THUNDER BAY -- Laura Milani is learning just how much work goes into planning a perfect wedding.
Even though she hasn’t set the official date, the soon-to-be bride knows it is going to be an extensive process.
“It would be helpful if one just did it all and you could go to them but you can’t. You have to go and shop around,” she said.
“Between the décor, photography, cake, hair and makeup there are between five to 10 places you have to work with.”
That’s the main reason why she attended the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce’s annual Wedding Wishes Formal Fair, which was held at the Valhalla Inn on Sunday.
The exhibition, which is now in its 26th year, is the largest wedding showcase from Winnipeg to Toronto with more than 100 exhibitors ranging from attire, catering, entertainment and floral.
“I don’t think that a lot of people know that these places are available for the bride to go see and get information about the planning process,” Milani said.
Show organizer Nancy Milani said many businesses develop informal partnerships and will refer customers who need other services to one with which they have a bond.
Having so many in one building helps facilitate those relationships.
“It’s an opportunity for them to network and meet other ones they can create partnerships with and business with,” she said.
Jennifer Riley, who owns Cake!, said the show is an opportunity to extend their brand awareness and show the limitless potential that can come with a wedding cake.
“We’re about encouraging bridges to think outside the cookie-cutter traditional wedding cake and to think outside the box,” Riley said.
She created a one metre tall cake designed as a wedding dress to provide an example.
It continues a trend in the wedding industry where creativity is beginning to overtake tradition.
“I think we’re seeing a big inspiration with all of the reality shows where people are seeing all kinds of different ideas,” Nancy Milani said.
She added more than 1,000 people are expected to visit the exhibition during the course of the day.
“The exposure they get is incredible with the number of people that come through,” she said.
In addition to the displays, the event featured four different fashion shows that ran throughout the day. There were also hair and makeup demonstrations and a grand prize draw for a $10,500 wedding package.
