Love doesn’t stop for anything – not even for an economy that’s tanked. That’s why, on January 8 and 9, thousands of brides-to-be flocked to the 15th annual Bridal Expo in Wichita. Some brought their fiancés, some brought their friends – but all brought their wallets. With almost two hundred booths and bridal fashion from six prominent bridal stores, the bridal show is the biggest in Kansas, and always attracts countless couples planning their weddings. Most visitors are looking for the opportunity to find all different kinds of wedding services in one spot, and, in this age of Internet, with real people to answer their questions instead of a computer screen.

According to Kylie McDonald, who’s planning her wedding for the summer, “It helps me know about some of the vendors. I didn't know about a lot of them until today. It also helps me with information, like a price list, and what venues they can do things at.”

Another attraction of the Bridal Expo is that is shows couples simpler alternatives than the traditional, lavish wedding, which is too expensive for most nowadays. As Kylie McDonald commented, “It limits the budget, and you have to do things different. A lot of my wedding is going to be “do it yourself” so it has definitely affected a lot that we have done for our wedding.”

Vendors are pleased to give brides alternatives to choose from. Linda Presley, of Tomorrow’s Memories, said, “Why not rent your dress? What are you going to do with it afterwards? It's a big expense, and if you rent it, you can have the price of the whole wedding for what the dress would have cost.”

Ms. Presley went on to encourage couples to be creative and think outside of the box when planning their weddings.