More than 350 people attended the 32nd annual Leader Wedding Fair on Feb. 1 at the Corpus Christi Center on the St. Joseph Catholic Church campus in Imperial.
The first 50 brides-to-be to walk through the doors received free swag bags provided by the Bridal Shoppe in Crystal City. The bags contained freebies from other event vendors.
“We ran out of the bridal swag bags pretty quickly,” said Katelyn Mary Skaggs, advertising manager at the Leader. “While it was freezing cold outside Sunday afternoon, the wedding fair was lovely. We appreciate everyone who came out, and we hope they found what they needed.”
There were 32 vendors featured at the event, including venues, caterers, photographers, DJs, travel agents, makeup artists, florists and more.
“We had a little bit of everything,” Skaggs said. “My favorite part was Savvi Formalwear’s fashion show with suits and tuxes.
“The models were from Spotlight Community Theatre. They really knew how to strut down the runway, and they had fun with it. We appreciate Complete Weddings and Events for providing the music for the show.”
She said she also enjoyed walking around and sampling food from the catering businesses, as well as from Nothing Bundt Cakes.
There were two guest speakers at the wedding fair. Tracey Luye with Brightway Insurance, the First Choice Agency in Arnold, talked about event insurance and how to combine insurance after you get married. Amy Lovewell with the Bridal Shoppe talked about bridal trends and how to choose the perfect wedding dress.
This year’s charity to benefit from Wedding Fair ticket proceeds was the Twin City Area Optimist Club.
“We will be writing them a check for $750,” Skaggs said. “They were extremely helpful during the Wedding Fair event, and we were happy to partner with them this year.”
More than $51,000 from ticket sales has been donated to local charities over the Wedding Fair’s history.
The date is already set for next year’s Leader Wedding Fair.
“The event will be Sunday, Feb. 7,” Skaggs said. “Please plan to join us for a fun afternoon.”
Click to see more photos from the event: