A wedding is one of the most special days in a person’s life, and on Sunday the Hyatt Regency Valencia hosted the 29th semiannual Bellisima Bride Bridal Show. The event boasted a bridal gown fashion show, 59 different vendors and over 170 eager brides to be.
Sandra Lopez, who produced the event and is the co-owner of the host company J&M Entertainment, said she chose the name “Bellisima” because it means “beautiful” in both Italian and Spanish which allowed her to cater to both English-speaking crowds and also host Spanish-only events.
Lopez said she has 36 years of experience in the wedding business. She started the bridal show 14 years ago.
“I have shows in other areas of southern California but I hold most of them here at the Hyatt because I want to support the Santa Clarita community and all the businesses here,” Lopez said. “Each show varies because there’s no real wedding season and brides can take a long time to plan their wedding or can have something ready in two months. We had a lot of brides and vendors excited to talk to each other and at one point a line of 30 people who wanted to come in, so I consider this a really successful show.”
One such vendor was Corinne Angress, who represented wedding venue Bella Vista Groves and had attended the last Bellisima show in October.
“We’re located in Ventura but a lot of the brides we host are from Santa Clarita so we thought this would be a great opportunity,” Angress said. “Time of the year really does affect business since the holidays and Valentine’s Day are peak engagement season and most people want to set their weddings are late summer into fall. We love how easy it is to do business at this bridal show because they make sure their vendors are happy and do a good job of highlighting every business.”
DJ and pianist Barry Lamster joined the show when it first began and said over the years he has noticed brides and grooms have become more educated about the industry.
“These couples are a lot more prepared and have done their research,” he said. “They’ve nailed down the venue, the date and everything and it could be because of social media but also because they’re in the age group where they’ve gone to friend’s weddings and know what they want. That makes it easier for us vendors.”
Marie Leguizamo discovered the bridal show after she said her fiance Edgar Jaramillo bought tickets to prepare for the October wedding. She said that she would recommend the event to other brides as a one-stop show or as at least as a source of inspiration.
“I love how this show helps give you ideas and also solidifies ideas that you didn’t think you could do,” she said excitedly. “For example I thought photo booths cost thousands (of dollars), but I saw a vendor here offering one for $750 so we are definitely getting one. It’s really convenient to have everything you could want all in one place and we’re definitely walking out of here with some new ideas.”
Adriana Farrell, the second-generation owner of Cruz’s Bridal, provided all the dresses for the event’s fashion show since it first began.
“Bridal shows like this are important because it’s a faster, easier way to get educated about what to do when you get married,” Cruz said. “The internet gives you a lot of information, but there’s nothing like touching it and seeing it on stage.”
