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Brides, families and friends gathered Saturday, to attend the East Texas Wedding Extravaganza Bridal Expo hosted at the Tyler Rose Garden Center.

The event, which is called the biggest of its kind in East Texas, saw a high turnout.

“We have 72 vendors, throughout the hall and outside. We have 469 people who have registered to attend, and of those 230 are brides,” said Joyce Crawford, event coordinator.

Vendors ranged from those who showcased dresses, cakes, venues and everything else a couple may need for their wedding day.

“When a bride gets engaged, the first thing is to find her venue and find a date that works for her. The venue is a big thing, and here at today’s show we have at least 10 venues,” said Crawford.

Venues locations came from towns all over East Texas such as Kilgore and Canton.

“I have been doing this for 10 years in Tyler,” Crawford said. “I bought the business from someone who wanted to sell it because she was doing it in Florida. We usually do two in Tyler: one in February and one in July. Our next one should be in the new hall (Rose Complex W.T. Brookshire Conference Center).”

Maddie Powell, a bride exploring the expo, said Saturday was her first time to attend an event like this.

“It’s very pretty, and I’m very excited,” she said.

Powell also said she’s looking forward to wearing her dress for her big day.

“I have most of it planned, I think I’m just excited too look around and see all the other things that they have,” she said.

Amongst the vendors were various bakeries sampling cakes for the guests attending. Crystal Roberts, the owner of “By Grace Bakery” in Longview, was participating in her first year at the expo.

“We’ve been in the area for about two and a half years, but this is my first time that I’ve been at the expo so I’m super excited,” Roberts said.

At her booth, she gave out samples of her signature cake flavors including ‘Almond’ and ‘Pink Champagne.’

“The wedding cake is the centerpiece of a wedding,” said Roberts. “It’s very important to convey the bride’s style into the wedding cake so I think that’s probably the most important thing.”

Guests were also able to sample drink choices that vendors had to offer as well.

Korie Oakley of “Serve Em Up,” a mobile bartending service for weddings, said that bartending initially drew her to the business.

“We have special packages for special people. We try to stay within everyone’s budget. We try to make sure that we are all natural, that we have all our supplies so when we arrive it’ll be less stress,” said Oakley. “We travel just about all over.”

Many vendors participated in their own giveaways, including Brooke and Bre Bridal and Prom Boutique, which planned to give away four $500 gift cards at their booth.

“Our brides have all come from throughout East Texas,” said Crawford.

“I got engaged on Dec. 4, and my wedding is on March 4,” said Maddie Blood, a newly engaged bride. “I’ve seen some really pretty wedding cakes, that was one of my biggest things that I haven’t done yet. I just came today to have a good time.”

The bridal expo, which also included a fashion show, started at 11 a.m. and lasted until 2:30 p.m. when a grand prize presentation was held.