By JORDAN FOUTS
SYRACUSE — Kaci Stahly and John Gall needed a little help planning for their wedding next June.
The couple have their color scheme picked out — black and champagne — but still have to decide on a location, cakes, DJ, jewelry and other details. Luckily, they found it all at the second Wawasee Bridal/Prom Fashion Show and Expo.
Stahly, Gall and a few family members joined more than 100 attendees at the show Sunday at Wawasee Middle School. Tables for 30 local businesses filled the room, offering samples of sounds and gowns, cakes and catering, flowers and photography, and other wedding and prom particulars.
The event is aimed at promoting local businesses and showing people the variety of services they can find in the area, said Tammy Cotton, executive director of Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the show. Proceeds from ticket sales and vendor registration will go toward next year’s expo.
One of Stahly and Gall’s stops was Artistic Impressions Photography owned by Jenni Kulp, who set up shop in Syracuse in November after operating out of her home for three years. She offers wedding packages starting at $900 and senior portraits starting at $30, and can arrange photos in anything from mini-books to large, leatherbound albums.
Besides vendors, the expo featured showings of more than 60 bridal, bridesmaid and prom gowns — some of the hundreds available at Affairs to Remember in Middlebury. Styles ranged from traditional white, with beaded details and long, lacy trains, to modern cocktail dresses with short skirts and colorful patterns.
Sue Ann VonBlon with Affairs noted that many gowns come in a variety of colors, that other dresses not carried in-store can be ordered from the shop, and that custom sewing and alterations are also available. She said prom dresses range in price from $50 to $400, and bridal gowns from $200 to $1,000, but most average around $500.
Jennifer Crothers, a senior at Wawasee High School, watched the prom fashion show with friend Kelsea Roberts, a junior. Crothers already picked out her dress for prom while Roberts is still looking, though the junior saw one she liked during the show — sapphire blue with a floor-length side-slit skirt.
The senior’s mother, Kim Crothers, was at the expo showing the garters, corsages and boutonnieres she designs. An employee at Absolutely Flowers and Gifts, which is moving to Syracuse, she has worked with flowers for more than 30 years and recently began making custom garters, from simple accented white to ones decorated with glitter, rhinestones and green tassels.
She began sewing garters when her older daughter and friends needed them to match their dresses — a garter removal ceremony is a longstanding tradition at Wawasee prom. She has also designed garters to match camouflage and Harley-Davidson themes.
“Not everybody wants a white garter,” Kim Crothers remarked. “Some people want something a little different.”
Next to her booth was Kalyco LLC Laser Engraving of Milford, which can etch names and designs onto wine bottles, champagne flutes, silverware and other wedding party gifts. Candi and Terry Norris said they saw a need and started the business several years ago to fill it.
Nearby was the Sleepy Owl restaurant of Syracuse, which recently began offering catering, delivery and hall rental; and Carr’s Cakes of North Webster, a full-service bakery that opened late last year. Owner Sue Carr, who has 30 years of baking experience, charges $2.25 per serving and offers free delivery within 25 miles of her shop, and stressed that her cakes are prepared fresh, never frozen.
“I’ve done everything from a small cupcake to a six-tier wedding cake,” Carr said. “I haven’t found a cake yet that I can’t do.”
Meanwhile Amy Rensberger, branch manager at Syracuse KeyBank, ran what she called the “reality check booth.” She gave visitors an idea of what weddings in the area cost — between $17,000 and $29,000 on average — and advised them to stay grounded while planning a wedding and to keep track of what they spend by opening a separate checking account.
“It’s real easy for people to get caught up in the excitement of the occasion and not worry about the consequences of overspending,” Rensberger said. “Be responsible about debt and don’t start out your marriage saddled like that.”
