MANKATO — Bride-to-be Lynn Clennon learned an important lesson when planning a wedding on a budget: choose your date carefully.

Clennon is planning an Aug. 7 wedding, which falls on a Friday. She and fiancé Jamie Waterbury chose August so the wedding could be outdoors, but they chose Friday to save some money. Many reception venues are most expensive on Saturdays, when a majority of weddings are scheduled.

Since the Christmas Day proposal, Clennon has been deciding on colors, dresses, jewelry and flowers, mostly without the help of her fiancé.

“He has a few requests, and I honor them,” Clennon said, adding that her soon-to-be husband didn’t mind leaving the planning up to her.

In addition to saving money with the date, Clennon went with bridesmaids’ dresses that are knee-length and simple, so they can be worn again following the wedding. She also decided on bright colors — teal for the dresses, and hot pink, yellow and lime green for flowers.

But despite having many details decided on, Clennon attended the 2009 Southern Minnesota Wedding Expo at the Alltel Center this week for ideas. She, along with hundreds of other brides to be and otherwise interested parties, talked flowers, dresses, venues and a variety of other current wedding trends with experts in the field.

St. Cloud’s Carrow’s Tip Top Tux manager Kari Frank said Clennon’s bright wedding colors are popular. Wedding parties are becoming smaller and colors are straying from traditional, she said. She doesn’t see as many browns and deep reds in autumn, and instead, is noticing couples choosing brighter colors year-round.

Color isn’t the only place tradition is taking a back seat. Dawn Nygren, owner of EllieGail’s Bakery and Deli in Elysian, said dessert tables are becoming more popular. Another new idea is to have individual cakes on each table, which can act as a centerpiece, cutting costs of additional decorations.

Nygren said with different flavors or diverse looks, the cakes can also act as conversation pieces and “get people talking between tables.”

Although flowers and cake can add to the celebration, a general staple of a wedding are the rings, and jewelry might be one area that doesn’t take a hit when a couple is trying to trim expenses.

“They pretty much have their heart set on what they want,” said Brent Pattison, an employee of Williams Diamond Center in Mankato.

While the ring may be the most significant piece of jewelry to a wedding, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the only piece. Kristi Schultz, owner of Vowed in Elegance Bridal Boutique in Mankato, said big, bold jewelry is becoming trendier. Some brides opt for a simple dress to pair up with their jewelry, but others want to embellish the gown as well.

“It’s all the personality of the bride,” said Nora Goodburn, employee of the boutique.

As far as wedding gowns go, Schultz said lace is coming back into style, and these days, brides are leaning more toward ivory dresses and less toward the true-white dress often associated with a wedding.

Also popular this year is to include jewels among flower arrangements. For brides interested in a more ordinary style, however, Sheila Katzung, owner of Owatonna’s A Floral Affair, said the natural look, which includes bouquets with stems showing, is also coming back.

Couples wanting to save some cash can look toward silk flowers instead of the real thing. Katzung said she’s already booked more silk flowers than fresh this year, for the simple reason that they’re cheaper.

While many new trends were presented at the expo, one theme prevailed among brides — no matter what’s in style, each bride has her own ideas.

“It’s come back to whatever the bride really likes,” said Katzung.