Nightmare’s end

You've been dreaming about this day your whole life. You want everything to be just perfect. The dress, the church décor, the choir, the reception hall, the music, the food, the photographs… sigh… by the time the big day approaches you'd be too exhausted to even enjoy. Dream day??? Nightmare is more like it… unless of course you had some help…

The Wedding Guide BrideandGroom is all the help you'll need! It is the ultimate wedding directory in town, with everything from wedding suppliers, to honey-moon packages and real estate deals.

"Having attended numerous Bridal Fairs etc., I realised that there was a dire need for a compilation of wedding-related suppliers. There was no one guide which could offer a comprehensive guide to anything and everything a couple would need to know about organising their big day," says Pramith Mallawaratchie, CEO of Creative Media Publications.

Having launched BrideandGroom this June, this bi-annual publication is possibly the most comprehensive wedding directory available at the moment. "It's estimated that there are approximately 20,000 weddings held annually in Colombo alone. If one were to assume that on average a wedding cost Rs. 300,000 minimum, taking into consideration Colombo only, the wedding industry would be worth around six billion rupees," says Pramith. Therefore, it's quite obvious that weddings have become quite a large industry in our country, and there's a definite need for one place for suppliers to advertise and wedding parties to consult, he added. The guide has been especially designed in a handy A5 size, so it's easy to slip into your handbag or carry it around.

"The magazine also encourages couples to fill in check-lists and budget breakdown pages that are specifically allocated in the book,” says Pramith. The comprehensive checklist covers the entire spectrum of details that must be looked into, from as far back as 9-12 months prior to the wedding. From the time of selecting a date, to picking a caterer, to scheduling fit-on's for the retinue… it's not left out anything! Some of the reference details are also cross linked to the relevant suppliers section (e.g. if the checklist refers to checking on transport, the magazine refers you to the section listing out all the transport related suppliers), he added.

In addition, each issue's wedding gallery is dedicated to a specific designer to display some of his/her best work. The gallery section of this debut issue exhibits the work of well-known designer Michael Wijesuriya.

The BrideandGroom also lists out wedding planning companies which no doubt eases the burden on the couple-to-be. Many discount coupons from wedding-related shops will also be available in the magazines, so you wind up making quite a saving at the end of the day.

"We're always open to new ideas; anything we might have missed out on. The magazine also accommodates free listings for all wedding suppliers," he elaborated. The magazine is a bi-annual publication, thus the next issue will come out in December. The magazine hopes to expand as it goes along and gains popularity, by widening its database of suppliers and including timely and beneficial articles/interviews etc., said Pramith.

"This venture will be an ever-evolving process of constant improvement and expansion," he added. "We also want to promote the idea of couples celebrating their big day differently. Either via unconventional themes or locations… basically a change from the old routine," he said smiling.

"We want to create a marketplace for all service providers in the wedding industry. It is very important that this industry grows, as it has a huge amount of potential. It is the recognition, the absence of a platform that is holding it back. With the BrideandGroom, we intend to do just that," said the young entrepreneur enthusiastically.

The BrideandGroom Magazine is available at all leading bookshops island-wide, online at www.brideandgroom.lk, while a full list of distribution outlets is available online on www.lankafood.com