Tying the knot is a knotty affair. Twenty-four-year-old accountant Neha Rohra realised it when she got engaged and had to arrange for her wedding trousseau, jewellery, invitation cards and gifts in a span of four months. It was a tough task as her long working hours didn?t leave her with much time to shop, hop from one market to another and buy exclusive items for her big day. But a visit to the wedding exhibition in her city over the weekend gave her an insight into the trends of the season. ?It helped me get contacts, know what?s in vogue and also gave an idea about prices of various services,? she says.
They are many like Neha who are visiting wedding exhibitions to know what?s hot and what?s not. These expos help them plan their trousseau, jewellery, make-up, gifts, honeymoon and pre-wedding functions. And, of course, designers, caterers, and tourist boards too are saying ?I do? to wedding exhibitions.
Just like the boom in the fashion industry last decade which resulted in a number of fashion weeks being held across cities round the year, keeping fashionistas and designers busy, wedding exhibitions showcasing bridal wear and other paraphernalia is the new fad. The wedding calendar is led by names like Vivaha, Bride & Groom and Wedding Asia. Besides, there are other pre-wedding and lifestyle exhibitions targeting the R80,000-crore Indian wedding market.
A middle class aspiring to make the wedding a big fat memorable affair is fuelling the demand for such exhibitions. ?About a decade back concepts like destination weddings or a bachelorette party (hen party) were unheard of. But today the aspirations are different and so is the Indian wedding scene. Some industrialists and celebrities today even hire public relation (PR) agencies for their children?s wedding! No wonder the concept of wedding exhibition is gaining popularity,? says Ratika Seth, marketing head, Vintage Exhibition Company, which organises Vivaha.
While haute bridal couture dominates the exhibits, with upcoming designers making a beeline for exhibitions, it?s caterers, wedding planners, mehendiwallahs, mithaiwallahs, jewellers, skin care brands and beauticians who add value to such exhibitions. So, you have Bollywood mehendi artists distributing pamphlets and negotiating prices, beauty chains offering free sample facials and printers selling kitschy handmade wedding invitation cards? all under one roof.
Agreeing that the trend of wedding exhibitions is on an upswing with footfalls on a rise, organisers say that it not only generates business for exhibitors but is a good marketing and PR exercise too. ?It?s an interactive medium of marketing. The B2B exhibition market is growing at a fast pace and so is the trend of wedding exhibitions,? says Maninder Sethi, director, Excelsior Public Relations, which organises Wedding Asia in Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Delhi.
Everybody wants a share of the the great Indian wedding pie. So, even top international brands such as Estee Lauder, MAC, Ferraro Rocher and tourism boards like Tourism Australia have their stalls neatly tucked at the exhibition venues to attract prospective brides and grooms. And why not? After all the growing footfalls and potential clientele are big reasons for them to exhibit their wares.
Sample this: While Vivaha, one of the popular wedding exhibitions, which was first launched in 2003 and showcases in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, witnessed around 25,000-30,000 visitors in a span of three days this year. Another exhibition, Bride & Groom, recorded a footfall of around 50,000 in their 2011 show. ?This year when we held our exhibition in July we were sold out well three months in advance. Looking at the demand from exhibitors, we are organising two shows this year instead of one,? says Kiran Sharma, director, Bride & Groom. While the trend was restricted to metros earlier, today it?s fast catching up even in 2-tier cities like Indore, Bhopal and Jalandhar, she adds.
Popular make-up artist Aashmeen Munjal, known for her bridal make-up, who has participated in many bridal exhibitions and shows, agrees that it not only provides one a great platform to get clients but is also a good brand building exercise. ?Prospective brides get to see our work at the exhibition and after that the only thing left is to make the booking. We usually get all our clients for the season from these exhibitions. It?s a hassle-free process for the brides as well as us,? she explains. While a couple of years ago a stall would cost anywhere between R60,000 and R90, 000, today the same stall costs around R1.5-2 lakh, she adds.
Not only have the prices for stalls jacked up, with more than 100 stalls on display, the designers also spend on decking up their stalls innovatively to attract more eyeballs. Delhi-based designer Parul Grover says that one also ends up spending a couple of lakhs on hiring models and giving the stall a studio like feel. It?s getting bigger by the day, but it?s worth the moolah. ?It helps us get new clients and business. Also, while earlier usually it would be mostly people who run boutiques who would come to the exhibition to see and at times copy from designers, today it?s about serious buyers. Most girls give their wedding dates to us at the venue and visit the store later,? says Grover, who has been participating in wedding exhibitions for the last five years.
Interestingly enough the organisers are holding exhibitions in other South East Asian cities too, indicating a strong demand from PIOs and NRIs. For instance, the Bride & Groom exhibition is held in Jakarta and Bangkok, too, where footfalls are around 10,000. Excelsior will also be taking Wedding Asia abroad with its first exhibition in Macau in December followed by Dubai and Bangkok, targeting the Indian diaspora in these international cities.
While many interested in wedding fashion may still be scrambling for front seats at the bridal couture shows of A-list fashion designers, there is a new breed of upcoming and affordable designers slowly emerging, using the bridal exhibitions to launch their collections. ?The wedding exhibitions are especially a great platform for new designers and B-listers because everyone knows where to buy a Tarun Tahiliani or a Rohit Bal, but they don?t really know how to get in touch with new upcoming designers,? says Seth of Vivaha. It?s a happily ever after for the wedding exhibitions, as exhibitors and organisers expect that the trend will only grow.