Here come the brides: Women's Expo features all things wedding

MOSES LAKE — The atmosphere was fun, friendly and feminine on Saturday as the Washington Women’s Expo filled the ATEC Center at Big Bend Community College. Although a wide range of services and products geared toward women was featured, the expo’s origins as a bridal show still shone through. About 700 people attended, according to event coordinator Tera Redwine.

Along with the usual range of vendors and exhibitors, the five-hour event organized by the Columbia Basin Herald also included presentations from DoTerra Essential Oils, Tastefully Simple, CrossFit Four Pillars and Jazzercise, and finished with a fashion show featuring wedding dresses and formalwear supplied by Celestial Selections of Spokane Valley and Formality Tuxes & More in Moses Lake.

Celestial Selections owner Teresa Akers wasn’t sure how many dresses she and her husband Dave had brought for the show. “I kind of lost count after 55,” she laughed.

The Akerses have owned the 9,000-square-foot bridal and formalwear shop for four years, Teresa Akers said, having bought it when the previous owners retired after 13 years.

Jerry Alldridge of Home Video Studio wasn’t put off in the least by being one of the few males in the place. He said his years as an elementary school librarian had left him well accustomed to being outnumbered. And the Women’s Expo is a great place to generate some business for his custom videography business.

“I can keep up with customers all over the state,” he said. “I’m based in Ellensburg but I have customers in Moses Lake, Quincy and Othello.”

Tammie Gilley of Tastefully Simple echoed Alldridge’s enthusiasm for the expo.

“I’m having so much fun,” she said brightly. “Great sales. We don’t have any consultants in the area, so most people see us once a year at this show. We’ve booked a few parties, which is the goal.”

Tastefully Simple is a multi-level marketing company that offers kits with recipes and most of the ingredients for quick, tasty meals, At first blush, that doesn’t sound like something wedding-related, but Gilley pointed out that young newlyweds can benefit especially from a little help in the kitchen. An awful lot of the Millennial generation that’s now coming of age has grown up without learning to cook, she said.

Another thing you don’t usually associate with weddings is fireworks, at least not in the literal sense. But Milt Brown of Alpha Pyrotechnics said his specialty is becoming a popular addition to celebrations like weddings and anniversaries. They even have pink and blue fireworks for baby gender-reveal parties.

“We’re a smaller company, so we can do smaller events that can’t afford a bigger (pyrotechnic) company,” Brown said. He’s a second-generation pyrotechnician himself, and when his son Jerel came home from the military, the first thing he did was convince his dad to start their own company. Alpha Pyrotechnics is based in Yakima goes out of its way to hire local specialists, Brown added.

The fashion show finished the event and for some attendees was clearly the highlight. All other activity came to a stop as models showed off wedding, prom and formal dresses. A group of five charming little girls also modeled flower girl dresses, and five young men showed off a selection of tuxes. A few whoops went up from the ladies in the audience when the tux models took off their jackets and strode down the catwalk.

“It was a great day to get out with family and friends and do a little shopping,” Redwine said. “A chance to look over some products and services you might not see every day.”