Students learning from JJC bridal show

Fall weddings are popular these days, as are the colors brown and pink and food stations at the reception.

These and other wedding trends will be spotlighted from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 22 at a bridal show at the Joliet Junior College Renaissance Center, 214 N. Ottawa St.

And this year the event is doing more than just educating community members on trends -- it is serving as an educational opportunity for JJC students as well.

In addition to classroom instruction, students in the culinary arts and hospitality programs learn by doing. The culinary arts students prepare weekly buffets at the Renaissance Center, as well as plan the menu for and prepare the Friday Night Out dinner series and other special events.

"It's important as they graduate because during the classes they are reading the books and they are watching the videos, but by job shadowing me they are getting real-world experience," said Susan Stockwell, wedding and event planner at the Renaissance Center.

Two students, Elva Bores and Samantha Meyer, will shadow Stockwell during the November bridal show and then will apply that experience in January when they plan a bridal open house and expo.

"I love working at the Renaissance Center because it gives me a great deal of experience in the hospitality industry by learning firsthand (from) Suzie Stockwell," said Meyer, who said she to be a wedding/event planner.

Admission to the Nov. 22 bridal show costs $10, which includes a vendor show and a bridal fashion show featuring fashions from White Carriage Bridal.

For an additional $10.95, attendees can enjoy an Italian buffet prepared by culinary arts students. This is the seventh year the event has been held at the center.

"Every year that I have done it, it's grown," Stockwell said. "Every year it is getting bigger and better than ever, because as I do it, I am learning too."

The first 100 brides in attendance in November will get tickets for the event in January, when they will be eligible to win a wedding of a lifetime, valued at $15,000.

"I do believe in making a bride's dreams come true and with the economy today I wanted to do something to give back to brides," Stockwell said."If I could just make someone's dreams come true, it would just make my day."

For more information on the event in November or in January, call Stockwell at 815-280-1404.