For Shirley Richardson planning the upcoming Bridal Spectacular isn?t just a business venture, it is a calling.

Mrs. Richardson helped to arrange an annual bridal show for many years for Trimingham?s and after Trimingham?s closed she decided to take over the project for herself.

Now she and husband Clarence live, eat and sleep Bridal Spectacular. Their bedroom is filled with mannequins. The phone rings off the hook with calls from world famous wedding dress designers and their cellphone number is 737-LOVE.

?If I seem overexcited it is because this has turned into my passion,? said Mrs. Richardson.

?I didn?t know I would enjoy this as much as I do.?

When Trimingham?s first closed last year, Mrs. Richardson thought she would retire from the wedding event arena ? then she began to get phone calls.

?A large organisation came to me and asked me to produce the fair on their behalf,? said Mrs. Richardson.

?Then another organisation came and asked the same thing, all within a week. I told each of them I would get back to them. As I thought about it, I realised I could do it without all of the restraints that I was given the last time. There would be some financial restraints, but outside of that, in terms of creativity, I could just go with it.?

To get world class designers to come to Bermuda, Mrs. Richardson first tried using contacts she?d made when organising the show for Trimingham?s.

People were so enthusiastic about coming to Bermuda that she decided to just call anyone in the wedding industry that interested her, even if they didn?t necessarily know her.

?I discovered that many people were interested in showing what they had to a community that they had never been to,? she said. ?They seemed to be very interested. The more they learned that their competitors were coming, the more they wanted to be a part of it.?

The result is that nine famous international designers and a host of other local and international wedding industry personalities will attend the Bridal Spectacular including wedding dress designers Therez Fleetwood and Jonathan Adewumi, Cheryl Mayfield Brown, who runs a wedding business targeting second-time arounders, and frugal wedding diva Darlene Treadwell among others.

Mrs. Brown has written a book called ?Cook?n to Keep Him? and Miss Treadwell offers tips on how to cut down on wedding expenses so the couple has some money left over for actual living. For example she suggests faux cakes where only the bottom layer is real, or buying a nice suit instead of a tuxedo, or asking friends and family to film and photograph the event.

The Bridal Spectacular will also play host to a number of local businesses that help couples through that all important day.

?I had a great relationship with the Fairmont Southampton and they were willing to come on board and help in any way,? she said. ?They are hosting a special evening during the Bridal Spectacular and they are working with our guests, and they are even housing our international Press.?

The event will be held at the Fairmont Southampton and the Coco Reef Resort.

There will be a grand fashion show held on January 27 at the Coco Reef Resort featuring dress designers and world famous hair and makeup artists.

There will be presentations given on wedding cakes, wedding planning and holding a second-time-around wedding. There will also be a real wedding taking place.

?Our couple is coming down from Atlanta, Georgia,? she said. ?They will be hosted by Coco Reef Resort while they are here.

?The real cool thing is that the wedding couple are bringing their families, so there are all kinds of people coming down to Bermuda for this. It has turned into their little family reunion.?

The Bridal Spectacular will have a strong multi-cultural flair. There will a South-Asian pavilion set up at the Coco Reef Resort. Shaadi Magazine, geared to the South-Asian community, will be doing Mehndi handpainting and eyebrow threading.

?We will be educating the public about what the different traditions mean,? said Mrs. Richardson. ?It is fun to jump the broom, but do you know why people do it??

Therez Fleetwood, author of ?The Afrocentric Bride ? A Style Guide? will talk with Bridal Spectacular participants, and many wedding dresses in the fashion show will have an African heritage theme.

As if this year isn?t enough, Mrs. Richardson already has special plans for next year?s Bridal Spectacular: she hopes to renew her wedding vows.

Mrs. Richardson is originally from Indiana where she ran a successful modelling agency for several years. While in Bermuda on vacation she met her now husband Clarence.

?I met him on the Tuesday and he proposed on the Thursday,? Mrs. Richardson recalled with a laugh. ?I fell in love with my husband and the Island at the same time.

?My husband is Bermudian. He was very much the opposite of anyone I have ever dated. My life had always been quick-quick, fast-fast. My husband is the sweetest person I have ever met in my life. When I first met him he was such a gentleman and so charming and the Island was so charming so ? link, link ? it just happened. It was in June and we married in October.?

Mrs. Richardson said at the time she worried too much about trivial things like whether the pink frill in her wedding dress matched the pink popcorn for the guests and the pink bridal on the horses.

?I was so worried that everything go together that I didn?t take the time to ask a lot of very important questions,? said Mrs. Richardson. ?Love has taken us past them now, but I didn?t ask ?how do you feel about children?. I didn?t ask about the savings plans. I didn?t ask about where we planned to be buried considering that I am from a different country. I didn?t ask about the care of our elder parents. Through the years we have worked all of that out, luckily.?

Mrs. Richardson said issues like this make the advice from people like Cheryl Mayfield Brown important for prospective couples.

?My husband saw things on a different scale,? said Mrs. Richardson. ?He was about the emotions of love and ?love is enough?. I was about ?put this right here?. It was the most interesting wedding I have ever gone to. I can?t wait to renew my vows when we can come up with something different.?

Next year she and her husband plan to be one of seven real weddings at the Bridal Spectacular.

?This year we are only planning to do two,? she said. ?Next year we will hold contests and have seven weddings. It will be the last one I do and then we will sail out of here.?

The Bridal Spectacular is on from January 23 to 29th. Tickets to the fashion show are $45 and can be purchased at 27th Century Boutique and Designer Flowers. Tickets for other Bridal Spectacular Events at Coco Reef or Fairmont Southampton are $15 and can be purchased at the door.