lee.noble@heraldbulletin.com

With wedding season in our midst, brides-to-be are busy perfecting their plans. Highlighting everything from fashion to flower arrangements and food, The Wedding March on March 4 at the Paramount Theatre Centre in Anderson showcased some of the latest trends.

The Wedding March was coordinated by Marta King, owner of Hand Tied Memories and self-made expert in floral design. King said the event was a big hit.

The following are just a few of many tips and trends found at The Wedding March bridal show.

The Cake and Desserts

King said Yomarie Premium Baked Goods offers something special, actually, a lot of something special, for the reception.

“She’s one of the only people I know of doing dessert buffets,” King said.

“She” is Yolanda Jones, owner of Yomarie, located in the Heartland Factory Shops in Daleville.

For her buffets, Jones makes sure her clients get their just desserts, by loading a table full of, well, just desserts.

The marrying couple can order from a wide array of treats — pastries, brownies, truffles, chocolate fountains, blondies, mini-cheesecakes and more.

It may sound like calorie city, but, keeping moderation in mind, Jones prepares the desserts in what she calls “portion control” sizes.

Jones also designs cakes decorated with fresh flowers, adding a unique and elegant touch to the centerpiece of matrimonial munchies.

The Bouquet

Standing at her own booth, King scoured it for a favorite flower arrangement.

“Everyone’s been coming by asking about this one,” King said, pointing to a rosy bouquet topped off by calla lilies, fiddle ferns and orchids. “They like the jeweled touch.” For that, King added a vintage brooch on the fabric around the stems.

“We can put new or old things on it,” King said. It adds a glitzy touch to your already glamorous bouquet.

Keep that wedding bouquet as beautiful as the day you tossed it back over your head toward a sea of open hands by having it pressed by Linda Hankins, at Flower Preservations in Connersville.

Hankins takes photographs and makes sketches of the original bouquet, then disassembles it, pressing it under glass in a large frame, to be accompanied by the original ribbons, bows, even photographs or written elements from the invitations, vows or programs.

Don’t worry: Your bouquet won’t looked squished. Hankins arranges each element as carefully as the flowers are delicate.

“I had an aunt that used to do it who lives in Tennessee,” Hankins said. “She started out pressing flowers for craft shows, and that’s where I started, then started pressing bouquets for weddings.”

King said Hankins, though she works about an hour-and-a-half drive from Anderson, is the only person she’s seen doing this kind of service in the area.

Because the flowers dry and change color over time, Hankins can tint certain colors that need a boost, such as purple; however, she said dried flowers can be endearing, too.

“As they change, it makes them interesting over time,” she said.

The Gown

“Pickups are getting popular,” said Jennifer Dwenger, owner of Rural Bridal Shop near Yorktown. Pickups — not to be confused with the musical or truck varieties — are furrows in the cloth made by symmetrically bunching the fabric, designing it to give the lower half of the gown and the train some texture.

Dwenger also said older brides usually lean toward something different from their younger counterparts.

“When an older bride comes in for a second wedding, she wants something more elegant,” Dwenger said. In other words, don’t think Cinderella, but don’t go so far as to dress after the Queen Mum. Aim somewhere between classic Audrey Hepburn and contemporary (and out of costume) Helen Mirren.

Otherwise, Dwenger advises brides try on lots of dresses before saying “I do” to a dress they might later realize was an “I shouldn’t have.”

“I find that a girl might have something in mind when she comes in the door but after she comes in and tries on four or five gowns she’ll change her mind.

“You really just have to come in and try them on because I think every bride deserves her own style,” Dwenger said. “If you don’t try it on, you don’t know what you like.”

The Honeymoon

“We’re having so much trouble with this passport issue, people are staying close to home or they’re doing cruises,” said Mary Jo Hall, of Mary Jo’s Travel Service, in Daleville.

Passport regulations recently changed due to Homeland Security restrictions, Hall said. Travelers must show a passport for travel everywhere that isn’t a U.S. territory (yes, even Mexico and Canada).

Don’t worry: If you don’t have time or money for a passport, you still have options.

Cruises have become a popular choice since they’re less restricted and still offer couples a chance to island hop to getaways like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas, according to Hall.

But be warned: In 2008, another Homeland Security restriction will require even travelers on cruises touching foreign ports will need to show a passport.

Whether a bride and groom’s honeymoon is spent floating in the tropics or hiking in the Appalachians all depends on their ways and means. And those ways and means have nothing to do with Congress, but have everything to do with what the couple’s ideal holiday is — leisure, hobbies and budgetary concerns all taken into consideration.

“I’ve had some do quick trips to Gatlinburg because they need something more affordable, and they say they’ll do another bigger trip next year. Then again I’ve had some do the all-inclusive trips to Sandals,” Hall said.

Some good news: The whole bill need not be paid outright.

“That’s one thing about the cruising, and many of the vacations. They can pay a little up front and pay it off in installments,” Hall said.

Another helpful hint: Hall calls it “the honeymoon registry.”

By registering and traveling with Hall, couples can give their friends and relatives the option of buying something other than a toaster, kitchen knives or blender (zzzzzzzzzz) as a wedding gift — they can throw down cash on the honeymoon.

“(Couples will) get a gift card that says Uncle Tim and Aunt Sue gave $20 toward the honeymoon,” Hall said.