Brides paint the town white at Seattle expo

Thousands of the Northwest's most glowing shoppers converged at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center on Saturday to pick out the perfect cakes, flowers and ice sculptures for their special day.

For people preparing to spend more than $20,000 on one event, they were a cheerful bunch.

The festive atmosphere moved Wendy Hagerty of Federal Way to buy a wedding dress even though she has no groom in mind.

"I can't believe I came here for my daughter, and I bought a gown," Hagerty said. "It's going to be in my closet, and when I find the right guy, I'll already have it done."

Hagerty got a deal on her dress: $600.

Some boutiques at the Seattle Wedding Show, now in its 16th year, offered much pricier attire. One Vera Wang sheath retailed for $7,250 at the booth for Marcella's La Boutique.

Kim Abundiz, a Marcella's sales consultant, explained the difference.

"All our dresses are silk satin rather than polyester satin, and a lot of them are hand-sewn," she said.

In the United States, the average wedding costs about $26,800, including the reception. That cost does not include the honeymoon, according to costofwedding.com.

Arianna Krueger, co-owner of Woodland Flowers in Duvall, said about half of her clients pay for their weddings themselves. The other half rely on the bride's parents.

The price of weddings keeps going up because people are willing to pay and — as they wait longer to get married — are more able to pay, she said.

Laci Knudson of Ellensburg figures her August wedding will cost $4,000 to $5,000 for 130 people. She and her fiancé, Andy Jackson, are footing most of the bill.

"She's level-headed, an excellent shopper," said Nancy Jackson, Andy's mom, who helped Knudson shop for dresses.

Knudson saved quite a bit by choosing a site for the wedding — the Yakima Area Arboretum — that includes chairs, dishes and other amenities in its price. She also is getting married on a Friday, which reduced the venue fee by $400.

Some places charge extra for every little thing.

Brandon Bretz, general manager of Bay Catering at Pier 57, has seen $20 fees for the use of sugar packets at a big wedding.

"My biggest point to people here is that they find out all the fees up front," Bretz said.

A more common charge by caterers is the $45 to $150 cake-cutting fee, sometimes accompanied by a similarly priced "plating" fee for putting the slices onto plates.

Receptions are the most expensive part of many weddings, a cost people can trim by serving brunch instead of dinner and finding venues that allow you to hire an outside caterer, said Lindsey Blodgett, a wedding planner with Ciél Events in Seattle. Her services begin at $1,300.

Don Berger, who owns the Seattle Wedding Show, expects at least 8,000 people to attend this weekend, about 3,000 of them brides. The show ends at 5 p.m. today.

It has about 400 vendors, including ice sculptors (a fish-shaped ice fountain pouring punch: $475), limobuses (a 28-seater with a 42-inch plasma TV: $650 for three hours) and Safeco Field (a ceremony at home plate: $1,500 to $2,500).

The show began as a marketing ploy for Berger's tuxedo company. He sold the rental part of his business but still owns a tux-accessories manufacturer based in Lynnwood.

Berger figures the $15 wedding-show ticket is a steal for brides-to-be who need one-stop shopping. "You can plan your entire wedding in one day at our show," he said.

The price includes bridal-fashion shows and wedding-cake samples.

Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes in Redmond was passing out samples Saturday of his most popular flavor, orange peach schnapps.

His cakes start at $2.10 a serving.

With McCarey's "off-kilter" cake, which appears to be experiencing an earthquake, you'll pay $438 and feed about 120 people.

Another $125 will get you clay figures in the bride and groom's likeness falling off the cake.

Seattle Times researcher David Turim contributed to this report.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com