During New York Bridal Week in early April, Michelle Preli capitalized
on her experience covering the 1996 Iowa presidential caucuses for NBC
News' Web site. The outcome: [Brides.com] was the first wedding site to
post photos of the season's latest gowns, and tidbits on the hottest
designers.

"Covering a caucus and a runway show are not different. It's
deadline-driven-you have to get videos and interviews up on the site,"
says Ms. Preli, a longtime journalist who became editor in chief of
[Brides.com] just 10 days before the start of the fashion extravaganza.
"I just have higher heels on for this."

The former iVillage.com executive aims to set the Conde Nast
Publications site apart from other wedding destinations by always
being first with information and innovative tools that help frantic
brides plan their big day. In her first week on the job, Ms. Preli
launched a blog called Wedded Bits, which features planning tips,
celebrity nuptials and useful industry news.

"The blog will be a differentiator for us," she says, adding that it
gives [Brides.com] a daily edge. "I am a very competitive person, so
it's important to me to invent new things."

Content strategist

The two-year-old site will need Ms. Preli's expertise to make it the
go-to online resource. [Brides.com] trails older, better-known sites
such as TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com. In March, [Brides.com]
attracted 940,000 unique visitors, compared with TheKnot.com's 1.9
million and WeddingChannel.com's 1.4 million.

"She has the vision to take [Brides.com] to the next level," says Susan
Rerat, vice president of [Brides.com], who hired Ms. Preli just six
weeks into the search. The editor position was left vacant when
Theresa Dimasi went to WeightWatchers.com earlier this year.

"It was clear that Michelle is a content strategist," Ms. Rerat says.
"Her breadth and depth from different news and lifestyle brands is
perfect."

Ms. Preli was quick to understand the Web's power to reach audiences.
After earning a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University
in 1995, she joined NBC News' first online venture as a producer and
reporter. Later, when NBC partnered with Microsoft to launch
MSNBC.com, she became a news producer. During her decade at the
company, she helped launch the online edition of Dateline NBC and
defined and implemented the online editorial strategy for other news
programs, including The Today Show, Nightly News with Brian Williams
and Meet the Press.

She took a yearlong break from hard news in 2006, joining Newsweek as
the general manager of its newly launched BudgetTravel.com. Last year,
after acquiring women-oriented iVillage.com, NBC asked Ms. Preli back
to help it with programming for that site.

Great match

She jumped at the opportunity. But when iVillage moved its operation
to Englewood, N.J., from Manhattan, Ms. Preli, who lives in the Dumbo
area of Brooklyn with her two kids and her husband of 14 years, had to
cut her return short.

"I am not a good driver," she says.

Though some might view her transition as an odd career move, Ms. Preli
says she looks forward to working with her small editorial team of 10.

"I kind of knew right away that [Brides.com] would be a great match for
my skill set," she says. "It's a great opportunity and very exciting."

PERSONNEL FILE
COMPANY [Brides.com]
TITLE Editor in chief
AGE 42
 Vice president, editorial programming, iVillage.com; general manager,
BudgetTravel.com; executive producer, MSNBC.com
HOMETOWN Louisville, Ky.
MANAGEMENT STYLE Exacting but open