Spokane Wedding Expo shows off latest trends

If you’re looking for the newest trends in weddings, Shannon Siemen, president of Spokane Wedding and Events, has the answers.

Fall weddings are in, as are nontraditional venues. Digital photo booths and modern videography have gained in popularity as well.

All were on display during the 15th annual Spokane Wedding Expo at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Spokane. Hundreds came to the expo to taste the food, look at the dresses and see what trends are spreading through the wedding industry.

With milder temperatures lingering during Spokane autumns, fall weddings are less of a gamble with the weather, Siemen said. “I think it’s the temperature,” she said. “It’s sunny and cooler.”

People are also harnessing video technology, like aerial drone photos and videos, to capture the moment. “It’s amazing footage,” she said.

Wedding budgets are also growing, and people are hiring professional wedding planners more frequently in Spokane, she said, citing the economy’s upward progress over the past several years.

“People’s budgets are bigger and they’re spending more money on weddings,” she said.

Metals are becoming more popular in weddings decorations, like in centerpieces, and even in dresses. Siemen said one dress, interwoven with platinum, is drawing particular attention this year.

Siemen said barn venues and downtown venues are becoming much more popular, and church weddings, once the standard, are less common now. She estimated that about 15 new barn venues have been popping up every year for the past six years, and even so, Spokane has been late to the barn wedding game compared to other areas. She also estimated five downtown venues have opened in the past three years.

“We’re just catching up with the rest of the country,” she said.

Matt Wescott, owner of Elite Photo Booths, moved from California five months ago. In California, “roaming photo booths” were popular, so he decided to bring them to Spokane.

A roaming photo booth is a portable 1 1/2-foot-wide circle with a camera and screen on the inside and surrounded by a ring of light. A worker carries it around a wedding and users can choose to take a picture or a “boomerang” – a short video clip that plays frontward and backward repeatedly – and have the images sent to an email or cell phone.

“Up here, nobody has them,” he said. “I’m unique now.”

The roaming photo booth costs $550 for three hours.

Other photo booths gaining popularity in weddings are held in vans or campers, like Happy Camper Photobooth and the Little Photo Bus Co.