Chattogram’s Grand Wedding Expo

These days, weddings are not just about food arrangements and venue selection, they have also become events requiring careful planning and extensive preparations.

In Bangladesh, winter is the preferred season for weddings. To make preparing for wedding easier, a three-day grand wedding expo launched on Thursday at the port city's Hotel Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View. The expo will continue till Saturday and is open to all from 10:30am till 9:30pm. Entrance tickets are Tk50 a person.

More than 55 companies are participating in the expo to showcase their products and services.

Mauve & Ivory, an online clothing shop, is taking part in the event for the first time, showcasing dresses for bridesmaids. Fabiha Ibnath and her sisters have been running their online shop for a year and Fabiha said bridesmaid dresses are a trend these days.

"We offer customised bridesmaid dresses within a budget," she added.

Smitten, another online shop, is showcasing casual travel attire for both bride and groom for destination weddings.

Karima, the owner of the shop, said, "People value comfort when travelling and as travel is an inevitable and necessary part of destination weddings, I have designed my collection keeping that in mind."

Alongside clothing items, accessories for fine dining and more, besides event management services, the expo also has a wide display of food, something you cannot imagine a wedding without.

Aliza, owner of Aliza's Topping, a pastry and bakery shop, said her shop is launching hanging cakes for the wedding season.

"We take orders for any occasion," she added.

M Kazi Joynal, chief executive officer of Eventive, one of the sponsors of the expo, said, wedding management requires a lot of time and effort and everyone has ideas for their big day.

"Expos like this can help customers choose from a wide variety of options," he added.

The Business Standard is a media partner of the expo as is RTV and The Daily Azadi. Other sponsors of the expo include Casablanca, Veneto Furniture BD, and M&M Business Communication.