January 25, 2016 at 4:14 p.m.
Bridal wave
Magical Moments Bridal Expo draws big crowd
Bridal wave
"I think we've got the biggest turnout we've had," said Mary Taylor, owner of Lund and Taylor Bridal Gallerie.
The vendors enjoyed the exposure and the new layout for the event.
"Everyone likes it all upstairs on one level," Taylor said. "That was much nicer this year because we don't have upstairs and down, everybody said it had a nice flow."
Some vendors brought cakes, cupcakes and desserts for brides to sample. Others had handsome tuxedos on display, dazzling flower arrangements, music, photos and more.
Troy Process, co-owner of NT's Finest, enjoyed his first experience at the event.
"This is awesome," Process said, noting that a number of brides planning 2017 weddings were in attendance. "Very good turnout today, good venue, good variety of different types of vendors and suppliers here."
He displayed a number of sweet wedding reception options including cakes, cupcakes and chocolate-dipped pretzels.
The cupcakes had a Northwoods theme.
"We have a spiced rum carrot cake with a cream cheese filling with a fondant with an accent of an acorn - which is peanut butter and chocolate," he said. "It's a meal itself."
The slices of cake that seemed to be most popular were French vanilla with raspberry filling and chocolate with chocolate Bavarian cream.
Brenda Renberg, the cake decorator at Save More Market Place in Minocqua, also enjoyed the new layout at the Expo.
"I think it turned out pretty well this year," she said. "It seems like a lot more flow this year."
Save More has been participating in the Expo for four years.
Brides who visited her booth said they liked the Northwoods-themed birch cake, the alternating tiered cake, and the sparkle on the winter-themed cake.
"They are interested in the cupcakes that we do have available in our store, because that's still very popular and they're considering even the cookies," Renberg said. "(Some said) they never even thought of doing something like that before and they thought it was interesting."
Renberg said the Expo is just as important for the vendors as it is the brides.
"It's very important, I think, to get us out there so people don't have to travel from store to store to see what's out there," she said. "They can just come here and it works out great, so you get your name out there (to) everybody too."
Naomi Zwiers manned the Younique booth and modeled some of the dresses in the fashion show.
"Everything is all-natural, hypoallergenic, made in America, it's chemical-free, cruelty-free, home-based businesses, and has a 14-day 'love it' guarantee," Zwiers said of the products at her booth, which are also mineral-based and have no plastics or chemicals.
Younique also donates a portion of its proceeds to people in need. When purchasing items customers can round up to the nearest dollar and the extra money will go to abused women and children, Zwiers said.
Stacy Faude, who is getting married Oct. 1, was pleased with the variety of products and information at the Expo.
"It's a great selection (of vendors), great food, a lot of great options that you don't hear about all the time," she said.
The Expo's main event is the annual fashion show where brides can see how dresses and tuxedos look on live models.
"I liked a lot of the Alfred Angelo dresses and the fact that they come in 62 different colors because all my bridesmaids are all different and that way they can pick out (what dresses) they like," Faude said.
She liked a few of the wedding dresses and took photos of them for reference.
Amber Czerwinski is getting married Aug. 24, 2017. She said she learned a lot at the Expo.
"I think they had a good variety of vendors, a lot of different caterers, bakers and photographers," she said, adding that she liked the flowing wedding dress with the red sash and train. She also liked the pearl wedding dress but hasn't made a final decision.
"I really liked the lace one for the bridesmaids that had the pockets in it," she said. "I thought that was cool (and) the dark blue one that had the, I think, black sash."
Breanna Kitzke is getting married July 30.
She said the Lund and Taylor event was her first bridal expo and it will probably be the only one she attends.
"I was in a wedding and we had our bridesmaids dresses chosen here," she said.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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