutionary 1960s, the author writes, "The lines long drawn between bridal-fashion and fashion-fashion were being bleared or erased all together." In many ways, the same can be said of the new Elegant Bride.