Hundreds of brides gather for Bridal Extravaganza at the Palmer Events Center

Amber Brittain and her fiancé got engaged in December.

“He's really great, we've been together almost 7 years so it's about time.”

She is just one many brides who attended the Bridal Extravaganza at the Palmer Events Center, held this weekend in Austin.

“I’m just kind of getting ideas, it's really overwhelming.” 

Brittain is not getting married until 2017, so she's new to planning. But she noticed one thing right away.

“It's a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be. We are hoping family will be able to help out a little bit, but yeah so we have trying to save.”

Nikki Robertshaw is a wedding event planner who had a booth at the Bridal Extravaganza. She said the cost of an Austin wedding averages from $40,000 to $70,000. But you don't have to break the bank to get the wedding of your dreams.

“I've done $30,000 weddings and I've done $200,000 weddings. So it just depends on what your style is, what you can let go of, if you're trying to save money. I always try to tell my brides think about 10 years down the line, when you look back at your wedding. What are you going to remember? What are you going to think back on? Those are the things you need to focus on with your budget.” She said brides should focus on a planner, entertainment, the dress and photographers because the memories, hopefully good, and pictures last a lifetime. “You don't need monogram napkins that you're going to throw in the trash. Nobody is going to remember that, it's not even going to be in your pictures,” she said.

If you missed this weekend’s event, you’re in luck. They will be holding another Bridal Extravaganza in May.