Vendors and brides-to-be benefit a local philanthropy

NORFOLK

As Iyasha Cross filled out a form for a chance to win free wedding transportation, other soon-to-be-brides sampled cakes and appetizers.

"That's my main thing, I am looking for transportation and my flowers," Cross said Sunday as she and Tomika McCoy made their way through the Uniquely Yours Bridal Showcase at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside.

They chose the show because all of the money spent there went directly to the Tidewater chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer awareness and research campaign.

Their families had both been touched by breast cancer.

"This is for a good cause," Cross said.

Pearl Taylor, producer of the show, decided to donate the money to Komen because two of her closest friends are breast cancer survivors.

"Every time you turn around, you hear about someone else who has breast cancer," Taylor said. "We all have to work together toward a common goal" of fighting the disease.

Taylor said she thought more than 2,000 people attended the event and hoped to raise at least $2,500 by the end of the day to donate to Komen. A portion of the proceeds from several designer gowns modeled Sunday also was slated to be given to Komen.

Standing in the entry at noon, Tom Johnson, director of catering and convention services for the Hilton in Virginia Beach's Oceanfront, found himself overwhelmed.

Brides, he said, wanted to know what the new trends in color, cake and food would be this year.

"The big colors will continue to be turquoise, chocolate brown, silvers, blues, different shades of green and plum," he said. Brides also will lean toward individual cakes and food that is prepared in front of guests, he said.

One hour into the show, more than 1,000 guests had filled two floors of the Marriott.

Florist Daevid Reed of Daevid's in Norfolk, who has participated in the showcase for six years, said crowds were significantly larger Sunday than in the past.

Seeing such a large turnout was particularly meaningful because "we have cancer survivors in our family," he said.

Debbie White, president of the Tidewater chapter of Komen, said the agency gets a significant number of donations from local groups but this is the first time it has partnered with a bridal showcase.

It is a natural fit, she said, because weddings and surviving breast cancer are both things to be celebrated. The bridal showcase is one of the largest events the chapter has seen, other than the local Race for the Cure.

Komen spokeswomen suggested Sunday that brides allow wedding guests to give donations to Komen in lieu of gifts or wedding favors.

Since its founding in 1999, the Tidewater chapter has raised almost $2 million. Of that money, 75 percent stays in the area for breast cancer education and screening, and the remaining

25 percent is spent on research.

A number of the models showing off the latest wedding fashions Sunday were breast cancer survivors. They crossed the generations, Nancy Schreier said, to show that breast cancer can touch anyone.

Schreier, a 19 -year cancer survivor and one of the women to whom Taylor dedicated the show, said she was touched by what Taylor had done.

What made the event a powerful one, she said, is the fact that Taylor brought two celebrations together in a way no one else has done.

"It's more meaningful because this is such a positive event," she said. "The models, they are all fabulous, but the survivors, they are all very energetic and high spirited."

Amy Couteé, (757) 222-5216, amy.coutee@pilotonline.com