Silence fills the conference center at Best Western Ramkota Hotel just before the bridal showcase begins. Hundreds of brides-to-be glow with excitement. Some squeeze their fiance's, mother's or friend's hand just before music blasts from the loudspeakers and models take to the runway.

Standing on the sidelines -because all the chairs are full - Tessa Walz enjoys the parade of taffeta and tulle, but she didn't have to buy her dress.

"Picking out a dress was the best part of planning my wedding so far," she said. "My mom went with me, and we picked out a template. She's a seamstress, and she made my sister's dress three years ago. Now, she's making mine."

Walz, 25, and her fiance, Brandon Garreau, 30, both of Rapid City, have been planning their wedding since August. With the date set for Sept. 6, they have almost everything worked out, but Walz came to the showcase to tie up a few loose ends. With about 70 exhibitor booths, she was confident she would find a photographer and disc jockey.

"Planning has gone pretty smoothly so far," she said. "I've been planning this day in my head for the past eight years."

The romance began with their "love at first sight" meeting.

"I was working at a car wash eight years ago, and he came in with his Jeep, asking if I could wash it for him," she said. "We knew there was a connection instantly, and the rest is history."

The couple's wedding has been long-awaited by their friends and family.

Garreau provided Walz with a fairly "grown-up" and "responsible" proposal.

They picked out the ring together without a traditional down-on-one-knee kind of scene. But that was just fine for Walz, who said they are laid-back people and she couldn't have pictured it any other way.

"We thought for many years they were never going to get married - that they would just be that couple who has always been together," said Suzi Frost of Rapid City, longtime friend and now a bridesmaid of Walz. "So now that they're actually getting married, it's really exciting."

Frost came with Walz to do the final planning because Garreau had to work. This kind of couple was popular at the event: A few grooms-to-be accompanied their brides to the show, but for the most part, mothers and friends were helping in the planning.

Walz and other couples said the hardest thing is budgeting for the wedding.

The showcase vendors provided them with discount options and some other deals to help.

Making all of the arrangements for a location, dress, music, food and guest list left some of the women feeling a bit overwhelmed. But planning is also part of the fun, they said, and what is more fun to plan than a wedding for you and the man you love?

"When you find someone who really completes you, it makes it easy to do," Walz said.

What's hot in weddings today? Vendors at the bridal show named some trends:

* Destination weddings

* Short bridesmaids' dresses

* Chocolate fountains

* Personalized wedding songs that tell the story of how you fell in love

* Slide shows at the reception to show guests your life together