Southport Magazine

Oak Island’s CrazyCakeChicks chat up brides at their booth during last year’s Southern Cape Fear Coast Bridal Showcase. Courtesy photo

What: Southern Cape Fear Coast Bridal Showcase
When: Sun., Feb. 16th • 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: St. James Community Center
4136 Southport-Supply Rd., St. James
Cost: $5/person; brides free
Info: www.southport-oakisland.com

One of the goals of the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce is to showcase our nook of North Carolina as a desirable location for vacations and even for folks to relocate here. With our proximity to the water and a natural landscape that evokes relaxation and romanticism, as well as an array of historic churches, it’s no wonder many couples also travel here to say “I do.”

Yet it can be difficult to select vendors based on e-mail and phone contact alone. Thus, the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce organizes the Southern Cape Fear Coast Bridal Showcase annually, sponsored this year by 3 Cheers Party Rentals and Seaside Wedding Connection.

The sponsors, of course, will have booths offering a look inside their businesses. Seaside Wedding Connection is an event-planning company specializing in the “big day,” while 3 Cheers Party Rentals offers everything from tents and chairs to lighting, glassware and silverware, dance floors and audio equipment.

“[The showcase] gives us a chance to meet brides face-to-face before the event occurs,” David Wallace, owner of 3 Cheers Party Rentals, tells. “Also, there are opportunities to meet other area vendors. We are often asked for referrals, and this way we can make good recommendations.”

Photographers such as Gene Ho and Faith Teasley will have their works on display, while hair stylists like Olivia Hood of Isaac Allen Hair Salon will be available to chat with guests of the showcase. CrazyCakeChicks will offer a look at their decadent wedding cakes, and Oak Island Accommodations will offer materials on housing rentals for guests of the wedding. Many more vendors will be set up for the event, which will take place Sunday, February 16th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the St. James Community Center.

Admission is $5 per person, but brides will be able to enter for free as well as snag some free gifts: a rose and the chamber’s official wedding planner. The handy booklet includes helpful time lines, details on unique wedding traditions, tips for planning a beach wedding, and more.