I have to tell you, the Globe’s bridal fair/prom extravaganza was impressive this year. There was quite a bit more space due to the venue change, but there were also a ton more people than there were the last time I went, two years ago. (We’d suffered bad weather that day.)

There were also a few vendors that I thought were nice additions to the show–the hair places, specifically. Any girl who’s ever been to a prom or been in a wedding knows that the hair is a Big Deal and an essential component of getting everything to look great.

As far as the styles go, I caught the entirety of the bridal style show.

I liked a lot about it, but the thing I liked the most is that the show featured real people, not professional models. (Some of the real people were actually part of the Globe’s staff, which was fun for us to see too.) They all looked great, from the gorgeous plus-size gals (whose figures look a lot like mine) to the gorgeous slim gals, and they showed styles that looked good on all sorts of figures and types, not just the stereotypical model-thin girls.

I really liked that about the show.

As far as specific things I noted about the show this year: vibrant pink seemed to be extremely popular, as did a rich cranberry red. These were the most-frequently seen colors on bridesmaid gowns. Bridal and bridesmaid dresses seemed to show a great deal of variety in figure this year, much more so than in previous years — from princess-style skirts to mermaid skirts to pencil skirts. Lots of choices, so you can find something flattering for sure.

This is a nice change. I remember shopping for my first prom as a junior in high school, when the long slim silhouette was in fashion and you practically couldn’t find anything else. I’m a chubby girl with an hourglass figure and would have looked like an overstuffed sausage in one of those dresses, so I found a pretty (but decidedly non-trendy) black dress and wound up looking a bit like a chubby Morticia Addams.

Also, I spotted quite a few sashes (which I like) and bows (which I don’t care as much for), but since the bows weren’t the big floppy ones of the 80s they were actually pretty cute too. I also noticed a lot of asymmetrical beadwork and gathers, but not nearly as much ruching as there used to be. (I don’t care for ruching much; it reminds me of an upholstered sofa. But I’m probably alone in this opinion.)

I’m going to get a photo gallery up some time today or tomorrow (probably tomorrow) as well as video from the show, so if you missed it, don’t sweat it too much. You’ll still get to see something!