Brides-to-be have plenty to do when planning their special day and many decisions to make on who to hire and what to buy. As our Amanda Kelley tells us, many North Country brides don't have to look further than their own backyard for all of their wedding needs.

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OGDENSBURG, N.Y. -- From the hair, to the dress, to the cake, this bridal expo in Ogdensburg had it all for local brides to plan their big day from beginning to end.

Engaged couple Megan Bristol and Daniel Brouwer said, "It gives us lots of ideas of stuff we can do, stuff that we didn't know was an option. It's great. And not having a date, we can look at everyone and not really worry about whether they're booked yet or anything like that."

With more than 70 local vendors, brides had a wide variety of services to explore. It was all part of Assemblywoman Addie Russell's Rediscovering Your Backyard initiative.

Assemblywoman Russell said, "This is really for the entire community. Sometimes you forget all of the local businesses the services that are in your area and sometimes you need a DJ for a birthday party or a graduation party so really any type of special event or occasion, these businesses are here to serve the North Country."

This is the second 'Rediscover your Backyard" event held throughout the North Country area. And it's not just helping local brides, it's helping boost local business.

Vendor Cassie McNeill said, "It's exposure, but not just for the bridal industry, for me in my industry, it's exposure for all aspects of it. Whether it be family photography, or sports photography, it just really gets you out there and it allows you to meet people."

Vendors say the networking opportunities and interaction with the community members is key to helping their businesses to succeed. And it's just one small benefit businesses are seeing as the North Country rediscovers their backyards.

Assemblywoman Russell said, "Well I'm just happy to be able to help our small businesses out. It's a tough economic time but they're still going strong. They really are the backbone of our economy and if we support them our economy will be strong."

And hoping this trend continues for years to come

Assemblywoman Russell says more Rediscover Your Backyard events are in the planning stages thanks to the success of the previous events.