Oh-Brides Magazine hosted the fourth annual Georgia Bridal Bash Wedding Expo at the Marriott Centreplex on Sunday, Jan. 13. The Bridal Bash is designed to inspire brides during their wedding planning process.
The expo targets brides, but entire bridal parties (including grooms) are welcome to attend. Local wedding vendors set up display tables around the Centreplex convention center displaying their respective product or expertise.
Vendors and sponsors include Focal Blu, wedding videographers; Clear Channel, a local radio station; Signature, a salon and spa; Couture, a hair and makeup studio; Unique, an event management business; Sweet Seats, a seating rental company; Moye Photography; and Brilliant Linens.
Regular tickets to the Bridal Bash were $10 each. A limited number of VIP tickets were offered for $25 each. VIP tickets allowed brides to arrive at the event one hour early and receive exclusive “Bash-tinis” along with several other goodies.
Brides, flanked by their bridesmaids, visited each vendor to get advice and sample each vendor’s products. Many of the vendors offered discounts if bridal parties made a reservation during the Bridal Bash.
Some of the displays were more interactive than others. One corner of the convention center was dominated by stretch limousines, which were open for tours. Lashes and Mustaches, a full-service salon, hosted a cigar bar at the Bridal Bash: a nod to grooms planning bachelor parties.
Lashes and Mustaches has a “Luxury RV Land Yacht Travel Trailer” that can be rented for 4 or more hours.
The grand finale of the Bridal Bash was a fashion show, featuring Destiny’s Boutique formal wear. The make-up and hairstyling was provided by NeNe Brooks of Couture.
VIP ticket holders got front-row seating. Sponsors introduced themselves before the show, and the host invited brides to encircle the runway and led them in several slide dances. AJ the DJ provided music for the Bridal Bash and the fashion show.
Strapless and asymmetrical dresses appeared frequently during the show.
Jahsylon Gadson, a senior at Westside High School, has been a model for the Georgia Bridal Bash for three years. She was originally contacted by Moye Photography.
“When they told me about it in 2011, I couldn’t pass it up,” Gadson said. The Bridal Bash was her first professional modeling job, and she has since modeled with the local Macy’s and Dillard’s.
“I feel so powerful when I coming down the runway,” Gadson said. “Modeling is my passion.”
The models of the Bridal Bash picked out their own dresses and tuxes for the fashion show. Each outfit was approved by Destiny’s and the director of the Bridal Bash.
Gadson recently auditioned to appear on MTV’s Made, a reality TV show that recently came to Bibb County. Gadson hopes to become a professional model.
Georgia Bridal Bash comes to Macon
