Brides-to-be bustle through wedding expo

Wedding season is still several months away, but it’s never too early to plan.

Suits, dresses, venues, catering, music, transportation — it can all seem overwhelming at first. Fortunately, the Central Pa. Bridal Expo brought all those options under one roof.

The expo showcased more than 80 vendors Sunday at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, said Diana Stapleford, Magnum Broadcasting general manager and show organizer. About 3,000 brides-to-be, grooms, family members and friends were expected to fill the showroom floors.

“The strength in the show is that you can see the dresses and clothes in person,” Stapleford said, “and speak one-on-one with the vendors.”

Practically every square inch of the showrooms were filled, she said, featuring caterers, DJs, lighting companies, cake samples and even limousines.

“This place has everything,” she said.

Stapleford said she’s been organizing the show for the past 23 years, and in that time, it’s grown to the point where it’s oversold. While the show has moved several times over the years — including stints at the Ramada Inn and Celebration Hall — the Penn Stater is the perfect venue.

It’s an elegant venue, she said, and it “screams bridal.” While the show has had opportunities to move to different venues since coming to the Penn Stater, it’s at home where it is.

Vendors were featured in both the Deans Hall and Presidents Hall, exhibiting a variety of decorative styles, catering options, lighting plans and everything in between.

Showcased in Deans Hall were clothes by Formalities by Tracina Fisher in Bellefonte. Gowns by Formalities were present throughout the show, with 25 models dressed in the latest wedding fashions.

“Formalities has been part of the expo for the past 15 years,” manager Kristen Ortiz said. “It’s a chance for people to see how much the area has to offer in wedding ideas, as Bellefonte is just a short drive from State College.”

Ortiz pointed out some of the trendy looks in wedding wear, such as higher jeweled necklines that resemble jewelry. Plunging backs and colored dresses are also popular, she said, indicating a model in a blush-colored gown.

Formalities also offers clothes for men, she said, as colorful suspenders and ties are becoming favorable groom-wear.

When it comes to tuxedos, another local option Stapleford pointed out was Connections, of State College. Owner Bob Steinbach has been operating the store for 20 years, and has been a part of the expo for just as long.

“This year, we have a burst of color in 2016 tuxedos,” he said, pointing to a burgundy jacket. “In previous years it was just whites and blacks. In the past couple years, gray became a strong color, but recently there has been a lot of interest in burgundy and navy.”

For Steinbach, the expo is not so much about booking weddings but more about exposure. The store offers specials throughout the show, but what he said he’s mostly interested in is reaching out and talking to people.

“This is what we do,” he said. “We do the show, do some advertising, and our tux business depends on it.”

Even wedding invitations can be found locally, thanks to The Nittany Quill in downtown State College. Owner Joy Rodgers-Mernin said she has been at the same location for 32 years, and has also been a part of the expo since its inception.

Offering invitation design and personalized calligraphy at the store, Rodgers-Mernin said there are different ways to approach these designs. The type of wedding — chic, shabby, western-themed — can weigh a lot on how an invitation looks, and the shop offers custom colors and lettering as well.

“It’s sort of like this little puzzle, putting an invitation together,” she said.

Like Steinbach, Rodgers-Mernin said she too prefers to get one-on-one with people at the show. People want to touch the paper and the ink, she said, which makes the invitations more real.

While a large portion of the vendors reside in Centre County, it’s not unusual to see vendors from outside the area, Stapleford said. It’s a testament to the reach of the bridal expo, she said, to see vendors from Williamsport and Cambria County.

State College is “absolutely” a destination wedding spot, she said, as Penn State alumni frequently return to have their weddings here. Many soon-to-be married couples are willing to travel back to the area and use the local companies to bring their weddings to life.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 11:09 PM with the headline "Brides-to-be bustle through wedding expo."