January 16, 2002
Bridal show offers help to couples prepare for the big day
Show provides one-stop shopping for food, music, decorations, dresses and jewelry
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The myriad decisions it takes to put on a wedding can be mind-boggling. Having information about all things wedding - from food and music to decorations and jewelry - under one roof can save a lot of time and headaches for prospective brides, grooms and their families.
And for the hundreds who came to the City Opera House Sunday afternoon for the Eighth Annual Downtown Bridal Show, it was a chance to efficiently cross off some of their To Do list - or at least narrow down some choices. The show featured a dozen vendors and a fashion show to help make the choosing easier.
"Rather than just looking in the phone book and driving around, we came here where it's all in once place," said Bill Gaylord of Rapid City, who is planning a September wedding to Linda Backaitis of Southfield.
The couple has already reserved a church and reception hall and Backaitis has purchased a wedding dress (after visiting seven stores). Last weekend they were researching the cake, flowers, DJ and tuxedos at the Downtown Bridal Show. As they tasted a wedding cake, looked at tuxes and held sample bouquets, the couple was in a deciding mood after almost a year of looking.
"We went to a show last year downstate, at the Palace in Auburn Hills," Gaylord said. "It was huge, everything was there. It was great if you're getting married down there but not up here in Traverse City."
Many attendees were parents of the bride, especially the moms, who came to do some advanced scouting. Cindy Anzorge of Traverse City is helping her daughter, Trisha, who is away at college, prepare for a September wedding. With the church already lined up and an estimated 300 guests, Anzorge came to the Bridal Show for information on catering, reception halls and flowers.
"There is a lot of decision making, a lot of little things and you're afraid you'll forget something," said Anzorge, who hopes Trisha will be home next weekend to shop and plan. "We have to start making decisions fast."
Some decisions are easier to make than others, said Cindy Hardy, owner of Hibbard Flowers and Wedding Center. The floral theme can be an relatively easy choice, one that reflects a bride's personality, style and taste.
Surrounded by fragrant floral displays, both traditional and modern, with sample bouquets for prospective brides to look at, Hardy discussed centerpieces, bouquets, boutonnieres, headpieces, and arrangements for churches and receptions with attendees.
"They've already been stressed out before it's all over, choosing the flowers is a relief," she said.
Relief is not yet in Ann Hackett's vocabulary. Hackett came to the Bridal Show to do some advance scouting for her daughter, Libby, who is getting married in September. With her daughter finishing up dental school this semester, Hackett is gathering information for her to look through when she comes home this weekend.
Helping to prepare for the wedding of her first of three daughters has been challenging. Even with six months to go until the big day, all those unmade decisions are looming larger each week.
"By the time February comes along, we have to get the big decisions out of the way," Hackett said. "It's really overwhelming, all the different decisions you have to make; you want it to be nice, distinctive and unique."
Hackett conducted some unorthodox research last weekend when she attended a traditional Hindu wedding in Houston.
"It was a beautiful wedding with all the women in saris, the ceremony all in Sanskrit, 500 guests and a four-foot ice sculpture," she said. "I thought we might be able to get some ideas but it was a different scale."