Staff at Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chatham-Kent are in the final planning stages for their one-stop shopping show for brides and grooms.
The 11th annual Chatham-Kent Wedding Show is set to take place Jan. 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the John D. Bradley Convention Centre.
Big Brothers/Big Sisters organizes the event, which is an excellent fundraiser for them, according to Nan Stuckey, executive director of the agency.
“It’s a trade show we put on as a fundraiser. The money is used for the kids’ mentoring programs in Chatham-Kent,” she said. “We charge exhibitors, and there’s a $10 admission to the show.”
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The event will feature nearly seven dozen exhibitors, offering a wide variety of wedding-related services and materials, Stuckey said.
“We have more than 80 exhibits every year. They represent all businesses you could possibly use for weddings, from jewelry to limousines to catering to tuxes to cake to photography and even port-a-john rentals,” she said.
And that includes the après-wedding element – the honeymoon.
Stuckey added all previous exhibitors are listed on the show’s website.
This year marks the second year the show is running a contest on its Facebook page. Stuckey said people can register and share engagement stories for a chance to win a prize package worth more than $1,000. The top vote getters win the prize.
Patricia M. Productions returns to the show with its fashion shows, displaying the newest dresses, styles and colours, Stuckey said.
“Pat does such a great job of doing the fashion show,” she said.
The fashion shows take place at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Stuckey added January is the perfect month to have a wedding show.
“There aren’t a lot of weddings in January, so our exhibitors are available. A lot of people get engaged over the holidays too,” she said. “All of the other communities in the area have wedding shows in January.”
The Chatham-Kent show is always the last week in January. Stuckey said it doesn’t conflict with the Windsor and London shows that way, and it takes place on a weekend where there is no football. That makes it easier for brides-to-be to bring their future husbands along to look at the exhibits. And Stuckey, an avid football fan, doesn’t miss anything as well.
Having the men come out to the show is important, she added.
“A lot more men are getting involved in the planning of their weddings,” Stuckey said.
The wedding show used to be a two-day event, but Stuckey said it made sense and cents to run on the Saturday only.
“From our point of view, most of our business came on the Saturday, so we opted to go for a one-day show as a cost saving,” she said.
