Bridal and Prom Showcase celebrates its 30th anniversary

By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer | Sunday, December 31, 2006

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RAPID CITY — The 30th Anniversary Bridal and Prom Showcase promises to have everything needed to plan your wedding without a hitch.

Sally Samuelsen, showcase coordinator, has been orchestrating the bridal and prom show for 29 years. In that time, she has watched the bridal industry grow.

In addition to wedding attire vendors, the show features 65 businesses that cater to the bride and groom. Samuelsen estimates that nearly 1,000 prospective brides and grooms with their entourages of relatives and best friends will attend to see the two bridal fashion style shows at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center. The exhibit doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Admission is $3 per person.

Couples can also view exhibits set up by area musicians, calligraphers, jewelers, caterers, bakers, travel agents, sommeliers, photographers and vendors who provide portable trellises and enough chairs to seat the entire wedding party, Samuelsen said.

“You can plan your whole wedding by going to the bridal show,” she said.

Originated 30 years ago by former clothing-store owner Ben Blumenthal, the showcase has become something of a winter tradition in the Black Hills. Over the past three decades, bridal industry experts have noted some changes in weddings.

Destination weddings have increased by 400 percent. Rather than opt for a wedding in their hometowns, the wedding party will often travel with their friends to exotic, metropolitan or rustic locations.

“We happen to live in a destination area,” Samuelsen said of the Black Hills.

Grooms are taking more of an active part in making wedding decisions, Samuelsen said.

The bridal couple is also growing older — the bride’s average age is 27 as compared to 25 in 1990; the groom’s is 29.

Couples are staying engaged longer, about 14 months as compared to 11 months in 1990; and 32 percent of the couples will pay for their own wedding.

“That’s why we’re seeing more grooms at the bridal show. They’re older, and they’re paying for their wedding,” Samuelsen said.

As a way to celebrate the bridal show’s pearl anniversary, organizers will give away 30 pairs of pearl-stud earrings, a custom-made 30-pearl necklace, a diamond pendant and four bridal packages worth more than $1,000. Grooms may register for a digital camera and three-day Carnival Cruise. The bridal couples may also register for a grand prize of an $800 eight-place setting of stoneware, crystal and flatware.

Prom drawings include a Sony MP3 Player, $100 tuxedo rental, prom tickets for two, a $50 prom dress gift certificate and more.

With calendar, BlackBerry or Palm Pilot in hand, bridal couples can make a lot of decisions about their special ceremony before sitting down for the style show, she said.

Samuelsen said that, during the showcase, bridal couples can meet with professionals to plan menus, photography, invitations, decorating, seating and venues, honeymoons, hair and makeup, and hire the DJ for the reception.

“There is time to process what you’ve learned, and you can go back and talk to them,” she said.

Area bridal shops will present 90 bridal gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses, flower girls’ ensembles, tuxedoes and gowns for mothers of the brides of the latest design.

“Colored bridal gowns are really big this year,” Samuelsen said.

This includes colored ribbon-trimmed gowns or the lightest blush of pink silks and satins, but other designers feature metallic, ivory and golden threads weaved into the bridal fabric.

“It’s going to be a big hit,” Samuelsen said.

If you go

- What: 30th Anniversary Bridal and Prom Showcase

- When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6. Bridal style show begins at noon; bridal and prom fashion show begins at 3 p.m.

- Where: Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center, off Interstate 90 on La Crosse Street exit, Rapid City

- Admission: $3