Wedding vendors and brides-to-be gather at historic Elder House

FALLBROOK — The Village Bridal Boutique, Village News and the Elder House hosted a Village Bridal Faire for local businesses at the historic Elder House in downtown Fallbrook to show what they could do, start to finish, for local residents planning a wedding or event.

Thirty local business – including wedding venues, jewelers, bakeries, florists, restaurants, custom loungewear companies, hairdressers, photographers, fitness trainers, DJs, event planners, dove release companies, artists with beautiful sculptures, a party rental company and a retail wedding/formal dress store – all gathered in one area to show brides-to-be that they have everything it takes to make their day perfect right here in the Village.

About 175 people attended; visited with vendors; and enjoyed fashion shows throughout the day. Forty brides-to-be gathered and meandered through the historic property as they planned their special day.

Three fashion shows garnered the attention of many onlookers while the latest fashions from Village Bridal Boutique were displayed for all to see. Dozens of beautiful wedding dresses were presented as well as dresses that could be used for bridesmaids, the Marine Ball, high school dances or prom.

Ruchir Patel, wearing a stylish tux, served as the escort for each of the girls during the fashion show. Village Bridal has hundreds of beautiful dresses throughout their store near Major Market.

Suzanne and John Chadwick from Hair Drama were the official hairdressers for the fashion show. The girls enjoyed having them curl, twist, straighten and create beautiful up-dos to complement each dress.

“The Chadwicks had such a great attitude with the girls all day. It truly seemed as though they were having fun and the speed at which they could completely change someone’s hairdo was amazing!” said Laurianna Briana, who helped to organize the day for Village News.

“We wanted to showcase what our local companies could do so that people would know we have everything they could want locally, including companies that have won national awards in their profession,” said Elder House owner and Village News publisher Julie Reeder.

Leslie Thourenell from Those Two Ladies decorated and transformed the Elder House with yards and yards of draping fabric to show how venues can be dressed up professionally. Tables were made beautiful with floor-length cloths from Ace Party Rentals and colorful flower bouquets provided by Abigail’s and Flowers over Time.

The grounds of the Elder House were transformed by Briggs Tree Farms in Vista, which provided the use of dozens of bougainvillea plants, bringing bright color to the 125-year-old venue and providing a beautiful backdrop for all the models and vendors.

For information on the bridal faire being scheduled for 2010, please call (760) 723-7319.