May 1—Those looking for ideas for upcoming weddings showed up Sunday for Visit Owensboro's "The Wedding Sampler" — where potential brides and grooms were invited to visit a number of local venues before tying the knot.
One of the locations, the Owensboro Convention Center, gave visitors a glimpse of decor and seating arrangements, a variety of table set-ups for the reception and food samples from the organization's catering menu.
Jamie Scheffer, the convention center's director of finance and assistant general manager, said the venue has plenty of amenities to offer.
"What we find is that a lot of our wedding clients — and weddings are a pretty significant part of our business at the convention center — a lot of them come because of the view of the river (as) we've got one of the more scenic venues here in Owensboro," he said.
Scheffer also brought up the entity's "sheer volume of space" with both the west and east ballroom boasting about 13,000 square feet each, in-house food and beverage services, along with having "great relationships" with outside local florists and other vendors.
"When our clients come (to) the (Owensboro) convention center for their wedding, it's really a one-stop shop," he said.
Tamrah Glover, 24, and Dylan Arriago, 23, both of Boonville, Ind., have been together for about eight years and got engaged this past December.
And while they live across the river in Indiana, Glover and Arriago's relationship has a history with Owensboro.
"We met at Reid's Orchard ... and I actually proposed to her actually right here on the riverfront," Arriago said.
"Apparently, we really like Owensboro," Glover laughed.
Though they plan on saying "I do" in the fall of 2024, the couple has already been getting a guest list together and have recently been venturing out to look at some possible venues for the big day, such as the convention center.
"I think this is really one of the first big things we've done together," Glover said. "... We're probably looking closer to about 300 people."
One of the couple's main goals is to find a place that can accommodate all of their potential guests that will create fond memories.
"We've got big families. I think 150 (people) just covers family for us," Arriago said. "... I think (we're) just trying to find a place big enough, and that can incorporate both of our personalities and we can see ourselves looking back on this day and being happy that we chose said place."