Planning for dream wedding

Brides-to-be – along with some future grooms – got to imagine Sunday what their wedding might look like. Or taste like. Or sound like.

Grand Wayne Center again hosted the Bridal Extravaganza, a four-hour event that – with nearly 100 vendors – featured seemingly everything needed for a wedding.

Along with bridal gowns, attendees could learn about venues and honeymoon spots, sample cakes, and listen to a chamber music ensemble that advertised “Outdoor weddings are our specialty.”

Fort Wayne Newspapers and Fort Wayne Magazine's Weddings sponsored the 11th annual event.

High school sweethearts Catherine Schamberg and David Bell of Fort Wayne brought their mothers to the extravaganza. They plan to tie the knot next February and were considering placing a deposit with one vendor Sunday.

The afternoon offered an easy way to see everything at once, they said, with the bride-to-be noting the experience gave her a better idea of her likes and dislikes than looking at photos online.

Kaitlyn Carr of Muncie agreed about the value of seeing elements, such as table settings, in person. She hoped the show, which she also attended last year, would give her ideas for her wedding, she said, noting she is “very particular.”

Carr, along with more than 100 others, watched as models sashayed down a runway donning wedding gowns and other bridal fashions to pop music.

A few dresses caught her eye, she said, predicting her dress will be the last item she'll check off.

Even brides with dresses stopped to watch the fashion show. Such was the case with Kryss Kuehne, who stood alongside fiancé Carlos Zaragoza.

The couple, who are planning a September 2019 wedding, have “a lot of planning still to do,” Kuehne said.