Wedding Gowns & Bridal Fashion

There was a variety of reasons men could not make it Sunday to the Wedding Fair at the American Bank Center.

“He’s at work,” said bride-to-be Megan Escobedo, of her fiance.

“Her fiance is in the Air Force, stationed in Kansas,” said Velma Camacho, whose daughter Vanessa is getting married next month.

“I really didn’t give him a choice,” said Melissa Fonseca, who recently had a child and is planning her own wedding. “I said, ‘I’m leaving, and you’re staying home to take care of the baby.’ ”

What was highly visible at the event — mothers. While the bi-annual fair, which attracted more than 2,000 people, also brought some potential grooms, mothers and other older female relatives were a formidable presence. They joined daughters and future daughters-in-law as they tried cake, cast critical gazes at decorations and dresses and networked with planners.

Camacho, who sat down with a cake sample as she waited for a bridal fashion show to begin, said she saw the day as an opportunity to relive and revamp her own wedding-planning experience more than 30 years ago. She said she took a backseat then when it came to setting up her big day.

“Back then, mom and dad did more of the planning than the bride did,” she said. “Now, I’m helping out, but I’m letting my daughter decide what she wants.”

Tim Lyons, co-owner of B&T Rentals, said 80 percent of calls his business receives are from mothers of brides.

“There are some couples, but normally, it’ll be the mother and the daughter,” he said. “The guy thing is the bachelor party and maybe the honeymoon.”

While Christina Trudeau, manager of Electric Tan, joked that “men just get in the way,” laser technician April Hinojosa said having mom around adds a feeling of comfort and stability to the planning of a major life change.

Escobedo said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“She needs to be involved in everything,” she said. “Her opinion means more to me than anything.”

More shows from Wedding Fair Events

Source: Caller.com