January 12, 2005
Little details for the big day
Downtown Bridal Show features cakes, fashion show and flowers
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
So many details, so little time.
For area brides planning a wedding this year, the time will fly as they manage all the details of their special day. For the 11th year, the annual Downtown Bridal Show helps them prepare their nuptials by bringing dozens of wedding vendors together in one place.
Held Sunday afternoon at the Park Place Dome, the Downtown Bridal Show drew hundreds of brides and featured information on everything from flowers, music and cakes to clothing, photography and venues.
"It's very helpful," said Camille DePalma of Maple City. "There are a couple of things that are missing though because there's really no caterers."
DePalma is planning a September 10 wedding and came to the show to research gowns, a cake, flowers, videography and photography. She already has some important items locked in for her three-day wedding extravaganza: date and location.
"I'm using the information I get today and now I have prices so I can compare," she said. "It would take too long to shop around."
The packed event also included a much-anticipated fashion show, highlighting wedding styles for brides, grooms, parents of the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls. Vendors were To Have and To Hold Bridal Boutique and Formal Wear, Bay Bridal Boutique and Captain's Quarters.
"I don't even have a dress yet, I'm waiting for the fashion show," said Shannon Doyle of Traverse City, who is preparing for an October 15 wedding. "I do have my church and reception site, but I'm just getting started."
The 11th Annual Downtown Bridal Show doubled last year's attendance, noted Colleen Paveglio, marketing director for the Downtown Development Authority, the show's organizer.
"The show went really well and we estimate over 200 brides this year, not including their whole entourage," she said. "So probably a good 600 people or so."
This year for the first time, a consortium of area wedding vendors called Traverse City Weddings offered a series of seminars to attendees. Topics included alternatives to the same old wedding cake, seasonal table scapes with samples of four tables for the seasons and figure flattering styles from head to toe.
"They came to us and offered to do this," said Paveglio of the seminars, which were held in a meeting room near the Dome.
Bridal shows can be unpredictable events for exhibitors, although their presence is crucial to making contacts and contracts. Last year, Linda Pendock, owner of Kingsley Cakes, brought a hundred taste samples to the show and took at least half home with her. This year, attendees snapped up the miniature pieces of her flavored cakes and she ran out before the show's halfway point.
Pendock has also found that visitors to her booth range from the barely looking to the ready to make a commitment - right now.
"I've actually had people book their weddings here and tell me what they want," Pendock said. "One woman wanted to give me a deposit on the spot but I said not to, I didn't have my receipt book and I like people to try more flavors and want to talk to them more."
The high touch show also helps many brides make decisions, noted Beth Hoffman, a designer at Hibbards Flowers in Traverse City. Their booth featured bouquets in numerous colors and styles, and many brides stopped by to hold, touch and smell the floral arrangements.
"The bouquet is like jewelry, it kind of brings everything together and makes the theme of the wedding," said Hoffman, adding of the women she's helped: "We have brides today making appointments and others filling out lists in their notebook and others just looking."