Here comes the annual bridal showcase event
It's not quite one-stop nuptials planning, but Naper Settlement's annual bridal expo stands to help engaged couples get a solid handle on the many facets of planning their big day.
"The purpose of the event is to give brides and grooms a chance to be in a more one-on-one, intimate atmosphere to talk to vendors about their wedding," said Catherine Bretag, Naper Settlement's organizational resources manager, who is overseeing the preparations.
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The event will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the living-history museum, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville.
In addition to having a chance to speak directly with nearly three dozen providers of matrimonial goods and services, those who attend the fifth annual Bridal Showcase will be invited to tour Century Memorial Chapel, a nondenominational Gothic Revival church built in 1864. The picturesque chapel is a popular setting for area weddings. About half the exhibitors will be set up in the chapel's basement. The rest will display their offerings in the Pre-Emption House, near the Aurora Avenue entrance.
Organizers of the showcase make a point of attracting businesses based in Naperville that work in the wedding industry and are "close, local and reliable," Bretag said.
Lynn Harrison is among the participants each year. Her bed-and-breakfast inn, Harrison House, is in a vintage house on Eagle Street, near downtown.
"We have wedding couples all the time, a couple times a month," said Harrison, who encourages a romantic atmosphere by placing fresh flowers in the rooms and chocolates on the pillows. "They like to stay here their wedding night."
Bridal parties sometimes fill up all five rooms in the residential-style inn, she said, and out-of-town relatives and other guests also are often housed there.
Admission to the wedding expo is free. For information, call 630-420-6010 or the event hot line at 630-305-5555 or visit www.napersettlement.museum.
