OGDEN -- Krystal Rogers and Jayk McMillan have known each other for years, meeting each other through mutual friends at a party.
At the time, Rogers was dating McMillan's best friend, but fortunately for him, things didn't work out.
"I wanted to date her, but he was my best friend," McMillan said. "When they broke up, she left and went on a mission."
After serving an 18-month mission to Chicago for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Rogers returned and the two renewed their friendship. Less than two weeks later they were engaged.
The couple, who will get married on Oct. 27 in the Bountiful LDS temple, were attending the Standard-Examiner 2010 Fall Bridal Gathering at the Marriott Hotel. There they learned about the latest trends and ideas from the most popular wedding colors, cakes and rings to the latest in wedding photography and floral arrangements.
"Right now, white gold is very popular when it comes to wedding rings," said Craig White, owner of White Diamonds in North Ogden. "The girls really seem to like the round cuts and the princess cuts in their diamonds.
"The men are choosing the alternative metal for their rings. They are going for the tungsten carbide and titanium rings that are permanently polished and brushed."
Katie Burk, a bridal consultant at David's Bridals, said coral, hot pink and jade are very popular wedding colors.
"The girls are even choosing ivory instead of white a lot of the time for their wedding dress," she said. "And they're choosing a more modern, symmetrical look."
Wedding dresses can cost anywhere from $99 to $1,000, depending on the detail of the gown, Burk said.
Debi Barneck, a florist with Macey's, said brides are choosing anything and everything for their floral arrangements.
"I've seen every color and every arrangement. This week I did an arrangement with purple, bright green and bright pink. Next week I'm doing all green and white. The variety is what makes my job so much fun. I've seen everything from roses to lilies to daisies. Whatever the imagination can think up, we'll do it for them."
The same applies to cakes, said Nancy Bench, cake maker with Bridal Reflections in Hooper.
"People bring me all kinds of pictures they find on the Internet," she said. "They like very different looking cakes from square shaped to anything you can imagine."
Bench said some of the most popular cake flavors are chocolate, lemon, banana nut and carrot.
"They all like the look of fondant, too," Bench said. "Some of the cakes, like carrot cake and banana nut, will last forever. You can freeze it and eat it a year later, but if you're going to get chocolate or vanilla, you better eat it now because it doesn't last too long."
Rachel Flint, who works at Gibby Photography, said a lot of couples are choosing outdoor photos.
"They don't want the traditional look as much. They like for us to load them up in the car and drive around to several different spots. We've taken pictures everywhere from Union Station to Beus Pond."
The two-day event included a fashion show, hair show and the Almost Newlywed Game. Ashley Sanchez and Robert Gentry won first place.
"We met at Lagoon 10 years ago," Sanchez said. "On June 23 he dressed up as a mariachi singer and serenaded me. He put roses and a string of chilies in my hair, like a crown, and put my ring in a Spanish cookie with a smiley face on it."
The couple plan to get married Sept. 10, 2011, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Ogden.
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