Relationships Talk

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) Putting together a wedding isn’t easy, but Gainesville’s first ever wedding expo inside the Swamp helped many local brides get an idea of what opportunities are out there for the big day. Here are some of the things we learned anyone planning a wedding should be aware of.

The wedding dress is an integral part of the entire day and wedding dress companies advise you don’t wait to find yours until the last minute.
Macy Wells is the manager at The Golden Needle Bridal in Lake City she said, “if you buy off the floor we can have it ready in a matter of weeks that’s not a big deal. If you want a custom dress, custom links or any type of alterations or super custom it’s going to take around 4 months to come in and then alterations take 6 -8 weeks so you’d be good with 6 months.”

The other big decisions to make before others is “where” do you want to get married.
David Appel is a manager at Keith Watson Events who specialize in weddings. “Venues tend to book up very far in advance and then, of course, a venue itself will dictate how all the other vendors will work. Like if a venue doesn’t have a kitchen or anywhere for a caterer to work that’s going to have to be taken into account.”

Because Gainesville doesn’t have many large venues locations, planners say weddings average 100-150 people. But, whether you’re on a budget or going all out, the expo showcased what local options are available.
Megan Shishkin came as a Bride planning her wedding she said, “I’m here today to look for caters, photographers, dresses everything really. I’m desperately looking for a photographer because they book up the fastest and I don’t want to settle on that because it’s something that will last forever.”
TV20’s Landon Harrar reported “and of course one of the most important parts of a wedding is making sure you have yourself a good partner. this one happens to be mine, now excuse me while we go get a little stressed out as I hope she doesn’t ant everything in this room at our wedding.