Brides-to-be can plan big day at settlement expo

Coming up with a wedding plan can be a lot like snapping together the irregular shapes of a jigsaw puzzle --fun, challenging and frustrating.

The Bridal Showcase at Naper Settlement, a modest-sized bridal expo, can help brides-to-be ease into those details.

In its sixth year, the showcase will feature 36 vendors offering everything for weddings, from invitations to flowers to photographers to honeymoon vacations.

"It's smaller, so it's more intimate, more accommodating," said Catherine Bretag, settlement organization resources manager.

Visitors on Friday and Saturday will have the opportunity to discuss their needs with vendors and book services and products right on the spot.

"Most of (the vendors) come with their date books," Bretag said.

Wedding planners can use the showcase to line up all the elements for a wedding or to pick and choose a few key frills for a wedding already well into the planning stages.

And for those with little time to plan the big event, the showcase provides an efficient one-stop shopping experience.

Bretag said about seven new vendors will be at this year's showcase, including Sullivan's Steakhouse; JH Paper Art, which produces custom-designed wedding invitations; and Indigo Trails Jewelry, a company introducing a new line of wedding jewelry.

All the showcase vendors are based locally, she said.

"They're either from Naperville or the local, surrounding area," she said, adding that proximity can be important when wedding planners are counting on so many suppliers to work in concert.

Showcase visitors also can book a wedding ceremony in the settlement's Century Memorial Chapel, an 1864 gothic revival church.

Clients reserve a two-hour stretch for the ceremony, plus a one-hour rehearsal, either on the day of the ceremony or the day before, Bretag said.

Bretag said few, if any, premium 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday slots remain for the coming year. In fact, she said, several weddings already have been booked for 2009.

"But we do have plenty of times open at other times (and days)," she said.

If you go

What: Bridal Showcase

Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville

When: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

Admission: Free

Info: (630) 420-6010 or napersettlement.museum