MUSCATINE, Iowa - There seemed to be a recurring theme in comments of brides-to-be at the fifth annual Muscatine Bridal Showcase: You don’t have to go far from home to plan a wonderful wedding.

“You can stay home and get it all done,” said Pam Price of Illinois City, Ill. Her daughter, Amanda Price is getting married to Erik Purdy in late summer. “You don’t have to go to Davenport or Moline.”

Thirty vendors, mostly from Muscatine, who offer a variety of wedding services, displayed their wares, held drawings for free services and gave away samples to 80-some future brides and their fiancés, mothers, sisters and friends at the expo, coordinated by Jaime Lynn Bryant, account executive at the Muscatine Journal. The event was at the Holiday Inn.

Teresa Riley, who attended the expo with future daughter-in-law Sandra Colon, noted that having so many vendors in one spot made shopping around much easier.

“There are lots of different foods available (for rehearsal dinners and receptions),” Riley said. “The chocolate fountain is a popular item.”

“I was surprised that all this was here in town,” said Colon, who is planning an Aug. 12 wedding at Zion Lutheran Church with fiancé Joshua Riley.

Grooms-to-be were in the minority at the event, but Jason Goddard was one exception. He and his fiancée, Britt Nesmith, who are tying the knot June 10 at Mulford Evangelical Free Church in Muscatine, attended the expo together.

“He’s the one who told me about it. He heard about it on the radio,” Nesmith explained. “Everybody’s so friendly and ready to help.”

Goddard said he and his bride planned to ride from their wedding to the reception at Whispering Pines Golf Course in an Impala convertible. However, after talking to Adam and Laura Brown of B&B Farms Pony and Carriage Rides at the show, they may opt for a horse-drawn carriage instead.

Other brides milled about, tasting samples of hors d’oeuvres, candies and wedding cakes, pricing flowers and browsing through photo albums.

Photography trends

Linda Moore of Linda L. Moore photography, Muscatine, said new brides seem to be leaning toward flush-mount books, instead of traditional matted photos in an album and photojournalism styles as opposed to traditional poses for wedding photographs.

“It’s more candid, fun, un-posed,” Moore explained. “It tells a story. It captures the emotion and romance of the day, not just the way we look.

“It uses a lot of black and white and different angles instead of traditional poses. It’s more artsy, more creative. It’s more ‘hugs and kisses’ than ‘smile and look at the camera.’”

Moore believes there is still room for traditional wedding photos as well and couples can find a happy medium with a mix of both contemporary and traditional looks. She also highly recommends that photos be taken before the wedding, when hair, makeup and clothing are fresh.

More nontraditional

Dawn Johnson of Heaven Scent Floral, Muscatine, hasn’t noticed a trend in wedding flower choices, but has detected a change in weddings in general, toward the non-traditional. She said that theme weddings are popular, with brides planning their decorations and flowers around a Hollywood, Paris or luau theme.

Something fun that Heaven Scent offers is the five-in-one fortune toss bouquet. About five years ago, Johnson heard about the concept at a Chicago floral show. Five little groups of 1-2 flowers, each with a bow and a fortune, like “you’ll meet the man of your dreams,” or “you’ll marry the boy next door,” are fastened together with a pipe cleaner. Then the bride untwists it just before she tosses the bouquet.

“Everybody thinks she has one bouquet, but when she tosses it, it comes apart and five different people get to catch it,” Johnson said.

Later in the afternoon, many of the showcase attendees gathered at poolside to get a first-hand look at the latest wedding fashions for men and women from Premier Prom & Bridal Boutique of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and K & D Formalwear of Muscatine.

Premier Prom & Bridal Boutique manager, Tracy Van Ness, a certified wedding consultant, said many brides still use the traditional black and white color scheme in their weddings. However, white and ivory gowns with bits of color accents, such as pink, blue and claret, are gaining popularity.

Some brides have even chosen solid-color gowns in baby pink and ice blue, which Tracy described as a pale blue, that almost looks white. Bright greens and pinks are popular color choices for bridesmaids’ gowns, as well as chocolate brown, sometimes paired with pink.

‘Anything goes’

When it comes to wedding shoes, Tracy said “anything goes.”

“Whatever is comfortable, often a basic pump, maybe with rhinestone detail,” she said. “Some brides choose a ballet slipper.”

Or sometimes, it’s no shoes at all, if the couple is opting for another popular trend n a destination wedding.

“Couples go to Vegas, Cancun or the Bahamas, so they have simple gowns without a train or with a little sweep train in back, or sometimes they’re shorter,” Tracy said. “Oftentimes, the bride goes barefoot, if she’s getting married on the beach.”

Dennis Cockshoot of K&D Formalwear said he has seen a return to white tuxedoes for the groom, often with vests and accessories in bright bubble gum pink and apple green to coordinate with the bright colors of the girls’ dresses.

Another popular item among Muscatine grooms is the camouflage/black reversible tuxedo vest for the outdoorsman. Cockshoot said if the groom so chooses, he can wear it black-side-out for the wedding and reverse it to the camo side for a more casual look at the reception.

Show coordinator Bryant said she has had a positive response from vendors and expo attendees alike.

“Each year, we’ve experienced a growth and this year we’ve sort of plateaued,” she said.

‘Best show’ yet

“But I feel it was the best show we’ve had due to the quality of the vendors. We had more booths than ever before. It was the least stressed I’ve ever been on Bridal expo weekend, because I had the resources of the entire {Journal} company,” Jaime said.

“Another important element was the bridal store that did the style show. In the past I’ve had to recruit the models and emceed it, but this year the dress shop (from Mount Pleasant) completely handled it.”

Contact Deidre Pearson at 563-264-2331 or at chickenscratch@hotmail.com.