Glamour and glassware mixed with tresses and tuxedos to woo the betrothed and bystanders alike at the Prince George Civic Centre on Saturday.
The occasion was the 24th annual Sweetheart Bridal Show, which Norm Coyne, the events manager for Citizen Special Events, described as a "one stop shop" covering every aspect of wedding planning from the engagement to the big day.
"It's to save the brides' time," said Coyne. "We work pretty hard to make it super fun and I think this is the biggest bridal show going for our region."
Coyne also noted $2 from every ticket went to Prince George Dress Dreams, a community-based non-profit group that provides formal gowns that have been donated by the public to women who want to attend functions like prom and grad.
In addition to rings, cakes, tents, deejays, photographers and limousines, Coyne noted a few unusual offerings including: Prince George's Works of Heart, which makes flowers and bouquets from materials ranging from paper to shells to even Scrabble pieces; Birchwood Barn, which provides one-of-a-kind items and props for set pieces like photo shoots; Caribou Brewmasters, who can help with a home-brewed wedding; Predator Paintball, which provides an action-packed venue for events like a stag or stagette party; and the historic site Barkerville.
"I love Barkerville, I think Barkerville is so crazy cool as a destination wedding spot," said Coyne. "To me that's something that's like a local regional treasure."
Coyne said many of the showgoers visiting the Civic Centre were brides to be looking for the perfect dress. In past years, the trend dress-wise and wedding-wise have been more modest as brides and grooms dedicated their resources to jetting off to locations like Mexico, said Kim Croft, owner of the Image in White Wedding Gallery.
But, partly due to Kate Middleton's royal wedding to Prince William in 2011 and her Sarah Burton-designed, Alexander McQueen dress, Croft believes more formal weddings - and dresses - are on the horizon.
"That trend is starting to turn around again," said Croft.
Casey Castle, the owner of Gallery Bridal Boutique, also believes something old is becoming something new again. Among the dresses and other wedding needs she satisfies at her store, Castle noticed that fascinators - elaborate lightweight headwear with netting and feathers - last year "had become the it thing in bridal."
But Castle noted specialized wedding headwear has been something that has both long fascinated her and long been the fashion in Europe.
"When you go to Britain, bridal shops don't carry headwear, you would purchase your dress and then you would take your dress to a trained milliner who would design you something specific for whatever your needs are," said Castle, who added she is a trained milliner who can provide a similar service from her store. "My favourite thing is wirework - wirework is my specialty. These are amazingly high end (pieces)... very intricate, very unusual."
Castle's wirework is available in both head pieces and jewelry.
