Dress rehearsal - Bridal, prom show draws 1,250

Alicia Nachmeier has planned for Oct. 15 for nearly a year, while Jenni Emanie anticipates May 7 with glee.

Both residents of Cape Girardeau patiently await the arrival of the most exciting days of their lives: a wedding and a prom. They attended the Bridal Prom Expo at the Osage Community Centre on Sunday to discover creative ways to make the occasions more original.

Since finishing school was a priority, a three-year engagement for 20-year-old Nachmeier was not burdensome.

Wedding plans began in March 2004 and the process has run smoothly, Nachmeier said. A long-sleeved wedding gown has been selected. The reception hall and dinner reservations are booked. Flowers in fall colors have been chosen.

Yet to be finalized are the location of the wedding and the bridesmaid gowns, which are two reasons why Nachmeier attended the expo.

About 1,250 people attended, said Rick Lambert, general manager of KGMO radio, which sponsored the annual event. Vendors offered services from catering to dieting, from massages to vacations, and from tanning to color swatching for skin tones.

"I'm looking for inspiration really," Nachmeier said. "I'm very creative. I don't want to just copy what someone else has done for their wedding."

An especially interesting idea, she said, was a tiered fountain flowing with liquid chocolate. Guests could skewer fruit and drench the fruit in white, milk, dark or Belgian chocolate.

While Emanie is the future sister-in-law to Nachmeier as well as a bridesmaid, the 18-year-old sought inspiration for the upcoming Central High School prom. The dress has to be perfect, especially because the guidance counselors have been open-minded about the theme and decorations.

"They have awesome ideas to make it a more magical night for us, to make it something to remember," Emanie said. Ideas include an entrance shaped like a golden gate, with a fake river and bridge -- or possibly renting a riverboat to hold the prom on.

On entering the expo, Emanie squealed over a dress that 17-year-old Rachel Glueck of Scott City was modeling for Alyshia's Magical Moments of Cape Girardeau. Everything about the dress was perfect, Emanie said, the floor-length, form-fitting cut, the slit up the side, the clusters of cascading sequins, the straps and the citrus orange color.

After discussing purchasing policies with Alyshia's representatives, Emanie was satisfied to learn that the store sells each style of dress to only one girl at each high school. Considering that it took Emanie four months to choose a dress for a freshman dance, she said it was important that she start visiting the stores by today.

"I'm positive that I will see a dress and have one in layaway," she said.

While Emanie's attention shifted among the models wearing prom dresses, hundreds of eyes focused on the fashion shows that exhibited this season's selection of flower girl, bridesmaid and wedding dresses.

For Scott City sisters Karissa Holst, 1, and Katessa Simmons, 12, modeling flower-girl dresses was just for fun -- no weddings were actually involved. Their mother, Linda Holst, said that fashions shows are hobby that helps her children be comfortable in large crowds.

As for modeling, Katessa said, "I would like to do it as a career, but right now I just do it for fun."

jmetelski@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127