You may have noticed that the Two Bright Lights editorial family has been growing– in recent months, we have added dozens of amazing and prestigious publications as editorial partners! Among these is San Francisco staple 7×7, whose online editor Mary Polizzotti sat with us for an interview. Read on as she shares some SF wedding secrets, plus tips for submitting your work to be featured in their popular online publication!
Introducing Mary Polizzotti of 7×7.com
Tell us a little about 7×7! We would love to hear a bit about what makes you unique and a bit about your editorial style.
7×7 and 7×7.com are regional publications for the smart and sophisticated city dweller. Our readers are passionate about food, fashion, design, culture, travel, tech, and the arts in the city. We like to provide a service to our readers – what’s the hot new restaurant? What’s the new breakout app? What are the coolest events this week? What’s the latest cocktail trend? All of our articles have a very strong local angle.
We love that you are a San Francisco focused magazine. Could you tell us a bit about what you love about covering all things San Francisco?
I think that people often sink into a routine – they eat at their favorite restaurants, shop at the same stores, do the same things. My goal is to expose the urbanites to all of the truly unique experiences SF has to offer. It’s an amazingly diverse city with so much going on in all facets of life – arts, outdoor activities, the music scene, tech, etc. 7×7 provides relevant information for a native or a visitor to take advantage of the paradise we live in.
Your wedding section is really taking off! Is there something that makes a wedding really “San Franciscan?”
I think location plays a huge part. Couples who choose to marry in San Francisco have gorgeous backdrops to choose from, both inside and out – the Conservatory of Flowers, Stern Grove, City Hall. And that’s just within the city limits. Skip over the bridge and your options are limitless. I also think the weather plays a huge part – you can’t control the fog, so you have to be open and flexible!
You cover a lot of different aspects of the SF life. Could you tell us a bit about a few of your sections? What sort of photographs do you look for in those sections?
The photography on 7×7.com needs to inspire and also spike curiosity. If the headline doesn’t tell the story, the image must. We are well known for our food and drink coverage, so if a photo makes a reader think, “I have to try that!” then we’ve done our job. Same with our travel section or our arts section (to name a couple), we want to inspire a reader to experience something new.
What types of submissions are you looking for in your Two Bright Lights submissions? What kinds of submissions would you like to see more of?
We love seeing any wedding that is in San Francisco, the greater Bay Area, Wine Country, Tahoe, anywhere on the coast, and beyond. Essentially, anywhere in Northern California that might be of interest to our readers. The location is really the main factor in our decision.
How about a bit about you….how did you get started as an editor at 7×7? What do you love most about your job?
I was an editor at a travel startup called NileGuide before 7×7.com and also worked at Lonely Planet for many years. I spent about seven years in sales before making the transition to editorial (and moved to Uganda for a role during that process!). My job is awesome because the digital world is ever changing and you have to stay on top of it all, and I love the challenge. And, of course, I loveSan Francisco.
What are your top three must-do San Francisco activities?
- A bike ride through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach.
- An afternoon of perusing through the boutiques in Upper Haight, Hayes Valley,or the Mission (with stops for fuel along the way).
- A progressive evening – cocktails at Churchill or Maven, dinner at Starbelly, Bar Agricole, or even Little Chihuahua, followed by a show at the Great American Music Hall or the Independent.
