Informative wedding expo

Shanica Blair, Gleaner Writer

Last Sunday, Helen G Event Planning and Design, hosted its first wedding expo after the company started in 2003.

The expo, which had a live stream and one-to-one consultations for brides-to-be, was very informative and eye-opening as to the countless possibilities for the perfect dream wedding with all the best vendors under one roof.

The New Kingston Conference Centre saw a constant stream of patrons throughout the one-day event. Helen Hutchinson Graham, head of Helen G Event Planning and Design, told Outlook that her expo was different from others because they facilitated one-to-one consultations with couples free of cost. "We tried not to bring in every single wedding vendor that is out there, we bring in those that we actually work with. We have worked with them for years, that is why they are the only ones here, and they are our preferred vendors. We want our clients and couples to have the best and to feel comfortable and to always be able to laugh out loud with us. We want them to have a great experience," she added.

Finding the right dress

And speaking of personalised services, image consultant and blogger Natalia Oh was on hand to give brides some helpful styling tips. "Natalia is helping brides in terms of finding the right dress, so we don't just have somebody who is displaying wedding dresses, but actually somebody who can help you to find the right dress for your body type, and find the right colours that are in so it's more consultative. We have live-show cooking with Stephen Hamilton; that's a service that you can have at your wedding. Something that's different instead of sitting down and being served, you can have guests interacting with the chef and have the meals prepared on site, which is a wedding trend," noted Graham.

Freeze-frame photo booths, make-up consultants, Bliss Bridal Boutique, photographers, wedding favours, cake tasting, all the works; Helen G's personal best wedding vendors were on show.

Entertainment was provided by wedding Dj, DJ Dutch, who keeps patrons humming to every beat of his song selections ranging from soca and reggae to soul.

At the end of the day, a lucky couple won a two-tier wedding cake, a dinner for two at 689 with Brian Lumley, and an engagement shoot with Michael Saab. Two overseas brides who participated via the live stream also won items from some of the vendors for their wedding.